Hunting with the SBH .480

[Oklahoma Rebel]

Does anyone here have experience loading and hunting with the SBH .480? I am going to buy a brand new SBH next December or so and I am torn between the .44 mag and the .480, so if any of you have hunted with it I would love to hear your story/opinion. also when you buy a gun through gunbroker.com can you count on a gun being brand new if they say it is? any info is much appreciated. thank you,
Travis

[stubert]

I hunted for years with a 44 SBH. Even with a scope and Magna-porting with top end loads it was VERY snappy. The square trigger guard sucks! I have since switched to a Red Hawk, it is a little heavier and handles recoil much much better. Both guns are built like tanks though.

[Mica_Hiebert]

I like my hogue gripped SRH 480 and I am confident it would take down a Sasquatch with my 400 grain cast loads. Not sure how it would do in a Black Hawk, I'd like to shoot one before buying it.

[Mica_Hiebert]

I like my hogue gripped SRH 480 and I am confident it would take down a Sasquatch with my 400 grain cast loads. Not sure how it would do in a Black Hawk, I'd like to shoot one before buying it. I just bought a 4 5/8 44mag black hawk and it feels really nice and balanced in my hand but I haven't shot it yet.

[475/480]

I have a 6 shot- SRH 480- 7.5" barrel and just got the 5 shot-Bisley 480 SBH - 6.5" barrel.
I shot this hog with the SRH a few years ago using a 335 gr WFNGC at 1500 fps .
I have been carrying the new Bisley 480 in the field for the last 3 months and it balances well and will handle any load you shoot.Only work I had done was a trigger job.

Sean

[C. Latch]

Are you looking at deer/pig or moose/bison hunting?

A .44 is plenty for the former, and, honestly, probably enough for the latter.

[rodwha]

I've read that people used the Colt Dragoons for bison too. Nowhere near as powerful as a .44 mag.

And then the grizzly that was taken with a Colt Dragoon that took 2 (?) shots to kill. Not sure how big it was but the many .36 cal pistol shots didn't break through the layer of fat.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I will mainly be hunting deer and hog, but further down the road maybe moose, black bear, elk. also, I have heard the .480 SBH is pretty darn accurate, so I am mainly wondering about recoil, and also would like to hear about terminal performance with cast boolits on live game. thanks,
Travis

[Lonegun1894]

I can't speak for the .480, but my BHs in .44 Mag and .45 Colt have both put bullets through 250-300# hogs length-wise with 250-268gr cast bullets, so I would not hesitate to take moose, elk, bear, etc. with either of them if I was within range. Keith wrote of getting 6 FEET of penetration with the .44 Mag and a cast bullet, and I would recommend reading some of his books, along with whatever else you can get hold of before buying. If it was my money and being spent to keep me happy, I would go with either a .44 Mag like you're thinking or a .45 Colt, and forget the .480, unless you just want one. Cheaper and easier to find brass and molds, cheaper on lead and powder, and less abusive to your body, especially since you said you're main intent is deer and hog hunting. But then, I also use a .357 for both of those, and a .22 for hogs when the chance comes along, so I may be a bit biased.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

ok sounds reasonable. can you recommend some books by E.K.?

[rodwha]

Sixguns

When I was considering a revolver I decided on the .44 mag because of the many choices, availability, and cost. I ended up trading it for a Ruger Old Army percussion revolver (easily outdoes the standard .45 Colt loads). As mentioned it can pass through nose to tail of an adult hog.

[telebasher]

ok sounds reasonable. can you recommend some books by E.K.?
"Hell, I was there"

[Lonegun1894]

