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