480 Ruger/475 Linebaugh BFR

[22-rimfire]

I made a comment on another forum that I am in the process of buying a used BFR for hunting. I have never shot a BFR and am not a big single action person in general. I have a Ruger SRH in 480 Ruger now that I hunt deer with. I didn't start a new thread, and as a result, the thread got buried.

So, I am looking for suggestions or comments on actually shooting the 480 or 475 well. I suspect that it will be more comfortable to shoot than the SRH. I am currently thinking I'll leave this one scopeless as I pretty much view handgun hunting a 100 yd or less kind of activity. But I could change my mind there as well once I get it and start seeing how I shoot with it at 50 yds and beyond.

Need advice on good holsters that are comfortable, modifications to grip choice that are a good idea based on your experience, and generally enhancing the shootability of this beast. What are your experiences?

 

[Gdawgs]

I do not have a 480, but I have a SRH in 454 Casull and a BFR in 460 S&W. The 454 out of the SRH isn't a picnic to shoot with full power loads. Should be pretty close to the recoil you get with the 480. The BFR is a much larger gun than the SRH and weighs quite a bit more, so the recoil should be significantly less out of the BFR. When I shoot 454s out of my BFR, they are pretty pleasant to shoot compared to the SRH. The BFR with full power 460s is a handful and takes practice to shoot well.

The best advice I have on shooting heavy recoiling rounds is to only put one loaded round into the cylinder. Then spin the cylinder so you don't know when it's going to go off. Concentrate on not flinching on each round. You will be surprised (or I was) how much you flinch, so it takes work.

I did scope my BFR which helped tame the recoil quite a bit. Other than that, I haven't changed the stock setup. I did purchase a different grip, a Pachmayr grip for a Super Blackhawk, but unfortunately, it doesn't fit. The screw for the grip is in a different place and interferes with the main spring. So I'm just using the stock grip, which works fine. I was going to puchase a holster from Magnum Research, but since I scoped it, it won't fit anyway, so no holster for me.

The 480 should be a fun round out of a BFR, recoild shouldn't be too bad.

 

[22-rimfire]

It seems that BFR experience is not common based on only one response. I have wanted a BFR in 475/480 for a couple years and it is finally going to happen. I haven't gotten really excited about a new gun in a long time, but I find myself really looking forward to this one. I know it won't be a ***** cat to shoot. The big boomers never are.

I have absolutely zero experience with the 475 Linbaugh and really don't know what to expect in terms of recoil relative to the 480 Ruger.

My plan is to shoot it a bit and decide if I need optics. Then the holster choice comes up. Basically if I can shoot it fairly well at 50 yds, I'll probably keep it scopeless which makes carrying it much easier.