Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns The .480 ruger.. yea or nay?

So I have a hankering for the .480 Ruger Super Redhawk.

I handload precision rifle, but never tried my hand at pistol reloading.

Problems I see are ammo availability and I guess the 6 shot cylinder used to hold onto the brass so they were planning on going to a 5 shot cylinder.

Now it appears the .480 is no longer produced. To bad, guys on the alaska forum think its a spectacular round.

Magnaport has a sweet package for the .480 for $695.

Should I go .480, or .454/45LC?

Since finding a .480 Ruger around your town is like finding a 20 carate diamond in your backyard. I would opt for the .454 Casul and not look back, it too is a great pistol hunting caliber.

You won't find .454 everywhere either. The .480's ability to sling heavy, large diameter bullets puts it ahead of the .454 for me. If you reload, there is no need to worry about factory ammo. That said, Hornady, Speer, Buffalo Bore, and Grizzly all produce ammo for the .480.

I have owned SRHs in both .454 and .480. There were no strength issues with the six-shot cylinder and sticky extraction (not present in all .480s) was a machining issue. Hornady reps told me that dropping the .480 was a marketing decision.

Personally, I would go .480 -- it's a better round for big animals and it doesn't beat the shooter up as much as the .454.

no issues w/ my 480 srh, and i really like the chambering. i run 355 grain cast bullets and i was absolutely sold on the gun after i ventilated my first deer w/ it. shot a quartering away doe at 80 yards and got thru and thru penetration and a very dead doe. i grabbed the deer to start dressing it and the blood just poured out of the gaping holes as i was moving the carcass. the thing just hammers deer.

the gun is very shootable, and easier on me than most of my smaller caliber big game capable handguns. if/when ruger produces more of the 480 i'll buy another one. i really like the gun and chambering.

Why not a Smith in 460? Shoots both the Casull and the 45 Colt too. What's not to like?

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...001_750051_757771_-1_757767_757751_image

Here's the first reason why not:



The bottom revolver is a 6.5-inch Model 29.

It is really too bad Ruger didn't have the marketing savvy to bring out a 5 shot Super Blackhawk in .480...that is the gun that would have sold. If I ever find one at the right price I would gladly grab a Freedom Arms 83 with a 4.75" barrel.... A friend has one with a 6" barrel in .475 but most of his loads are in the 1000-1200 fps range which he says is more than enough for anything that walks this continent..

Or maybe something like this...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=186783949

Bob

I would just buy a BFR 475 Linebaugh and load it however you choose. I am currently loading mine with a 375 gr cast bullet at 1250 fps, or about like a 480 Ruger. I am heading out in a bit to shoot mine. It is a super accurate piece.

Nay.

I'm ambivalent on the '.480 vs. .454', I just don't like the Super Redhawk.

I have a 5 round Taurus with a ported 5" bbl. Very shootable. But here is a nice piece......

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=186974091

My son bought a 480R as soon as they came out. He loves it� I started loading for him and it worked out very well�.

A cat could load for the 480� in fact sometimes I catch my cats reloading for the 480� kinda worrisome.


I bought the Ruger SBH with 7 inch barrel last Christmas (used) for about $550 and I am ecstatic with it.

I have both the 45LC in a Blackhawk and the 480R in a SHR they are different enough to have one of each� especially if you handload.

I just bought 350 of the; �.375 cal 325g Speer Softnose flatpoint bullets� which my boy will use on his Bison hunt this December.


That said I am willing to bet you will never sorry you have a 480R� I know we are very happy with ours.


T

temmi -- sending you a PM......

One last thing... you can get brass from Starline or Hornady...

I have Hornady for the 480... but Starline for the 45 Colt

Nice pic of a model 29 but the original question was about a Super Redhawk. I've never held the two at the same time and I don't have a pic of them side by side, but the Super Redhawk and X Frame Smith can't be too different in size.

I'm not big on huge guns...awhile back though, I was holding an X frame and it certainly felt good. I have no idea how either shoots, as I've never owned one. If it were me looking though, I'd take a hard gander at an X frame in 460.

Cool

The SRH is definitely smaller than an X-frame. I don't have any photos of them side-by-side. It simply takes too much gun to house a cartridge as big as the .460.

I have a 480 SRH and really like it. At first I was worried about brass availability but that isn't an issue either as it can be made from 45-70 Gov't brass easily.

Hey, I think any revolver bigger than a K-frame is too much, but in a world of scoped Encores and XP's with bi-pods the X-frame isn't all bad.

I fully agree; the 460 and above jump the threshold of "handgun."

