new 475 bfr

[bobke]

just wanted to say thanks to the dan sr/jr's from the bullshop, 44man, dubber and others whose info, feedback, critical remarks, etc led me procuring a new, 7.5" 475 linebaugh bfr. took delivery a week ago, have only shot 50 rounds of lee 400gr flat nose though it so far, 25 w/14gr hs6 and another 25 w/13.5 hs6. added bowen rough duty rear sight, unhooked a leg of trigger spring to get to 32oz trigger pull and other than a slightly out of round forcing cone, which i fixed with an 11d reamer very gently, it's almost perfect. tried a set of pachmayr finger groove grips which i didn't feel as comfortable as original uncle mike's with, so mike's stay. would like a higher front sight so i can shoot 400gr bullets a bit slower than the 13.5gr load, but as it shoots to point of aim with bowen bottomed out, i'm not complaining, as last 4 shots were less than 1.5" at 25yds from rest and the gun's not even broken in yet.

impressed with it? yes i am. i can tell right now that it's got all kinds of potential and i haven't even scratched the surface yet. have a variety of plain base cast coming from montana bullet works, have everything else i need sitting at the ready. if anyone had any viable midrange data they'd care to share, i'm all ears. trying to stick between 900 and 1100fps right now while i get comfortable with the gun, trigger, etc. have a full range of powders to choose from. lots of uprange data out there, just not much generated i've seen for the lower end of the spectrum. i gotta say, this gun has put a smile on my face after fighting with a 45 colt ruger bisley for months trying to dial it in-which i'm right on top of doing now-but the bfr has been just so much easier to work with from the get go. again, only 50 rounds shot so far and huge potential showing.

thanks again for the recs, boys. this is a solid piece of hardware.

[dubber123]

8-10 grains of Unique with the 400 gr. Lee makes for a nice practice load. It will fall right in your velocity range too. I think you will find it hard to put together a bad load in this caliber. It's super easy to work with. I'm glad you are liking the new toy.

[Heavy lead]

I run 11.5 grains of Unique with the RCBS 400 grain boolit sized .476 with BAC for lube, chono's right at 1100 and is a good plinker (ha, heck of a plinker) and a fine, fine whitetail load, imagine it would shoot through an elk too.

[tek4260]

I hope to get to shoot mine some this weekend. I have had it for a little over a month now and just now got around to replacing the grips. I'll be sending it to Harton soon to have it shortened to 4 5/8 and a custom sight installed.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...5/101_1647.jpg

[dubber123]

I hope to get to shoot mine some this weekend. I have had it for a little over a month now and just now got around to replacing the grips. I'll be sending it to Harton soon to have it shortened to 4 5/8 and a custom sight installed.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...5/101_1647.jpg

Make sure to show us the "after" photos..

[tek4260]

Yea hopefully Ill get around to finishing the grips soon. Making your own without a belt sander is for the birds. Especially when you are trying to make gunfighter style grips on your first set ever. I would rather buy, but I can't find anyone who makes wood grips for the BFR except for the finger groove Hogues.

[dubber123]

I cheated and used a belt sander..

[Frank]

Unique in the .475? Haven't thought about that. Interesting grips. Look forward to the range reports. BFR's are for shoot'in.

[44man]

Unique in the .475? Haven't thought about that. Interesting grips. Look forward to the range reports. BFR's are for shoot'in.

You have that right, I am wearing out my guns showing how good they are!

[Bucks Owin]

You have that right, I am wearing out my guns showing how good they are!

Must be the reason for those pathetic 4" 200 yd groups!

[bobke]

been travelling, just under the snow line, for the last week and away from the bench, etc. has anyone tried power pistol in the 475 for midrange loads? i just came across some to work with in 45 colt bisley and wondered how it might work out in the bfr. still waiting for my delivery from montana bullet works to begin loading again and have 50 rounds of 13.5 hs6 ready to go. this load, for me-in my gun, showed lots of promise, but i've only run 50 rounds through just yet.

have 385lfn, 400lfn/wfn/wln and 400lee bullets coming to see which is going to perform best and let me make a mould decision, but have a 400 lee sitting here for the moment, once i get my casting gear set back up. for now, it's off the custom shelf boolits. this gun will never see a jacketed bullet...ever.

is anyone aware of the total front sight height of a weigand base and the tallest front patridge blade you can get for it? the bfr front sight is .605 top of barrel to top of blade. i'm bottomed out with bowen rough country and 400 lee/13.5 hs6 load, and that's all good for now, but if i want to reduce load, i'll be shooting high. that's part of my reason to try a 385gr bullet, but as you all have indicated the 400's shoot so well to range, wanted to stay in that parameter.

with the exception of the forcing cone being out of round, the fit and finish are a full step above anything i've seen from ruger. throats likely just a hair over .476, as .476 slug went through, very evenly, with just moderate resistance. very uniform throats and hadn't slugged barrel, but leading was non existent, even with a fresh gun, so i'm good there. pulled a leg off the trigger spring for 32oz pull, so good there, and almost no slop in the pull. still good to go. grips? i'll work with the uncle mikes, and maybe take a dremel tool to the finger grooves on a spare set of pachmayrs and see if that's an improvement, but the uncle mike's recoil sensation was definitely muted compared to the pachmayr's.

as much as i really enjoy working on guns to tune them up-usually rugers-it's nice to finally pick something up that required very little to get the gun to where it should be, out of the box. i'm still a proponent of a target with every gun shipped, not just a single empty case that says it went bang. dx program with smith was good, freedom's targets with premier grade is good. sure would like to see others step up to the same plate.

[Ed K]

I'll be sending it to Harton soon to have it shortened to 4 5/8 and a custom sight installed.

When I was in the market I also thought about a chop job. At first I thought I'd just live with the 6.5" gun as my favored revolver barrel range is 4.75"-6" so what the heck. Then I learned a 6.5" gun really is about 7 or 7-1/4" from cylinder face and didn't know what to do.

So along comes a screaming deal on a NIB 7.5" gun and I jump on it - no longer worried that a 6.5" is just a little over 6". Not really sure what I'll do now but curious how you make out with yours. One thing for sure is that blocky frame will look a little like a snubby with a 4"-and-change barrel!

[tek4260]

Yea it will. Looks like a project to practice drawfiling on.

[44man]

not just a single empty case that says it went bang. dx program with smith was good, freedom's targets with premier grade is good.
That empty case is for stupid states like MD where you are supposed to turn the case in so if you shoot someone, they can trace the gun to you. Kind of silly when you take the empties back with you still in the cylinder!