480 ruger load work

[paul h]

I think the last time I did load work with my 480 Super Redhawk was 2005! Time flies when your babies turn into teenagers. But since I’ve gotten back into shooting handguns and casting (maybe with my daughter going off to college I’m subconsciously regaining my shooting skills for perspective boyfriends), I thought I’d try some new loads. Sadly my shooting skills have deteriorated and being at an age where my eyesight isn’t quite what it used to be certainly isn’t helping. But, I did put some lead down range and tried some new combos with some old bullets today at lunch.

First the bullets. Both of the molds were customs from Mountain Molds, a 275 gr swc that I designed trying to stay as faithful as possible to the classic Keith design and scaling it up. It’s got a 73% meplat, .10” driving bands and a nice sized lube groove and crimp groove and 275gr seemed right at where it should fall. The second mold was designed by my shooting buddy and termed an 400 gr XLFN gc. The bullet nose as I recall is 0.51” long, which in the srh cylinder is about as far out as you can get and provides a powder capacity on par with the 475 Linebaugh.

Back when the gun was scoped and I could shoot, my accuracy standard was 1” @ 50yds for 5 shots, and most every cast bullet I tested was capable of that sort of accuracy. Sadly I seem hard pressed to group 3” at 25 yds with irons, in the past I could group 2” at 50 with irons from a rest. I know that’s partly due to poor form on my part, and partly due to that blasted orange insert on the factory front blade that makes getting a precise sight picture a challenge.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/944100033_EAE0A16E8587C2097834F98FDF1E541D.JPG

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/644100033_A3E5E5DC3DB70EA7C50BCD7B1B91154C.JPG

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/744100033_3339F6808143EE14AD3755B7E8638787.JPG

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/844100033_4F457815F3FED409FA5A9BDDBFE64661.JPG

Bullets were cast from clip on ww’s and air cooled. Ran through a lyman 450 .476” sizer I’d made from boring out a .357” sizer years ago and lubed with lbt blue soft. I used to water quench all my handgun bullets, but just haven’t found the need. With the gc on the 400 gr bullet leading has never been an issue, and I never planned on really leaning on the 275 gr swc. In the future I’ll have to load up a pile of the 275’s with a heavy charge of 2400 to see if leading is an issue.

During my previous load workups with the 275 gr keith I’d tried unique, bullseye and blue dot. My goal for the 275 swc was steller accuracy at 700 fps, but I found I needed to drive the bullet a bit over 1000 fps and blue dot was the best fuel. This load session I tried 10 and 11 gr of unique, and 13 and 14 gr of blue dot. The 14 gr of blue dot was still the best blue dot charge, but the 11gr of unique showed promise. As I recall I’d tried 7 to 10 gr of unique previously, I guess I never tried enough of it to tighten groups. I also tried 2400 to see how hard I could push it. Loads were 18, 19, 20 and 21 gr. The cases ejected very easily with the lighter loads and even at 21 gr there was no stickiness. My gun is slightly sticky extracting Hornady factory ammo, so I’ve used that as a pressure sign in my gun, and I prefer to stick with loads that show no sign of resistance to extract the cases. Too bad my chrony is dead as I’d be interested to see how fast the 275 is clocking with the 2400 loads, and I might try going slightly higher.

Next up was the 400gr XLFN gc. In the past I’d just used what I found to by accuracy standard charge of 21 gr of H-110 lit of with a CCI 350 and called it good. The chrono was reading right around 1200 fps, and that was good enough to me. But, I got to thinking. If I have the powder capacity of a 475 Linebaugh, and if the Linebaugh starting load is 25gr of H-110, I wonder if I could work up to that charge weight. So, I loaded 22, 23, 24 and 25 gr of H-110. Well, turns out I seemed to be on the right path. The 25 gr charge had the slightest resistance on extraction, so If the hornady factory ammo is running to the rounds spec pressure of 48,000 psi, I’m guestimating my 25 gr load must be running in the mid 40k range. Best accuracy seemed to be with the 24 gr charge, so when I get the chrony setup I’ll try 23.5, 24.0 and 24.5 to see how fast they are running. Again guestimating I’m thinking at that charge level the 400’s are probably clocking 1300 fps from the 7 ½” barrel. The recoil is significant, but not unmanageable. Please do not use these loads for any other 400 gr bullet in a 480! This bullet provides significantly more powder capacity than any other 400 gr bullet I’m aware of, as well as less bearing surface. If you want a 475 Linebaugh, by all means by one. To me the 480 is really at it’s best with 400 gr @ 1200 fps and pressures under 40kpsi.

