475,500 and what happened

[white eagle]

to the 480 ruger
These are the rounds I am considering the 475 Linebaugh,500 Linebaugh and the 480 Ruger but has the Ruger been discontinued ?
anybody with first hand knowledge please share your experiences and opinions of them
for all intents I do consider the 475 to be first in line
I hunt mostly whitetail but have killed a few elk and want very badly to move up to handgun hunting only :D

[dubber123]

I only have a .475, but it can be loaded to .480 levels, and have the ability to go a good bit hotter. I have nothing bad to say about the .475 Linebaugh. Other than the recoil, that is. Very easy to load for, super accurate and powerful.

[Packy]

Hi White Eagle
I have a Taurus raging bull in 480. It shoots the lee 400 boolit really well, with 20 grains of 296. I have tried up to 21.5 grains but didn't gain any accuracy only more recoil. The two deer I have killed with it didn't seem to argue with that load so I will stick with it. Have tried the lee 325 boolit but haven't had much luck with it. It would be nice to have this caliber in a 5.5 inch bisley frame. It would be much easier to carry than the 81/2 inch barrel on the raging bull.

[tek4260]

Yes they have been discontinued, but the SRH's can be found for around $700. Not much I can say about the 480 that hasn't been said before. I have 3 of them, if that says anything about what I think about them:)

A 5 shot 480 Vaquero

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/tk3945/101_2553.jpg

BFR 475 cut down by Clements

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/tk3945/101_2128.jpg

And the 7.5" SRH

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/tk3945/101_1894.jpg


A custom 5 shot would be the ticket because the BFR is too bulky IMHO. The SRH is nice, but it is a DA and therefore has no soul. :) There is hope for me though... I have a brass frame OM 45 and Jack Huntington will be glad to turn it into a 5 shot 480.

Also, to throw water on the whole big bore thing, I haven't seen where the 475 did any better than my heavy 45 loads on deer.

[GP100man]

I think there retoolin the Super Redhawk to be a 5 shooter also !

[Snyd]

I think there retoolin the Super Redhawk to be a 5 shooter also !

???????????

[white eagle]

just curious
why were they discontinued ?
(480's)

[rugerdude]

I think there retoolin the Super Redhawk to be a 5 shooter also !

5 shot SRHs in .480 were made in '08 and then discontinued.

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-480Alaskan.htm

Wish they would make a 5 shot Blackhawk, I could see all kinds of possibilities for it!

[rugerdude]

just curious
why were they discontinued ?
(480's)

I think a lack of popularity killed them. You know how it is these days....if a product don't sell like hotcakes, most companies just dump it and move on.

[tek4260]

just curious
why were they discontinued ?
(480's)

500 Smith. There are 2 kinds of buyers of large bores. The ones who see the improvement the caliber offers over smaller ones for hunting, and those who have to have the biggest and baddest there is. The hunters swooned over the 480. Great power in a conventional sized handgun. The others jumped on the Smith when it was introduced despite its bulk and weight. 480 sales dropped and Ruger went on to other things like copying Kel Tec. It is a shame that they never gave it a run in a Blackhawk. We really are a niche market and probably barely make a blip on the radar compared to auto shooters.

[Lloyd Smale]

its a wonderful round waiting for the right gun to put it in.

[btroj]

Tek4260 said it - we are a niche market. Ruger can sell lots of cheap autos for every 480 they were going to sell. It is called business.
I would love to see a 480 in a BH also but I am not holding my breath waiting either.

[Ed K]

It is easy to forget the 480/475 really don't have the same relationship as the 38/357 and the 44spec/44mag. The reason being the added pressure amounts to only about 20% going from 480 to 475 while the others are more in the 200-300% range. A 475 can be down loaded to the 48KPSI of the 480 without even trying hard. In fact data for standard loads frequently starts at pressure levels well below this. Nothing wrong with the 480 whatsoever but why pursue a round the manufacturer is actively trying to render obsolete? On the other hand CDNN is still advertising 6-shot Ruger SRHs for $499.

I personally do not view the BFRs as more bulky than a SRH. Neither one is reasonably belt-holstered. Ruger BH conversions and FAs are more compact and a better choice for that however I do not think they are necessarily better shooters and perceived recoil is greater.