Edited to clarify that I don't mean the .480 , but particularly the S&W BIGGIES

Get the 480R in SHR... and don't look back

A little bulk is welcome particularly to help tame some of the recoil of a number of big cartridges, so I welcome it to an extent.

The .480 is a great caliber and I think that one day it's going to be a strictly handloading thing. It ain't the most popular caliber in the world but a good one. Pistol loading is actually easier than rifles, especially with straight cases like this. You may never have to trim them for length as long as they are all about the same for crimping. Straight wall pistol cases are easy to load and most of them use carbide dies which cuts WAY down on lubing and prep. The only place that you can get in trouble with a big cartridge like this would be a double charge with a fast powder. That will take a Ruger or any other brand apart in your hand with a few fingers and maybe an eyeball. I would recommend the .454 over the .480 also. It will be around for a long time and the .45 Colt has proven it's ability to hang in there. A stiff .45 Colt load in one of these is an excellent hunting load with a hardcast bullet without all the blast and recoil. My 2 cents.

I think I said nay!

One should also ask what are the intended uses? Not that you can't get a toy now & then. The 454 & handloaded 45 Colt are nothing to sneeze at. As a handloader you could live with about anything, and have a cool uncommon round to boot.

I've put a few rounds through my srh 480, I lost count after about 4000 a few years back. My perspective is based on shooting many 44 mags, 45 colts, 454's, 475 linebaughs and 500 Linebaughs. After that experience I settled on a 7 1/2" srh 480 shortly after they came out, and I've never wanted for another hunting sixgun. Well I still want another srh cut to 5", and and FA mdl 83 w/ a 6" octagon barrel would be pretty slick, but the 480 has never fallen short of what I want in a hunting handgun.

First the bad, the 480 has always been a handloading proposition due to limited availability of factory fodder, and that won't get better.

If you handload, and better yet can cast bullets, then the 480 will offer this: The most power you can accurately shoot in a moderately heavy and sized revolver that doesn't require a muzzlebreak. Yes, there are undoubtedly more powerful handguns, more practicle handguns, and many will say better looking handguns. But I have yet to have a factory mass produced revolver that was so accurate nor one that I'd feel confident using on any NA game. How accurate? Honestly I don't know as I figure I've been the limiting factor, but I have shot countless 5 shot 1" groups at 50 yds with cast bullets from 310 to 460 gr. I even shot a 1 1/2" 3 shot 100 yd group with the 310's, and have no doubt they would grouped at 1" or better if I was able to hold more steadily.

It's a very simple gun to load for, get the hornady 4 die set, some brass, and cast bullets. If you crimp and bell too enthusiastically you'll get split brass, but once you find the right setting, cases will last a long time.

I can eliminate your load work, get a 390-410 gr cast bullet (I've tried 4-5 different designs in this weight range) load them over 21 gr of H-110 lit off with a CCI 350, and they'll clock 1200 fps give or take from a 7 1/2" revolver. All of those bullets grouped into 1" at 50 yds for five shots, and I never tried to find the most accurate chambers in the cylinder. I'd just load 5 cylinders, and take careful aim.

I know much has been written to malign the 6 shooter 480 srh, but I'll chalk it up to people have either never shot the gun, or put a box of factory fodder through it for a gun review and just had to find something to whine about. I have only fired a cylinder full of 325 gr factory fodder through my gun, and extractin was very slighty sticky. That didn't bother me, as my 400 gr 1200 fps loads have always fallen from the cylinder with no hesitation, proof that they were running lower pressure than factory fodder. While working up loads with the 460 gr, I did get truly sticky extraction, but they were clocking 1150 fps. I backed off to 1050 and all was good. Those big slugs also would print 1" at 50 yds. The gun is plenty strong, and as I've proven to myself, will stand up to many, many loads.

If the 45 colt walks all over the 44 mag as a hunting round, then IMHO, the 480 is the nee plus ultra of shootable iron sighted sixguns you can pack on your hip and won't knock your hat off w/ muzzle blast. Unfortunately too many people had to have the biggest and baddest and the best was left out in the cold.

I don't know any 480 shooter who has been disatisfied with the round. It doesn't garner any bragging rights, but it is an outstanding round.

458 Lott, VERY well said!

I couldn't agree more. I load my 475's to 480 levels and it is all one needs in a packable, yet very serious, handgun.

I'm a big fan of the 480, I'm currently shooting a 5 shot Bisley that Alan Harton built for me. Did a lot of long range shooting with it last week, mostly at 412 yds, its a very accurate gun.

Dick

When Ruger does their clean up run of 480 Alaskans I'll be getting one. I can tell you that.