MY "BEAST" 5 SHOT BOWEN 45 COLT REDHAWK-PICS ADDED

[45MAN]

NOT TOO LONG AGO I WAS THE WINNING BIDDER ON GUNBROKER FOR A BOWEN 5 SHOT L-FRAME 45 COLT CALIBER CONVERSION ON A SS REDHAWK. THIS MOTHER IS A BEAST OF A REVOLVER.

THE REVOLVER HAS BOWEN's No. RD08L PACKAGE @ $3,395, PLUS BOWEN's INTEGRAL MUZZLE BRAKE (No. RD08MB) @ $350, PLUS BOWEN's FLUTE/CHAMFER UNFLUTED CYLINDERS OPTION (No. R410) @ $295, i.e. $4,040 IN BOWEN WORK THAT I CAN SEE. NO PAPERWORK CAME WITH THE GUN AND IT APPEARRED UNFIRED/UNUSED WHEN I GOT IT. ADD IN THE COST OF A DONOR GUN PLUS SHIPPING EXPENSES AND YOU ARE PUSHING 5 GRAND. I PAID LESS BUT IT WAS STILL MID 3's, INCLUDING THE SHIPPING EXPENSE AND THE NEW PESKY SALES TAX ON GB. I WIPED OUT MY GUN CASH STASH WITH THE PURCHASE.

COMPARING THIS REVOLVER TO MY 5.5" SS 45 COLT 6 SHOT REDHAWK THAT LINEBAUGH CONVERTED FROM A 44 MAG I HAVE THE FOLLOWING OBSERVATIONS: 1) THE BEAST FEELS HEAVIER; 2) THE BEAST's CYLINDER IS LONGER AND WIDER THAN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK; and 3) THE BEAST SEEMS MORE COMFORTABLE TO SHOOT, BUT I STILL NEED TO DO SOME SIDE BY SIDE SHOOTING COMPARISONS TO BE SURE OF THAT.


ON THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK I HAVE SOME EAGLE TARGET GRIPS THAT REALLY WORK FOR ME. I GOT THESE FROM MI AMIGO DAN "BIG MUDDY" WATERS. I COULD NEVER SHOOT THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK WELL WITH RUGER FACTORY GRIPS. FOR THE BEAST I LEFT THE FACTORY GRIPS ON BUT ADDED A TYLER T GRIP. THE TYLER T GRIP WAS A GIFT FROM BUG MUDDY (MUCHAS GRACIAS DAN). DON'T KNOW IF IT IS THE WEIGHT OF THE BEAST, THE INTEGRAL MUZZLE BRAKE AND/OR THE T GRIP, BUT A 325gr WFN OVER 25grs OF 296 (A 1,360fps LOAD IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK) WAS NOT BAD AT ALL, AND EASILY CONTROLLABLE. 

I HAVE POSTED SOME LOAD DATA, LOAD TESTING INFO IN AN "ATOMIC" THREAD OVER ON "WILDCATS & RELOADING". I THINK I HAVE HOLSTER OPTIONS FIGURED OUT FOR THE BEAST, e.g. SEE A "HOLSTER ISSUES" THREAD OVER ON "DOUBLE-ACTION REVOLVERS".

THE TOLERANCES ON THE BEAST ARE VERY TIGHT AND AFTER A FEW CYLINDERS SHOOTING YOU NEED TO CLEAN UP THE LITTLE BIT OF NOTHING THAT IS MAKING CYLINDER ROTATION DIFFICULT. THE BEAST HAS A WHITE LINE FRONT SIGHT AND A WHITE OUTLINE ROUGH COUNTRY REAR, WHICH MAKE FOR AN OUTSTANDING SIGHT PICTURE. THE FS's WHITE ACCUMULATES SOME SOOT FROM THE PORTING BUT IT CLEANED UP EASILY WITH A CLEAN AND DRY Q TIP.

THE BEAST HAS A 4.125" BARREL BUT ABOUT 1" OF IT IS THE INTEGRAL MUZZLE BRAKE. DO NOT KNOW HOW IT WILL CHRONO COMPARED TO THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK (I GOT RAINED OUT ON CHORNOING THIS PAST FRIDAY).

SO WHAT WILL I USE THE BEAST FOR? I DO NOT CONSIDER IT A PRIMARY HUNTING REVOLVER BUT IT WILL PROBABLY BE MY MAIN BACK-UP GUN WHEN BEAR HUNTING IN ALASKA, AND IT WILL GET A LOT OF FIELD CARRY TIME WHEN AT THE RANCH OR THE SOUTH TEXAS DEER LEASE.

ANOTHER AMIGO dougader WILL HOPEFULLY POST SOME PCTURES FOR ME. AS I KEEP WORKING WITH THE BEAST I WILL UPDATE INFO ON THIS THREAD.

