Anybody try a 480 Ruger?

[TMenezes]

I was reading over on John Linebaugh's website earlier today. I researched his 500 and 475 big bores a bit, found out the 480 Ruger is basically an improved 475 Linebaugh. I love big bores and now I'm kinda thinking about adding this caliber to my collection. My Speer #14 manual has several loadings that are somewhat reduced for enjoyable range sessions.

Any of you have experience, knowledge, or thoughts on this caliber that you wouldn't mind sharing?

Tim

[Bullshop]

More like a 475 Linebaugh short

[Love Life]

480 is a baby Linebaugh.

[TMenezes]

More like a 475 Linebaugh short

Yes I consider that a plus, since I won't be running it up to max pressure very often the smaller case capacity makes it easier to use reduced charges. I like large bore, been looking at the Lee and RCBS 325gr molds just to see whats out there for it.

[white eagle]

48 colt

[Wolfer]

I too would like to try a 480 ruger. What's stopping me is I want it an affordable, pack able single action package. To my knowledge theres none made. I'm not interested in the high pressure stuff.I would just want to shoot a big heavy boolit at 1000 fps or just below.
Just a larger version of the 45 colt. Woody

[TMenezes]

I too would like to try a 480 ruger. What's stopping me is I want it an affordable, pack able single action package. To my knowledge theres none made. I'm not interested in the high pressure stuff.I would just want to shoot a big heavy boolit at 1000 fps or just below.
Just a larger version of the 45 colt. Woody

My thoughts exactly, although I suppose the extra mass of the DA might absorb some recoil. Which is lighter, the Ruger Super Blackhawk or the Taurus Raging Bull?

[DLCTEX]

I have a Tarus Raging Bull in 480 Ruger that I love. The recoil with it isn't as sharp as full house 44 mag or especially a 475 Linebaugh. I only have the Lee 400 gr plain base mould and load it over 21 gr of H 110. This load was recommended by fellow members and I have been so happy with it that I haven't tried another. I have looked at the 350 gr mould, but don't want to mess with gas checks in yet another caliber. The 400 gr will do all I want to do.

[Bullshop]

Ruger Bisley 5 shot. Now your talking. I like the cartridge. I have the Lee 325 and 400gn as well as a couple LBT molds for PB and GC. In the Torus I liked the 325gn. What I didn't like about the gun was the reach to the trigger in the single action mode.
I couldn't think of a more efficient capable packable trail gun than about a 4.5" Bisley or BH 5 shot.
It did look like it was about to be dropped from production so brass might become an issue.
For a short time they were offering the Rossi 92 in 480 at give away prices. There just seemed to be very little interest in those guns at that time.
Even Marlin announced one but it never materialized.

[whelenshooter]

I had a 480 SRH. Load I used most was a 400 Lee Bullet load over AA#9 that gave around 1200 fps, if I recall correctly. I also had a H&R handi bored and chambered for the 480. Wanted a rifle/revolver combo. I later purchased a CBE 285 grain rn mold for lighter loads or higher velocity for whatever good that was. I shot the SRH a lot and really liked it. It developed a problem in the forcing cone and Ruger gave me the option of getting another 480 or a 454. I stupidly went for the 454. Lost my rifle/revolver combo.

Killed my first (and only) handgun deer with the 480 SRH and that 400 grain load. Hit her head on in the chest and found the bullet just under the skin in her left side ham. In it's travels it took out several ribs, her liver, and the main bone in that back leg. Bullet made a huge mushroom. She dropped on the spot.

I really like the cartridge. Recoil isn't as snappy as the 454.

David

[whelenshooter]

It did look like it was about to be dropped from production so brass might become an issue.


When I first got my SRH I made 480 brass out of 45/70 brass. My understanding is that is how the 475 Linebaugh was made at first. The 480 is just a smidge shorter than the Linebaugh. Those cases worked fine for me. At the time I didn't have a lathe so I chucked the 45/70 brass in a drill press and turned the rim down with a file and cut them close to length with a tubing cutter.

David

[TMenezes]

I have a Tarus Raging Bull in 480 Ruger that I love. The recoil with it isn't as sharp as full house 44 mag or especially a 475 Linebaugh. I only have the Lee 400 gr plain base mould and load it over 21 gr ofboolit and load was recommended by fellow members and I have been so happy with it that I haven't tried another. I have looked at the 350 gr mould, but don't want to mess with gas checks in yet another caliber. The 400 gr will do all I want to do.

21gr of which powder?

