I'm getting my first HAND CANNON!!! Need some 480 tips.

[Angus]

I'm trading off my 41 mag Blackhawk towards a 480 SRH. I couldn't pass it up for $450 with rings.

How important is it to put a set of Hogue rubbers on vs the factory wood panels?

I'm going to use it primarily on white tail and hopefully a hog hunt in Florida this fall. Has anyone done any work with Lee's 325 with and without a GC? I'm just curious how well it works, since a 400gr boolit is way more than necessary, but I'll use it if the GC design isn't as good as the 400.

I'm wanting to put together some mild loads to start with to get warmed up to such a beast. I have Titegroup, Unique, and 2400 on my bench. What are the preferred loads, if any, with those three powders under either of Lee's boolits?

[bdutro]

I'm trading off my 41 mag Blackhawk towards a 480 SRH. I couldn't pass it up for $450 with rings.

How important is it to put a set of Hogue rubbers on vs the factory wood panels?

Nice score!
You are the only one who can answer that question.



I'm going to use it primarily on white tail and hopefully a hog hunt in Florida this fall. Has anyone done any work with Lee's 325 with and without a GC? I'm just curious how well it works, since a 400gr boolit is way more than necessary, but I'll use it if the GC design isn't as good as the 400.
The whole gun is way more than necessary! Don't worry about necessary, worry about what works.



I'm wanting to put together some mild loads to start with to get warmed up to such a beast. I have Titegroup, Unique, and 2400 on my bench. What are the preferred loads, if any, with those three powders under either of Lee's boolits?

Test the **** out of everything, and have fun doing it. My experience with the 500 leads me to heavy, long-nose bullets with a case full of slow powder. I'm curious what a heavy slug will do to a deer or hog. Looking forward to your reports.

[sagacious]

The whole gun is way more than necessary! Don't worry about necessary, worry about what works.

Exactly. Use what works. Do not fuss with extreme velocity or anything else, just focus on what's accurate. What's accurate will work.

I like the LEE 476-400-RF. It's a great bullet, and is very accurate in my 480 SRH and many other 480's.

In your application, the LEE 400 will penetrate completely... but so will the 325. Since the 400 entirely eliminates the gc question, is easy to cast and is very accurate, it's not worth losing any sleep over the extra 75grs.

Linotype or quenched ww alloy and WW296 was all it took to get an accurate load for my 480. I do trim my cases to get a uniform crimp, but the bearing-length of the LEE 400 sized to .476" gives a lot of case/bullet tension, and that's critical... and another reason to go with the 400. I have both the RCBS and Hornady dies, and I much prefer the Hornady's for the 480.

Despite a lingering desire to buy custom grips for the gun, the factory grips work very well for me.

Good luck with your 480. :drinks:

[Packy]

I have a 480 in a Taurus Raging Bull. It likes the 400 grain bullet. I also have the 325 and could never get it to shoot all that good. I tried it with and without the gas check and it did shoot better with the gas check. I tried powders from unique to 296 and it just didn't shoot as good as the 400. I cast the 400 out of w.w. with some tin and load with 20 grains of 296 and they shoot good. No leading at all.

[Lee]

Lay in a life time supply of brass. It is getting harder and harder to find.....Lee

[Angus]

Lee, that's a definite concern. I'm getting 100 to start, probably another 3-400 later this summer. Has anyone tried Speer's brass? I've heard Hornady's is a little soft, and Speer's is cheaper than anyone else's through Graf's.

[bobke]

http://www.lasc.us/480Ruger.htm

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=71530

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4911043/m/55810309?r=55810309#55810309

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=82160

this oughta be enough fodder for your cannon for the moment. i've been shooting a bfr 475 for about 350 rounds now and have found hs6 and power pistol particularly easy to work with using 400gr wfn, wln, lfn and 400gr lee flatnose at around 965 to 1100fps range. at that velocity range/power level, these are super accurate and should be applicable to many hunting situations you'd find yourself involved in stateside.

[Whitworth]

I would stick with 400 + grain bullets -- they just do everything better than the lightweights. The Hogue Tamer grips are a nice addition and for $20.00 you really can't go wrong.

[sagacious]

Lee, that's a definite concern. I'm getting 100 to start, probably another 3-400 later this summer. Has anyone tried Speer's brass? I've heard Hornady's is a little soft, and Speer's is cheaper than anyone else's through Graf's.

I have been using Hornady 480 brass for years. Mine is not certainly soft, but was once-fired with a factory load before I acquired it. It might be that brand-new unfired Hornady brass is soft, or that the current production is soft. The 1000-ct batch I got years ago is fine.

[Beaverhunter2]

I must be the exception. I've had nothing but trouble with the Lee 400 and get my best performace out of the 325 w/GC (I use W296 like many of you). I'd love to get my hands on a 400gr WFNGC with one cavity hollow-pointed!

My parents misunderstood me when I asked them for 50 rds of .480 brass and 100 rds of .450 brass for CHRISTmas one time. I ended up with 250 rds of .480. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

I love the .480 Ruger! What a shame it was so misunderstood!

