any opinions on the 480 ruger

[Oklahoma Rebel]

Does anyone here cast, load, hunt, shoot with the 480 ruger, if so I would love to hear your stories, experiences with the cartridge. thank you.
Travis

[Paul_R]

I have a Ruger Super Redhawhk in .480 Ruger. Personally I think the Super Redhawk is probably the ugliest handgun currently being produced but nothing a hacksaw, file and a crowning tool can't fix!

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h312/pjriss/480RugerJPG.jpg

The grip with the sorbothane strip on the back makes a huge difference. I don't hunt with it but I carry it in bear/cat country. I always seem to have lots of space around me at the range when I break this one out for some reason...:mrgreen:

It's a handful but very controllable.

[44man]

Ruined the best gun ever. Sometimes a hacksaw should be taken across a head.

[Earlwb]

I thought that the .480 Ruger was a pretty good idea. It was designed for hunting, so it would be good for that purpose. The recoil effects aren't as severe as with the super magnums either. But their defeat was the super magnums coming out shortly after they released the .480 Ruger. The S&W .460 and .500's got all the glory and it got overshadowed. I have been eyeing a used revolver in .480 Ruger at a local gun store though. So I might wind up getting one eventually. I think that if you reload, then it is not a big deal to make your ammo for it. But if you are someone that doesn't like to reload it might be a problem getting ammo sometimes for it. Not that many gun shops will stock ammo for it.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

yeah I reload, I want to get a super Blackhawk at the beginning of next year, pretty sure I will get a 44, I know it will be a 7.5 and probably bisley, just though I would find out about this cartridge before I do anything. would the 44 have better range?

[fivegunner]

I have the .480 Ruger Alaskan, and the big 7.5 inch super redhawk and a Freedom arms 475 Linebaugh with a .480 cylinder , I like them all . and they all shoot lead very well .I would like to get the Blackhawk in .480 . :cbpour:

[cmonti77]

I've had a 480 SRH since 2011, when Ruger made a small batch of stainless 9.5 inch models. A couple years ago I had Cylinder & Slide chop, crown, and magnaport the barrel. Now it's 6 inches and I replaced the Hogue Tamer with a Hogue Nylon. I don't hunt with it, it's just a fun shooter and it was a good excuse to get into reloading.
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/cmonti77/image.jpeg (http://s274.photobucket.com/user/cmonti77/media/image.jpeg.html)

Last summer, I bought an Alaskan 480, but sold it a few months later and bought a 41 mag redhawk. I reload a lot of 410 grain hardcast bullets from Hunter's Supply, and they work well enough for practice ammo. I'd prefer to cast my own, but I can't find a mold design that I like. They're all either single-cavity or aluminum, unless you get a custom mold.

I really wish Saeco would make a 2-cavity .476 mold. I have one of their 41 mag molds and it's exceptional.

[sixshot]

I've had 4 480's, a SRH, a Taurus, a custom by Alan Haron & one of the new Ruger Bisleys & have liked all of them. Took my bull moose with the SRH & my buddy used the Harton gun to take his bull moose. I've also had a FA 475 that I used in Africa which I used with full power loads. For me the 475 took a great deal of concentration to shoot well, I could do it but I could only shoot a small number of rounds. Yes I could of downloaded it to 480 type loads, instead the gun stayed in Africa on a trade & I went back to the 480's & have never regretted it.
I'll never hunt anything that can live on the difference.

Dick

[dubber123]

I'd love a .480 in a regular BH sized gun. I think it's a great cartridge, I just can't warm up to the SRH platform Ruger decided to put them in.

[Mica_Hiebert]

I like mine, it shoots 400 grain cast very well.

[OptimusPanda]

Paul R, inquiring minds need to know....have you ever put a scope and rail on with it cut that short? If so pictures would be a hoot.

[Tom W.]

I had a 9.5 inch one some years back. It was Ugly, ungainly, and accurate. I had a 2x Leopold on it and could hit clay pigeons at a measured 100 yards offhand. Funny thing, when shooting it I never noticed it being ugly. Like a fool I traded it off.