[sixshot]

Killed a bull moose with one shot using a SRH 480 & a 370 gr. softnose cast slug, took about 10 slow steps & down. Now I have a custom Harton 5 shot 480 on a Bisley & its the raspberriers for anything I want to shoot. Mostly I use 21 grs of 4227 & a 385 gr HP. A friend used my gun with my load to take his bull moose, also one shot down & out. Its a great cartridge!

Dick

[Charlie U.]

I have the 480 in a Super Redhawk with 9 1/2" barrel and love it and highly recommend it. Instead of thinking of it as a shortened 475 Linebaugh you could view it as 44mag dialed up to throw much wider and heavier slugs. It's a hammer.......but recoil really isn't much more than the 44mag. If you can handle the 44mag then the 480 should be manageable for you.

I took a whitetail this fall with it and at about 40 yards the terminal effect was almost identical to that of a 20 gauge shotgun slug.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3/gekkocha/480rugerSRHwith440grreloads008.jpg

The 480 can be loaded right down to powderpuff levels that are comfortable for anyone, right on up to loads that are hot on the heels of the 475 linebaugh. IMO that versatility makes it one of the best pistol calibers available.
The Lee 400 grain boolit over a 21 grain charge of W296 that the others mentioned is a good one.....my gun likes it.

I just wish Ruger would make the 480 in a nice single action. A Ruger SBH Bisley Hunter in 480 would be a must have!

[TMenezes]

Killed a bull moose with one shot using a SRH 480 & a 370 gr. softnose cast slug, took about 10 slow steps & down. Now I have a custom Harton 5 shot 480 on a Bisley & its the raspberriers for anything I want to shoot. Mostly I use 21 grs of 4227 & a 385 gr HP. A friend used my gun with my load to take his bull moose, also one shot down & out. Its a great cartridge!

Dick

Wow that sounds perfect! About how much do you think it would it cost to have one of my Ruger SBH's converted to 480?

[dubber123]

Ruger could make Bisley 5 shot 480's for no more than it costs to make a comparable .44 or .45 Colt. They would sell like crazy, I'm not sure why they haven't done so yet.

[white eagle]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/kempobb/a2a.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/kempobb/media/a2a.jpg.html),My 480 was a 7.5" and I cropped it to 5.5"
I use a 385 gr boolit from Accurate aand have a 475460?from Miha at MP Molds its a hp and it weighs 400 gr.
My powder of choice is w296/H110 or imr 4227

[Lefty SRH]

I love my .480! Its a really fun cartridge at both spectrums, heavy and slow and heavy and fast. I only have one mold for mine and its and Accurate 48-420s, its a heavy one! Pushed as light as 600fps with Trail Boss and fast at 1150fps with some H110. Everything i have tried in this gun has been accurate! Its a keeper!
Like others have said its more of a 48 colt or 475 L short or 48 special.

[happie2shoot]

I have a 475/480 BFR that is super acc., I also have 2 Rossi m92 in 454 and 4 454 revolvers,
I like the 454s much more, I don't know why people like the 470/480 better as I have loaded
the 454 with 454 balls at 600fps to 435gr boolits at 1350fps. It will load down better than the
475/480.

One of them has 4 cylinders, 454, 45colt, 45win mag and 45acp.

[SteveM]

I'm having Jack Huntington build a 5 shot 480 on a New Vaquero. I think the mid sized frames are the perfect platform, big power in a tidy little package. Here's a work in progress pic from a couple month's ago.
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w656/stevemikel1/100_2544_zpsf253743c.jpg (http://s1334.photobucket.com/user/stevemikel1/media/100_2544_zpsf253743c.jpg.html)
The nose of the frame still has to be welded and reshaped to match up with the re-bored S&W barrel. It's also getting a S&W rear sight and Turnbull case colors. It should be done in a couple months, it's gonna be one slick little piece!!

[DLCTEX]

21 gr. of H110 under the Lee 400 gr. boolit. Fixed it. My tablet is doing strange things tonight, may need a reboot. Had to come to PC to correct.

[DLCTEX]

I read some where this week that Ruger is bringing the 480 back due to popular demand. Maybe only in the SRH.

[white eagle]

bout time they snapped out of it

[Three44s]

I think it's an understatement to refer to the .480 Ruger as a "special" in comparision to the .475.

The Sammi pressures on the .480 Ruger are higher than a .44 mag.

They are lower than the .475

Now it's a fact you can load the .480 to a level even below a factory .44 or .38 special. I have done so with Trail Boss.

Long story short, I have a SRH v. 7.5 in .480 Ruger and like it VERY MUCH!

I load it a touch off max and down to an upper medium field level .......... usually HS-6 for that medium load.

