What Is the Alaskan?
The Super Redhawk line of pistols from Ruger has a long history of performance, but what does the Alaskan do you might say? I suppose the Alaskan model was purpose-built thinking of those who might spend time up north and prefer not to be without six doses of bear medicine.
The Super Redhawk Alaskan is a stainless-steel double-action revolver. It has a hammer-forged 2.5-inch barrel and comes with a Hogue Tamer grip to keep a good hold of the gun. You’ll need a good grip because the Alaskan’s robust cylinder has holes bored for six cartridges in only three calibers: .44 Remington Mag, .454 Casull, and .480 Ruger. These powerful choices in chambering are nothing to shake a stick at, as my father would say, and they’re certainly enough to make even a brown bear reconsider you as a snack.
Powerful vs. Big
Despite the large chamberings for the Redhawk, this wheelgun isn’t so big as to be cumbersome. The short barrel makes it a reasonable gun to carry in a holster, even if you are engaged in other activities. The Alaskan would be a great choice for fishermen who anticipate potential close encounters with an ornery 800-pound salmon fishermen or just someone who is out in rough country.
The Alaskan is big enough to stand up to the tasks of bear country, and yet it is small enough to bring along on a fly-fishing trip. Even if you aren’t in the Cold White North, it always gives some solace to have a good strong sidearm close by. I’ve spent enough time in the incredibly dark and remote forests of northern Montana and Idaho to appreciate the comfort of that heavy steel piece riding on the hip. The extra 2.75 pounds is worth having for me.
Shooting Time
Shooting the Super Redhawk Alaskan is going to be expensive in today’s market. Especially since I had both the .44 Magnum model and the .454 Casull to feed. Both guns are dual chambered to allow for shooting lighter loads with .44 Special and .45 Colt cartridges. But I didn’t have any of those, so it was full-house power loads from Hornady to test these guns.
I have shot plenty of .44 Magnum over the years, so shooting the Redhawk wasn’t significantly new. I did immediately notice the comfortable grip, which allowed for an excellent purchase to control the pistol. The .454 Casull pistol had a bit more power behind it, and you could feel it. Recoil and muzzle blast from the two are comparable, with the Casull unsurprisingly showing a bit more. I was shooting 225-grain Hornady FTX ammunition in the .44 Magnum model, and I was shooting Hornady’s 300-grain flat point in the .454.
Considering the purpose I initially mentioned for these wheelguns, they shoot quite well. As a dangerous game defensive pistol, it certainly needs to hit what you’re aiming at. I found both pistols to be easy enough to control despite the significant recoil from the heavy loads. Obviously, that would change if an angry sow was charging at me, but I’d like to think I could shoot them well enough to hit a moving target at danger-close distances.
Comfort & Power
The impressive power of the Super Redhawks wasn’t the only thing that stood out when shooting them. Both models felt fantastic in the hand, the soft rubber Hogue grips made them very comfortable to shoot. The quality of the operation also struck me with smooth controls and very clean-breaking triggers adding to the superior feeling of these pistols.
The adjustable sights of the Alaskan aren’t exactly huge, they come across as pretty simple and no-nonsense. That said, I found them to be more than adequate for the purposes of relatively close shooting. That is to say, anything inside of 50 yards or so that rivaled the size of a paper plate was bound to be perforated with a big hole.
Pros and Cons
Credit: Source link
