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Old April 24, 2017, 03:55 PM   #26
jackmoser65
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One of my dream guns would have to be a .500 Linebaugh Maximum. Beautifully finished of course. Either all polished and blued or case colored frame. Barrel band front sight. Burled Walnut stocks. 5 1/2 to 6 1/2" barrel.
I know where there's one for sale if you have $4800. PM me if interested.
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Old April 24, 2017, 04:26 PM   #27
random guy
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Much as I would like that, I am not in a position to do so at the moment. Other needs are more pressing. Our furnace/AC came over on the Mayflower.

Feel free to torture me with a picture if available though.
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Old April 24, 2017, 05:01 PM   #28
Capt Rick Hiott
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I with 50 Shooter,,,I bought the Taurus Raging Bull in .454 Casull many years ago and still hunt with it. Never had a problem. VERY accurate.

Bought a new S&W .460 and was NOT impressed at all with ANY factory load at 100 yards.
The TRB .454 shot way better,,,so I sold the .460
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Old April 24, 2017, 06:49 PM   #29
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I only go to Ruger Forum to check the classifieds. That's where I found it.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/vie...?f=41&t=253421
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Old April 24, 2017, 07:45 PM   #30
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Capt Rick, care to expand on that? Its contrary tp what most folks say so Im definitely curious.
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Old April 25, 2017, 05:08 AM   #31
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Jack, that is a beauty alright. Don't think I'd change a thing.

Max's book looks like a good one and I can afford that at least.
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Old April 25, 2017, 08:17 PM   #32
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I've owned a number of the traditional Magnum revolvers, but just never became interested in the Giant .460 and .500 guns,etc. Years ago though, I did get to examine a Freedom Arms revolver or two in a shop that seemed to sell a lot of them, and always had some in stock. It seemed to me to be the finest revolver I'd ever handled. I had no real need for such a revolver then or now, but just wanted to own one. I later ended up ordering just what I had in mind. I wanted something similar in size to the Super Blackhawk, with barrel I'd had shorted to 5". I ordered a Premier grade .454 with 4 3/4" barrel and extra .45 ACP cylinder. Just the finest, most accurate revolver I have ever personally experienced. Still have no need for it, but it remains one of the last firearms I'd ever want to sell.

Drat! I just realized that maybe I should not have posted on this. I don't believe my revolver and ammunition bear the word "MAGNUM" anywhere
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Old April 26, 2017, 12:12 AM   #33
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I'm a .357 fanboy. I own a GP100 and SP101. My next purchase will be a S&W 686 plus. That said, I'd love, love, love to get a 44 Magnum. My primary reason being I don't have one. After that, I'm leaning towards getting a 41 Magnum for the same reason I want to get a 44 Magnum. My son is saving to get a Desert Eagle in 44 configuration. He says I ruined him by allowing him to shoot one at the range the gut in the stall next to us had. He's hoping I leave my GP100 for him in my will.
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Old April 26, 2017, 12:32 AM   #34
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So with all of your thoughts along with one or two of mine I think I may be leaning towards the ruger SRH in 454. A few reasons, 1. The SRH with the grey finish is very aesthetically pleasing to me, and we all know you cant be going off in the bushes with some ugly a** gun! 2. I already have 45 colt dies and molds so a little brass collecting and I'd be pretty set to shoot this boomer. 3. Im a fan of ruger revolvers, should I go with this it'd be my 4th ruger revolver. 5. It will accept a scope straight away.

Down sides.......umm.....it cost money...
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Old April 26, 2017, 07:48 AM   #35
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If I were to venture beyond my 44 Magnums, I think it might be the S&W 460V, a 5" barrel gun. I have an 8 3/8" S&W 657, 41 Magnum with a scope and already know that a long-barreled, scoped gun is very tricky to shoot free standing. The 460V is more realistic to carry in an Alaska shoulder rig, and I expect it is big enough to handle the rounds. I find it appealing that the gun can shoot 454 Casull and 45 Colt (in any level loading) in addition to 460 S&W Magnum.