Sorry to get back so late. The two mentioned above, "Sixguns" and "Hell, I was there" are both excellent. Now just as fair warning, St. Keith had a strong preference for the .44 over the .45 Colt, but it boils down to that when you take a SAA, there's more metal left to provide strength if you drill a .44 hole through it than there is if you drill a .45. And by the time Ruger put the BH/SBH out, he had several decades of work invested in the .44, so I don't blame him for sticking with it cause I would have too. Now I know from reading your past posts that you're a handloader, so the fact that factory .44 Mag absolutely outperforms factory .45 Colt doesn't matter in your case. With handloads, the .45 Colt WILL outperform the .44 Mag if both are loaded up to top end loads, but here it the detail of that that few will tell you. It outperforms it if you're looking at paper numbers, but in the field when the boolit smacks into meat, there isn't enough difference between them to make a difference at all. And if you are ever in the position of being limited to factory ammo, the .44 wins. For what it's worth, and this won't make much if any difference to you unless you just like crunching numbers, the .45 can be loaded up to do (very slightly more than) what the .44 can, and do it at lower pressures due to the base of the .45 bullet being larger and that surface area gives the pressured gasses more area to push on for better acceleration. And the .44 seems a bit more snappy than the .45. Anyway, the .44 is a great round, and can be loaded to do anything you need to do in North America. Personally, I trust it to 100 yards with my 5.5" SBH with irons, 125 with my scoped Contender, or 175 with either my Rossi 92 or my H&R, but much prefer to do my hunting up close. It will put meat, and lots of it, on your table if you do your part.

[runfiverun]

I pretty much treat my 44 mags and 45 colt's like the same round.
except in my USFA pistols they get treated like the colts they are, nominal 14-15 k loads are their only diet.
I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a deer with them at their normal velocity's though.
I once put a 358477 [158gr swc] in the 38 special case through a young bulls skull and down 18" into it's neck at a whopping 750fps. [you have some from that same batch]
anything with a bit of weight and a little velocity will penetrate.
getting it to stop is generally the hard part.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

hey Run! hows it going, I think I will go ahead and stick with the 7.5" SBH in 44 mag. I am planning on mainly using a 160- 165 gr keith bullet design. I have seen them somewere, I think noe but maybe accurate. this is because I want a bit more punch then the 250 heath but don't need to go too heavy like the 300's+ that I have seen a trend towards. sound reasonable and practicle ? (spl?)

[rodwha]

Sounds a bit too light to me. Why not something around 240 grns?

[Lonegun1894]

hey Run! hows it going, I think I will go ahead and stick with the 7.5" SBH in 44 mag. I am planning on mainly using a 160- 165 gr keith bullet design. I have seen them somewere, I think noe but maybe accurate. this is because I want a bit more punch then the 250 heath but don't need to go too heavy like the 300's+ that I have seen a trend towards. sound reasonable and practicle ? (spl?)

Sure you don't mean 260-265gr? 160-165 as you listed is .357 Mag territory. In a .44, it'll be alight weight wad cutter. I use both .357 and .44, but use 150-170grs in .357, mostly 158gr, and my .44s come in at between 240-268grs, depending on bullet chosen.

[Tom W.]

The .44 SBH I had had a rounded trigger guard. I traded it for a SRH. I also had a SRH .480 and the recoil wasn't so much different than the .44. As for accuracy, the .480 with the 400 grain boolits was phenomenal, but the 300 gr from the .44 was nothing to sneeze at , either.

[sixshot]

Thats the nice thing about handloading, you can take it up or down, just pick the one that suits you & buy one or two good bullet moulds & start tuning your loads for what you want them to do.

Dick

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I meant 260 just like lower I meant 250 keith, not heath,lol

[CPL Lou]

You might want to look into the Bisley Blackhawks. They make them in 480 Ruger and I can tell you from experience, the recoil is far easier on the hand with the Bisley grip frame.
I have one in 45 Colt and from mild to wild, its easy on the hand. My SBH in 44 Mag had a nasty habit of bloodying my middle finger.

CPL Lou

[Oklahoma Rebel]

yeah I would definetly prefer bisley. have pretty much decided on a SBH bisley .44 MAG

[Lonegun1894]

Sounds like a good choice to me. My SBH is a 5.5" with round trigger-guard, but it's what I'm used to and have never tried a Bisley, but keep hearing good things about them. So those of you singing the praises of the Bisley grip, please stop it before y'all cost me money. :)

[44man]

Why a .480?---Because!
True most of my deer have been taken with the .44 and I love it. Same with .45 Colt but it is a vaquero and sights ran away. :holysheep
I don't own a .480 and wish Ruger would bring a 5 shot out in the SBH Hunter.
I have the BFR in .475 and never seen a revolver drop deer so fast with a full hard boolit like it does. I have not lost any meat at all with it either unlike some of my other calibers. I would use it up to T Rex without a single change.
Yeah, not needed like is said for the .480 but when you see results, they speak for themselves. The .480 should be great on any game.
But a .44 is never a bad choice either.