[Lefty SRH]

Nice thread! I also find the .480 interesting, I got mine brand new this past Christmas. I only have one mold for mine at the moment and its a 420gr LFN PB made by Accurate Molds. Lately I have been considering buying a 400gr mold to see what it will do in my .480.

I believe I have a loose gun. The velocity of mine has been suprisingly lower than I was hoping for. Right now I'm at 21.5gr of H110 with my 420gr LFN PB and NO signs of presure. This charge is barely breaking 1100fps. But has been pretty accurate. So far I've noticed that every increase in powder charge has resulted in a little tighter group using H110. I know this is a common trait with H110 and heavier boolits.
My next trip to the range I'll be taking some 22.0gr H110 and the same boolit.

[white eagle]

thanks Paul H
I have read your threads elsewhere and I to love the 480 Ruger
mine is accurate as well
here is what It looks like
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v730/kempobb/a2a.jpg

[paul h]

Nice thread! I also find the .480 interesting, I got mine brand new this past Christmas. I only have one mold for mine at the moment and its a 420gr LFN PB made by Accurate Molds. Lately I have been considering buying a 400gr mold to see what it will do in my .480.

I believe I have a loose gun. The velocity of mine has been suprisingly lower than I was hoping for. Right now I'm at 21.5gr of H110 with my 420gr LFN PB and NO signs of presure. This charge is barely breaking 1100fps. But has been pretty accurate. So far I've noticed that every increase in powder charge has resulted in a little tighter group using H110. I know this is a common trait with H110 and heavier boolits.
My next trip to the range I'll be taking some 22.0gr H110 and the same boolit.

Your velocity sounds reasonable, I'm assuming the 7 1/2" barrel? I never shot 420's, but I think 1100 is the right ballpark. The 480 isn't a race car, more like a dumptruck. It's slow and the srh is ugly, but it can haul a load. I'm sure I'm forgetting a bullet, but I've shot 390 gr lfn pb lbt, 400 gr lee, 400 gr xlfn gc mountain mold, 410 gr swc pb nei, 400 gr lfn pb nei and all of them seemed to group best with 21 gr of H-110 and velocity was 1170-1200 fps, off the top of my head. I've seen groups tighten up until you hit the sweet spot, then increasing powder charges open the groups up.

My next bump up was my 460 gr wfn gc ballisticast. It was supposed to be 450 gr, but ww always seem to finish up a bit heavier than the mold maker specs. With the 460, as I recall I was running 19 gr H-110 and getting 1050 fps. When working up loads I did try a few heavier charges, but got slightly sticky extraction at 1100 fps, and really sticky at 1150 fps. I also found each increasing charge had a noticeble increase in recoil!

My only real disapointment with the round is I've yet to find a light weight bullet that I can shoot accurately with a light recoiling load. I think the case is just too ponderous to allow that. I have shot 400 gr bullets at 700 fps, and perhaps that's the better option. The only problem is a full 10# furnace won't even produce 200 bullets and since my sources of ww's have dried up, I'm trying to stretch my stash. Oh well, guess I just need to pay going rate for alloy. Or I'll give up the gilt edged accuracy and just drive a lighter bullet 700 fps. I've taken several spruce hens with such loads, the range was close enough where accuracy wasn't an issue, and at 700 fps you get a caliber sized entrance and quarter sized exit.

I really think the 480 is best balanced with a 400 gr @ 1200 fps. I'm hoping the mihec 400gr hp / 420 gr flat nose group mold gets built sometime this year. It's almost like I'm discovering the 480 all over again. 400's @ 1200, 420's @ 1100, 440's at 1000, you'll be hard pressed to find a game animal that will contain those loads.

[Lefty SRH]

I'm on the GB list for the 400gr HP MP mold but I'm not very excited about the GC part. I plan on boring out the GC portion of the mold when I recieve it.

