Ruger 480 or 454 Casull

[warf73]

I've been thinking about a new handgun for awhile as I posted a poll on which 45ACP revovler to get. Well I don't see myself shooting ICOR anytime soon so I scraped that plan even tho I still want a 45acp revovler.
That said I've been looking at the 454 Casull for sometime now well over 10 years now and almost bought a Ruger Super Redhawk 2x and a Tauras Ragginbull 3x. Needless to say almost don't count, and I still want a big bore pistol. I've got a 44mag right now and it just don't trip my trigger so to speak. It's fun to shoot but its no 454 or 480.
I don't know much about the 480 other than what little I've read about it. Big magnum handguns really excite me so it has my interest up. I've never shot one (480) and no one in town has one for rental. But I have shot serveral 454's in both Freedom Arms and Tauras. I really like the Freedom Arms with rubber grips (not sure what brand but was more pleasant to shot)but the price tag has always drover me away.

Whats the pros and cons for each cartridge?

I'll be shooting both cast and J words in either one.

Paper will be shot mostly but will be carried for deer hunting and general walking in the woods during hunting season.(I live in Kansas so no bears to worry about :) )

I'm really leaning to a 7.5" barrel, I think the 9"+ barrel would be a PITA to carry and not gain much over the 7.5".

99% chance that if I get one or the other it will be in a Ruger Super Redhawk.

I do know that the 480 brass is hard to come by but I have found 300 laying around that can picked up for a fair price.

Whats your option guys tell me what you think.

Thanks Robert

[stubshaft]

I have a FA83 with a 7 1/2" barrrel in 454 that has over 5000 rounds through it and is just as tight as the day I got it. So my vote would definitely go to the 454. You can use boolit weights from 200gr to 375gr. It has accounted for 41 animals with 41 shots. If you want something heavier than I would go to the 500S&W.

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont have a 480 but do have a 475 and a 454. Ive allways wanted a 480 but just never got excited about any of the guns chambered in them. If i had to pick one of the two id take the 480 hands down. Especially considering this is a cast bullet forum. The 480 can drive heavier bullets with larger metplats plenty fast enough. A 400 at 1200fps is easily doable and pushing a cast bullet much faster then that is detrimental to performance anyway. Ive got a nice fa 454 but to be honest it sits in the safe most of the time. I just never saw what it did that a good larger framed ruger in 45 colt wouldnt do with cast bullets. Another advantage to the 480 is with factory ammo theres less recoil and muzzle blast. Now granted you can load down a 454 and reduce both of those in it too. Brass and ammo would be a bit easier to find in 454 though as are molds. But in this day and age of the internet that is a small point.

[Tom W.]

I had a .480 with the 9 inch barrel, and it was a PITA to carry, but it shot like a dream. I made 400 grain boolits from an RCBS mold, and easily hit clay pigeons @ a measured 100 yards offhand. I foolishly sold it, and now have an Encore with a 12 inch .454. I do believe that I'd prefer the SRH with a 7 1/2 inch barrel with either chambering, but would really prefer the .480 to the .454

With either one you'd best make sure your W/W supply is adequate.

[Whitworth]

You did say that you want a big bore, so your only choice is the .480 in my humble opinion! Bigger hole, less pressure, heavier bullets -- yes, you can load the .454 with really heavy bullets, but it won't necessarily work any better. I have had both -- in SRHs and while the .454 is a decent cartridge, it cannot do anything the .480 can do better. The .480 is a relatively low pressure proposition, so pick up a pile of brass and you will get lots of use out of it. Plus, the .480 is just more pleasant to shoot in nearly every iteration. JMHO.

[44man]

I have never had a love affair with the .454 and working with a few with friends over the years showed too many problems with ignition when working loads. We cured it by cutting down .460 brass and using LP mag primers, accuracy jumped big time.
The .480 is a wonderful caliber but I would be more inclined to get the BFR .475 if I were you. Then you could do anything you want with superb accuracy to boot. Shoot one once and you will be hooked forever. Big enough for any animal on earth yet capable of sub 1" groups at 100 yards. The BFR has enough weight so you can shoot all day unlike a Freedom where a few cylinder fulls will make you put it away.