Two molds so far: The RCBS 400 gr. plain base and a new to me Mihec 476460 with the extra pins .......... I can't wait to run that Mihec ........... oh baby ......... what a beautiful work of art!

Viva the .480 Ruger and the .44 Mag!!

Three 44s

[jonp]

I'm having Jack Huntington build a 5 shot 480 on a New Vaquero. I think the mid sized frames are the perfect platform, big power in a tidy little package. Here's a work in progress pic from a couple month's ago.
http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w656/stevemikel1/100_2544_zpsf253743c.jpg (http://s1334.photobucket.com/user/stevemikel1/media/100_2544_zpsf253743c.jpg.html)
The nose of the frame still has to be welded and reshaped to match up with the re-bored S&W barrel. It's also getting a S&W rear sight and Turnbull case colors. It should be done in a couple months, it's gonna be one slick little piece!!

That will be nice to carry but isn't that a lot of power in a medium frame? How do you think it will hold up?

[doubledown]

[QUOTE=Bullshop;2621814].
It did look like it was about to be dropped from production so brass might become an issue.
QUOTE]

I don't think 480 brass is going away anytime soon.
https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cases/480-Ruger-Brass/

Ruger would be smart to bring it back, it is a great cartridge that gets the job done without beating you to death.

[SteveM]

That will be nice to carry but isn't that a lot of power in a medium frame? How do you think it will hold up?

It should hold up just fine. Jack's built a few of them, and wouldn't do it if it wasn't safe. I plan to shoot mostly 370 gr bullets at 1000fps or less, so it won't see a steady diet of heavy loads. When I feel like abusing myself, I'll just shoot my 500 Linebaugh maximum :-D

http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w656/stevemikel1/100_2399_zps19347755.jpg (http://s1334.photobucket.com/user/stevemikel1/media/100_2399_zps19347755.jpg.html)

[jonp]

It should hold up just fine. Jack's built a few of them, and wouldn't do it if it wasn't safe. I plan to shoot mostly 370 gr bullets at 1000fps or less, so it won't see a steady diet of heavy loads. When I feel like abusing myself, I'll just shoot my 500 Linebaugh maximum :-D

http://i1334.photobucket.com/albums/w656/stevemikel1/100_2399_zps19347755.jpg (http://s1334.photobucket.com/user/stevemikel1/media/100_2399_zps19347755.jpg.html)
Or full house 454 in a snub Alaskan. Hurts my hand just writing that

[TMenezes]

That's a beautiful gun!

[TMenezes]

Ok so all I can find in 480 Ruger is mostly Ruger SRH and some Taurus Raging Bulls. I know little about either one, never owned a double action Ruger and no Taurus of any kind. So which one do you think is the better gun? I have a bid on a Taurus as its the only 6incher that I can find. The Rugers for sale at the moment are 7.5 to 9 inches.

[Lefty SRH]

Ruger is the way to go!

[Hickory]

Ruger could make Bisley 5 shot 480's for no more than it costs to make a comparable .44 or .45 Colt. They would sell like crazy, I'm not sure why they haven't done so yet.

Ruger has a fixation on 6 shooters, no 5 shooters allowed.

[44man]

Steve, that is going to be a nice gun. Looks like Jack's version of the Bisley that I have not tried, it has knuckle room.
The .480 is a great caliber, I have shot a bunch and like them. I bought the BFR in .475, run my 420 gr boolit at 1350 fps and almost every deer has dropped in place. The .480 is up there on the food chain too.
Ruger SHOULD make a SBH in .480 with a 5 shot cylinder but since they make the frames and parts for the BFR's, maybe there is some agreement with larger frames. The BFR's are just large Ruger's.
The new owners of Magnum Research have decided to discontinue production .475's and .500 JRH's so only custom shop guns can be bought. A very sad day and the guys at BFR agree with me. If you can find one of these, you better buy it.

[DLCTEX]

I have two Tarus pistols and just sold one more. They have never given me any problems. However I would not be confident of service if problems did develop as I have heard so many bad stories. Ruger is number one for service . The two I have are the Raging BUll and a Raging Hornet, which is the same gun with a much smaller hole in the barrel and more holes in the cylinder. The Hornet is heavier due to more metal being retained. The one I sold was a mod. 85 in 38 Special. My wife wanted a semi-auto for concealed carry is the reason it was sold. I personally would not hesitate to buy another Taurus.