My .480 SRH is actually as brushed stainless 9 1/2" gun. Supposedly Ruger had a bunch of left over parts and decided ro use them up. Any truth to this, I have no idea and I don't care. I'm just glad I have a .480. I plan on hog hunting with it this coming winter.

Paul, can you give me the dimension of that 400gr XLFN PB, as in the OAL and nose to crimp length please. I'd like to compare it to my 1 and only .480 mold.

Thanks

[Lefty SRH]

White Eagle, how long is that barrel and who chopped it for you?

[paul h]

I have mixed feelings on gas checks in the 480, but honestly as a hollowpoint I think the gas check makes alot of sense. To make the most of a hp cast bullet, you'll want to cast it from something softer than ww's, and I think a soft bullet being pushed 1200 fps with a load generating around 40,000 psi is just asking for leading. I'm planning to cast the hp bullets from ww straight lead 50/50 with 2% tin. I looked at the bore of my 480 this morning and while there isn't massive leading, after the ~80 rounds of air cooled ww's I put through it yesterday, I do have some of the worst leading I've ever seen in the gun. I typically fire hundreds of rounds through the 480 between cleaning sessions, and I started this session with a clean bore.


I'll have to measure the bullets to confirm , but as I recall the distance from the canalure to the meplat is 0.51" and hence the COL is 1.795" As you can see in the lineup, it's a long sucker!

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/3/4/4/344100033/844100033_4F457815F3FED409FA5A9BDDBFE64661.JPG

The bullet on the far right is the 460gr WFN gc balisticast, and even crimped in the first (or is that last?) lube groove, the 400 XLFN is longer. As I recall the wfn had a freedom arms length nose i.e. .36" from canalure to meplat vs. the original 475 linebaugh design which was for 0.40" from canalure to meplat due to the 5 shot ruger conversions having longer cylinders than the FA 83 conversions first done by Jack Huntington, and then FA offering factory 475's.

I'll have to do a side by side picture of the 400 xlfn 480 vs. a 400 lee in a 475 linebaugh case as it well and goodly compares the rounds.

One option as was done by lee is a dual crimp groove bullet, though lee didn't put the rear crimp groove far enough back to maximize what you can do in a 480 ruger. I'd say put the crimps at .36" and .51", and if you ever cast bullets for somone with a 475, just fill the rear crimp groove with lube :D

[Lefty SRH]

The 420gr boolit I cast is from Accurate Molds (48-420S) and the OAL of it loaded is 1.750" long. Actually I do have another mold but I NEVER got even a decent boolit out of it. Its a LEE 400gr, I forgot I had that mold.

[gunfan]

What's the benefit of the .480? Is it really an improvement of the the .454 Casull? I understand the heavier projectiles, but when it comes to larger game is it really more effective in terms of "killing power"?

How much it too much?

Scott

[paul h]

To me the answer was apparent after shooting a 480, and previous to that I'd shot 454's, 475's and 500's. Simply put the 480 gives the most big bore punch of heavy bullet at moderate velocity without generating brutal recoil or requiring an exceptionally heavy revolver to house it. The 454 generates a much sharper recoil pulse. I can't quantify more effective on game other than the 480 making bigger holes ~10% more frontal area.

How much to shoot a 480? I've never bought factory ammo. Brass is ~$60/100, commercial cast ~$40/100, powder and primers ~$12, so a bit over a buck a round to get started if you roll your own.

Simply put the 480 is powerful, accurate, and shootable to me that is the trifecturate in revolvers, I've shot many revolvers that were capable of two of those tasks, but very few that did all three at the same time. It's also been very easy to load for and not all picky with bullets as I've shot cast bullets from 275 gr to 460g and with load work every single one of those bullets would group 5 into 1" at 50yds and all running velocities between 1000 fps to 1200 fps. Note, scoped and from a benchrest.

[gunfan]

To me the answer was apparent after shooting a 480, and previous to that I'd shot 454's, 475's and 500's. Simply put the 480 gives the most big bore punch of heavy bullet at moderate velocity without generating brutal recoil or requiring an exceptionally heavy revolver to house it. The 454 generates a much sharper recoil pulse. I can't quantify more effective on game other than the 480 making bigger holes ~10% more frontal area.