[bbailey7821]

I hope you go for the 480, KIDD! I also shoot 44's, 45's, 500's(I enjoy all of them, by the way). Call me a Contrarian, but sometimes it's cool being different. I haven't taken live game with the 480 yet, but I can sure tell it will do a great job, based on the "CLANG!" coming from my swinger.

[Swede44mag]

Why a .480?---Because!
True most of my deer have been taken with the .44 and I love it. Same with .45 Colt but it is a vaquero and sights ran away. :holysheep
I don't own a .480 and wish Ruger would bring a 5 shot out in the SBH Hunter.
I have the BFR in .475 and never seen a revolver drop deer so fast with a full hard boolit like it does. I have not lost any meat at all with it either unlike some of my other calibers. I would use it up to T Rex without a single change.
Yeah, not needed like is said for the .480 but when you see results, they speak for themselves. The .480 should be great on any game.
But a .44 is never a bad choice either.

Check this out 44man

Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk Bisley
Not the Hunter but close
http://www.ruger.com/products/newModelSuperBlackhawkBisley/specSheets/0870.html

[44man]

I can't shoot a Bisley, my middle knuckle gets beat to blood from the trigger guard and I found I can't hold it the same shot to shot so groups suffer. Others love it so it is personal.
I prefer a SBH with Pachmeyer grips. Ugly rubber that works instead of a brag over pretty grips. BFR rubber, Uncle Mike's grips are one hole shooters. I would like $1000 grips for show but they come off for shooting.
A revolver is like a shotgun, doesn't fit and you miss.
I have a hard time stressing to find what works for you and do not believe others. I did and owned a Bisley for 2 weeks. Never again! Recoil reduction, you need to be on the couch with a bag of chips and beer.
Let a revolver ROLL, Another pile of pig poop. It persists to this day. I really hate to read that a gun ROLLS nicely.

[44man]

Check this out 44man

Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk Bisley
http://www.ruger.com/products/newModelSuperBlackhawkBisley/specSheets/0870.html
I hate the .454 because of the primer and I will never buy a Bisley again.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

hmmm.... you all have valid points, this is going to be a tough decision, glad I have a while to decide.too bad you cant test drive guns! thank you,
Travis

[C. Latch]

hmmm.... you all have valid points, this is going to be a tough decision, glad I have a while to decide.too bad you cant test drive guns! thank you,
Travis


You could always buy the .454 Casull version and use .45 Colt brass. I really like the 6.5" barrels like the .454 and .480 have. I just don't see the need for that much power.

[Swede44mag]

The O.K. KIDD
I have a Ruger 44mag Bisley Hunter I took it deer hunting last fall and with cotton gloves I cant get a good enough grip to shoot it accurately.
The pistol is very accurate without gloves I checked for checkered grips or rubber grips but could not find any.
I asked Ruger about checkered grips they said they don't make them.
I am planning on trying gloves with a rubber coating on the grip side this winter if it does not work I will take my Blackhawk .45colt with Hogue grips.
I do not like the Hogue grips on the .45 but they do make for a good hold.

Good luck and let us know how it works out and post pics of whatever game you harvest.

[5.7 MAN]

The O.K. KIDD
I have a Ruger 44mag Bisley Hunter I took it deer hunting last fall and with cotton gloves I cant get a good enough grip to shoot it accurately.
The pistol is very accurate without gloves I checked for checkered grips or rubber grips but could not find any.
I asked Ruger about checkered grips they said they don't make them.
I am planning on trying gloves with a rubber coating on the grip side this winter if it does not work I will take my Blackhawk .45colt with Hogue grips.
I do not like the Hogue grips on the .45 but they do make for a good hold.

