“Mountain Gun” — A compact, concealable handgun chambered in a caliber sufficient to provide emergency defense against large, aggressive animals or people while camping, hunting or on the trail in remote, rugged areas. Also capable of serving as a survival arm in the same locations, a mountain gun is resistant to inclement weather.
The “Mountain Gun” Concept
As a frequent visitor to the Smoky Mountains, I have long been fascinated by the Mountain Gun concept, usually packing one along for combination off-duty law enforcement use and as a defensive gun while on the trail. While bear attacks are rare in the Smoky Mountains they can occur. And although I have not encountered anything but the nicest of folks along the trails I’ve hiked over the years, there does exist the possibility of an encounter with predatory humans on the trails. (Though in-town encounters are more likely.)
Over the years, I’ve packed along .45s, a 10mm or two and various .357 Magnums — which ranged from the ultra-lightweight, now-discontinued Smith & Wesson 7-Shot Mountain Lite to the 7-shot Performance Center 686 .357 snub that I reviewed earlier.
New “Mountain Gun” — Ruger Redhawk .357 Magnum Snub-Nosed Revolver
All of these handguns worked fine for the uses outlined. But there is a new Mountain Gun on the market. It is designed for more rugged locales than the Smokies: the 8-shot Ruger Redhawk .357 Magnum snub-nosed revolver.
The Ruger Redhawk series of double-action revolvers was designed from the ground up for hunting large and dangerous game. Originally chambered in .44 Magnum — and later .41 Magnum, .45 Colt and .357 Magnum — the Redhawk was and is built to take a pounding that few other handguns can handle over the long term.
Ruger Redhawk’s Construction
Constructed of stainless steel throughout, the Ruger Redhawk features solid-frame construction; no removable side-plate is needed to access the inner workings for cleaning and maintenance. Like Ruger’s SP101 and GP100, the Redhawk can be broken down to the sub-assemblies of frame, cylinder/yoke and trigger/action with only a screwdriver (much like a semi-automatic pistol). This makes maintenance chores much simpler.
In addition to the solid frame, the Ruger snub adds sheer mass to the equation to help tame the recoil generated by the eight rounds of .357 Magnum the cylinder holds. It is a hefty 44 ounces even with the short, 2.75-inch barrel. While the 19-ounce weight of the 3-inch-barreled Mountain Lite was a joy to carry on the trail, it sure wasn’t fun to shoot with full-power .357 Magnum loads. Even with its rubber grip, one turn of the seven-round cylinder using .357s was all I ever wanted to fire at one sitting. That thing smarted! And while the Ruger Redhawk isn’t as easy to pack, it sure is a lot more pleasant to shoot.
Sights
Other features of the Ruger .357 include an easily replaced front sight. My sample came with a red ramp insert. I would opt for a brass bead front if I was keeping it. It is a much easier sight for my eyes to pick up under lower-light conditions.
Double-Action / Single-Action Revolver
Being a “traditional” double-action/single-action revolver with an exposed hammer spur, the Redhawk .357 snub can be fired single-action for precision shots or double-action for quicker defensive shots. The trigger face is smooth and nicely rounded, which increases comfort during firing. The pull in double-action is pretty standard — 13- to 14-pound range — while the single-action pull breaks around 4-5 pounds. The trigger pull could be a bit smoother throughout but is still usable. It is likely that with time and use, the Redhawk trigger pull will smooth.
If you want immediate improvement, try installing a set of Wolff hammer springs. With the Redhawk’s easy takedown, installing it is a snap. I did that years ago on a Ruger Security Six that I had. The improvement was immediate. And if I can install something on a gun without destroying it, anyone can. Wolff Springs (GunSprings.com) are dirt cheap — about five bucks for the 12-pound hammer spring pack.
Ruger Redhawk’s Cylinder
The cylinder of the Redhawk .357 is relieved for the use of full-moon clips or standard speedloaders for reloading. Three full moon clips are included. I have found full moon clips and long cartridges like the .357 to be more difficult to reload rapidly than short round moon clips like those for .45 ACP. That is especially so with a seven- or eight-round count. The longer .357 round causes more flexion in the moon clip, making reloading (at least for me) slower than with standard speedloaders. (Try the excellent aluminum loaders from 5-Star Firearms (5StarFirearms.com) that hold the rounds firmly in place.) My practice with my S&W Performance 686 is to keep the cylinder charged with a full moon clip. I then back it up with 5-Star speedloaders. That way, the fired cases will be ejected from the first cylinder en-masse, guaranteeing clearance of all the empties.
Firearms Grips
The Redhawk comes with hardwood grips that mate to the size of the gripframe. They are not oversized, and the back strap is exposed. They are, however, compact (for a Redhawk-sized handgun), which aids in concealment. Remember this isn’t a hunting handgun. The fact that the grips are wood means that a covering garment won’t tend to stick to them like it might if the grips were rubber. I found the factory wood grips to be more than comfortable enough for the .357 Magnum chambering.
Ammo
The Redhawk .357, while designed to take the hottest .357 loads on the market, can of course handle any .38 Special loading with aplomb. I had recently fired a Redhawk .357 snub using a variety of .357 Magnum loads from Federal and Winchester, with 125-grain and 158-grain loads available to test. The Redhawk was, of course, totally reliable. Rounds grouped easily into a couple of inches at 25 feet. The recoil was controllable. The blast from the 2.75-inch barrel was noticeable — and expected.
Conclusion on the Ruger Redhawk .357 Magnum Snub-Nosed Revolver
If I lived closer to very rugged mountainous areas populated by an array of large, potentially dangerous animals, I would make the Ruger Redhawk .357 my primary Mountain Gun and stoke it with Buffalo Bore’s (www.buffalobore.com) .357 Magnum Outdoorsman 180-grain Hardcast Lead Flat-Nosed solid ammunition. According to their ballistic tables — which are dead-on accurate — that load is still traveling at 1,302 feet per second from a 3-inch-barreled handgun. That is very close to what you would get from the 2.75-inch Redhawk barrel. That should provide the bearer with a goodly amount of penetration on large, heavily muscled creatures — and 8 rounds of it to boot.
In case you don’t think eight rounds of .357 Magnum ammunition will be enough for you in the areas in which you roam, the snub-nosed Redhawk is available in a six-shot .44 Magnum version from Gallery of Guns and Talo distributors. Another version in the greatly underappreciated .41 Magnum caliber (also with six shots) is also available from Gallery of Guns.
MSRP of the Ruger Redhawk .357 is $1,079.
More info at: Ruger.com
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