Anyone own a 480

H

hube1236

New member
Looking to trade my KGP100-357 in on a 44 or a 480. I just love the look of that gun- that is the Ruger 480. Primary use would be sparrows and squirrels (with a scope of course!); hard to hit them crittetrs with those small bullits. ;)

Any experiences. I have only shot a Ruger 44 mag and it was pretty tame, albeit holding up an anvil.

Any thoughts or experiences?
 
I have the 480 with 7 1/2" barrel and love it! The gun does not recoil much more than standard 44 Magnum loads in a Super Redhawk. As for accuracy, shooting at a silhouette target at 25 yards, I put 9 of the first 10 rounds in the center region and I am far from a good handgun shooter. I am quite certain a better shooter could easily surpass me. So far, I've had no problems with the cylinder coming loose or cases sticking. I assume you're kidding about the sparrows and squirrels :D (If not, better bring a mop!)

It seems a lot of people are saying how this caliber is not much more powerful than a 44 Magnum. I disagree. You have to push a 44 Magnum to high pressure to almost get to what the 480 Ruger does without breaking a sweat. That's caliber and bullet weight for you. (I fully understand John Linebaugh's thinking on big bores now) I say buy the gun. You will love it!
 
It seems a lot of people are saying how this caliber is not much more powerful than a 44 Magnum.
Click to expand...

Factory 480 Ruger rounds aren't much more than top 44 Magnum or 45 Colt loads. A 325gr @ 1,300 can be done in a 45 Colt Blackhawk easily. What usually fails to be mentioned though is that where the 44 Mag/45 Colt (6 shot) ends is where the 480 Ruger begins. Many of the loads Hodgdon lists for the 480 are up there in 454 Casull country but with a bigger heavier bullet.

hube1236 you might want to take up bullet casting or make friends with someone who does, paying for the bullets even if you reload is going to be expensive.
 
Hey GI JOE! Are you the same GI JOE who screwed me out of $30.00 on the E. German AK mag deal over at AK-47.net? If you are then check your AOL e-mail account! If I don't hear from you by 9:00 AM, Monday morning I'm reporting you to the US Postal Service for mail fraud! (those Postal money order receipts are useful little things)

If you're not the same guy, I apologise. If you are the same guy, you're a low-life scumbag and I will work to insure that you're banned from every reputable firearms board on the net, just as you were banned from AK-47.net! :mad:

For anyone else out there who's been scammed by pukes like this, here a link to the form for reporting mail fraud to the USPS.

Printable Mail Fraud Form

AK-47.Net Buyer/Seller Feedback Info
 
Doubleought:

Sorry, I am not the GI Joe you are looking for. I do not even belong nor did I ever belong to AK-47.net. FWIW, I hope your situation gets resolved We don't need vermin like that!

JohnK:

Just how much can the 480 Ruger be pushed? I'm sure the factory loads are very conservative. Does anyone else besides Hornady make loaded ammunition? Thanks for setting me straight. Your knowledge of big bore handguns is most impressive. :)
 
Thanks GI Joe. :)

The 480 can be pushed well above the factory loads. Hodgdon has posted some load data with impressive ballistics on their site for the 480 Ruger, 405gr @ 1,300+ fps, 370gr @ 1,500+ fps and more. Very stout stuff.

Cast Performace Bullets has many .475" bullets for the 480 Ruger, they seem to run $25-30/100 for the bullets, not loaded ammunition. About the cheapest I think you're going to find bullets to feed the beast will be at Leadhead Bullets they have 355gr gas checked LFN for $41.21 / 250. I've never shot anything from Cast Performance but I've been told they make very good bullets, I've shot about 1,000 of Lead Heads bullets - 250gr Keiths and 310gr LFN bullets - and they've been excellent.
 
re: 480 Ruger prices

hube1236:

I purchased mine last December for $600 NIB. The gunstore I bought it sells Hornady 325 gr loaded ammunition for about $18/box. Not exactly cheap, but given the caliber, not too bad. After the first 10 rounds, I find myself wearing down and accuracy suffers. I think that Buffalo Bore now makes loaded ammunition, but it runs more expensive than that.

JohnK:

Those numbers are very close to 475 Linebaugh ballistics that I've seen. Again though, I would think that the gun is operating at fairly high pressure to achieve those ballistics? The 475 Linebaugh, with its extra case length, should be able to do that with less pressure, should it not?
 
$18 a box? That is cheap, cheaper than 44 Mag or 45 Colt at the shops around here, was that for a 50 round box or one of the 20 round boxs that some companies seem to be using these days.

I haven't seen any pressure data but I'd have to think that those loads are running at a lot higher pressure than the factory Hornady 480 loads.

I'd think that with the same bullets a 475 Linebaugh could get the same ballistics as the hot 480 Ruger loads with less pressure since the 475 uses a longer case.

I'd have to dig around and check but I think the 475 Linebaugh gets about 150-200fps more with these bullets than the Hodgdon 480 data, doesn't it?

One thing that hasn't come up in this thread yet that has in many others about the 480 Ruger is the exceptional accuracy most people seem to get with the heavy bullets at moderate speeds in the Super Redhawk. I've read several reports of 2-3" 100 yard groups (scoped from the bench of course) with heavy hard cast bullets. That alone may be enough for some to get one. :)
 
GI Joe (TFL),

Thanks for the response and e-mail follow up. I did finally hear from the other GIJoe (AK-47.net) and the problem has been resolved. It turns out that there was a family emergency and he was unable to contact the buyers in his mag deal. It also turns out that he was not banned from AK-47.Net for scamming people. He was banned and all his posts were deleted because he did not think it was fair of them to charge him their $30.00 advertising fee in order to sell his magazines. He claimed that he was not a commercial dealer but a private seller, and refused to pay the fee. They disagreed and banned him.

So, he is not a bad guy, You are not a bad guy and I am having a big ol' slice of humble pie! I apologise to you and the other members for stepping on this thread and for any inconvenience I've caused. :o

OO
 
www.hodgdon.com

Their starting load for the .480 with 370 grain cast bullets, and Lil'Gun powder gave 34,300 psi and 1354 fps. They show a max charge going up from there. That, sports fans, is no sissy load !

I really like Lil'Gun powder BTW works great in both my .22 Hornet rifle, and my .44 mag S&W.

:)
 
What's the story on .44mag, .480 Ruger and .454 Casull..with regards to recoil? Why is the 480 less recoil for a given bullet/velocity? I just purchased a 7mm-08 rifle for my wife because it was basically a 308 cartridge necked down to 7mm. It is supposedly less of a kick than the 308. I thought, OK, maybe the smaller diameter bullet is providing more of a shove and the 308 is a jolt. Now we have the larger diameter bullet providing the reduced kick. Is this true, or is it marketing hype? Ooops, correction, I forgot..she actually paid for the rifle..I just egged her on.
 
I have shot a .454 SRH with a full tilt load, that was a 300 gr bullet at 1620 fps (chronographed). Recoil was stout.

I think the factory load for the .480 gives 1325 fps with a 325 gr bullet. I expect that indeed would kick less than the above .454 loads, yet make bigger holes in the deer.

Recoil is a function of gun weight, bullet weight, powder weight, and velocity. That of course is in lieu of compensators and similar gimmicks.
 
Felt recoil is different than calculated recoil. For example, should your grip be vertically further from the barrel axis, the nature of the recoil will differ from a higher grip. Some recoil is experienced as a jolt and others a push. That might be more appropriate in shotguns and rifles.
 
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