Good luck and let us know how it works out and post pics of whatever game you harvest.

checkered grips!

http://www.altamontco.com/experimental/products/pistol/ruger/#Ruger_bisley.php

[white eagle]

bought many guns off gun broker
if the seller is saying its new it probably is
especially if it is from a gun shop
I have had both cals and still have 44's
the 480 went to someone else
now that Ruger has a super blackhawk in 480
I may want another
can't loose with either

[DougGuy]

Bisley in .44 with 7.5" sounds like a good place to start. I have only owned and shot the plowhandled rugers, never have got to shoot a bisley with heavy boolits.

I am not a big fan of K type LSWC boolits, I think the wide meplat, smooth ojive Lee RF style boolits transition from cylinder through forcing cone and into the bore better than a design with a front driving band, and I like the broad frontal area for hunting better than the K type.

For whatever reason, there seems to be a sweet spot just shy of 1200fps that in game, the RF style boolits do terrific damage. I think it is like a shock wave that pushes tissue away from the front of the boolit and it makes a larger wound channel because of this than what you would get with a K type LSWC design.

Also this long wound channel is made better by a heavy for caliber boolit rather than a lighter one, and hitting 1200fps from a 7 1/2" doesn't even require max loads in the .44, in fact mine are stepped back some by 17.0gr H2400 but it's the perfect heavy boolit hunting load for thin skinned game. Overkill for deer, but hogs NEED to be hit with a heavy boolit, as do elk and moose. To that extent, I just use the 300gr RF for all my hunting. One load, one gun, one point of aim, keep it simple..

[44man]

The Bisley is said to push into the hand better but the trigger guard has that space where my huge knuckle can't escape. I hate the SBH square guard too but Pachmeyer grips have a filler. Yes a SBH can draw blood even with 240 gr IHMSA loads.I hate the thing but you can fix it. Most Bisleys have no choices.
I found it sensitive to hold and too hard to hold the same. Like the S&W 29 that would shoot 1/2" groups at 50 meters but would change POI 10" at 50 right quick. You can get FEEL with a Bisley but might miss like crazy. Blame the gun or load when it is the grip.
The S&W 29 were the most accurate guns I owned with 1/2" or less at 50 meters with opens. But they NEVER won any shoot and NEVER were in the top spots. It is the grip! Set the gun down for target setters, pick it up and miss every target. Bisley does the same. Bisley is worse since keeping it in hand will not shoot groups.

[Charlie U.]

I picked up a SBH in .480 off gunbroker back in 2011 and it has been my favorite pistol for deer hunting.
Feeding that .480 is what got me into reloading. You can't help but love it once you get reloading for it. Bigger (wider and heavier) bullets than the .44 and .45s and you have a ton of flexibility in loads....Mild to Wild.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3/gekkocha/Hunting%20Guns%20Relaoding/Jan4th2014008.jpg

The .480 SBH Bisley is a fine revolver, but for a hunting handgun my old eyes like an optic, so I'm waiting till they make one in the HUNTER configuration.
Single action or double action......get one of those ruger revolvers in .480 and you won't be disappointed.

[Markbo]

44 man are you familiar with thr grip alteration Huntington does? If not, look into it. It may allow you to shoot a Bisley without knuckle rapping and maybe learn why so many people love them. He increases that space between the the trigger guard and front strap and lengthens it slightly. Made my .475 BFR actually tolerable to shoot.

[44man]

44 man are you familiar with thr grip alteration Huntington does? If not, look into it. It may allow you to shoot a Bisley without knuckle rapping and maybe learn why so many people love them. He increases that space between the the trigger guard and front strap and lengthens it slightly. Made my .475 BFR actually tolerable to shoot.
I had one in my hand and it IS a big improvement. I never got to shoot it though.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I finally held a sbh and I find that the regular grip is comfortable, I was assuming it would feel like my S&W, it kinda squishes my pinkie up over the next finger and just doesn't feel right, I modified mine, but ruger's is alright. say I get the 480 and just want to do all my shooting with a 325-350gr boolit. what kind of charge with h110/296 would get me to 1250-1300 with the 350 and 1200-1250 with the 325? I am just asking for a round about estimate. thanks for the help/ interesting conversation, keep it coming!