I have taken note that about 1" of the barrel length is porting, so the real bore is more like 4". There is still the longer sight radius.

I reload, so these guns are economically feasible for me to shoot in any volume. The question would be whether I was man enough (or young enough).
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Old April 26, 2017, 11:45 AM   #36
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I bought a Freedom Arms .454 Casull because I just really wanted one. I was still in high school at the time, and worked and saved for 2 years for it. I ordered it with an extra cylinder in .45 ACP so I could plink with cheaper ammo, but then I started reloading for it which nearly evened up the cost again.

Our county finally allowed us to deer hunt with handguns, and the first little doe I shot with it made me as happy as if it were a monster buck. I used a 250 grain Hornady XTP at 1675 fps. Still have some of those loads around, but the price of the bullets has gone up now.

Then I went through some dark days and couldn't afford to do any shooting at all. I'm doing better now, but still have frugal habits. Max loads need good bullets to take the pressure, and those are more expensive. So when I came across some 300 grain cast lead bullets for only 8 cents apiece delivered, I stocked up to make mild loads. They're pretty fun to shoot, and a 300 grainer moving 1200 fps (guessed; not chrono'ed) should still ruin any critter's day.

For full house loads, I like the Cast Performance 335 grainers (if I'm remembering correctly- maybe they were 325 grains?). These big slugs seem to recoil with more of a push than the sharp jolt of 260 grainers going 2100 fps. I took another doe with 'em (the 335 grainers), and that is still one of only a few deer I've shot that fell over dead on the spot.
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Old April 26, 2017, 02:13 PM   #37
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I finally managed to buy a Freedom Arms 6” .454 in the late 80s. Shot it a fair amount over time. Have since added a .45 Colt cylinder. Still have some .454 ammo loaded, but the gun mostly sees Ruger level .45 Colt at this point.

Added a .475 Linebaugh in the 3rd Qtr of 2007. Was getting a bit older and figured if I was going to do big bores, I would have to start soon. Shot over 15,000 rounds (mostly 400gr +- at 1,150 fps) thru the gun over the next three years. Had a lot of fun and proved to myself that I could do it. Last full house .475 (420gr at 1,300 fps) I shot was a couple of years ago. During that same time period, I shot at least 20,000 rounds thru the little FA97 .45 Colt.

More recently, I have added a 5” .500 JRH and.480 Ruger 2 ½” snubby. Early on, I cranked these up to satisfy my curiosity regarding recoil. The .500 JRH is too much of a good thing with heavy bullets at top velocities, so it is now loaded more moderately. Nothing to sneeze at with 380 to 440gr bullets at 1,000 fps. The Ruger .480 isn’t bad recoil wise with factory level ammo.

I turned 70 last year, and the “big bores” with full house loads are no longer manageable for me – don’t have the hand strength to control the single actions. Still shoot/enjoy the guns but with more sedate loads.

Always wanted a 4” .500 S&W X Frame. Never got around to it and most likely won’t at this point.

I look back fondly on the journey and never regretted the choices I made. I enthusiastically say "GO FOR IT".


If I was starting out today, I'd buy the new Ruger Bisley in .480 Ruger. Practically speaking, the .480 in the Ruger doesn't give up anything to the .475 LB. You get a practical big bore in a reasonably priced platform that can be used as a launching pad to bigger bores if so desired.


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The .475 and 500 JRH FAs.
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Sorry for the pictures -- tried to enhance them via Photobucket - no luck.
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The .454
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The .480
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Old April 27, 2017, 12:21 AM   #38
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Paul



Very nice group of FAs. Those octagon barrel are like artwork. Are you enjoying the 500 JRH?

be safe
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Old April 27, 2017, 01:26 AM   #39
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Nice peices you have there Paul, real nice. 440 grains at 1000fps, no thats no slouch.
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Old April 27, 2017, 08:47 AM   #40
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So with all of your thoughts along with one or two of mine I think I may be leaning towards the ruger SRH in 454. A few reasons, 1. The SRH with the grey finish is very aesthetically pleasing to me, and we all know you cant be going off in the bushes with some ugly a** gun! 2. I already have 45 colt dies and molds so a little brass collecting and I'd be pretty set to shoot this boomer. 3. Im a fan of ruger revolvers, should I go with this it'd be my 4th ruger revolver. 5. It will accept a scope straight away.
The SRH should be an excellent choice and if you want a scope, probably the best choice. I'm not sure that Ruger is still producing the grey finish but shouldn't be hard to find one. I like the Hogue grip better but that is a cheap addition for older guns.

