Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Need a .480 RUGER!

I am in the market for a very clean exceptional .480 Ruger caliber pistol. Thanks Gents!

Why don't ya' just get your FFL to order you a brand new Super Redhawk in that caliber? The dealer cost on a new one is about $590.

Everyone needs a 480R...

As I keep saying �

my oldest son & I have SHRs and we love them...but his is a 9.5 inch barrel and I don't like that.

Mine is a 7.5 inch and I find it much more shootable...

I would plan to load for it though.

I thought Ruger discontinued the 480

They did in the SHR... I bought mine used in the box...


It must have been too muchfor someone or just too much to run.

I bet you can still find some on the market.

Just curious .... if you want SRH ... why not a 454???

Will FA still build one in 480??

454's have more violent recoil, and from my experience shooting both srh 454's and 480's, the 480's are more accurate.

There are still some NIB 480's out there.

I've got a 9 and 1/2 inch Super Redhawk in .454 and it's accurate. It's got a violent recoil too. Even with that longer barrel and scope it still gets your attention when you touch one off. That .480 has a wider meplat and less recoil, and it seems like it'd be a good round to hunt with....maybe somewhere between a .44 mag. and a .454 in power. Anyway, Bill Hicks & Co. still has some brand new ones for the dealer price I posted above.

Power wise, the 454 and 480 are within spitting distance of eachother, but the 454 burns more powder to get there, with harsher recoil. That said, it's an apples to oranges comparison.

What the 454 offers is signifigant flattening of trajectory, with light bullets at 2000 fps, it's an honest 200 yd deer gun. If you don't might hunting with a scoped sixgun, the 454 offers something over what you can do with a 44 mag or 480.

Where the 480 shines, IMHO, is 400 gr cast @ 1200 fps, recoil feels like a big 44 mag, but not sharper. An iron sighted close range moose gun you can wear on your hip, or a shoulder holster. Not bad, not bad at all.

Because I don't want an FFL and also the bullet .475 matches my rifle that I shoot also. Hornady .475-XTP savvy! I also want to keep the recoil off my hand as much as possible ok!

After I began using my .454 (which I really like, despite the punishment you get when shooting it), I often wished Ruger would have come out with the Super Redhawk in .475 Linebaugh. I really like the SRH with the 9 and 1/2 inch barrel and a scope. I have the .44 that way, the .454 that way, and I'd have gotten the .475 that way had it been available. That would have enabled me to also shoot the .480 Ruger through the Linebaugh. I still think a brand new SRH in .480 Ruger brand new for $590 is a good deal, especially if you handload.
The load I shoot in my .454 is the Hornady 300 gr. XTP at 1650 fps. It's pretty high pressure. I would compare the recoil as being the handgun equivalent (comparitively) to shooting a high pressure .378 Weatherby (without a muzzle break)...very fast and violent.

I have the SRH in both 44 Mag (7-1/2" barrel) and 480 Ruger (9-1/2"), plus a S&W Mountain Gun in 44 Mag (4"). I was at the range today shooting the .480 plus the Mountain Gun. I can attest that the perceived recoil from the .480 is substantially more than for the 44 Mag, even when the later was in a much lighter, smaller gun. That said, the .480 is completely manageable for anyone who likes big bore handguns. I also have the S&W 460 XVR (8-3/8"). It's perceived recoil with 454 Casull rounds (factory) is less than with the .480 in the SRH, in part because it's a much bigger gun and in part because it's well ported.

The ballistics for factory loaded 480 and 454 are noticeably different. Just considering standard factory loads, the 454 Casull with a 275 gr bullet clocks a muzzle velocity of 1,675 fps. The 480 Ruger with 275 gr clocks in at 1,450. That 225 fps on such a big bullet is a big difference in energy: 1,714 v. 1,285 ft-lbs. That speed also produces a much flatter trajectory for the 454. On the other hand, the .480 will easily handle a 400+ grain bullet, giving it amazing knock-down capacity. Considering this formula for knock-down:

TKO = velocity x weight x diameter / 7,000

and doing the math only at the muzzle (for simplicity), the 454 with 275 gr has a TKO = 29.9. For the .480 with a 400 gr bullet, the TKO is exactly the same.

Where the 480 shines is heavy bullets. For whatever reason it does not do will with light bullets, I'd thought I could crank 310 gr cast well over 1500 fps, but couldn't find a suitable powder and was barely breaking 1400 fps. But with a long seated 400 gr bullet it'll go over 1300 fps, and 460 gr @ 1100 fps.

Agreed. And you don't get punished as much as with some of the other big bruisers.

I have several SRH 480s in excellent condition (each in the form of a total solution) - complete with loading dies, unfired brass, holster, and [some] bullets (were shipping not too costly). All except one have: standard 7.5-inch barrels; target gray finish; in box with papers, locks, rings, etc.

The non-standard one would almost certainly be way out of your price range and intended use. One or two of the others I am willing to sell or trade for service.

"What service?" you might reasonably ask. I have an "English" style flintlock rifle project for which I need a gunsmith comfortable working with/on flintlock muzzleloading rifles.

http://www.marksgunsearch.com/details/8215/ruger-redhawk/
They do sell to out of state.