How much to shoot a 480? I've never bought factory ammo. Brass is ~$60/100, commercial cast ~$40/100, powder and primers ~$12, so a bit over a buck a round to get started if you roll your own.

Simply put the 480 is powerful, accurate, and shootable to me that is the trifecturate in revolvers, I've shot many revolvers that were capable of two of those tasks, but very few that did all three at the same time. It's also been very easy to load for and not all picky with bullets as I've shot cast bullets from 275 gr to 460g and with load work every single one of those bullets would group 5 into 1" at 50yds and all running velocities between 1000 fps to 1200 fps. Note, scoped and from a benchrest.

Thank you. Loading it in a .475 is akin to loading a .45 colt in a .454 Casull, isn't it? If it isn't brutal, yet powerful enough to accomplish the task at hand, I comprehend the concept.

Scott

[calinb]

I just got my 7-1/2" SRH 6-shooter in 480 Ruger. I got the revolver for carry in griz country and I thought I wanted a Casull, but I sure am happy that I discovered this gun and cartridge. I think I'm better off with it than the Casull.

So far, I've put about 100 rounds down range. They were all loaded with the Lee plain base 400 grain in WW (they drop at about 393 grains) and resized in a bored out Lee .457 sizer. Most of the loads were propelled with W296 (the usual and customary and accuracy-acclaimed 21.0 grains) but a few were loaded with 20.4 grains of Lil'Gun. They yielded low 11s and high 11s, respectively. I'm more of a rifle guy and 3" at 30 yards is about the best I can do off a rest so far with the gun. I'm using the iron sights and my eyes aren't what they used to be either!

I've input my measured Starline case capacities and actual barrel length into Quickload and correlated with the loads I've shot so far. According to Quickload, max. SAAMI pressure with this cartridge should hit the high 1400s with Lil'Gun or W296--Lil'Gun being slightly faster than W296/H110. I'm not sure that I want to push it to 1400 fps but I'm going to try to work my way up to the 13s anyway. It will require crimping on the bottom groove of the Lee bullet and a long COAL, leaving only about 0.030" from the nose of the bullet to the front edge of the cylinder. Guess the crimp better be strong! I'm thinking about investing in a dedicated Redding crimp die, though I'll try to get by with my Lee seater/crimp die for now.

I read somwhere that once-fired cases tend not to stick. Apparently, even one firing and resizing work hardens the brass enough to eliminate or nearly eliminate the problem.

-Cal

[tek4260]

Thank you. Loading it in a .475 is akin to loading a .45 colt in a .454 Casull, isn't it? If it isn't brutal, yet powerful enough to accomplish the task at hand, I comprehend the concept.

Scott

Not quite. The 480 isn't all that far behind a 475 and most 45 factory loads are anemic at best when compared to 454's.

I need to grab one of dad's 454's and shoot some of my 45 Colt loads across the chrony and compare them to 454's.

FWIW, I load my 480's to within 1 to 2 grains of my 475, but mine is a 5 shot SA. The SRH cylinder walls scared me too much to try it in it.

[tek4260]

My 480s are loaded somewhat long as well :)

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/tk3945/DSCN0616.jpg

PS It isn't the crimp that holds them, it is the neck tension.

[white eagle]

White Eagle, how long is that barrel and who chopped it for you?

the barrel is 5.5"I had a local smith cut it
things just happen when hit with the 480 Rug.
and it so very easy to get a good accurate load its scary
as to the MP hp he may have some left I bought one from him awhile ago :-P

[calinb]

My 480s are loaded somewhat long as well :)
PS It isn't the crimp that holds them, it is the neck tension.

That may be but the crimp must help, right? I bought my S&W M29 from a friend who threw-in a bunch of his reloads with the deal. Sometimes his bullets would back out of the case and tie up the gun, though they were crimped. The crimp he'd applied looked a bit light so I ran them all through my Lee FCD. Problem fixed!

I have also read favorable reviews of the Redding Profile crimp die for the 454 Casull and 475 Linbaugh/480 Ruger. Reportedly, it also ends any occurrence of similar problems.

If this is to be my carry and hunting backup gun in griz country (N. ID and MT), I'll take all the reliability precautions I can get!



I used to water quench all my handgun bullets, but just haven’t found the need.

