Ruger Super Redhawk in 22 Hornet, Tested and Reviewed

The Ruger Tremendous Redhawk in .22 Hornet is my favourite kind of gun. It isn’t one I would like, however it certain as hell is one I would like. This 8-shot, double-action revolver exists to supply pleasure, nothing extra. Any sensible process you devise for it may be higher achieved by another firearm. However this wheelgun doesn’t play by the principles of chilly logic. It’s pure id, turning gunpowder into glad ideas with every pull of the set off.

See It

See It

Professionals

• Clean motion
• Dependable
• Correct

Cons

• Heavy
• Clunky grip
• Stiff set off pull

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Specs

• 
  Cartridge

  
  22 Hornet

• 
  Capability

  
  8

• 
  Barrel

  
  9.5 inches, 1:9 twist

• 
  Weight

  
  66 ounces (empty, unscoped)

• 
  Value

  
  $1362

Key Options

• 
  Eight shot capability

• 
  Integral scope ring mounts

• 
  9.5-inch hammer-forged bull barrel

Combining Two Legends

I bear in mind the Ruger Super Redhawk debut again in 1987, when the primary fashions in .44 Remington Magnum rolled off the manufacturing line in New Hampshire. Invoice Ruger Sr. was nonetheless on the helm of the corporate and every little thing Ruger produced needed to meet his tastes and requirements. He cherished the Tremendous Redhawk for the worth and high quality it represented in comparison with related choices from Smith & Wesson, produced in Massachusetts, simply south of the place he lived.

At almost 40 years outdated, the Tremendous Redhawk has achieved traditional standing, however it pales in comparison with the 22 Hornet’s legacy. The Hornet was developed within the Twenties as a wildcat based mostly off the, now out of date, 22 W.C.F. by rifle nerds together with Outside Life Capturing Editor Townsend Whelen. In 1930, Winchester made the 22 Hornet an official providing, and in 1933 the primary manufacturing rifles chambered within the cartridge had been constructed.

22 Hornet in Context

Within the years bracketing World Battle Two, the 22 Hornet was a prime choose for performance-minded riflemen. It was a significant step up from its dad or mum case, the 22 W.C.F. — a part of the Winchester Heart Fireplace household. The 22 W.C.F., launched in 1885, was loaded with black powder, limiting velocities to round 1,500 fps with a 45-grain forged lead bullet. The usage of black powder as a propellant can be why the case has a shallow 5-degree, 38-minute shoulder. That lengthy, sloping taper aided extraction when a chamber was clogged with dirty black powder residue. It gained traction for varmints and small recreation and was chambered in rifles just like the Winchester 1885 single shot and the Remington’s No. 7 Rolling Block.

Wildcatters like Townsend Whelen sought to jazz up the 22 W.C.F. with smokeless powders which might increase muzzle velocities and go away much less fouling within the bore. The primary Hornets used .223-inch jacketed bullets however later ammo producers and reloaders switched to .224-inch bullets, which is what we nonetheless make use of immediately. The case dimensions of the 22 Hornet and 22 W.C.F. are almost similar, although the Hornet’s brass is barely longer (1.403 inches vs. 1.390 inches), the rim is barely wider (.350 inches vs. .342 inches), and the general cartridge size is bigger (1.723 inches vs. 1.61 inches).

A Marvel of Accuracy and Pace

Capturing an analogous 45-grain bullet, the 22 Hornet’s muzzle velocity outclassed the 22 W.C.F.: 2690 fps vs. 1550 fps. It additionally gained a fame for sterling accuracy. Winchester’s engineers allegedly reported that it was essentially the most correct spherical they’d ever shot.

Whereas the diminutive case dimension and modest allowable strain (49,000 psi) didn’t put the Hornet in the identical class because the .220 Swift, .22/250 Rem., and different potent .224-caliber varmint rounds, it carved out area of interest that has endured over the many years. It was the primary purpose-built varmint spherical of the smokeless powder period and was efficient on critters to 200 yards whereas having average recoil and an extended barrel life.

