It's a Hamilton Bowen "Real Super Redhawk"(or GP-44), which is a standard SRH which has undergone major frame surgery, in order to lose the integral scope interfaces and accept an old-style Redhawk barrel.
This results in the classic look of the original Redhawk, with the superior lockwork (and grip) of the Super. Unfortunately, it retains the ugly factory hammer, which is why the customer sent it to me.
Yes, yet another Python style hammer (the process of actually making the hammer has been detailed elsewhere, so I won't repeat it here) . But for this one there were some further frame modifications that were needed beyond the usual internal "de-boogering" (removal of internal casting imperfections).
The Python hammer profile is partly characterized by the way that the arc at the base of the hammer meets the underside arc of the spur. Recreating this on a GP-100 is fairly straightforward, since that design shares the same bore and cylinder centerline distance as the Colt. On the big revolver though, it's a different story. The SRH's lockwork pivots (including the hammer's) are in the same location as those of the GP-100 but, obviously, the centerlines of the bore and cylinder are further apart AND, higher above the hammer pivot axis. This is a long-winded way of saying that the SRH's hammer is taller (much) than that of the GP and the spur is commensurately higher up on the hammer (the SRH hammer is nothing more than a GP hammer that has been stretched in the middle).
This presents a problem in recreating the Python hammer profile and proportions that will actually fit inside the Ruger's frame because, since the bottom of the hammer is the same as a GP's, then it would follow that the opening in which the hammer travels is also the same size as that of the GP-100 (it is). This means that, if I took the same route that Ruger did, and simply stretched the hammer, the convex arc of the hammer's base would not come anywhere near intersecting the concave arc of the spur, spoiling the desired look. The obvious solution is to design and make a cutter that pivots on the hammer pin and cuts the internal arc at the rear of the frame to a larger radius, in order to accommodate a hammer with a larger base radius. Got it so far? Good. If not, the photos will hopefully clear it up.
