480 Ruger, don't get the point?!

M

mobias

Moderator
I may be misreading this totally, but is there really a big demand for something in between 44 magnum and 454 casull? My point is that 44 magnum is plenty for 99 percent of the game that anyone could conceivably want to go after with a handgun. The 454 would be a nice security blanket if you happened to be in grizzly country, provided of course you could get a hit with it. Most people who are seriously into handguns are also reloaders. You could easily load down the power level of your 454 to accomodate your recoil tolerance. I am not poo-pooing the 480. I am sure it is a great cartridge. I am just not so sure there is really a burning desire out there for something like it. I am all for Ruger selling guns and I hope they sell bunches of them. I just don't...well...get the point of it. Your thoughts, folks?
 
The number of reloaders in the gun community are in the single digits. Most people don't load their own. And besides, pushing a standard sixgun chambered in 45LC to the levels of the 480 is not responsible reloading, but rather a flirtation with disaster. The recoil of the 454 Casull has been labeled as harsh, ferocious and certainly not for everyone. The 480 fills a gap for those looking for enough power to harvest anything in the western hemisphere without getting beat up. It's going to be a great cartridge.

Robert
 
Everything I have read agrees with Robert. Its a low recoil big slug that will drop just about anything need in NA.
 
My point was that you could reduce the power level of the 454 by handloading. The 480 is only a little more powerful than 44 magnum. The 454 is quite a bit more powerful than either the 44 or the 480. I was not suggesting that anyone try to hotrod a 45 Long Colt. 454 handloads can range from 260 grainers at 800fps up to 260 grainers at 1800fps. Geez!
 
But we're back to the same answer. Less than 10% (way less!) of gun owners load their own ammunition. Can't back off on a 454 Casull if you don't load it in the first place.

A 44 Magnum has a Taylor Knockout (or TKO) factor of about 20, depending on the load. A 454 Casull is about 40 TKO and the 480 Ruger splits that difference right down the middle.

Robert
 
With the Ruger SRH .454, you can already find factory loads that range from cowboy .45 Colt to powerhouse Casull, and everything in between. There's already plenty of low-end .454 and high-end Colt off the shelf to fill any need the .480 fills. If you get the .480, you lose the ability to load it with .45 Colt, so the whole lower range is gone. I really don't see the point. If anything, Ruger should have adopted one of Linebaugh's cartridges.
 
I am really not trying to whizz in anyone's pool here. Let's suppose that for whatever reason you decide that you don't need the power of the 454 Casull to fill your hunting needs. Given that the only real advantage of the 454 over the 44 is a comfort margin for elk and grizzly ( both have been taken numerous times with 44 magnums ), what do you perceive to be the REAL WORLD advantage of the 480 over the 44? I understand TKO's and all that. I am perfectly willing to admit that the 480 outperforms the 44. I also admit that the 300 Rem Ultra handily outperforms the 300 Win. But, so what? A lot of cartridges do. But if you don't need a 454 to say, go after whitetails, you just aren't going to kill your game any deader with a 480 than with a 44 in any situation where you will realistically use either. I just think 480 is the proverbial solution in search of a problem. But hey, the bottom line is the bottom line: if it proves to be a shot in the arm for the gun industry, I am all for it. Different strokes, folks.
 
You People Believe Rag Writers?

The nonsense from a certain unnamed website aside, the 480 Ruger fills a niche between .44Mag and the 454 Casull. Simply put the .475 is bigger than the .430 or the .452! Later all,Roy
 
I don't think the 480 Ruger has as much energy as the 454 Casull. I said it once, will say so again. The 480 is an interesting cartridge, and I hope Ruger and Taurus sell bunches of them. It just seems like there is an awful lot of different cartridges out there that more or less do the same thing. Has anyone seen the published ballistics for the Garrett 41 and 44 mag loads? Uhh, impressive!
 
I just remembered a quote attributed to Elmer Keith at the Remington Media Conference when they announced the 8mm Remington Magnum...

"What the hell good it is?"

Apparently Elmer brought down the house with that one.

I think he'd have the same thing to say about the .480.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top