22 Hornet within the Tremendous Redhawk

One of many preliminary promoting factors of the Tremendous Redhawk is the inclusion of integral mounting factors for scope rings. The 22 Hornet mannequin comes with a pleasant set of iron sights, a inexperienced fiber-optic dot in a squared off black publish up entrance, and a square-notched rear sight outlined in white that’s adjustable for windage and elevation on the rear. That stated, I believe most shooters will wish to run it with a magnified optic of some kind to take full benefit of the spherical.

The .22 Hornet is true at house in Ruger’s sturdy double-action platform. Constructed for powerhouses just like the 44 Magnum, 454 Casull, 480 Ruger, and 10mm Auto, the chrome steel framed revolver has no issues accommodating the 22 Hornet.

Ruger features a pair of one-inch chrome steel rings with the revolver, which I used to mount a Leupold VX-III 2.5-8x32mm Handgun scope. Sadly, this scope isn’t being produced at present so that you’ll be compelled to do what I did and peruse the used market. I managed to snag one with a matte silver end that pairs properly with the brushed chrome steel on the revolver, however normal black would match as nicely.

Capturing the Ruger Tremendous Redhawk in 22 Hornet

The set off pull on the revolver isn’t mild, however in single-action mode — which is how I did all of my accuracy testing — the set off broke crisply with no creep. As quickly as I hit the requisite 5 kilos, 10 ounces of strain, the sear broke free and tripped the shot.

The hammer has a checkered flat on its spur that’s positioned low sufficient to supply loads of clearance beneath the scope, permitting straightforward cocking. Like different Tremendous Redhawks, and the Ruger GP 100 collection that it’s based mostly on, the set off has a switch bar system to assist stop unintentional discharges.

When cocked for single-action taking pictures the hammer locks up tight, with no wiggle or motion. The cylinder is strong as nicely, with no side-to-side play and minimal rotational motion. As well as, the cylinder hole — the small house between the face of the cylinder and the again of the barrel stays even and constant as you rotate by all eight charging holes on the cylinder. All of that is fascinating in a revolver and speaks to the Ruger’s high quality.

22 Hornet Accuracy

There aren’t many manufacturing facility 22 Hornet masses provided immediately, and I shot the 2 I may get my fingers on: the Hornady 35-grain V-Max and a Remington 45-grain SP. The 35-grainers out-shot the 45-grain smooth factors by a large margin. From a strong bench with a sandbag help, I shot teams at 50 yards with each masses, and due to how nicely the Hornady load did, I printed a 20-shot group at 100 yards as nicely.

The Remington ammunition had a troublesome time grouping on the goal at 50 yards, so as a substitute of aggregating 4 5-shot teams to create a 20-shot group (as I did with the V-Maxes) I ended taking pictures for group dimension after two five-shot strings that seemed extra like buckshot patterns than correct teams.

The velocities I recorded from the 35-grain load had been remarkably constant. The common muzzle velocity with the primary 20 photographs was 2114 fps and was 2109 fps with the second string. The ES and SD values had been additionally constant: 109 fps ES and 25.9 fps SD for the primary 20-shot string, and 147 fps ES and 28.2 fps SD for the follow-up.

From a sensible standpoint these variations in velocity received’t make a distinction. At 50 yards or nearer the Ruger is lethal on any small varmint, and it’s absolutely succesful out to 100 yards, although you’ll most likely miss some skinnier floor squirrels. I can’t advocate the manufacturing facility 45-grain load for something based mostly on my testing.

Compared to the 2110 fps that the Ruger generates from its 9.5-inch barrel, when the 35-grain V-Maxes are shot by my 24-inch-barreled Winchester Mannequin 70 these MVs soar greater than 1000 fps to 3175 fps on common.

