The shorter barrel did not impair the hunting potential of the Super Redhawk. The author dropped this ram with one shot at 80 yards.

I also felt that the wide factory Ruger front-sight base did not look quite right on the shortened barrel, so Ken suggested using a Freedom Arms front-sight base with interchangeable blades. That was a good suggestion, and I am happy with the results.

I was a little concerned that the ports might cause some gas cutting on the scope tube. Kelly usually cuts four ports in the Advantage package, and two of those would certainly have been far enough back on the shorter barrel to vent onto the scope tube. We decided to go with only two long ports out near the end of the barrel, and Ken cut them so the gas would not vent directly on the objective lens. It worked out great, and even after firing a hundred rounds or so of hot loads the objective lens remained clear. There was a little smudge on the end of the scope tube, but it wiped right off with no signs of cutting.

The ports definitely tame the recoil, and even Cor-Bon's hot 305-grain Penetrator loads are pleasant to shoot. Shortly after the customization was finished I had an opportunity to shoot the gun side-by-side with a Ruger Alaskan .44 Magnum using the Cor-Bon loads. The difference in recoil was like night and day. That snubnose Alaskan bucked, belched flame and stung my hand a bit, while my custom Super Redhawk was as docile as a house cat. The 4.8-inch barrel maintains enough forward weight to help dampen muzzle flip, and the ports are a definite aid.

That was one of the design parameters. The goal was not to have the most compact and lightweight .44 I could come up with. My goal was a fairly easy-to-pack and handy revolver that was comfortable to shoot extensively and delivered the accuracy and power needed for hunting and self-defense against four-legged critters. I wanted a versatile camp/trail general-purpose revolver, and Ken Kelly came through for me.

THE BEST SIGHTS…THREE OF THEM
To enhance the versatility of the handgun, I opted for the best sighting systems I could find. Ken installed an orange insert in the front-sight blade and grooved it to reduce glare, and I replaced the factory rear sight with a Bowen Rough Country sight with a white outline. This setup provides an excellent sight picture under good light conditions, but when camping or hunting, good light is not always available.

The Bowen Rough Country rear sight locks down the windage and elevation tightly and does not rely on springs to keep the sights in place. The large flat-black surface of the sight blade and crisp white outline make for a sharp sight picture.

To complement the more compact dimensions of my newly customized Super Redhawk I replaced the Burris 2X scope it had worn for years with the more compact Leupold 2X. As with every Leupold I have used, the optics are bright and clear and performance is top notch. The little silver scope with the golden ring looks right at home on this handgun.

The final sighting system to be added was a set of Crimson Trace LaserGrips. If you think laser sights are only for defense against bad guys, think again. The laser sight is also useful against four-legged critters that come prowling around camp in the middle of the night.