[dougader]

[45MAN]

Jul 11, 2021 20:01:37 GMT -5 dougader said:

ABOVE TOP IS THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK. AFTER I GOT IT BACK FROM LINEBAUGH I SENT IT TO MAG-NA-PORT, THEY GUSSIED IT UP, DID ACTION WORK, CROWNED THE BARREL AND MNP'ed IT. I ADDED A CUSTOM FS AND A BOWEN TARGET REAR SIGHT. A VERY ACCURATE REVOLVER. HAVE TAKEN A TROPHY SIKA BUCK, A 5x5 ELK, A BIG HOG AND A BUNCH OF EXOTIC DOES WITH THAT REVOLVER. BELOW THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK IS THE BEAST. - 45MAN

BELOW IS THE BEAST REVOLVER - 45MAN

MANY THANKS TO dougader FOR POSTING FOR ME. - 45MAN

[weiler]

45man i could read your stuff all day!

how long were some of the shots you make with these? what’s your practice routine for hunting?

many thanks

[45MAN]

weller: WITH OPEN SIGHT REVOLVERS I TRY TO KEEP MY SHOTS TO 50 YARDS AND UNDER, HAVE DONE SOME FARTHER, BUT ONLY 1 CLOSE TO 100 YARDS.

I TRY TO KEEP IN SHOOTING SHAPE BY SHOOTING OFTEN, AND AFTER 50 YEARS OF HANDGUNNING I HAVE HAD SOME PRACTICE.

WHEN I AM GETTING READY FOR A BIG HUNT (USUALLY WITH SCOPED FA REVOLVERS) I LIKE TO PRACTICE AT LEAST 2 TIMES A WEEK, MID-WEEK AND ON A WEEKEND DAY. MY ROUTINE IS TO SHOOT 50 ROUNDS WITH A SCOPED 353 AND 12 ROUNDS WITH A 454. I'LL DO 3 OF 3 WITH THE 353 THEN 1 OF 3 WITH THE 454. THE 353 I MOSTLY SHOOT AT A 6 INCH GONG AT 100 YARDS, AND SHOOT OFF A REST. THE 454 I USUALLY SHOOT AT AN 8 INCH GONG, STANDING AND OFF A REST, AT 50 YARDS.

I HAVE TWIN 8 3/8ths INCH FA 454'S THERE WERE STALKERIZED BY MNP, 1 WAS BORN WITH AN AWFUL TRIGGER, THAT 1 I PRACTICE WITH, THE OTHER HAS BEEN ON SEVERAL SAFARIS AND ALL MY ALAKAN BLACK BEAR HUNTS.


I ALSO LIKE TO SHOOT AT THE 8 INCH GONG, AT 50 YARDS, WITH MY OS REVOLVERS, STANDING AND OFF OF AFRICAN STYLE SHOOTING STICKS.

I ALSO LIKE TO SHOOT A LOT OF 22 REVOLVER AT 25 YARDS STANDING AND OFF A REST, 50 0R SO ROUNDS PER SESSION.

[sixshot]

Rey, that "beast" with the full underlug just seems like it would balance perfect for some reason, I like it! Can't wait to read about you getting it dialed in or whacking something with it. Very nice gun!

Dick

[45MAN]

MAN WAS YESTERDAY AN AMAZING DAY TO CHRONOGRAPH. IT WAS PARTLY CLOUDY BUT I WENT OUT DURING THE NOON HOUR. MY EXPERIENCE IS THAT UNLESS IT IS OVERCAST THE BEST TIME TO CHRONO IS MID-DAY. I SHOT PLENTY OF ROUNDS THRU THE BEAST AND THE 5.5" LINEBAUGH 6 SHOT REDHAWK AND NOT 1 "ERROR", AND I GOT READINGS ON ALL OF THEM. I GOT SOME "OUTLYERS" BUT NO "ERROR's". IN EVALUATING THE DATA SOME OF THE SPREADS COULD BE DUE TO  BRASS FROM DIFFERENT LOTS AND WITH SOME SHOT A LOT AND OTHERS HARDLY AT ALL. I WAS EXPECTING THE BEAST TO SHOOT SLOWER THAN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK BECAUSE THE BEAST HAS A SHORTER BARREL @ 4.125" BUT ABOUT 1" OF IT IS AN INTEGRAL MUZZLE BRAKE SO THE LINEBAUGH HAS ABOUT 2.5" MORE REAL BARREL.

4 LOADS I SHOT AND CHRONO'ed FROM BOTH THE BEAST AND THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK. WITH ALL LOADS THE BEAST HAD LESS FELT RECOIL AND WAS MORE COMFORTABLE TO SHOOT THAN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK (WHICH IS MNP'ed).