[44man]

The .480 is a good caliber and will do anything.
Today the best bang for the buck is the .475 BFR and you can do more with it.
One problem Ruger had was going with 6 shots and using the shorter frame just to get their name on a round.
The .500 Linebaugh is also good but the parent brass is thicker so long, heavy boolits will go too deep and expand the case so they will not chamber. This limits boolit choices.
The .500 JRH can use about any boolit.
The .500 S&W is just too much and guns are too large. It is a good caliber too but I would not want one in a lighter gun.
I often wonder how well the .480 would have done if they had named it the .475 Special?

[tek4260]

It was originally the 475 Ruger.

[white eagle]

I often wonder how well the .480 would have done if they had named it the .475 Special?

basically the way I look at the cartridge

[tek4260]

Look at the loading data. They are so close that a "fast gun" 480 could better a 475 from revolver to revolver using Hodgdon's data.

[Whitworth]

My conversations with Ruger indicated that the decision to discontinue the .480 was purely a marketing decision. In other words they weren't selling enough of them to justify producing them. Then, to add insult to injury, the .480 was completely overshadowed by the big .500 Smith which touted higher "muzzle energy" figures than any other revolver cartridge before.

Very few 5-shot SRHs made it into production and from what I know, all of them were Alaskans (2.5-inch barrel).

My SRHs (this one is a 5-shot .500 Linebaugh) have plenty of soul......

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/MarkoR/P1000039-1.jpg

[DAMN YANKEE]

5 shot Bisley Blackhawk would sell a whole lot better than SRH, hope Ruger will do it.

[tek4260]

My conversations with Ruger indicated that the decision to discontinue the .480 was purely a marketing decision. In other words they weren't selling enough of them to justify producing them. Then, to add insult to injury, the .480 was completely overshadowed by the big .500 Smith which touted higher "muzzle energy" figures than any other revolver cartridge before.

Very few 5-shot SRHs made it into production and from what I know, all of them were Alaskans (2.5-inch barrel).

My SRHs (this one is a 5-shot .500 Linebaugh) have plenty of soul......

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/MarkoR/P1000039-1.jpg


Well I stand corrected. A custom 500 like that will correct a lot of things! :)

[Whitworth]

5 shot Bisley Blackhawk would sell a whole lot better than SRH, hope Ruger will do it.

Yeah, we talked about that as well and they are well aware of the fact that folks have been wishing for a single-action .480.

Thanks, tek!

[44man]

The people at Ruger are as stubborn as Bill was.
The first Flat top had a great sight on it but they started to make the cheap sights. IHMSA shooters tried a million times to get them to offer a better sight to no avail. We could not change from a factory sight for production due to stupid rules.
They came out with the SBH Hunter and as soon as I got some money, it was gone. Then it came back, thankfully.
I always felt that they worried more about collectors then shooters.
Seems like they drop a gun over night to enhance the values.

[Whitworth]

It's the bean counters. they have to show a profit or they can't produce it -- just like any other business. Unfortunately.

[white eagle]

damn Whitworth that is one sexy piece you got there
who made it

[Whitworth]

damn Whitworth that is one sexy piece you got there
who made it


Thank you, sir!

[44man]

damn Whitworth that is one sexy piece you got there
who made it
Jack Huntington built it.
It is a shooter if you can hang onto it. I like to watch Whitworth shoot it, moans and groans after a bunch of shots! :bigsmyl2: Shoot it 50 times and then no other gun can be controlled because of the shakes. :veryconfu
It has made some nice 50 yard groups.
It is one of those guns that you have to hold and look at over and over, it is just beautiful.

[Potsy]

Just wondering out loud.
Looking at the Hodgdon '09 manual, it looks like they run the .475 & .480 at about the same pressure, topping out about 47,000 psi.
I've read that when building a .500 Linebaugh 'smiths have to open the cylinder window on a Blackhawk to accomodate a larger diameter cylinder. Do they do the same with a .475? Would they have to do the same with a .480? Given that it operates at pretty much the same pressure than the .475 and more than the .500 (around 32-34,000)

I'm like you all. I think they'd have been better off to call it a .475 Special and treat it as such. And I kinda wonder it life wouldn't have been easier at around 32-35,000 psi.

