Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .454 or .480 Ruger Bisley

I want one but can't decide. It will be used for deer, pig and possible black bear. I like the ability to use .45 Colt in the .454 but I also like the fat heavy .480 bullets. Any suggestions?

The .454 absolutely sucks; it's an abusive SOB to shoot. .480, or by the .45LC in the Classifieds for a LOT less and kill stuff with the .45LC.

I've got a shirt from the 454 show. I bought it because of the ability to shoot 45 Colt out of it.

If I were faced with that decision today, I'd likely play with the 480.

That said, I've about decided that the 45 Colt with a stout revolver will do all the work I need to do with a handgun.

Had a .480 Taurus and other than it being a Taurus it shot very well and recoil was her tolerable. I hear the .454 is vicious and I would probably just shoot .45 Colt in it anyway. The .480 will probably be the route I take. Unless of course I could actually find a BFR in .500 JRH!

If you want a 45 bisley I'd look for one of the dual cylinder 45 acp 45 colts. It'll push 330's 1300 fps from the colt cylinder, thats all I ever want out of a 45 caliber. If you want more, the 480 will push 400's 1200 fps which IMHO is the way to go vs the added velocity of the 454.

This. Had a 7.5" super Redhawk in 454 and it just plain sucked to shoot.

I've had a few 454's prefer the F/A's but frankly I like my Bisley Ruger 45 Colt. It can put out some serious fire power.

Heavy 45 Colt +P Pistol and Handgun Ammo
Heavy 45 Colt +P Ammo - 325 gr. L.B.T.-L.F.N. (1,325 fps/M.E. 1,267 ft. lbs.)
That will do most anything I need. If it can't I have my 480 Ruger. If that won't I've got my 475 Linebaugh. But no more time than I spend in Alaska these days I'll probably move my Linebaugh. A 400 grain HC even at 950 fps, will handle a heck of a lot.

Between the two choices, .480. Bigger holes are almost never a bad thing

When I went from the 44 mag to the 454 25 or so years ago, I thought the 454 was awesome, though not much fun to shoot with full tilt loads. It was more about the quality and accuracy of the Freedom Arms revolver. After a few years of shooting it, I discovered the 45 Colt and lost interest in the 454.

I've had a Vaquero 45 Colt and FA 454 for a number of years. In the 454, lately I've been loading 454 brass with 4227 and 335 gr cast bullets in the 11-1300 fps range and it's pleasant to shoot, though not much (if any) more than an uper end 45 Colt load.

I recently picked up one of the 5 shot Bisley 480's and really like it so far - pleasant to shoot and very accurate, and would be my preference over the 454...

Here's another option as shown next to a Colt 45.

I won both and would opt for the .480 over the .454 if forced to pick one. That said, I mostly shoot .45 Colt +P loads through the .454 version. I have taken really big critters (more that 1,000 lbs) with both calibers, and will bank on the .480 over the .454 every time.

The .45-70 lists higher muzzle velocity and muzzle energy than both the .454 and the .480 not to mention ammo is more readily available and is quite a bit less expensive if you don't reload. The Magnum Research BFR in .45-70 with the rubber grips won't beat you to death and is quite a fine revolver. But you won't shoot .45 LC thru it.

If only muzzle energy were relevant in measuring lethality.......

I have a .45/70 BFR and there is no comparison. One is a crew served weapon, the other is a revolver that can be comfortably carried on your hip. While the .45/70 BFR definitely has its place, I just don't see how it is germane to this discussion.

A 45 Colt will do all that just fine with the right bullet and doesn't have to loaded hot to do so, and with loads safe in a smaller frame revolver. I wouldn't own a 454, I'd rather have the shorter cylinder.

454 is about as good as it gets, if you want bigger then move up to the 500 Smith

Had a 500 S&W 8 3/8" ported barrel. Very heavy and not a lot of fun to shoot with full house loads. The .500 JRH loads in it were great.

The cylinder is essentially the same length.

Shorter chambered cylinder...more accurately the 45 Colt chambering.

I've got 2 S&W 500's - One came from the S&W custom shop. It has a 6.5" barrel that is compensated. The other one, which I haven't shot, was built by Gary Reeder. If I had known that devalued the revolver I never would have commissioned him to build one.

My Smith & Wesson 500 is not hard to shoot. The recoil is more of a really hard shove than a sharp, snapping recoil. I can shoot full-house loads easily. I think it's between a truly portable handgun and something you just couldn't stand to carry around.

Perhaps on paper...

The 480 is the perfect blend of a package that will drive a large diameter heavy hardcast bullet with sufficient velocity to drive clear through with a shootable level of recoil without requiring an overly heavy revolver or a muzzle brake.

The 480 is the real world, real deal.