[sixshot]

I've owned both, the FA 454 & the SRH 480 & both were great guns in hard hitting calibers. The 454 has proven to be one of the best big game cartridges ever & has been used on every animal on the planet with great success.
I would still have mine except it didn't have adjustable sights but the gun shot great, the recoil is stiff & snappy with high end loads but you have to pay for horsepower.
I've taken one bull moose with the SRH 480, one shot with a 370 gr cast at about 1200 fps, bullet exited & the bull traveled maybe 20 yds. I really like this cartridge but if you get one make sure to stock up on brass, the 2 rounds cost about the same but 480 is tougher to find although Graf & Son's has it in stock, I just bought another hundred. I have enough to last me a life time.
I recently sold the SRH & had one of the top pistolsmiths in the country build me a 5 shot 480 in the Bisley frame, I couldn't be happier, I've run close to 300 rounds through it so far & its going to be a doozy on game. I'll be going bear hunting in about 6 weeks, it will be on my side.
The 475 is another step up & you can shoot both 475's & 480's in them although FA doesn't recommend doing that in their guns. Also you can just load the 475 down for plinking loads. Lots of ways to go, you'll make the right decision for you.

Custom 5 shot 480, built by Alan Harton

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_2294-1.jpg

Working up loads with water quenched WW's, this load was 20 grs of 4227 & a 370 gr cast slug at 50 yds off the bags, iron sights.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k3/6shot_01/100_2304.jpg

Dick

[Whitworth]

Sixshot, your Harton is nothing short of beautiful!

[dubber123]

Sixshot, your Harton is nothing short of beautiful!

I agree, and I REALLY like your sight set up.. Excellent choice in my opinion, a do it all package that you can carry on your belt. :drinks:

[warf73]

sixshot, that is great looking sidearm.

[ole 5 hole group]

480, 475 Linebaugh or the 500JRH - all excellent calibers and you couldn't go wrong choosing between the 3. That's a really nice 5-shooter you have there Sixshot and it appears Harton does great work.

[use enough gun]

Another vote for the BFR here! If you get a chance try one in 45/70, you will instantly fall in love with it. And as the factory literature says, shoots like a laser. Dave

[44man]

Whitworth and I shot the custom shop BFR .500 JRH yesterday. What a gorgeous hunk of steel.
I shot 3 shots from Creedmore (one hand) and the thing almost left my hand with every shot. I don't know how I held on to it! :holysheep:bigsmyl2:
It is a bear from the bench but not bad off hand with 2 hands.
It puts recoil in perspective and makes a .475 seem like a ***** cat.
Now Marko has worse guns, FAAAAR worse but I think I will top out with the JRH. It is reaching the point where vertical stringing can't be controlled no matter how tight the gun is held and would shine with lower velocity loads.
The more we shoot the real big stuff, the more I feel the .475 is at the limit of control for small groups. For those fellas that think a .44 is nasty, stay away from the huge .500's.
There is something strange with the large calibers. I can shoot the same weight boolits at the same velocity from the .475 with no loss of control yet from a .500 they get WILD with much more barrel rise and felt recoil. The only difference is the larger the caliber, the less steel in the gun and the lighter it is. I would want a .500 JRH in a 10" barrel. The minimum for a .475 is 7-1/2".
Even with our experience with heavy calibers, torn hands, fatigue and the inability to control barrel rise has shown short barrels and light guns can not be made to shoot with accuracy.
To put it another way, a light rifle chambered in some of these calibers would beat your shoulder black and blue.
S&W does NOT have it wrong with the huge X frame!

[dubber123]

Jim, short barreled guns certainly can shoot. My AVERAGE with my .475, 4-3/4" barrel was 1.5" @ 50 yards when I shot it daily. 1-1/4" happened quite a bit, occasionally less. I was shooting with the heavy 4 pound trigger at the time, and iron sights, no optics. It's practice and concentration. ALOT of concentration. The long barreled guns make it look easy, but they are no more accurate. http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh83/dubber123/IMG_0011.jpg The store bought target was within the first few days of getting the gun, and was with factory ammo. The sub 1" was with a 440 grain boolit at 1,325 fps., which is MORE powerful than most peoples longer barreled loads, it's no creampuff. It shoots just as well with a 400 gr. @ 800 fps., and is a real pleasure.