[TMenezes]

I have two Tarus pistols and just sold one more. They have never given me any problems. However I would not be confident of service if problems did develop as I have heard so many bad stories. Ruger is number one for service . The two I have are the Raging BUll and a Raging Hornet, which is the same gun with a much smaller hole in the barrel and more holes in the cylinder. The Hornet is heavier due to more metal being retained. The one I sold was a mod. 85 in 38 Special. My wife wanted a semi-auto for concealed carry is the reason it was sold. I personally would not hesitate to buy another Taurus.

Good info on the Taurus. I have had great luck with my Rugers and wouldn't trade them for anything. But to be honest I never really cared for the looks of the Super Red Hawk. Just looks a bit fugly to me lol. Bet its built like a tank though.

[calinb]

I don't have time to check this forum very often so I'm late to the party with this post. However, I have a 7.5" SRH in 480 Ruger so I'll chime-in. I have a S&W 29-2 44 Mag and wanted more gun for carry in the bear country of northern ID and northwest MT. I've shot some Hornady factory 480 ammo and perhaps it shoots with the perceived recoil of many 44 Mag loads, but cast bullets are what make these big bore revolvers perform the best, of course, and the Ruger 480 can be loaded to kick much more in the SRH than any S&W Model 29 round! I use the Lee mold and it drops 393 gr. bullets ( ~3% Sb alloy) for me. I've water dropped bullets and also used an oven. The oven is the more consistent method for me--both for BHN and not having to be in a big hurry to whack the sprue cutter and open the mold during the time-critical cooling window.

I use 21 gr. of W296 instead of DLCTEX's H110, and, as you'd expect, it also yields a very fun shooting load of 1084 fps on my Chrony at 10 feet from my 7.5" barrel. I can shoot a box of 50 rounds no problem and be wishin' I'd loaded-up more!

For backwoods carry, I use 26.5 gr. of Lil'Gun and it produces 1352 fps at 10 feet. The cases extract easily and look like they could take more, but I don't want any more! One cylinder full and I'm done having fun with these loads. I guess I'm either a whimp or an old fart or both. ;) My load is over SAAMI length at 1.785", because my Redding crimp die works best in the second groove with this much Lil'Gun in the case. I slugged my chambers and barrel and custom bored and honed a Lee .457 bullet sizer on my lathe (to about .476, as I recall) to size the Lee bullets down slightly. Overall, the cartridge is a tight fit, with both the forcing cone and cylinder length producing a nearby limit for this load. It barely chambers but, together with my Redding crimp die, I don't have to worry about bullets backing out and jamming the cylinder on the very nearby barrel! I use 45:45:10 proportions of LLA:JPW:MS (Lee liquid Alox, Johonson's paste wax, mineral spirits) and tumble lube. After the lube dries, I hand-fill the grooves with more of the same lube blend, but I use an old and thickened supply. I don't experience any significant leading.

I love the revolver. From what I've read, it seems like Ruger couldn't quite fit six rounds of the 50,000 psi Linebaugh into an SRH cylinder with adequate design margins so they dropped the pressure limit a couple thousand psi and created the shorter 480 Ruger. Even so, Ruger needed some fancy cylinder metallurgy to do it. The only negative that I see is Ruger did nothing to make the SRH more pleasing to the eye. In fact, with its lack of any cylinder fluting and the frying pan finish (very tough and functional), my SRH is uglier than the 44 Mag SRH. Soviet-inspired styling comes to mind but my S&W 44 mag is too pretty to carry in the woods anyway and neither a charging bear nor I will care what my SRH looks like, if I ever need to use it!:holysheep

[Three44s]

When you add it up, the BFR's are a great bargain in .475L

If I was in steady contact with Grizzlies etc. ...... that's what I'd have.

But the worst thing we have (officially) in my area is black bears. If a grizzly were to wander this way ........ I'd still feel properly equiped with my .480

For my tastes, I don't have a problem with the SRH's lines if you will ....... nor the 7.5" barrel length.

I had a 9.5" SRH in .44 mag and originally bought it to chop it back to 6" as White Eagle did with his .480 ...... but after I installed a "One Ragged Hole" peep sight and the Ruger front bead ....... I just could not stand the thought of losing that wonderful sight radius.

In short, these guns have a lot more reach than most of us realize.

I already have a four inch gun for easy packin' ........ a Smith MG in .44 ........ so I just kept the big guns "big".

One day a good friend showed up with the .480 I ended up with ....... and he was not too smitten with the .480's recoil.

I wanted his .480 SRH worse than I wanted my 9.5" SRH in .44 mag ........ AND, he liked my long .44 SRH with that peep sight!

We swapped!

I miss my long SRH once in a while but I still have my RH 7.5 " that out shoots it .......... AND .... I sure am hangin' on to that .480 in the SRH!!!

