Lifetime supply of brass?

[wtfooptimax200]

I am a firm believer in "more is better" for most things related to guns, hunting, and fishing, but I need an honest opinion:

I am looking to acquire a 'lifetime' supply of brass for my .480 Ruger SRH. I am assuming that brass will become very hard to find and want to have enough to get me by. As of right now this is my only big bore/hunting handgun, but I will eventually add others in a more common caliber at some point. I am thinking that 500-1000 rounds of brass should last me a very long time if I don't push my loads too hard.

Does this seem reasonable? How much brass would you buy if you were in my situation?

Any advice is appreciated.

[Glen]

500 rounds.

[kbstenberg]

*** with the .480 not being as common as most other calibers an with the possibility of it being discontinued if it looses popularity I would tend to error on the side of a larger quantity. If you intend on keeping your pistol or adding another of the same kind.
Even if you loose interest you can always sell whatever you have.
Allso you don't want too menny just laying around. They are money tiedup when other things are needed. An they do take up space.

[Guesser]

Yes; but you don't have to refrigerate or feed them. No fertilizer or irrigation required. Buy the lot!!!!!!!

[dragonrider]

500?? Not knowing your age but using mine as a reference (62) I would think a minimum of 2500 pieces of brass for what I am guessing will be the rest of my life. I have thousands of pieces of brass for each caliber I load, 19 or 20, and do not think I have enough. Logically thinking I do have enough but I will not stop accumulating more. I have brass that I have never used and probably never will in all the calibers I load for. I am certain that when I cease to exist there will still be thousands of pieces of brass in somebodies reloading room that use to belong to me.......................but maybe it's just me.

[WILCO]

Grab 1,000 or as much as you can afford. You'll never regret it.

[subsonic]

It depends, but I think 500 to 1000 is probably plenty unless you shoot a lot. Can you use a trim die or case trimmer to make 480 from 475 Linbaugh? Orare the rim diameters a problem? If you can make from 475, which I believe can be made from .45-70? Then you don't need to worry about ever not being able to shoottthe gun due to not having brass.

[exile]

This is a question I constantly ask myself regarding the .41 magnum. I bought one of the .41 flattops and love it. Would also like to have a .41 Blackhawk Hunter, but that is another story.

exile

[Ed K]

If your chambers are reasonably tight and you don't load too hot you may find out the first 50 will go on and on. In that case 500 as Glen suggested would be plenty. In some ways more is better but 475/480 brass is not given away and arbitrarily adding another 1000 to the count certainly ties up some real serious money.

[ole 5 hole group]

I would purchase the lot of a 1,000 - maybe 2,000, as the price isn't going to get any cheaper and if you back off your shooting and find you "really" don't need all that brass, you can sell the remaining brass for at least what you paid for it. I see no downside to "hording", providing you have ample storage.

[Tom Herman]

All good advice.... I also like to have a lot of brass for the calibers that I regularly use: I have several thousand of the more common calibers (.38 SPL/.357 Mag, 9mm, .44 SPL, .45 ACP, .45 LC), and at least a thousand of the less common stuff: I think I'm at about 1700-2000 .455 Webley, just ordered 1,000 .38 S&W (not Special!), and I have a thousand .45 Auto Rim on backorder from Starline.... I don't push anything hard, so the .455 Wobbley and .38 S&W should last forever.
If it were me, I'd go at least a thousand on the .480 Ruger, more if I could afford it.
I also subscribe to the thought that brass on hand is like money in the bank! Remember back a few years when nothing at all was available.... Don't forget to hoard primers and powder. Also, if you're not going to push stuff hard, cast your own bullets. Put plenty of lead and hardening agents aside. I'll get off my soap box now.... Enjoy that .480! It sounds like a fun revolver, but I have a few others over .400 bore that I want to get ahold of first. The .41 Mag has intrigued me for some time...
Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[MT Gianni]

I think Glen is right with 500. I can't imagine a 480 being a gun that you go to the range with to shoot 250 rds. I can't see you shooting it 2-3 times a week. If I am wrong and it is your only handgun get more.

[smith52]

WILCO said it best, "as much as you can afford"

[SMCCORD]

I agree also. Get as much as you can afford.

[bobthenailer]

I would purchase 1000 starline brass for the 480 as its excellent brass and the price is right as your buying direct from the manufactuer
i personaly have about 2000 pieces for the 454 casull

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Well a 1,000 is a start, add 10,000 primers for them,10,000 cast boolits, 20 lbs of powder. Might last as a 10 yr. supply.

[troy_mclure]

for heavy use or high loss cartridges, or just hard to find stuff(.223 & 10mm,) i like to have at least 1k+ cases, for low volume or common cartridges(.44mag & .30wcf) i like to have at least 500+ cases.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
I am going to put this 480 in the same class to me as my 414 Supermag. I origonally bought 250 Starline cases. I have used and am still using the first 50 cases for load development. When I find whatever heavy .411 or .412 boolit that shoots the best at about 1500 fps I will be shooting it less each time up. So in all possibility 100 cases may get consumed in load trials leaving me 100 cases to shoot for fun and 50 more just for actual real needs. So an additional 250 would have been a good investment but excess to need. But I think investing for the future is a grand idea and that extra 250 would be a good hedge for the future .
Mike in Peru

[Bass Ackward]

Sometimes brass doesn't store very well. And you won't find out if it does till you try it. Take this last batch of 44 Mag IMI purchased in 1990. One out of every two split from mouth to rim.

Yet I have brass that has been reloaded well over 100 times that is still going strong. (Same batch of IMI that was used from day one)

And you can make the brass if push comes to shove.

This isn't a 45 ACP or something, so unless you decide to shoot it a lot more often, and for what you are going to pay for brass, I would keep two new boxes on hand so that I could alternate. If the stuff you have now is fairly new, then I wouldn't buy any.

I would use the other money (saved) on a gun / caliber you will shoot more often and stock up brass for that.

[JMtoolman]

Well I am still shooting 44 mag brass that I purchased over forty years ago, can't recall that I have lost many of them to cracking. Mabey a half dozen or so. The toolman.