480 ruger recommendations

[Thundermaker]

I've often said that, in order to be called a "gun guy", one needs three things.

1. A wood and blued steel hunting rifle.

2. A good 1911.

3. Some manner of ridiculous hand-cannon that serves no practical purpose.


I recently crossed the last one off the list, in the form of a Ruger Redhawk in .480 Ruger.

So, while I'm hunting for brass, is anyone playing with this cartridge?

Any mold recommendations?

Pet loads?

Anything I should avoid?

[DougGuy]

Depending on alloy, sometimes you can get rings in the chambers shaved off cast boolits by the sharp 45° step at the end of the chamber. A lot of the 480 guys opt to have this step reamed to a more cast friendly 6° 30min chamfer like a typical revolve cylinder has and this eliminates the rings.

[Thundermaker]

Sent you a pm, DougGuy.

[TurnipEaterDown]

I have used my 475 Linebaugh a fair bit, and the 480 was to an extent a commercialization of that concept that fit better in guns and better met manufacturer practices, while (apparently...) recoiling less. This is a great caliber. Don't knock yourself (even in humor) for buying it.
My advice: stick w/ cast and anything cut well that you like in the 320-400 gr range.
2400, W296 are good, and you should be able to download well. I typically shoot my 475 now at 480 levels w/ 320 LBT WFN PB & 2400.

[Thundermaker]

I keep a good supply of H110 (same as 296) for .357. I also keep some 4227 for .44-40s. It looks like .480 uses a lot of powders that I already use.

[DougGuy]

2400, W296 are good, and you should be able to download well. I typically shoot my 475 now at 480 levels w/ 320 LBT WFN PB & 2400. 2400 will let you download to a certain extent for softer shooting loads, as will LilGun and AA#9 but don't download W296/H110 below published starting weights for the boolit you are getting ready to load.

[Wheelguns 1961]

Mp-molds makes a 477-640 mold that is great for the 480 ruger. The lg hp version weighs 385 grains in my alloy. I always use the lower crimp groove with 18.0 grains of 2400 or 14.0 grains of HS-6. This bullet shoots great out of my SBH. Doug Guy also did my cylinder, as my gun would shave lead rings.

[LeonardC]

I'm not sure I'd put my .480 Ruger in #3. It feels very nice when bears and moose are about.

I have a RCBS 400 grain mold for fun shooting with Unq. and I use CP LBT 475-410 WFNGC bullets for more important work.

Getting the cyl. done by Doug Guy is on my "to do" list as is getting the gritty 2 stage trigger smoothed out.

The SRH carries fine in a Diamond D nylon holster; made in Wasilla, AK.

EDIT: good luck on the brass hunt. It seems most of the brass I have little of is the most hard to get. I did feel sorry for a guy that bought a .480 and could not find brass. I sent him a box and with a base price with shipping and my replacement price including shipping I felt bad about the deal; plus I was worried about finding some more to fill the hole in my stash. Shortly after that Midway put some .480 brass on closeout sale and I was able to fill the hole. I did not know FC made .480 brass but it looks better than an empty shelf!

[TurnipEaterDown]

2400 will let you download to a certain extent for softer shooting loads, as will LilGun and AA#9 but don't download W296/H110 below published starting weights for the boolit you are getting ready to load.

Didn't come across well the way I wrote it. 2400 & W296 will work well in the cartridge.
The cartridge should download well w/ reasonable bullets. I have used Unique in my 475 to download 400s to 850 fps. They still shoot well, even though it is in my hard alloy.

[Ramjet-SS]

350 grain cast HP GC soft lead over Unique. Out of my rifles it runs 1200 FPS is a delight to shoot very accurate but will take game cleanly.

[Loudenboomer]

Doug Guy corrected my 480 also. My go to load is 19-20 gr AA#9 and the 400 gr lee.
Excluding H110-296 most starting loads for the 44 magnum with 240 gr. bullets will Ball Park starting loads for the 480 Ruger and 400 gr. bullets. You can find exceptions Just general rule of thumb for reloader manual study.

[Thundermaker]

Is COWW a good alloy without water dropping?

[Wheelguns 1961]

Is COWW a good alloy without water dropping?

Bullets don’t have to be hard for 480 ruger. I use 70/30 +2% tin. Coww+ soww+tin. Air cooled and powder coated.

[contender1]

I too have used my Ruger 480 for fun. And I too cast using the MP 477-640 mold. Love it. Great caliber in a solid gun!

[Thundermaker]

Oh lord, they make speedloaders for it.

https://5starfirearms.com/r6-480-speed-loader/

[pworley1]

I use the Lee 475 mold. You can load it from mild to wild. Enjoy.

[missionary5155]

Nothing silly about a revolver with a .475 bore. From round ball to 500 grain thwapers you have it all covered. A .478-480 RB chugging along at 700 fps does wonders on all it plows into. 450-500 grain FN cast at 800- ??? is real Big Medicine.
Never to be under gunned. Have had our 475 Linebaugh for near 10 years and no regrets.