Tales of the Gun: Robar-Customized Ruger Redhawk

The term “hog’s leg” is said to have originated in the Wild West and was used when referring to large single-action revolvers. That term is still used today even though the technology has changed. I have one revolver I use it for exclusively, and it is a very fitting nickname.

My Ruger Redhawk is my largest handgun, and it is what I have carried in Alaska and parts of the West inhabited by grizzly and brown bears.

Chambered in .44 Magnum, this revolver is a beast, and it can be a handful if you aren’t accustomed to large-caliber revolvers with substantial recoil. At first glance, my Ruger is similar to all the others, but upon deeper inspection, it is clearly customized for backcountry carry. This is the tale of my gun, a Robar Guns customized Redhawk.

The Back Story

In a previous article, I shared the story of my Remington 700 that was converted to a Robar Guns Precision Hunting Rifle. That rifle was assembled by the now-closed Robar Guns for a safari I took to Africa in 2018.

The following year, I intended to travel to Alaska with friends for a salmon fishing trip and some general exploring. When Robar’s owner, Freddie Blish, heard I was going, he offered the services of his gunsmiths and company once again. One of the firearms I sent him was my stock stainless Ruger Redhawk. His team worked on the action, refinished all the parts in NP3, and sent it back to me in time to carry to Alaska.

While in Alaska, I carried that revolver all throughout the Kenai Peninsula and into Denali National Park. Inclement weather wasn’t a concern at all — the revolver’s NP3 finish laughs at moisture.

I took it to a local “shooting range” up there, which was a glorified open pit with old appliances used as targets. The locals even asked if our vehicle was a rental, because they planned on blasting some tannerite.

That wasn’t the last trip to Alaska, as I took it back to Kenai in 2021 while filming a documentary for Black Rifle Coffee with the company I used to work for. When I lived in Utah, I carried that revolver to parts of Idaho, Wyoming, and the surrounding areas where grizzly sightings were common. If I couldn’t carry a rifle where I traveled, I wanted that big ole’ 44 with me.

Performance

The Ruger Redhawk is an incredibly strong revolver. It can handle heavy hard-cast rounds meant for dangerous game without issue. The heft of the revolver also helps with the felt recoil.

In fact, I’d rather shoot heavy bullets out of this revolver than some lightweight pocket-sized titanium alloy revolvers in .357 Magnum. For this review, I pulled out the trusty Garmin Xero to test the velocity of various loads.

As an added bonus feature of this revolver, it doesn’t just fire .44 Magnum rounds. Much like a .357 Magnum’s ability to use .38 Special, the .44 Magnum can fire .44 Special too. If you are wondering what the difference in performance is between .44 Magnum and .44 Special, I used .44 Special ammunition in my revolver and found the performance to be similar to a .45 ACP in terms of bullet weight and velocity.

The double-action trigger press is heavy but not difficult to keep in target with a smooth trigger press. When the revolver was sent to Robar, my friend Freddie said his guys tuned it up a bit.

With more use, the parts have really slicked up nicely, and it is a very smooth shooter. I prefer shooting this revolver single action, and I’ve learned to fan the hammer with my support hand to maintain a strong master grip with my shooting hand.

Working from a low ready position on my last range session, I worked the Ruger by fanning the trigger, presenting my sights on a 10-inch piece of steel, and ringing it consistently at 25 yards. The longer 5.5-inch barrel points extremely well, and the weight of it keeps it on target for follow-up shots.

Additional Accessories

Since my last trip to the great outdoors, I’ve picked up a few additional accessories for the Redhawk. Ammunition is now carried in Bianchi Speed Strips and Safariland Speed Loaders. The Speed Loaders reload significantly faster than the Speed Strips, but they don’t pack as flat.

I prefer to carry additional ammo in the Speed Loaders if I have space, and I like carrying specialty rounds like CCI snake shot in my Speed Strips.

While I love the look of wood grips, wood is dense, and it doesn’t have the same grip as a synthetic grip like those from Pachmayr. I want to eventually add a set of these, and the comfort they afford is second to none.

With wet weather or when cleaning fish and game, your grip can be compromised with cold and slippery substances on your hands. These grips seem to let your hands lock on, and they do absorb recoil better than hardwood. I’ll get a set eventually.

Carry

For a massive revolver weighing in at 49 ounces and measuring a whopping 11 inches overall, I’ve come to carry this revolver in the hydration bladder sleeve of my backpack or in a shoulder bag worn bandolier style. The latter of the two is the most common method since it is also faster than dropping a pack off one shoulder and ripping open the zippered main compartment.

While I’ve worn one on my waist before, I find it more comfortable to support the weight of the revolver around my torso. In camp, the revolver is always within reach, and it is typically resting next to my pillow in my tent or tucked in my hammock’s stow pocket at my side.

To be fair, a large revolver like this is not something you want to carry with you at all times. I can imagine hauling around a true hog’s leg would be burdensome too.

That said, even if you don’t want to carry it around after it gets heavier mile after mile, you’ll know it’s the right tool for the job the first time a large predator is in sight.

Future Travel

As I write this article, I am also packing my bags to film parts of the third season of the Jason the Butcher television show on the Outdoor Channel. In addition to being a resident bushcraft and survival instructor on the show, I get the opportunity to go on some great adventures with the host, who happens to be one of my good friends.

My .44 Magnum will likely be on a few of those adventures, especially if we end up hunting different game animals in some wild places. The Ruger Redhawk I own gives me great peace of mind knowing I have an extremely powerful revolver that is accurate, dependable, and durable. Even if I can’t clean myself up or my kit as I film episodes, I know it won’t fail me no matter how dirty it is.