480 Ruger

[BoogieMan]

Im not very familiar with this caliber. BUT, I found the gun I want (DA with unfluted cylinder and the right price) that just happens to be chambered in 480. Ammo seems a bit costly. I have found little to no info on performance compared to other magnums.

[Ruger45LC]

Ammo is rather scarce and you would surely benefit the most by reloading for it. Performance wise, it looks to be about 200 fps shy (or thereabouts) of a .475 Linebaugh when loaded warm. In others words, it's a brute.

[newfrontier45]

It's a wonderful cartridge and vastly underrated. As stated it's only a little behind the .475. It deserves to be way more popular than the X-frame chamberings.

I have found little to no info on performance

Think:
275's@1650fps
325's@1525fps
355's@1530fps
370's@1500fps
405's@1325fps
420's@1250fps

[BoogieMan]

Thanks for the info guys. I looked at some ammo prices and availability. It just doesnt make sense for me. For hunting I have the 460. Its a shame because a SRH with satin finish and unflutted cylinder is a sweet looking gun. I have time so I will keep looking for a 357.

[22-rimfire]

From 480 Ruger to 357 mag... that is quite a move. The 480 is a great cartridge. The Hornady runs about $30/20-ct box for the 325 gr XTPs. I have read that Hornady has discontinued doing the 400 gr XTPs. When they first came out, you could buy the same 325 gr boxes for about $18. It was probably the biggest bargain in a big bore revolver going.

You will feel even the modestly loaded Hornady's. But the recoil is controllable.

[Lost Sheep]

The 480 throws a bigger bullet than the 454 Casull and 460 S&W, but at a lower velocity.

Remember. Bullet energy shreds flesh but momentum breaks bone (and provides penetration).

The next two paragraphs are second-hand information, though my experience with recoil in my three Super Redhawks in 44, 454 and 480, all in 7.5" barrels, bear out the recoil testimony.

The recoil from the 480 is less punishing than the 454 Casull, about halfway between the 44 Magnum and 454 Casull in the same-configuration guns.

The 480 is a lot more effective on thick-skinned game animals than the 44 Magnum and only a little less effective than the 454 Casull and is really given an advantage with the heavier bullets.

If faced with a charging Grizzly Bear and there were two guns on the table, one 480 Ruger with 370 grain or 440 grain hard cast lead bullets and one 454 Casull with 240 or 300 grain hard case lead, the 480 would be my choice if each cartridge were loaded to maximum power levels. But my prejudice is toward bigger bullets. More weight, more penetration and more frontal area.

If the choice were between the 480 Ruger and the 460 S&W, I would not be so certain in my choice.

Thanks for asking our advice and opinions.

My advice: If you don't reload snf aren't going to, rule out the 480/475. If you don't have a .357 Magnum, go for that. If the 480 you found is such a bargain, add in the cost of a decent reloading outfit (estimate $300-$400) and go to town.

Lost Sheep

[johnwilliamson062]

I have a buddy with over 100 handguns. He shoots a lot of magnums. 44 mag, 460, 475, 480, 500, and probably a few more wildcats.

He says his favorite is the 480 and for how much power it has it shoots like a dream. Accurate, low pressure, etc etc. He went on for about 15 minutes about how it was the best once.

I didn't buy one b/c ammo is expensive and not as available as 460, 454, and 45 colt.

[22-rimfire]

Ammo is not a problem if you plan ahead. I doubt you would be shooting more than 20 rounds at a single sitting anyway especially from the SRH. I have a SRH in 480.

I noticed that Sportsman Warehouse has some Hornady 325 gr 480 Ruger and I have been buying a box a week. Building up the cache of factory ammo slowly as I don't shoot it weekly. I'm just about ready to sight in a red dot on my BFR. I'll do the 475 Linebaugh thing later after I'm comfortable with the gun.

Max Prasac's book is worth buying. You'll enjoy digging through it.

I think you are dismissing the gun and caliber too quickly. It would make an excellent PA whitetail gun.

[tulsamal]

Very versatile.

My favorite version of the Alaskan.

And a totally dead simple cartridge to reload. I've never owned a single round of factory .480 and don't see why I would need to do so.

Gregg

[BoogieMan]

Im not downing the cartridge. I justify every purchase (to myself) by having it fit some need. I cant find anything this caliber would do that I cant do with my 460. The looks of the gun alone dont give me enough need. I still have about 45 days before I can buy again, Jersey thing. Ill keep looking and asking questions. You guys are always very informative.

[tulsamal]

Comparing the .460 to the .480 is definitely an apples and oranges thing. The .460 X frames tend to be larger and heavier. (Obviously depends on what gun is chambering the .480.) I still don't own an X frame... they really are large guns and they still have that thrice cursed lock hole on the side of the frame. But moving away from the guns... the .460 does its magic with high velocity. You get a flat trajectory and consequently a longer point blank maximum range. But nothing is free... that high velocity means the gun has the type of snappy recoil that really wears you down. They are loud... really loud. Lots of cylinder and muzzle blast.

If you _need_ the advantages of the .460, nothing else can really challenge it in a revolver. But many of the old timers here have learned that most of the time you don't need that much velocity to use a revolver effectively in the field. We have drifted towards 1000 fps or so for field use. Even for .44 Magnum guns. If you are going to load to that area for comfort and utility, then the only way you can "hit something harder" is to move to a wider and heavier bullet.