[nicholst55]

I bought a new Ruger Super Blackhawk in .480, and promptly sent it to Hamilton Bowen for some minor work. I don't hunt any more, so it will probably be used to kill paper targets, rocks, and such when it returns. The advantage that the .480 has over the .44 Mag or .45 Colt is that it will easily handle an additional 100 grains of bullet. Listed velocity really isn't much different between the .480 and .475 Linebaugh; reality might be a bit different though. It is definitely a reloader's cartridge because factory ammo is right around $3 a pop, and can be difficult to find.

Jack Weigand designed a scope mount specifically for the new .454 and .480 Super Blackhawks, and recommends a relatively lightweight optic be used. As I understand it, his recommendations are directed more towards the .454 Casull version than the .480 Ruger version. The Casull has severe enough recoil that it could quite possibly launch a too-heavy scope/ring combo!

[DougGuy]

I'd love a .480 in a regular BH sized gun. I think it's a great cartridge, I just can't warm up to the SRH platform Ruger decided to put them in.

They make the SBH in both .454 and .480 on the Bisley grip frame. I would actually entertain owning one and I don't even like the Bisley!

[contender1]

I helped a friend get a SRH in 480 several years ago,, and in 2 years,,, he chose to sell it,,, to me. LOVE it. It went bear hunting & deer hunting. When I got it,,, I found it to be accurate & very manageable with my cast loads. Then, last year,, Ruger brought out the Super BlackHawk in a Bisley frame & I promptly ordered mine.
The 480 can be "down loaded" and be a pure pleasure to shoot,,, or you can beef it up & take most game anywhere in the world. I have shot mostly lead or powder coated lead slugs out of mine.
Get it,,, cast for it,,, use it for hunting & you will not regret it.

[warf73]

The 480 has a 9.5" barrel and Ultra Dot sight. I reload for it and haven't found the load I'm happy with yet. If all goes well I should have a load ready for deer season using a custom mold made by Accurate.

166615166617166616166618 The boolit on the left is a Lee 400gr, and on the right 385gr Accurate.

[Deep Six]

I picked up one of the SBH Bisleys in 480 last fall. Love the gun, it's the most accurate of my half dozen Ruger single actions. The 480 cartridge is an ideal first step into the world of >45 cartridges. My load is a custom 380 WFNGC at about 1350 fps. It recoils plenty hard but is still manageable and doesn't wrack your wrist like the 500 Smith or sting like a 454. It hits really hard too.

[white eagle]

had a 480 sold it big mistake :oops:

[deepwater]

cmonti77 and everyone,

I have used Magna porting in the past and it takes some of the "sting" out. How effective is it with the .480, and would you do it again?


deepwater

[480guy]

I have a Ruger Super Redhawk (7.5" barrel) in .480 and a Ruger Alaskan (2.5" barrel) in the same caliber.
To me, the .480 in a wheelgun with 7.5"-9.5" barrel is the ideal handgun for revolver hunting any kind of large-sized game in North America. Why? Because it is a big bore that makes it possible to shoot heavy 400-420 gr. boolits at slightly supersonic velocities with great accuracy, which equates great killing power and SHOOTABILITY. It gives the biggest punch with heavy boolits at velocities that do not generate the type of recoil that would be unmanageable/uncomfortable for most shooters, without the need to carry around ridiculously heavy revolvers. In comparison, the .454 Casull, requiring higher pressures to generate sufficient velocity with smaller boolits in order to attain a similar KO value, recoils much more sharply, while the .480 is much more comfortable to shoot, more of a gentler push. And, do you really need the higher velocities attainable with the .475 Linebaugh in this continent? If desired, you can definitely approach .475L velocities in the .480 Ruger by utilizing boolits with a shorter shank (longer boolit nose) that in the Ruger Super Redhawk's long cylinder will provide case/powder capacity similar to that of the .475 Linebaugh (therefore, you get an almost equal performance at similar pressures)..but is it really needed? A normally shaped 400 gr. LBT style boolit propelled at about 1,200 fps is pretty common for the .480, well within its capacity and has a very respectable Taylor KO value of 32.5, with manageable, non-excessive recoil to the shooter. My favorite load for this is 21 gr. of W296/H110 with a CCI 350 primer, generating a pressure of slightly under 40,000 PSI (48,000 PSI is considered to be max for the .480) and in my opinion the .480 performs at its very best with this or similar loads: heavy-for-caliber boolits at slightly supersonic velocities. Pushing a 400 gr. faster than 1,200 fps increases recoil considerably and using faster powders like 2400 also makes recoil felt much more sharply. Again, you get great penetration/killing power at lower pressures than with a .454 Casull, with great accuracy, less recoil and less leading, and a boolit with a bigger frontal area (which makes a bigger hole), and also with levels of power well above those attainable with the .44 mag and .45 Colt.
By the way, I feel that my .480 Alaskan, with its 2.5" tube, has too short a barrel to take full advantage of the power of the .480 Ruger. The short barrel pretty much compromises all the benefits listed above.
The .480 also is, in my opinion and for the very same reasons, one of the most suitable carry-all-day, comfortable enough to shoot and to practice a lot with caliber in a side weapon meant for self-defense against predatory animals in North America, including Alaska, probably best in a revolver with 4.75" - 5.5" barrel. There would be too much velocity loss with shorter barrels.

