400 Ruger Bisley

[Loudenboomer]

Took a little time from working on my farm machinery to do a little informal 480 work up. Chronograph stayed in the box and I have no sub MOA groups to show. Sunny and nearly 50 degrees with dwindling snow banks. Lets Shoot.
First load was a gallery type load. Sized a 50 cal. round ball to .476 tumble lubed the little footballs and put them over 5 gr of HS-6. More testing is required but.... Kind of a neet big chunk mouse fart load.
Second load was 10.5 gr HS-6 and the 400 lee sized .476 BAC lubed. May not be enough speed on this one to stabilize the 400.
Lastly I tested the 400 lee over 20 gr of AA #9. Should be just shy of 1300 fps. The load shows promise. Almost made the drill. 5 rounds 5 inch group in 5 seconds @ 25 yds. If you haven't tried the drill it's a hoot but only really fun with big guns.:)

[Loudenboomer]

H 110 - W 296 seem to be the powder of choice for most. What other powders are working well for you in the 480 Ruger? 2400 and MP300 should both do well. 4227 ? I know some have used 4759. Any one have 1st hand experience with it.

[chuckbuster]

I use H110, Longshot, Trail Boss

Have tried Lil'Gun since I had some on hand, will stick with H110 I think. Just no better, no reason to keep both.
4227 did not give me the groups that H110 and "LG" do.
kevin

[DougGuy]

H 110 - W 296 seem to be the powder of choice for most.

Just don't download this powder below starting weights. The higher the density the better H110/W296 likes it.

I have not loaded for the 480, but any loads that I want to get into the 75% ~ 90% power band in 45 Colt Ruger Only loading I use 2400 and LilGun for this purpose. I would assume AA#9 would work as well.

[lar45]

The Lee 325 works pretty well in my 480 Bisley.
I load 12 gn of Unique for 1150fps
or 22 gn 2400 for 1268fps
If you are looking for top end loads, then 296 might be worth looking at.

[High Desert Hunter]

My Ruger Bisley 480 really likes Longshot, for upper end loads, I use 300-MP with very good results. I am shooting a 395gr bullets from Mountain Molds, and a 375gr HPGC offering from an NOE mold.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I know 21gr of lil gun w/ 400gr boolit will give about 1330fps, what kind of load do you use with 300-mp to get around that velocity?

[DLCTEX]

I shoot the Lee 400 go boolit over 21 gr H110 and it shoots so well I never looked further. This is in Taurus Ragin Bull in 480 Ruger.

[Loudenboomer]

It wood be interesting to hear some chrono numbers with 300-mp and 4759. For now Burning up my supply of AA#9 20 gr at a time under the 400 is working well.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

thanks DLCTEX, you don't happen to kknow the velocity of your load? and have you tried lil gun, if so how does it compare to 300 mp, and h110 and 296? which is your favorite? thanks, travis

[44man]

I use nothing but 296 in my revolvers and shot .480 out of my .475 BFR for a while.
But shorter brass does not perform from longer chambers as good as full length does. I did use the Lee 400 gr with 23 gr of 296 and it was not bad at all.
Long ago I found an accuracy difference between H110 and 296 in my revolvers with H110 best in a RH but not SBH, SRH, or S&W so I have stayed with it.
I know, same exact powder but each company got a different burn rate. Today I don't know and don't buy H110. If the difference is still there I am not spending money to find out.
I have never shot AA#9, faster powder and no need for me. I have not shot 300 MP. Slower then 296 and read some cases do not hold enough.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

ok, well I will get 296 on your suggestion if I don't get lil' gun, I would still like to hear about it from someone that has used it, and the 400 lee is most likely the boolit I will be using. thanks a lot guys!

[44man]

I fear lil'Gun because of heat. I love 296 from the .357 to the 500's.

[DougGuy]

Supposedly, LilGun can give the same velocity as a load using H110 but do it with less pressure. I have pretty much found this to be a valid claim about LilGun. My favorite use for LilGun is when I want to go in that 75% ~ 90% power range that falls just below the starting weight of H110 and H110 being a powder that it is NOT recommended to download, I found LilGun and 2400 both are very suitable for this purpose.

The other thing about LilGun as 44man mentioned is the heat. It DOES shoot hotter and you can tell the difference in a cylinder full of loads. There has been quite a bit of throat erosion with FA revolvers using LilGun in the max loads, but for my less-than-starting-load-of-H110 purposes as stated above, I don't have any issue with it eroding the throat of a Ruger Vaquero, I am not pushing these loads to the max.

If LilGun can erode a FA revolver when loaded to the max in 454 Casull, I would be watching very closely for any signs of erosion or any excessive heating in the 480 Ruger.

Other than that note of caution, LilGun has worked extremely well for me, for the loads I use it in.

[Loudenboomer]

In the 9.3" barrel 480 Alliant has the 400 gr GDSP 24.2 gr. 300-MP @ 1368 FPS
325 gr GDSP 29.5 gr. 300-MP @ 1621 FPS
275 gr GDSP 38.0 gr. 300-MP @ 1911 FPS
The numbers look a little "Speedy". Has any one tried to see if these numbers hold up.

[44man]

We only had one trial of Lil'Gun and it was a Freedom .357. We shot 12 shots between us slow and I could not touch the barrel. It felt like an SKS after 100 rounds full auto.
My guns are worth too much.
The powder was designed for the .410 shot shell, NOT revolvers. Use it if you want but it will never cross the gap of my guns.
I have the same hatred of the 4227's in the .44. Never again. 4198 can give me a backache in some guns.

[44man]

Do not make the .480 into a .475. You fool with Mother Nature. The .480 is just fine for anything as is. A wonderful caliber. If it does not do all you want, get a .600.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

so 44man, 296 for hunting/ full power loads and I might have missed it but for 70%,light practice loads do you prefer 2400 or 300mp for the same thing

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Hey , cool . A 480 thread .
So far with Accurate #9 I'm running the Accurate Reloading manual. Max load of 20.5 gr with the Accurate Mold 480/380V boolit. Tac lubed and gas checked . bhn of 22 according to Pmer. In my 6 shot SRH. I haven't chronographed it yet . I get ZERO leading and #9 appears to be very clean burning. I'm going to wait to get a Ghost Ring rear sight blade for my gun . Hoping it will help my accuracy until I put an optic on it.