Just over a month ago Fermin and Ronnie Wells announced the release of their rear sight which was a combined effort between the two. Immediately I saw a need in the community and went out to acquire a new Ruger to run this sight; it just had to happen!
After much internet shopping and calling local gun shops I finally found a Ruger Redhawk 44 magnum 7.5” new in the box. The Redhawk is a tank of a double action and I knew it would make a good platform for testing since I prefer a double action grip frame designs over single actions.
The new production Redhawks feature a 2 piece barrel with a dovetail front. The dovetail front just happens to be one of the most popular 1911 dovetails which is a Novak cut. This will allow for all kinds of aftermarket sights from tritium to fiber optic and everything in between.
After the gun was acquired I placed an order for one of Fermin and Ronnie’s rear sights. The #8 which has a radius in the bottom of the sight pocket that I thought would go well with my preferred front sight combo, a fiber optic. Per Fermin’s recommendation I ordered the front sight at the same thickness as the rear sight notch which is .110 and I matched the hight to the factory front. Dawson Precision makes wonderful fiber optic sights so I snagged one up from them.
One more order had to go out for my preferred grips. A quick trip to Hogue’s website and I had a set of wooden big butt grips ordered through their custom shop. The 30 day wait is worth it!
While waiting on all these parts to arrive I had to address one major problem with this Redhawk, the trigger. Ruger’s single spring design leaves a lot to be desired but it can be cleaned up. I proceeded to reduce the height of the hammer notch on the machines and then stoned all the appropriate surfaces. I also added a Bowen extended firing pin. I was able to greatly reduce the pull and get it to break clean. But like all Redhawks its still a touch heavy but very functional. The rest of the Redhawk was actually quite impressive. The crown was well machined, barrel/cylinder gap was within spec, throats were good, and there were no burrs or overly sharp edges to be found.
In time all the parts arrived and I proceeded to put this hand cannon together. The front sight required just a little bit of file work to get it to mate with the dovetail, the grips dropped on like all Hogue grips do, and the rear sight was simple. All I had to do was back out the windage screw, remove the factory blade and spring, drop in the new sight and spring, then tighten the windage screw and off to the races we go.
Today I finally made it out to the gravel pit to give this thing a go. The sun was high in the sky and bright as can be which is the enemy of iron sights as this causes glare. It was no surprise that I was easily able to acquire the sight and get a good sight picture. I have experienced that with Fermin’s sights over the years. The big new advantage I saw was zero glare off the rear sight. The anodized aluminum used on the factory Ruger sight often glowed to me when in bright light which the rear blade corrected.
I proceeded to zero on the fly at 30 yards from a supported position. It took me a few rounds and I started smacking steel. During zeroing I found the sight easy to adjust. I didn’t need the locking screw on my sight but it would sure make me feel more comfortable hunting with it knowing it’s going to stay in place.
I didn’t worry about an absolutely perfect zero since ultimately this gun is going to be raffled by Handgun Hunter’s Charitable Foundation(HHC) to raise funds and the end user is going to need to zero it for themselves anyways.
I was able to achieve a good group at 30 and 90 yards with this sight combination. I was firing hand loaded 240 xtp over H110 which was ignited by a magnum Federal primer.
I find the new Fermin/RW rear sight to fill a void that was left when Bowen and others quit producing aftermarket sights.
These sights are an absolute must have for a Ruger iron sights shooter.
Keep your eyes open for the announcement of the HHCF Raffle!