[cmonti77]

cmonti77 and everyone,

I have used Magna porting in the past and it takes some of the "sting" out. How effective is it with the .480, and would you do it again?


deepwater

I can tell you that my revolver has absolutely zero muzzle rise when shooting every factory load from Corbon 275 grain up to Grizzly 425 grain, but I honestly couldn't say if the magnaporting really makes any difference. Mine only has 2 ports on it, and the SRH is pretty nose-heavy even with the shortened barrel, so I can't say for certain if it is in fact the porting or just the weight distribution of the revolver itself. The recoil is a hard punch into my palm either way, but is somewhat dimished with lighter bullets.

If I were to do it over again, I would still chop and crown the barrel, but probably skip the magnaporting. Really dig the caliber, though. And I'm seriously eyeballing that Accurate 385 bullet that warf73 posted the picture of. That might be the design I've been searching for.

[osteodoc08]

I recently added a 480 SBH to the stable and, ashamed to say, haven't shot it. I have 2 molds for it. A Lee and an MP. It should be a thumper and handle anything I need it to in North America.

Ill be able to give a more thorough evaluation after I've had a chance to shoot it.

[Lloyd Smale]

of all the big bore rounds (over 45 colt and 44 mag level) the 480 is the pipsqueak but in my opinion is the best balanced one of the bunch. It gives plenty of power, with good accuracy and recoil most can handle. Loaded with a good 400 grain cast bullet at 1200 fps it will kill anything on the planet and now with ruger offering it in a single action you don't have to put up with ugly super redhawks (although they are a good gun)

[Paul_R]

Paul R, inquiring minds need to know....have you ever put a scope and rail on with it cut that short? If so pictures would be a hoot.

No I've never had the opportunity but if somebody want's to send me a scope and rail I'd be happy to do a nice review. Maybe even a youtube video! :kidding:

[Ramjet-SS]

As said great balance of power and shoot ability. I have an Encore barrel and Legacy arms lever gun with scout scope mount. I shoot mostly 370 grain hollow points into from a Mihec mould at a velocity of 1000 FPS.

[Tom W.]

I did notice that the recoil wasn't much more than my .44


Can't say that about the .454 I had......

[C. Latch]

I have a ruger in .45 Colt, and, honestly.....

If I could do it over again, not counting possible use in bear country, I'd get a .41 instead, and never give a moment's thought to a larger revolver for hunting anything smaller than moose. Getting something LARGER than a .45 colt would never cross my mind.

YMMV.

[dubber123]

They make the SBH in both .454 and .480 on the Bisley grip frame. I would actually entertain owning one and I don't even like the Bisley!

Oh, I know they do. :) I have a F/A .475 and haven't seen the need to pony up the cash for one of the .480's My F/A is a short 4-3/4" model, and is pretty brutal to shoot. I would bet that one of the .480 BH's with a little trigger and sight work would be a much better overall package, for a lot less money.

[bbailey7821]

I'm about 150 rounds into a long term relationship with one of the new run Bisley's. Out of the box, it shoots really well with factory Hornady(325g) ammo. I'm about 1/4 way through the factory ammo that I bought at closeout prices at Academy. Factory grip panel on LHS broke at about 75 round count. Ruger sent a new pair, no questions asked, but I had already bought and fit a after market set and installed a taller front sight. Early in, my opinion is that it's a easily controllable large bore, compare to any of the 500 S&W's that i've shot. I got a NOE 480-375PB-RF 5-Holer, that I have yet to cast and load with. I have wanted a 480 for years, but have never been able to get love for the Redhawk package. Early in, I'm digg'in it! Thanks for asking, I'll be watching for other's opinion.