I've found that I can cast more consistent bullets when I can see them after they drop so I've abandoned water quenching. I get the best results when I run the mold hot enough to barely start to frost the bullets. I find it almost impossible to monitor the mold temperature and adjust my pacing when I water quench. That's just me. I'm sure there are plenty of expert water quenchers on these boards.

[tek4260]

The FCD sizes the case/boolit as well as crimping.....

Subsonic came up with a good test to prove it to yourself. Size a case and seat a boolit without crimping and seat a boolit without sizing and crimp to your hearts content. Then pull the boolits and see which one is harder to pull. It will be the one that is sized and not crimped. The one with the crimp will literally fall out when compared to the force required on the sized/uncrimped case.

The crimp prevents setback in a semi auto.

FWIW, my case neck tension is pretty much extreme as I have turned my expanders down to the point that they don't really expand the case any from sizing.

[white eagle]

The FCD sizes the case/boolit as well as crimping.....

Subsonic came up with a good test to prove it to yourself. Size a case and seat a boolit without crimping and seat a boolit without sizing and crimp to your hearts content. Then pull the boolits and see which one is harder to pull. It will be the one that is sized and not crimped. The one with the crimp will literally fall out when compared to the force required on the sized/uncrimped case.

The crimp prevents setback in a semi auto.

FWIW, my case neck tension is pretty much extreme as I have turned my expanders down to the point that they don't really expand the case any from sizing.

unless I am interpreting that incorrectly that would only make sense :lovebooli

[Lefty SRH]

Will someone please post a pic of an expanding ball. I keep hearing about turning down the expanding ball to increase the neck tension and I understand the idea completely. BUT I have checked ALL my big bore revolver dies and NONE of them even have a ball. They are all just a threaded rod with a decapping pin at the end that is in the sizing die.

[subsonic]

http://donce.lofthouse.com/jamaica/belling_punches.JPG

There is a picture I stole from someone on the internet. The thing on the right is the expander plug in your expander die that puts the little bell on the cases. It also expands the case neck.

[TCTex]

Gents, this is an awesome post for me!!!

I have sent my 480 SRH off to be trimmed off to 5in and will be working up loads for it in the next month or so…

I am laughing because I have been loading the 325gr Lee bullet on the second crimp line. I was not pushing it, but I was getting an easy 1400+ fps out of it with a 9.5in barrel. I know I will lose some vel with the 5in barrel, but I just don’t care. I doubt my game will notice the difference either… LOL

[paul h]

Get the hornady 480/475 4 die set and be done with it. You can't remove the expander ball from the belling die as it is a one piece die, but it is properly sized. With at least a 1000 rounds of full patch through my 480, I've never had a bullet jump and tie up the gun.

I've never had an issue with brass sticking, I just use it as a pressure sign in my gun when working up loads, and keep my loads to the point that they have no resistance on extraction. You can surely load the gun to the point that the brass will be sticky on extraction! The reason I got rid of my 460 gr mold is that I'd worked up loads that didn't stick, but after the loaded ammo had sat for some time, the loads were sticky on extraction. My thinking is that the brass after it had sat was getting a tighter grip on the bullet, either that or the bullets had age hardened and the increased resistance to engraving had jumped pressure. Whatever was going on, 460 gr really seems like too much bullet in the 480.

I would really caution against loading 400's past 1200 fps, as fealt recoil increases tremendously and IMHO the DA grip is not the best for handling heavy recoil. I also highly recomend the hogue grip as the factory ruger grip will result in the trigger guard mashing your second finger, and I've had the frame of the gun that extends slightly above the factory grip cut the knuckle on my thumb.

I know it probably sounds wierd, but I find the recoil from the 400's more managable than pushing 300-325's at 1400+ fps. The light fast bullets have a sharper recoil and blast. The 400's just have a big push.

My next gun project is going to be getting a 9 1/2" srh 480 and wacking it down to 5" as a gun I can pack in a chest holster. I'll keep the cutoff section of barrel for converting a SA ruger.