To keep it simpler, let's compare it in the same gun but in different chamberings. You can get the SRH in .44 Magnum, .454, or .480. I've got a 9.5" .44 Magnum SRH and it is a sweet gun. You can load very hot, very heavy bulleted rounds just for that gun and it will handle them with ease. When you need that sort of thing, it works. I don't own a .454 but my limited range use with them is that they frigging well kick, fast and hard. They were developed to work with high velocity. If you load them that way, they let you know they went off. They also work on game but... you do pay the recoil and blast price. And then we have the .480. Ruger chose to download the .475 and market it as the milder .480. In my experience, it performs very well on deer with minimal loadings. Pick a hard cast bullet with a big flat nose and then drive it around 1000 fps. It will punch a big hole all the way through, pretty much destroying everything on the way. But without the shot meat look of a high velocity rifle.

The good news IMO is that the .480 can be used in the field in what amounts to very mild loads and do the job. Without a lot of recoil. Without a lot of blast. I personally find it more relaxing to go out and shoot than most of my .44 Magnums.

I think the designers did everything right with the round. Just somehow the marketing guys screwed it up!

Gregg

[newfrontier45]

Great post Gregg, agreed 100%!!!

[22-rimfire]

Im not downing the cartridge. I justify every purchase (to myself) by having it fit some need. I cant find anything this caliber would do that I cant do with my 460. The looks of the gun alone dont give me enough need. I still have about 45 days before I can buy again, Jersey thing. Ill keep looking and asking questions. You guys are always very informative.

I guess my question is why you were interested in the SRH in 480 in the first place when you have the 460 S&W? Thought that was the purpose of this thread was to learn about the 480 Ruger because you were considering buying it.

[Ben Dover]

After a morning spent shooting 200 full power .44 magnum rounds through my 7 1/2 inch Redhawk, I shudder at the very thought of holding a .480 in my hand when the hammer falls.:

[BoogieMan]

I guess my question is why you were interested in the SRH in 480 in the first place when you have the 460 S&W? Thought that was the purpose of this thread was to learn about the 480 Ruger because you were considering buying it.

I was considering because I found the gun I like in 480. I dont have devotion to any caliber like many of you do. What better place to hear about something than interests you than from a enthusiast? After hearing what its all about I have to say, Its not for me. I love a big violent flash when shooting my revolver, its not for everybody. The other downfall (to me) is that the 480 has few commercial cartridges available. I reload but I dont need more to reload. My time is to limited already.

[22-rimfire]

Good luck to ya. Lots of great revolvers to choose from in 357 mag.

[BOBA FETT]

i have a .480 super redhawk and its a monster....i was shooting the 480 one day and a guy next to me was shooting a 44 magnum..he let me try it and the 44 magnum felt like a .38 compared to the 480...the ruger has people coming over and asking what the hell is that....it puts nice big holes in whatever it hits...

[johnwilliamson062]

the longer PBR was part of my reason to go with the 460 also. Shooting my magnum hunting pistol is probably third or fourth on my list of shooting priorities. Stretching that PBR out gives me a little more leeway.

[BOBA FETT]

i almost got a .460 wth the 2 inch barrel...the .480 caught my interest a little more cause i like the oddball calibers..

[JayCee]

The 480 Ruger is so close in performance to the 475 Linebaugh that it's hard to understand why Ruger didn't just chamber the Super Redhawk in 475 Linebaugh. I guess Ruger just wanted a cartridge with their name on it...

[tulsamal]

It's all about cylinder size. With six holes, the .480 doesn't have a huge amount of steel in between holes. Even higher pressure probably isn't a good idea. And the longer cartridge of the .475 would be problematic as well. If they were going that direction, they would probably have to come out with a longer cylinder version. A Ruger X frame.

They did make the decision before to make the .480 SRH a five shooter... then they only made about 50 of them (all Alaskans) and quit. When I heard they were going to make .480's again, I assumed they would be five shot. I was wrong!

Gregg

[s4s4u]

a .460 wth the 2 inch barrel

WHY?

[BoogieMan]

460 with a 8-3/8 barrel shoots a 2-3' flame out the end. I would guess that a 2" version would be good to weld with.

[22-rimfire]

They did make the decision before to make the .480 SRH a five shooter... then they only made about 50 of them (all Alaskans) and quit. When I heard they were going to make .480's again, I assumed they would be five shot. I was wrong!

Just guessing.... 50 is probably their minimum production run and they probably looked at their added costs (5 hole versus 6 hole) and decided it was not worth their while (not to mention sales from the 454 version reducing the buyer pool). They may also have determined that the "issues" were still present in the 5-hole versus 6-hole. Never had any significant issues with my 6-shooter.

I was pleased to see that they are reportedly going to produce the Alaskan in 480 Ruger again. I intend to get one when I start seeing them hit the stores. May even break down and do the online thing which I resist doing.

[newfrontier45]

Actually I think they only made a couple dozen of the five-shot .480's. They didn't just chamber the .475 because the cylinder would not be long enough. The .480 loaded with a 420-430gr LBT is right full.