[buck1]

The BFR is a GREAT GUN!
I have both cals. No trouble from the .454 that 44man has had. No squibs or anything. I shoot the 260 gr cast TC GC that lyman made for FA years ago on top of AA#9 at full throttle.
To my way of thinking, The .454 would win hands down. The .480 is for me more of a fun thing, and the 454 is more of a lets get serious. The 480 is for heavy boolits and the 454 is for more for lighter ones in my book. But to be honest I love them both, And I bet you will love eaither one.....Just my $0.02 Buck

[44man]

The BFR is a GREAT GUN!
I have both cals. No trouble from the .454 that 44man has had. No squibs or anything. I shoot the 260 gr cast TC GC that lyman made for FA years ago on top of AA#9 at full throttle.
To my way of thinking, The .454 would win hands down. The .480 is for me more of a fun thing, and the 454 is more of a lets get serious. The 480 is for heavy boolits and the 454 is for more for lighter ones in my book. But to be honest I love them both, And I bet you will love eaither one.....Just my $0.02 Buck
Only with starting loads of H110 or 296. Must use full charges with these powders.
Dubber, shoot a .500 with that barrel length! [smilie=l:

[targetshootr]

I'd go with a 475 Bisley or BFR. The 45 colt can do most of what the 454 can do in a 5 shot gun.



Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing their IDIOT!

Go trolling much?

[Dogchaser]

Jim, short barreled guns certainly can shoot. My AVERAGE with my .475, 4-3/4" barrel was 1.5" @ 50 yards when I shot it daily. 1-1/4" happened quite a bit, occasionally less. I was shooting with the heavy 4 pound trigger at the time, and iron sights, no optics. It's practice and concentration. ALOT of concentration. The long barreled guns make it look easy, but they are no more accurate. http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh83/dubber123/IMG_0011.jpg The store bought target was within the first few days of getting the gun, and was with factory ammo. The sub 1" was with a 440 grain boolit at 1,325 fps., which is MORE powerful than most peoples longer barreled loads, it's no creampuff. It shoots just as well with a 400 gr. @ 800 fps., and is a real pleasure.

All of a sudden I want your gun.:idea:

[DLCTEX]

I have a Tarus Raging Bull in 480 and really like it. I shot it with friends today and they were of the same opinion. Plenty of power, but very controllable. I am shooting the Lee 475-400 boolit ahead of H110 at about 1200 fps. Brass is available, ordered some from Grafs today, and as stated it can be reloaded many times over. Just my Dos Centavos.

[dubber123]

Only with starting loads of H110 or 296. Must use full charges with these powders.
Dubber, shoot a .500 with that barrel length! [smilie=l:

Other than the noise being different, the same weight/same vel should equal the same recoil in my mind, given the same type of powder used. So how much faster will a .500 shoot a 440 gr. boolit than 1,325 fps. from a short barrel? You are just too used to shooting that field artillery, that 'lil belly guns got you skeered... :wink:

[Lloyd Smale]

heck pal ruger sells the #1 in 475 with a 22 inch barrel it too would be easier to shoot ;) my take on recoil in these big gun goes like this. Ill take 500s for an example as ive shot them in about every barrel lengh. With loads in the 1100-1200 fps range i think my 4 inch guns have less felt recoil then the longer ones. I allways wondered if it had something to do with how long the bullet is in the barrel. When it gets into pushing 440s or heavier to 1300-1400 the little guns do snap. But bottom line is with loads like those any barrel lenght can be a handfull and the differnces seem minor to me. I cant say one is hard on a guy and the other is a piece of cake. I allways chuckled at guys that claim a 475 or 454 kicks harder then a 500. Its just physics that a gun shooting a 440 at 1300 is going to recoil more then a gun shooting a 400 at the same speed. In my opinion when you get a 500 up to 1300 plus its in a differnt league then a 475. The 454 may be snappy but its not in the same league as the other two. I think most of what guys shooting 454 percieve as recoil is the very heavy muzzle blast a 454 produces. It will wake up the dead with full power loads.
Only with starting loads of H110 or 296. Must use full charges with these powders.
Dubber, shoot a .500 with that barrel length! [smilie=l:

