629 vs Redhawk: Redhawk Wins!

[mtnbkr]

Sorry, I know the S&W is "supposed" to be the better gun, but side-by-side against a swinging plate today, the Redhawk was easier to shoot, easier to hit with, and had the better DA trigger.  The 629's SA trigger was much better, but I rarely shoot SA.

Chris

[wacki]

What did you like about the SA?  I don't understand how that can be better.   Is it a lighter trigger or just easier to pull back the hammer?

[De Selby]

The redhawk has one of my favorite DA triggers.  I recently shot a 1960's colt official police that I like most though.

Ruger leads the way in revolver innovations but seems to always turn out uninspiring autos.

[mtnbkr]

What did you like about the SA?  I don't understand how that can be better.   Is it a lighter trigger or just easier to pull back the hammer?

Lighter, crisper trigger before the hammer drops.  The Redhawk is heavier and has more "creep" before the hammer drops. 

The redhawk has one of my favorite DA triggers.  I recently shot a 1960's colt official police that I like most though.

I haven't spent much time with them, but I haven't handled any Colt revolver that suited me.  I agree with your assessment of DA triggers though.  I collect DA revolvers (have 6 S&Ws and the Redhawk).  The Redhawk beats them all, triggerwise.  My S&Ws span the period from the early "Hand Ejector" days to the period right before the current "ILS" period, yet none are close to the Redhawk for DA quality.

Ruger leads the way in revolver innovations but seems to always turn out uninspiring autos.

If you're including their SA line, then I agree wholeheartedly.  Their DA line could use a few additions, such as a 22lr 6-shot 3-4" version of their new polymer revolver.  Still, they're always doing interesting things with the SA guns. 

Chris

[Perd Hapley]

Ruger leads the way in revolver innovations...

Not always in a good way:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_Hawkeye    

[charby]

I have a GP-100 as my only Ruger handgun, took a lot of dry firing and actually firing to clean up the trigger but a couple thousand rounds later it is pretty good. I still like my S&Ws better overall but that Ruger is a tank.

I still just can't get used to the looks of the hammer and transfer bar system, growing up with Colts and S&Ws it i s just plain weird looking.

[HankB]

I've got both a Redhawk and an S&W M29.

The DA on my Redhawk isn't even in the same league as the DA on my M29.   

[roo_ster]

One thing I have learned about big bore revos is that the grips are about the most important part of the package for good shooting.  (Leastways for me.)  Oh, the trigger is important, but if you are anticipating a beating, the best trigger won't smooth out a flinch.  Also, a so-so trigger can be dealt with, but a grip that doesn't stay put, but slops about under recoil will perform poorly.

<Thinks about revolvers>

I think my best DA trigger is on my SW1917.  SW did not neglect the finer points just because a war was going on.  I had my SW686 trigger worked on and it is smooth, but I have yet to find grips that make me shoot it better than my SW1917 or my SW629-1.  My 629 went from so-so groupings to making look like I knew what I was doing with a revolver when I got the right grips (stock skinnies + Tyler T-grip).

Frankly, I have not found ANY coil-springed mainspring revolver trigger worth writing home about.  Some have managed to smooth out and/or get the engagement right-on, but the feel of the coil spring is just plain inferior to a leaf.

[mtnbkr]

Grips certainly make a huge difference.  I spent a few years searching for the right ones for the Redhawk.  The problem is, the bottom of the gripframe is so wide (fore to aft) that any grip that extends below the gripframe ends up being a big chunk of wood in my medium-sized hands.  The factory wood grips feel good, but aren't so hot for heavy loads.  I've tried a T-grip with them as well.  I even went the custom route with a set of grips from Herretts.  In the end, it was a set of finger-grooved Nill grips from a guy on Ebay.  Those are the bee's knees.

As for triggers, we'll have to agree to disagree.  I'll put my Ruger up against any factory S&W trigger delivered in the past two decades and many of those prior.  I'll admit those from the first half of the 20th century tend to be great, but it's hard to tell if that's from the factory or years of firing.  My 629 is a -3 model and doesn't appear to have been fired much prior to my purchasing it, so it may slick up nicely after a few hundred shots.

The biggest difference between the two triggers is that the 629 is heavy at first but the pressure falls off as you get close to the breaking point.  The Redhawk is medium-light from beginning to end with little or no stacking (very unlike most coil-spring guns).  The only thing I've done to is is to polish the trigger face (where your finger touches it) and lube the trigger/hammer contact points with Slick Honey grease, a bicycle-oriented grease.  I haven't done that yet to the 629, but my experience with my other S&Ws indicates much less improvement from the grease in their actions.

Chris

[RoadKingLarry]

I wouldn't turn my nose up at either of them.

[mtnbkr]

I wouldn't turn my nose up at either of them.

No doubt.  The Redhawk is just working out better as a shooter.

Chris

[MechAg94]

I have a redhawk in 44Mag that is okay, but it has a 4 power scope on it.  The recoil is way too harsh to make it fun to try to use that scope.  On the other hand, I finally got a S&W 627 performance center 8-shot 357 Mag revolver (with moon clips) that shoots very well.  I started playing with it at 50 yards and it groups pretty damn good.  One day, I may try to pick up a Ruger 357 to see how it compared. 

I guess I need to put that Ruger 44 in the Classifieds here.  I may try to get a Thompson Contender in 223 or something like that.

[AZRedhawk44]

Re: 629 vs Redhawk: Redhawk Wins!

Duh.


Ruger hit a home-run 5 years ago with the 4" Redhawk release.  They worked their azzes off, re-engineering their assembly and tuning process for their trigger assembly.

I handled several 4" Redhawks.  ALL of them had superior triggers to my 5.5" Redhawk I owned for 2-3 years prior.

Elmer Keith would choose a Redhawk if he lived today.

[230RN]

roo_ster  said,

Frankly, I have not found ANY coil-springed mainspring revolver trigger worth writing home about.  Some have managed to smooth out and/or get the engagement right-on, but the feel of the coil spring is just plain inferior to a leaf.

+1

[mtnbkr]

Ok, I finally broke down and popped the sideplate off the 629.  What I saw confirms my suspicion that this gun hasn't been shot much.  It was dry as a bone and clean.  I pulled the hammer and swabbed around a bit with a dry pipestem cleaner, then proceeded to lube any pivot points, sliding interfaces, hammer/trigger interfaces, etc with Englund's Slick Honey.  After reassembling the gun, it feels completely different.  I still like the Redhawk better, but the 629 was much smoother than before.

BTW, Slickhoney is like a trigger job in a jar.  I use it on just about all of my revolvers.  I bought it back in the 90s for use in bicycle suspension forks, but have used it almost exclusively for my guns since.  I even put a very light coat in the barrel of my CCW because it sees a lot of pocket-carry time (with accompany heat/humidity).  I saturate a patch with Slickhoney, run it through the bore, then run a try patch through to remove excess.

Englund Slickhoney (now Slickoleum): http://www.slickoleum.com/index.html

Chris