This is the Ruger that has been nagging at me since I saw it at a local dealer though:

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/produc...eets/0871.html

It's not really much lighter than a SRH, not "optics ready" and more cumbersome to load/unload but it appears to shoot well and just exudes class. It looks like a much more expensive gun. I was curious if there would be durability issues but haven't heard of any problems.
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Old April 27, 2017, 08:48 AM   #41
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ruggyh,

I bought the 500 JRH used. It is a Freedom Arms M83 that was converted to 500 JRH by Jack Huntington (JRH Inventor). It is one gun that I’ve always shot very well (for me anyway) – the 5” barrel and excellent trigger make it work for me.

As mentioned above, my hand strength is deteriorating with age, so I’ve equipped it with a set of Pachmayr grips. The factory winewood grips just don’t give me enough purchase to handle even moderate loads. I know the Pachys are an abomination to some, but they allow me to enjoy this revolver – it is a blast (pun intended) to shoot. Very versatile – can be loaded mild (350s/440s at 900 fps) to wild (440/470 at 1,300 fps). These days, I stay on the mild side.

The only problem is brass (Buffalo Bore is EXPENSIVE). You can modify 500 S&W but in addition to trimming, you have to turn down the rims for the FA conversions (trim only for BFR & Ruger conversions as cyls will accept larger rim).

Here’s a target I shot at 52 yds, rested on the tonneau from the back of my pickup. Only shot three round groups to minimize target clutter and reduce recoil induced error. The groups were shot with a 4x Leupold.

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Closeup of the 4 (3 shot) groups in the center of the target
.


Paul
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Old April 27, 2017, 11:52 AM   #42
ruggyh
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Paul

Thanks for your reply

Gotta get me something with that octagon barrel, that look is so nice to me.

I have several 500 JRH myself, one Ruger conversion done by Jack and 2 BFRs that are now being produced. I had Jack reshape the grips per his recommendation on the BFR, it definitely improved my control. Still learning how to control these single actions, hopefully I will be able to produce a target like yours someday.

Thanks again for sharing

be safe
Ruggy
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Old April 27, 2017, 09:40 PM   #43
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I have a 7 1/2" SRH in .454. I've only shot it with .45 colt and Hornady .240 gr. XTP loads in .454. I love the versatility of going all the way from cowboy action loads up to "big magnum" levels with one gun. I specifically went with this model due to the milled in scope bases and included rings.

I have no need or desire to go bigger or shoot really heavy/hot loads like Buffalo Bore.
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Old April 27, 2017, 10:43 PM   #44
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That is definitely a desirable trait of the platform, but then that can be said of almost any revolver if the shooter reloads.
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Old April 28, 2017, 10:43 AM   #45
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My biggest is a BFR in 454 Casull. The 5" barrel makes it very portable, and still with more power than I really need for anything in the lower 48. Using 45 Colt cases, I load a 340 flat nose gas checked bullet to 1200 fps. It even comes with its own rail, so you can use it with irons, red dot or scope. The scope makes it too heavy for good offhand shooting, so I have tried irons and red dot. Both work very well!



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Old April 28, 2017, 11:26 AM   #46
radshop
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I have a Ruger Accusport Bisley Blackhawk .45LC/.45ACP - not in the same league as the true big guns in this thread, but exceeds 44 mag in the "Ruger Only" handloads.

For that matter, I guess my pair of old model Vaqueros in 44 Mag can handle above standard Ruger Only loads, but the plow handles are pretty painful for me at that level, so I don't go there.
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