[Whitworth]

dubber -- that .500 is a horse. I've got the bruised and busted knuckles as a reminder! All of the 425 grain loads were sailing along well over 1,400 fps......:bigsmyl2:

[dubber123]

dubber -- that .500 is a horse. I've got the bruised and busted knuckles as a reminder! All of the 425 grain loads were sailing along well over 1,400 fps......:bigsmyl2:

A horse no doubt, but about 20 grs. less lead, 75 fps. faster... Shouldn't be a tremendous difference. They DO shoot just as well, but when you KNOW they are gonna cut you, thats where the concentration part I mentioned to Jim comes in. It's really hard to do when your body knows it's about to be hurt.

When I shot mine daily, I had a roll of cloth tape I used on my trigger finger, (gets cut on the inside of the trigger guard), my middle knuckle, (cut on the back of the trigger guard), and my top thumb knuckle (cut by the back of the hammer).

On top of all of this, the only way I could get tiny groups was with a VERY light grip off the bench, (I know Jim, that doesn't work.... :roll:). If I applied anything resembling a tight grip to try and tame recoil, I would get vertical stringing, every time. I just can't hold it down consistantly. The short barrel does seem to make this trait worse. I have a pic I found the other day I will try and post showing how mine recoils. The front sight digs chunks out of my left earmuff.

You boys obviously know how to shoot, so you can master that .500. It's not gonna be fun though... :lol:

[44man]

It is the vertical stringing but also the comfort level for the reason I like the longer barrels.
Marko has shot up the top of my boolit catcher and he is a lot stronger then I am.
The .500's are the worst offenders, guns are lighter of course but I wonder if the fat slugs have a tad more barrel time then the .475.
Now we shot some BB 440 gr loads at around 950 fps and they were very pleasant, not much recoil at all. I think once we start loading for them, we can tame them better.
There is no need to run them full bore, you could drop those boolits on a deer's head from the tree and knock them out! [smilie=l:

[Whitworth]

The .500 JRH busted me up, but it still hurts the body less than my .500 Linebaugh which is a much lighter revolver. It is a lot easier to control than my .50 Alaskan as well! :mrgreen:

We were still able to get a group that went a bit over an inch at 50 yards, but will scope it to see just what kind of accuracy it is capable of with factory loads -- standby!

[ole 5 hole group]

dubber -- that .500 is a horse. I've got the bruised and busted knuckles as a reminder! All of the 425 grain loads were sailing along well over 1,400 fps......:bigsmyl2:

I take it you're shooting Buffalo Bore ammo purchased from Jack. When I got my 500JRH I ordered a couple boxes of each weight. I chronographed the 425 right at 1350fps and the 440 grain a little over 950fps from a 6" barrel. The 425 grain is a snappy little thing and it bit me with the 1st shot fired from the revolver. I immediately changed my grip and squeezed a little on those Micarta's but my trigger finger would still get a greeting every now and then - I fired 20 rounds of that 425 grain before I put the gun down and attended to my trigger finger and hand webbing (1st shot) and then went to the 440 grain rounds and they were a joy to shoot and shot just as well as the 425. You can get the 440 grain almost to 1500fps in the JRH if you have a mind to. Also, the only 500 grain bullet that I have found that will consistently work with the JRH case is the Hornady jacketed XTP.

[44man]

Why do we keep looking for more pain? :redneck:
They all kill, from the .41 up. What the heck do we need a .50 caliber for? [smilie=l:

[Duckiller]

What ever you think you are going to get,SHOOT IT FIRST! And shoot a fair amount. #2 son really needed a Raging Bull in .454. Shot factory loads and some of my full power reloads. After several sessions we both decided that 15-20 shots of full power loads per session was all we needed to shoot. We both shoot various 44Mags with no problem. Daughter thinks that light 160 gr. loads in the Raging Bull with the compensated barrel a delight to shoot. It is accurate. I admit to being recoil sensitive unless I am after ducks or geese with a gas auto.
Your .44 Mag will kill most animals and all paper in the lower 48. The one claim to fame that the cannons do have is they do produce LARGE balls of fire when fired at dusk.