[44man]

Just wondering out loud.
Looking at the Hodgdon '09 manual, it looks like they run the .475 & .480 at about the same pressure, topping out about 47,000 psi.
I've read that when building a .500 Linebaugh 'smiths have to open the cylinder window on a Blackhawk to accomodate a larger diameter cylinder. Do they do the same with a .475? Would they have to do the same with a .480? Given that it operates at pretty much the same pressure than the .475 and more than the .500 (around 32-34,000)

I'm like you all. I think they'd have been better off to call it a .475 Special and treat it as such. And I kinda wonder it life wouldn't have been easier at around 32-35,000 psi.
Where the .475 shines is with a heavier boolit then you can shoot with the .480 at the same pressure.
Shorter cases just need more pressure for the same velocities.
You can seat a heavy boolit long in the .480 and get good results but some cylinders will not take a long round.
That does not mean the .480 is a poor round, it is just different and there is no need to try and match the .475.
Think of it this way, the .480 is great up to about a 400 gr boolit and the .475 is great from 400 to about 460 gr.

[Ed K]

Think of it this way, the .480 is great up to about a 400 gr boolit and the .475 is great from 400 to about 460 gr.

Shouldn't a 325-400gr 475 boolit with a shorter nose be just as good as a 480 if the case volumes are approximately the same?

[tek4260]

Just wondering out loud.
Looking at the Hodgdon '09 manual, it looks like they run the .475 & .480 at about the same pressure, topping out about 47,000 psi.
I've read that when building a .500 Linebaugh 'smiths have to open the cylinder window on a Blackhawk to accomodate a larger diameter cylinder. Do they do the same with a .475? Would they have to do the same with a .480? Given that it operates at pretty much the same pressure than the .475 and more than the .500 (around 32-34,000)

I'm like you all. I think they'd have been better off to call it a .475 Special and treat it as such. And I kinda wonder it life wouldn't have been easier at around 32-35,000 psi.

The Vaquero I posted a pic of on page 1 has not had the cylinder window opened up or stretched in any way. 32-35K?? Might as well stick with 44 specials and such if you are going to load em that light. :)

[44man]

Shouldn't a 325-400gr 475 boolit with a shorter nose be just as good as a 480 if the case volumes are approximately the same?
Depends on the gun. The Freedom .475 has a slower twist ( 1 in 18".) and likes lighter boolits but the BFR ( 1 in 15".) does not come on until at least 400 gr.
The SRH, .480 has a 1 in 18-3/4" twist.
It always is more important where each gun is the most accurate. It is hard to push a heavy boolit fast enough in the Freedom or Ruger for top accuracy. They both do better with a lighter boolit.
But compare the Freedom .475 to the Ruger .480 and the Freedom has more power with the same boolits.
That does not detract from the .480 because it is good enough. I have nothing bad to say about it. Just use it for what it is.

[Ed K]

Are you suggesting the BFR twist is no good for less than 400gr bullets? I well understand you cannot take a slower twist Ruger/FA and run the heavies at as low a speed as the BFR. However I did not think the faster twist would pose a problem to lighter bullets fired from a BFR.

[Potsy]

Tek,
Thanks for the reply. I was just thinkin' that with the plus sized hole at 45k psi, they might have to make a bigger cylinder, but apparently, with your vaquero, apparently not.
Thanks!!

[tek4260]

I'm awaiting a picture of a 480 New Vaquero that Jack Huntington is building. That will be Nice! OM 357 to 480 anyone? Talk about a PPP!

[Aaron]

Tek

Is Jack doing a New Model Vaquero with the standard grip frame?

[tek4260]

Hell, I'm brain dead tonight. It's a Flattop he is building. Still a mid, so I was in the ballpark-ish So what grip frame is he using Aaron? :)

[Aaron]

Thought he might have been doing two of them. I sent him a Lipsey Bisley flat top to convert to 480. Should be pretty sweet

[44man]

Are you suggesting the BFR twist is no good for less than 400gr bullets? I well understand you cannot take a slower twist Ruger/FA and run the heavies at as low a speed as the BFR. However I did not think the faster twist would pose a problem to lighter bullets fired from a BFR.
No, not at all, for general hunting and shooting. But top accuracy comes in at about 420 gr. in the BFR. The 400 gr Lee boolit shoots pretty good but lighter boolits do not group as well.
Now you can slow the lighter boolits for better accuracy but that is not why I bought the .475.
Go the other way with a slow twist and the guns have a hard time shooting fast enough for long range stability with heavy boolits. Lighter boolits are more accurate.
You can shoot all boolits as long as they chamber, in any of the guns, with satisfaction but if you know me, I am always looking for 50 and 100 yard groups smaller then 1" and the smaller the better. My .475 BFR has done less then 1" at 100 yards.
This is a can I shot at 100 yards, off hand.

[44man]

OOPS, lost picture again.