John

[Angus]

I got the gun a few days ago and have put 80 rounds down the pipe so far. It's a lot snottier than my 41 was with Unique loads, but it's also far more accurate. I tried it at 15 yds just to compare it to my P89's accuracy and shot a 1.5" group. I took it out to 50 yds.

I tried some with 8 grs of Unique, and did about 8" and recoil was far greater than I expected. Figuring a slower powder might be the answer, I loaded up some rounds with 18gr of 2400. The recoil felt identical, but I'm sure the boolit was flying a good bit faster. This load got me down to around 6". Today I picked up a bottle of Lil'Gun and loaded up 19grs of it. Touched off with a CCI 350 it put them in 5" at 50 yds. The felt recoil between all three loads felt about the same, which is a little bizarre to me. I know it's far from bragging accuracy, but it is by far the best I have ever done with a pistol. I'm thinking bambi is going to have a real problem out to 50 yards this fall.

I'm shooting the Lee 400grain plain base. I tried sizing them to .476 in my Lyman 45, but using a nail as a top punch has the boolits going down sideways and coming out out-of-round. So I tumble lubed the lot in LLA and dusted with graphite. As velocity went up so did leading, but it is not accumulating and is still a very manageable thin film. I'm using water-dropped isotope core alloy.

After putting 80 rounds down range over two days, my hand hurts a bit. I think a Hogue Tamer is definitely on the menu. I'm sure eventually my hands will toughen up to it, but I think the Hogues will make it a little more pleasant.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Here is something to think about . . . I bought some Houge grips for my SP101 in 357 Mag (also for Blackhawk & Security six) the SP101 is pictured below, The SRH Alaskan came with Houge's with Rugers emblem on them (I'm not sure if regular Houges have this feature)

The SRH grips have a blue insert to cover the backstrap area, and it is a softer spongier rubber!

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Ruger%20Alaskan/Grips1.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Ruger%20Alaskan/Grips2.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Ruger%20Alaskan/Grips3.jpg

I like the Houges!
[smilie=s:

[Whitworth]

Those with the blue sorbathane inserts are the Tamers. They made a world of difference on my custom .475 Linebaugh SRH and I put a set on my .500 Linebaugh SRH before I even shot it!

[Angus]

I have a set of tamers on order now... Can't wait.

[wolfman]

I also am shooting the Lee 400gr cast from wheelweights and water dropped from my SRH. I am pan lubing using Felix lube then loading them on top of 20gr of Lil-Gun, using CCI LP Mag primers.
Chrono says right at 1,100 fps and I am getting 2" 6 shot groups at 50 yds from a rest.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f318/wolf_man_x/HPIM0115.jpg

[Crash_Corrigan]

What is our obsession with these hand cannons? I have a Ruger BlackHawk in .45 Colt with the .45 ACP extra cylinder and a 4 5/8 bbl.

With a wide flat nosed cast 300 gr boolit over a bunch of 2400 powder I am getting 1150 FPS and 2 1/2 groups at 50 yds. At 100 I am getting 6" groups or less if I really try hard and use a rest.

Now all this weight moving at 1150 FPS produces a hefty recoil which I am not crazy about. However for a hunting load or in an area where larger predatators abound I would like to carry this gun and this loading .

For every day plinking and target practice I shoot a 255 GR Lee cast boolit over some trail boss powder. They move at about 800 to 825 FPS and that is just fine for me for casual shooting. Decent accuracy and I can shoot these all day long without a sore hand.

For self defence I carry a .44 Special Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in a pocket holster. It is light, concealable and hard hitting. You put a heavy round with a stout charge in this gun and it will tear off your hand and maybe come apart. It is not noted for it's ability to shoot heavy loadings of anything.

[Tom W.]

The .480 doesn't ( to me, anyway ) have all that much recoil. I prefer it over my .454 any day...

[DLCTEX]

I have a 480 Ruger in a Tarus Raging Bull and the recoil is not bad at all with the 476-400 Lee and 21 gr. H-110, Win. LP primer. Accuracy is exceptional. The Tarus comes with muzzle brake and cushioned grips. A much more pleasant gun to shoot than an Old Model Ruger Blackhawk in 44 Mag. I had once. The Speer brass I bought from Graf's had varying rim thickness which showed up due to the only shell holder I had for it being a tight fit. If it comes to it, we can shorten 475 brass in the future. The Hornady brass I have has worked well, but only has 4 reloads on it so far.

[tek4260]

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm35/tk3945/101_1894.jpg

Seems I got one of them the other day too!!

[Jbar4Ranch]

My first .480 was roll marked .475 Ruger on the barrel, but accuracy was such that it was difficult to hit the broad side of a barn... from the inside! I sent it back and Ruger sent me a brand new revolver, roll marked .480. If I had only known... I do, however, have the first fifty cases I put through it, also head stamped .475 Ruger. I chucked the original cardboard box in favor of a plastic ammo box... once again, if I had only known. :oops: I've seen the brass now and then over the years, but I've never seen another original cardboard box.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v93/jbar4ranch/475Ruger002.jpg