[mattd]

i have a SBH 7.5 in 44mag. I love it, but would probably go with the 5.5 if I had it to do over. sitting in a tree stand the 7.5 gets beat up hanging from a hip holster, and pulling it from a shoulder rig, out of my jacket is a little awkward. I don't shoot deer that far tho.

[Markbo]

Hows it get beat up in a holster?

[mattd]

The grips/hammer are exposed. My metal tree stand arm rests are narrow and it rubs on them. Same with the chairs back at the cabin. Plus since it's got one connection point at the belt/hip it flops around a bit when you move, making noise. I do only have a drop holster/belt. And the 7.5 seems to be the most popular so I'm proly just clumsy.

[44man]

Darn, don't know. I find loads for the 325 to 355 that run at 1416 to 1518 fps, H110 and 296, 355 cast still max at 1464 fps. Pretty much the same with 2400 at the Alliant site.
Need to see what other powders will get you in the zone.
You are correct with 1250 to 1350 fps for deer, too fast means more boolit work needs done.
I use my 420 gr in the .475 at 1329 fps and it is perfect.
You might want the heavier boolit, a 420 with 19 gr of 296 gives 1145 fps and 20 gr is 1203 fps. Maybe better is a 400 gr.
I got away from too fast some time ago.

[Charlie U.]

........what kind of charge with h110/296 would get me to 1250-1300 with the 350 and 1200-1250 with the 325? I am just asking for a round about estimate.

With w296 I find the 400grain boolits get there with around 21 grains and a charge of 26ish grains to push the 355grainers. I have not messed with 325 grain boolits in the .480.

[44man]

The Lee 400 gr is a good shooting boolit and you don't need a GC. If you can find load info for HS-6, it should work fine. The powder is very accurate in the .475 but I don't have a .480 load.

[white eagle]

when I had a 480 Rug I was getting good results with a 385 gr
Accurate Molds boolit mold we designed
used 296 exclusively [smilie=w:

[MT Chambers]

I think that Elmer would have liked the .480.

[Norske]

A couple weeks ago I handled a Super Redhawk 480. It was a lot lighter than a 44 SRH. More air, less steel, in the bigger holes. It was at a store that used Davidson's as a distributer, so the price was $949 + taxes.

[Three44s]

I think that Elmer would have liked the .480.

True Statement!


Three 44s

[Three44s]

Got a SRH 7.5" six shot here and like it a lot.

I have .41 and .44's as well ......... along with the .480

While it's quite true that everything "44" is easier (component wise) to come by ...... the efficiency of the .480 is hard to put down.

In heavier slugs it uses not much more powder than a .44 but delivers more horsepower. Now if you want to turn it into a screamer with light for caliber bullets, it then eats powder in much bigger bites.

My molds are the RCBS 400 and the Mihec 420 gr. ......... so I am working the high energy side of the equation.

I freely admit I have not gotten around to kill anything with the .480 yet but the way it handles 400 gr. boolits better than a .44 can handle 325 gr. with an advantage of larger metplat going to the .480 ....... it just works better.

Now you will have some more recoil with a .480 but I find the SRH platform and factory grip to handle the task very adequately. Further, just as the .41 and .44's can be effectively downloaded ...... so can the .480!

And as 44man alluded to ........ HS-6 powder is one of my favs ........... I tried Trail Boss and found it to be "boring" ....... yes, boring! Seven hundred FPS is fine for women and kids but it just about bored me to tears.

Best regards

Three 44s

[44man]

Only thing I found with a SRH is to hold the grip FIRM. It is about perfect but never wimp it. Never so tight you shake. never loose either.

[murf205]

I think that Elmer would have liked the .480.

Are you kidding, Elmer would have liked a .680!

[bbailey7821]

I'm another 100 rounds into my Super BH and still diggin it!

[Markbo]

Only thing I found with a SRH is to hold the grip FIRM. It is about perfect but never wimp it. Never so tight you shake. never loose either.

I have found that to be the case with all big bores, not just the SRH.