[calinb]

The FCD sizes the case/boolit as well as crimping.....
Subsonic came up with a good test to prove it to yourself. Size a case and seat a boolit without crimping and seat a boolit without sizing and crimp to your hearts content. Then pull the boolits and see which one is harder to pull.Interesting, but I think there's a better test to explore the merits of crimping as an aid to thwart bullet creep. Size two cases and seat two bullets in them--one with a crimp and one without a crimp.

[calinb]

Get the hornady 480/475 4 die set and be done with it. You can't remove the expander ball from the belling die as it is a one piece die, but it is properly sized. With at least a 1000 rounds of full patch through my 480, I've never had a bullet jump and tie up the gun.

I've only shot 100 rounds or so but the bullets aren't creeping with my moderate loads and 393 grain Lee bullets loaded with the Lee set. Still, I'd like to minimize the chance of a malfunction.


My thinking is that the brass after it had sat was getting a tighter grip on the bullet, either that or the bullets had age hardened and the increased resistance to engraving had jumped pressure. Whatever was going on, 460 gr really seems like too much bullet in the 480.

Don't bullets typically age soften after an initial brief period of hardening? Does brass age soften?


I would really caution against loading 400's past 1200 fps, as fealt recoil increases tremendously and IMHO the DA grip is not the best for handling heavy recoil. I also highly recomend the hogue grip as the factory ruger grip will result in the trigger guard mashing your second finger, and I've had the frame of the gun that extends slightly above the factory grip cut the knuckle on my thumb.
I've already worn a blister on my second finger after several dozens of moderate rounds from the trigger guard hitting it. I quit shooting when the blister started to bleed.:groner: I just ordered the Hogue Tamer Monogrip grips. Unlike other Hogue grips, it has cushioning in back. I have both Hogue and Pachmayr grips that I like on other revolvers and figured I'd try the Monogrip. As factory grips go, I actually don't think the stock SRH grips are all that bad. I'd probably get a callous on my second finger and stop bleeding, if I kept the Ruger grips on it. On the other hand, grips are a inexpensive potential improvement!


I know it probably sounds wierd, but I find the recoil from the 400's more managable than pushing 300-325's at 1400+ fps. The light fast bullets have a sharper recoil and blast. The 400's just have a big push.
That's actually the argument I've heard in favor of the 480 Ruger over the 454 Casull. That and bigger but slower bullets often kill game better than faster and smaller ones--even with their greater kinetic energy!

[Three44s]

To me the answer was apparent after shooting a 480, and previous to that I'd shot 454's, 475's and 500's. Simply put the 480 gives the most big bore punch of heavy bullet at moderate velocity without generating brutal recoil or requiring an exceptionally heavy revolver to house it. The 454 generates a much sharper recoil pulse. I can't quantify more effective on game other than the 480 making bigger holes ~10% more frontal area.

How much to shoot a 480? I've never bought factory ammo. Brass is ~$60/100, commercial cast ~$40/100, powder and primers ~$12, so a bit over a buck a round to get started if you roll your own.

Simply put the 480 is powerful, accurate, and shootable to me that is the trifecturate in revolvers, I've shot many revolvers that were capable of two of those tasks, but very few that did all three at the same time. It's also been very easy to load for and not all picky with bullets as I've shot cast bullets from 275 gr to 460g and with load work every single one of those bullets would group 5 into 1" at 50yds and all running velocities between 1000 fps to 1200 fps. Note, scoped and from a benchrest.


Very, VERY well said!!!

I traded my SRH in .44 for a .480 in the same with a 7.5" barrel last fall. I have not taken much time to work with it yet but the above statements mirror my thoughts!!

Taking it one more step:

The .480 is operating at a lower pressure than the .454 and it's more in line with what most of us are casting.

Therefore we are getting more penetration, less recoil and less reason to lead.

Gotta like them parameters!!

Three 44s

[calinb]

Very, VERY well said!!!
Therefore we are getting more penetration, less recoil and less reason to lead.

Gotta like them parameters!!

Three 44s
Yeah--too bad it didn't sell. Oh well, people buy stuff for the darndest reasons (the movie, Dirty Harry, for example)!

At least its unpopularity allowed me to pick up a pristine and almost new in box 480 SRH at a recent gun show at a great price. I am very happy that a good friend, who has high recoil tolerance, told me he'd never want to shoot a 454 Casull after his first experience. His review motivated my research that led me to the 480 Ruger.