Three 44s

[HollandNut]

I got my 7.5" SRH 480 seven years ago and it will never be for sale , it is a fantastic round , and to me is much easier to shoot than a 44 mag ..

I think it's dawg uglee to look at , but it werkx for me very well ..

[Four-Sixty]

I see the 480 Redhawks show up on the classifieds in my parts for about six hundred and sit. Seems we don't have enough folks with the courage down here to operate them. I hope to one day make one mine.

[calinb]

One day a good friend showed up with the .480 I ended up with ....... and he was not too smitten with the .480's recoil.



I see the 480 Redhawks show up on the classifieds in my parts for about six hundred and sit. Seems we don't have enough folks with the courage down here to operate them. I hope to one day make one mine.

Yup--that's how I got a great deal on my 480 SRH! Nearly NIB for $500. The seller said he shot three rounds but his arthritic hands couldn't handle it. From the appearance of the box, and gun, and also the gun's performance, I believed him! I did invest in the Hogue grips so, hopefully, my own arthritis won't get too bad anytime soon.:violin:

[David2011]

SteveM, that is a beautiful pistol. The figure of the wood and color case hardening are gorgeous.

Tim,

I hate it when people jump in with "I don't know anything about that" comments but now I'm doing it. I can bracket around your caliber, though.

Never shot a .480. I've shot a 2-1/2" .454 Casull- one of the S&W survival pistols IIRC. I shot it five times and my hand was tingling afterward. Big power and nasty recoil. I shot a 4" ported S&W 500 recently. Twice. That was enough- still felt it the next day. The only reason I can see for that kind of power is self defense against bear or other dangerous animals or with a longer barrel for hunting. Neither was fun to shoot. I have a 14" Contender in .44 Mag that slings a 255 gr boolit at 1600 fps and it shot through about 18" of feral hog- in the right shoulder and out the left ham. That's enough power for me.

David

[calinb]

Finding this thread got me tinkering with my 480. Well...I don't have time to go shoot it, but I decided to do a few Quickload runs to compare the 480 Ruger to the the 475 Linebaugh using heavy bullets with the maximum velocity powder, Lil'Gun. I opened up the Hodgdon Reloading center 480 and 475 pages, side-by-side, and did some Quickload runs on the Hodgdon heavy loads and my 480 loads, which I've chronographed.

Quickload confirmed what many people here already know. The extra case length/powder capacity of the Linebaugh is its greatest "resource" advantage compared to the 480. The 2000 psi maximum pressure advantage doesn't result in much benefit (it corresponds to only 0.3 extra grains of Lil'Gun and 18 fps in my Quickload runs with my 393 gr. Lee bullet).

On the other hand, if it's possible to load a 480 cartridge long, you can recover nearly all of the Linebaugh advantage. This is consistent with what I've measured with my backwoods carry load crimped on the second Lee groove. Quickload says a second groove crimp length (1.785 COAL) can achieve 1486 fps at 48,000 psi using Lil'Gun whereas a top groove crimp length (1.665 COAL--still 0.005 over SAAMI) results in 1394 fps. Even if the Quickload velocity predictions are not spot-on, the difference prediction should still be very accurate. Of course the longer load requires more Lil'Gun to achieve the same 48,000 psi, but the longer COAL load is also less compressed (108.3% vs. 116.0%). I wouldn't want to run Lil'Gun with 116% compression. My high velocity load isn't this hot, but the velocity level I'm getting would still require too much powder compression for my likes, if I crimped on the top Lee groove.

The bottom line from my investigation is that heavy bullet 480 loads can produce virtually the same velocity as Linebaugh loads, if loaded at the same COAL (in excess of SAAMI COAL for the 480). On the other hand, Quickload indicates that the Linebaugh can achieve a similar velocity increase from loading heavy bullets longer than Linebaugh SAAMI. Whether or not the longer COAL is possible in a Linebaugh revolver with any given bullet is unknown to me, and I don't have a Linebaugh to find out.:?:

[calinb]

I shot a 4" ported S&W 500 recently. Twice. That was enough- still felt it the next day. The only reason I can see for that kind of power is self defense against bear or other dangerous animals or with a longer barrel for hunting.

I've never shot a handgun more powerful than my 480, but I've given the subject of last line bear defense a lot of thought. Such an event is likely to impart permanent hearing loss on the shooter (assuming they survive the attack :!:). A ported (or perhaps very short barrel) is likely to increase the hearing damage.

[HollandNut]

My brother has a 500 smitty , whole nother ball game there