Huey
My Howdah 500 Linebaugh REVIEW...
Thursday, September 06, 2018, 11:22

My Howdah Revolver arrived at my LGS yesterday. Work prevented me from picking it up until today, so it's in hand.

My first impression was it wasn't as heavy as expected. Granted, it's not a Trail Gun. My digital scale determined it to be 50.1 oz. My SBH weighed in at 48.7 oz. I'd say the average hunter won't notice 1.4 oz.

The finish is typical Reeder. Little reason to waste space on that. I will say grip fit is the best I have on any revolver, period. The small Jurras Emblem tastefully graces the topstap forward of the rear sight. Perfect...

Barrel gap is a very tight .0015" on all five chambers. The case heads don't appear to be rubbing, but zero light shows through. No small feat on this perfect machine work and caters to my COD nature nicely.

The frame and cylinder both have much more beef than the Blackhawks. The COAL is 1.830" compared to 1.760" on my SBH. Cylinder diameter is 1.780" compared to 1.728" on the SBH.

This makes a huge difference on strength. Outside wall thickness on the Reeder gun is .085" compared to .089" on the Ruger in 44 Magnum. But, keep in mind the lock notches are offset on the five shot Reeder. This is one sturdy built gun. If you know how Ruger proofs their guns, this is a statement of pure confidence.

One fun fact on the Reeder gun is the outside cylinder wall thickness is the exact same as the inside wall thickness at .085". Coincidence yes, but made me smirk a bit.

Now for a sticky subject, Throats. After 26 +/- years, Gary and I still have no agreement on throats. But, on this one I WIN!!!

All are a perfect .511". With a .510" groove barrel this is perfect. Jacketed bullets touch, but drop through. My .511" cast require a bit of a push exactly as they should. (My opinion)

This is my 23rd Reeder Revolver and possibly the best yet. There isn't a gunsmith or crew that could have built a better gun.

Hope to review #24 in a few weeks...