WITH GC'ed WFN's THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK HAD A MV EDGE CLOSE TO THE OLD ESTIMATOR OF YOU GAIN 35fps, MORE OR LESS, FOR EVERY INCH OF BARREL. BUT WITH A PC'ed 304gr SWC THE BEAST WAS FASTER AND WITH A 1995 250gr XTP LOAD THE BEAST WAS ONLY 34fps SLOWER THAN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK. IN 1996 I CHRONO'ed A LOAD OF OF 25grs OF 296, 350 PRIMERS, STARLINE CASES, AND A 325gr GC'ed BULLET IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK @ 1,360fps, MUCH FASTER THAN THE 1,250fps I GOT YESTERDAY IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK BUT I WAS USING A DIFFERENT PRIMER (155M vs 350), LESS POWDER (24.7grs vs 25grs), DIFFERENT LOTS OF POWDER AND BRASS, BRASS OF DIFFERING TIMES RELOADED, PLUS A DIFFERENT CHRONOGRAPH (AN OEHLER 3 SCREEN BACK THEN AND A CHRONY NOW). I HAD SOME 250gr XTP LOADS FROM BACK IN 1995 (28.3grs OF 296, 350's AND STARLINE CASES) THAT BACK THEN, OVER THE OEHLER, CHRONO'ed, IIRC, 1,535fps IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK. YESTERDAY THEY CHRONO'ed, OVER THE CHRONY, 1,492fps.

HERE ARE MY CHRONO RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY (7/17/21):

1. THE 1996 250gr XTP LOAD AVERAGED 1,458fps IN THE BEAST AND 1,492fps IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK. 3 SHOTS IN EACH, NO "OUTLYERS".

2. A 304gr PC'ed BULLET OUT OF AN NEI MOLD, TOP BRASS CASES, FED 155M PRIMERS, 21grs OF N110, 4 OF 5 SHOTS IN THE BEAST AVERAGED 1,325fps (1 LOW "OUTLYER" NOT USED), AND THE MIDDLE 3 OF 5 IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK AVERAGED 1,136fps (DID NOT USE THE HIGH AND LOW).

3. A 300gr GC'ed WFN, TOP BRASS CASES, 155M PRIMERS, AND 21.5grs OF N110, AVERAGED 1,098fps IN THE BEAST (AVERAGE OF 2, THE 3rd WAS A HIGH "OUTLYER AND NOT USED), AND AVERAGED 1,163fps IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK (3 SHOT AVERAGE, VERY CONSISTENT).

4. A 325gr GC'ed WFN, STARLINE CASES, 155M PRIMERS, AND 24.7grs OF 296, AVERAGED 1,157fps IN THE BEAST (LOWEST 5 OF 8, USING ALL 8 THE AVERAGE WAS 1,191fps, BUT I BELIEVE 1,157fps IS A MORE ACCURATE INDICATOR OF THE EXPECTED MV), AND AVERAGED 1,250fps IN THE LINEBAUGH REDHAWK (AVERAGE OF 4 OF 5, DISCARDED 1 HIGH "OUTLYER" THAT READ 1,506fps).

5. IN THE BEAST ONLY I CHRONO'ed A LOAD I AM WORKING ON FOR MY 45 COLT BISLEY REVOLVERS, IT IS A 250gr BB PC'ed RNFP BY ACME, TOP BRASS CASES, WLP PRIMERS AND 13.4grs OF LONGSHOT. LOAD AVERAGED 1,304fps (MIDDLE 3 OF 5) AND 1,296fps USING ALL 5). THIS MAY BE TOO FAST FOR USE IN MY 5.5" BISLEY's AND A 5.5" JRH BLACKHAWK AS I LIKE TO KEEP MY CAST BULLET LOADS UNDER 1,300fps.

LOAD No. 4 (THE 325gr WFN LOAD) IS THE LOAD I AM GOING TO KEEP WORKING WITH IN THE BEAST. I NOW NEED TO MAKE SURE I AM DIALED IN AT 50 YARDS OFFHAND. 

[45MAN]

<img src="" alt="" style="max-width:100%;"><a href="">link

T</a>EST

[45MAN]

<a href="">link

A</a>NOTHER TEST

[45MAN]

<a href="">link

T</a>EST # 3

[45MAN]

WITH MY SECRETARY's HELP I HOPE I HAVE RELEARNED HOW TO POST PICTURES. WILL SEE IF I CAN POST PICTURES THIS WEEKEND.

[bigbrowndog]

Rey, I’ll have my new SRH at the ranch next week, so far I’m impressed with velocity and accuracy, and lack of felt recoil.

Trapr

[tdbarton]

That thing is sweet - I think the T-grip looks right at home on it.

Side note: I don’t think I’ve seen a Bowen gun marked “Bowen Classic Arms Corp”. I thought it was just Bowen Classic Arms. Or maybe I haven’t had enough coffee yet this morning.

[bigmuddy]

Looks great Rey. I think you’ve named “The Beast” appropriately.

Dan

[dougader]

That Beast is really growing on me. Fantastic revolver!