[Whitworth]

The one claim to fame that the cannons do have is they do produce LARGE balls of fire when fired at dusk.

You forgot to add that they not only produce large fireballs, but they also produce large holes in game -- oh, and that's not a bad thing........:razz:

[dubber123]

Why do we keep looking for more pain? :redneck:
They all kill, from the .41 up. What the heck do we need a .50 caliber for? [smilie=l:

Because you can't buy a .60 caliber.... ;)

[Whitworth]

Because you can't buy a .60 caliber.... ;)

At least not yet........:mrgreen:

[use enough gun]

You guys can play with the 50's, I'll stick with my 45/70, it's almost as much fun as you can legally have and keep your cloths on. If I can't kill it with my 45/70 it ain't of this world. Dave:Fire:

[dubber123]

At least not yet........:mrgreen:

Someone will (of course) correct me if I'm worng, but I believe there is some goofy Federal law prohibiting anything over .50 cal. It's classified as a "destructive device" or some such foolishness. I believe Hamilton Bowen did a .577 cal Redhawk, and needed a specially issued permit for it's construction.

[ole 5 hole group]

Someone will (of course) correct me if I'm worng, but I believe there is some goofy Federal law prohibiting anything over .50 cal. It's classified as a "destructive device" or some such foolishness. I believe Hamilton Bowen did a .577 cal Redhawk, and needed a specially issued permit for it's construction.

Haaa, but a bore can be measured two ways. Ever wonder why the 50BMG is legal? The big 50's measure .510" from the grooves but only .500" from the lands.

[Whitworth]

Haaa, but a bore can be measured two ways. Ever wonder why the 50BMG is legal? The big 50's measure .510" from the grooves but only .500" from the lands.

Save for the .500 Linebaugh and the .500 Maximum (and .50 Alaskan as it is actually a rifle round), which are both .510 diameter........

[dubber123]

I believe all those listed are still considered a "50 caliber". I am quite sure about that goofy law. I believe I read something about S&W saying their X-frame was big enough for a larger cal, but they couldn't legally make it, so they stuck with the .50. I wish someone had a link to the law.

[warf73]

To my understanding it's illegal for us common people to own anything larger than a rifled .729” dai. When I was tring to buy a rifled barrel for my 10ga.(.775”) I was told it was illegal. Anything larger than an a rifled 12 ga(.729”) is considered a destructive device per BATF, unless the law has changed.

[warf73]

I like the idea of the 480 Ruger and shooting a 400gr boolit running around 1000 fps.I'm guessing that a 400gr slug running 850~900fps could be shot all day long (pure guessing on my part) at paper, cans or the odd cotton tail rabbit. So the 454 is out of the running.

[warf73]

OK here is what I’ve found in 480 Ruger.

Ruger SRH NIB $639
Ruger SRH used $595
Tauras used $500 this one is an aprox price as the auction is still going.
BFR NIB $855
BFR used $795


I’m leaning to the Ruger SRH NIB seems the most sencable buy to me.

[Whitworth]

Get the .480 and never look back.......

[dubber123]

To my understanding it's illegal for us common people to own anything larger than a rifled .729” dai. When I was tring to buy a rifled barrel for my 10ga.(.775”) I was told it was illegal. Anything larger than an a rifled 12 ga(.729”) is considered a destructive device per BATF, unless the law has changed.

I think I have it figured. For any NEW cartridge to be legal over .50 cal, you must complete a Form 7 Application for Licence, and have it accepted by the BATF as being designed for sporting use only. S&W would have had to do this to make their X-frame in anything over .50, and is what Bowen had to do to make his .577 Redhawk. Now that I've lead this way off topic... :oops:

[44man]

The .480 is great but if you happen to buy a .475 like the BFR, use .475 brass for the lighter loads, it is more accurate.
I played with .480 brass and could never get what I wanted. In .475 brass, 15 gr of HS-6 and a 400 gr boolit was shooting at an inch at 50 yards with pleasant recoil. A great overall load.