Double-Motion Capturing

I shot the revolver in double-action mode too and located I may management the crosshairs fairly nicely by the longer, heavier set off pull. I used two methods throughout this a part of the analysis. Essentially the most often really helpful technique is to comply with during with a easy, regular set off pull till the hammer falls. With this method when you’ve dedicated to the shot you don’t hesitate or alter the set off press. Concentrate on shifting that set off in a lifeless straight line to the rear whereas sustaining your grip and your sight image.

With a little bit of follow anybody can change into good at this technique, however to actually grasp it requires severe dedication. Capturing a double-action revolver precisely this manner is among the most troublesome abilities a handgunner can pursue.

The opposite approach is to stack the shot by pulling again on the set off and pausing when the cylinder rotates a recent cartridge into place with the hammer poised and able to fall. The ultimate quantity of motion required to interrupt the shot is heavier than a real single-action shot however is shorter and lighter than the total double-action motion. It’s simpler to do that with some revolvers than others relying on how the motion is tuned and the way responsive the gun is.

With the Tremendous Redhawk it was straightforward to seek out the “shelf” between the preliminary set off pull and the ultimate portion of the shot. Notice that you have to follow this extensively with dry hearth earlier than making an attempt it with reside ammunition, and by no means begin that set off pull except you’re prepared and keen to interrupt the shot as a result of there’s an opportunity you’ll run previous that shelf and discharge the gun.

Fascinating Upgrades

The Tremendous Redhawk comes stocked with black rubber grips which can be molded with textured panels on both aspect and deep finger grooves. They supply a safe handhold, and many individuals favor one of these grip when taking pictures heavy-recoiling cartridges just like the 44 Magnum.

These grips on the Tremendous Redhawk in 22 Hornet are overkill and should not my favorites. They don’t look almost as good as a set of well-made wooden grips, like these cocobolo beauties from Hogue, and so they really feel clunky and awkward when taking pictures one thing as gentle because the 22 Hornet.

Thankfully, they’re straightforward to interchange, which is among the two alterations I plan on making to this handgun.

The opposite is to swap out the springs with one thing lighter that may easy out the motion. You may get kits from Brownells to interchange the hammer spring and set off spring. From the manufacturing facility, the hammer spring is 14 kilos, and the set off spring measures 15 kilos. These kits embrace hammer springs that measure 9, 10, and 12 kilos, and set off springs that measure 10 and 12 kilos. You combine and match the springs to seek out the combo that fits you, whereas ensuring that the hammer is propelled with adequate power to reliably ignite the spherical’s primer.

Working the Tremendous Redhawk

When operating a revolver this heavy — it weighs 5 kilos, 4 ounces scoped — you’ll sometimes shoot it braced on one thing. With its 9.5-inch bull barrel, it has sufficient weight ahead to steadiness properly on the portion of the body simply in entrance of the set off guard, making this a pure place to relaxation and regular the gun.

The cylinder launch on the left aspect of the body doesn’t take a lot effort to push right down to get the cylinder to swing open. The ejector rod is enclosed in, and guarded by, the body and does a great job pushing spent brass out of the cylinder. The 22 Hornet brass from the manufacturing facility wasn’t very constant and I used to be glad to not have any points when ejecting instances that obtained somewhat sticky of their charging holes.

The cylinder doesn’t have any flutes minimize into it, so is easy all the best way round. It appears good and made cleansing the fouling that constructed up on the cylinder that a lot simpler.

Learn Subsequent: Reloading the 22 Hornet

Last Ideas on the 22 Hornet Ruger Tremendous Redhawk

As I discussed initially of the evaluation, this revolver isn’t fixing any issues that one other firearm couldn’t do higher. It isn’t as correct as a varmint rifle. It isn’t as helpful as a rimfire wheelgun. And it isn’t potent sufficient to hunt massive recreation.

However it’s a number of enjoyable, it’s fairly correct, and it’s the form of gun you’ll take pleasure in tinkering with, whether or not you simply wish to harass varmints, ring metal, or experiment with handloads. It additionally has a beautiful heritage — our O.G. varmint spherical. And that’s one thing that no newfangled cartridge or gun can compete with.