166676
166677

[bbailey7821]

Oh, one more thing. Listen to Mr Smale, he knows what he's talking about! :)

[Oklahoma Rebel]

bbailey7821. I love that gun! if you don't mind me asking what do those sell for at gun stores, and are they 5 or 6 shot? I wont have the money until the beginning of next year, and am set on a Ruger SBH in 44 mag, but the more I read about the loads and such about the 480 ruger , the more I might end up changing my mind. for a 75 or 80 yard shot which would you rather have? oh it will be a 7.5 barrel, and how is recoil compared to a 44 mag? thanks, Travis

[bbailey7821]

Well, here's the skinny on mine. I gave around $750 NIB for mine. The 454 and 480's are both 5 shots. I've done the majority of the shooting of mine in the 50 - 100 yard range. It's absolutely no problem to hit an 8" steel gong target at 100yds. The paper target shooting says that with my eyes, the gun does about 4" groups at 75yds. I'm sure there's some more accuracy there, but I just have to work with it. I did add a taller front site due to the rear being bottomed out when I got it sight in. There's a gentleman, SixShooter, over at the SingleActions site, if you need one yourself. I'm really liking this gun, and plan to do load development for the aforementioned mold. My ultimate plan is to have a PB boolit running around 1000fps. Hope that helps.

[bbailey7821]

One more thing, KIDD. The barrel length is 6.5 inches on both the 454 and 480. I suppose you could go shorter, if you want, but it'll be on your nickel.

[osteodoc08]

There is also a locking base pin from the factory and a full length ejector rod.

[sixshot]

Actually I go by Sixshot on all the forums & I do have the taller front sights.

Dick

[44man]

I hate snub nose guns, period. Larger at over bore when you can't burn powder unless you drop to Unique is silly. Insane is a .500 S&W in a 2" barrel. Feel good power! Big blast and flames.
Weatherby's meed 26" but fools make 18" for a super noisy 30-06 or 30-30.
I wonder why some flint locks were 42" to 45"?
I would go for a 6" or over for the .480.

[bbailey7821]

166823
166825
166827
Just for fun, some custom 480 work from Houston gunsmith Alan Harton courtesy of our friends at SingleActions.com.

Free spin full action job.
Sight base reshaped.
Sight blade with Keith two brass bars.
Barrel shortened to 4.75" with Colt crown.
Checkered ejector head.
Scalloped inside of loading gate.
Trigger straightened.
Oversized bolt.
Belt Mountain base pin.
Trigger job.
Tighten massive factory cylinder gap.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

those are brass insets on the front sight? that's cool! what ranges are they sighted for? I also hate snubnoses, my .38spl is a 4 inch and I wish it was longer, but for what I use it for really 4 inches is about right. you gave 750 for that gun?! great deal, how long ago was that? I see them on gunbroker for that but at stores here in Tulsa they want 979.00 or something like that for the regular .44 mag stainless.

[wl620]

I have a 7 1/2" SRH in 480 in the grey stainless that will outshoot me, Also have the new bisley SBH that I wish I could say the same for, I'm kinda dissappointed in that one. The SRH in 480 that I have I cannot say enough good about.

[sixshot]

The brass bars will depend on your load, after you've settled on a load then move to the first bar & find your zero, then move to the second bar & do the same.

Dick

[C. Latch]

The brass bars will depend on your load, after you've settled on a load then move to the first bar & find your zero, then move to the second bar & do the same.

Dick

Using them the way Keith did, your zero will also depend on the length of your arms, as the line between your eye, the top of the rear sight, and the bar, will diverge from the other line from your eye to the top of the sight and the target beyond, and the length of your arms will change the angle of those lines. Thinks of them as two long legs of a triangle.

You can calculate approximate zero ranges if you accurately measure all the components of the geometry involved.

[44man]

Back then, when I inlaid silver wire into the sight, I would use tape to get the distance. Move it until you hit, mark the sight and go to the next distance.
Soon to run out so a lot of barrel would be seen for the real long shots.
Now I would need a fluorescent bulb! [smilie=l: