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UK-mainland compliant Ruger Super Redhawk in .357Magnum................now a VERY rare and costly item here on the big island of UK.

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A small number of these revolvers were made in .357Mag and .44Mag especially for the UK mainland market, with 18" barrels. On arrival here, the importers, in my case Sabre Defence Systems, cut down the barrels to a not too ridiculous 14", and welded the 'coat-hanger' extension to the frame - this made it compliant with the UK law that all new cartridge-firing handguns on the mainland - England, Scotland and Wales - were to measure 24" overall with a minimum barrel length of 12".

The moment Bill Ruger Snr was laid in his grave, his son stopped production of these two revolvers, and the equally unprofitable UK-compliant Mini-14, made for there with no gas-parts made to operate - straight-pulls, IOW.

TBH, nobody missed THEM, as they shot like a garden sprinkler, but revolvers like this one are fetching around $3000 these days. I've had a large number of offers for mine, including cash in my hand of £2500 as recently as last week!!

PS - the sharp-eyed among you will have noticed the absence of a foresight. THAT was on the cut-off piece of barrel, and was supplied with the gun in case I wanted to use it. So far I'm the only one I know of who has put a scope on one - there were only about 25 - ever. The .44Mag version was made in even fewer numbers, some say as low as twelve. As a result they are VERY costy.
 
Unless somebody actually KNOWS the history of this piece, and tells us, and tells US, we are NEVER going to know. o_O

It was created by an American Pistolsmiths Guild charter member and Georgia native Travis Strahan. The gearing system is his patented Accu-lock system. Travis build both 1911's and revolvers for Bullseye shooting competitions.

From the Accu-Lock Pistols website:

"These radically new pistols incorporate Travis' US patent number 6,116,137 in the barrel/slide lockup system designated Accu-Lock. It utilizes a matching gear design cut between the barrel and slide that ensures a consistent and positive lockup each time the slide moves forward prior to firing. It is unlike conventional 1911 bushing designs that depend on the bushing tolerances for accuracy. This innovation eliminates virtually all friction in the system. The reduced friction results in the longer term accuracy potential which is is far greater than any other design on the market today."

Strahan built Hershel Anderson's bullseye guns. Anderson is the current world record holder for open iron sight bullseye shooting, shooting a yet to be topped score of 2680 of 2700 possible points.

Travis passed away in 2018 and his guns are very difficult to find. As a gunsmith, he eschewed publicity and didn't do a lot of self promotion. The last time any of his Accu-lock pistols were delivered for sale, the dealer pricing was $5,600+.


I am trying to find accurate production numbers for this series of guns, but I have only seen about a dozen or so documented. I was hoping members here might have more information on Strahan and his Bullseye guns.

Z
 
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Not the strangest gun in the world, but its like a revolver with some of the shortcomings worked out.
I wish someone would do an updated version of this gun in .38/.357 (Actually, it was chambered for 8mm, so maybe .32 short/Long/Mag/.327!).
Neat little piece of history anyway....

 
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