SmallCaliberCentral

Anyone have any experience with the .480ruger cal?
C.B.

I had a .44 mag in a Redhawk a few years ago. That gun was too big for me! I developed a bad habit of flinching. I admire anyone who can shoot one of the big guns accurately. The .480 and S&W .500 are huge but I have heard that they are real good at knocking down the big game.

I now have a .357 and that is about the right size for me. Sorry, I can't share any experiences with the big guns.

204,
I have the 44mag in super redhawk w 9-1/2" barrel. It is a heavy gun, but very controllable. The 500 S&W I have looked at. It is to expensive, to me, for a handgun that from all accounts is not enjoyable to shoot. But accounts be danged, I have a wish list a mile long. The hearsay doesn't bother me, about any gun. The user reports I have read on the larger cal. handguns of some manf. are less than flattering. I'm a big Ruger fan and just looking for some info on the cal. Figured if I could get all my addictions satisfied at one sight I would save surfing time, and could vicariously enjoy the firearm instead of giving into "Mr. Hyde" the gun buyer. Thanks for the post.
C.B.

From everything I've read the .480 fills a niche between the 44 Mag and 454. Guys tell me the recoil is bearable, and for target practice just reload some lighter rounds.

I keep hoping that AZ or a nearby state begins a "handgun only" deer and/or elk season, so I have an excuse to get a .480 Ruger. And since my wife likes elk sausage so much, I know she would say "better get that gun".

The 480 in a ruger based gun single action is packable and potent and can be loaded down to around a thousand feet per second for easy to shoot loads with 350 to 400 grains of lead... it can be handled with the full power loads without it being too punishing, but is not a plinker. If the smith is an x frame it is very heavy, but the weight will tame it some : soft shooting, heavy carrying.
a 44 is a better choice for all round use for most folks.. this is not a first time large bore shooter's gun.
It will kick a lot more than a 44 will, when you look at it on paper. somewhere towards twice as much.
I have one single action on the way with dual cylinders : 480 and 475 both... but will tell you that the 45 colt or the 44 mag or 44 special will do what ever you want it to -- except it will not be a 475.
JMO

I wanted one when I bought my 44, until guy next to me with broke wrist said, I have one, want to buy it...............

I have not shot the 480 but do have the 454. I work at a large sporting goods store at the gun counter and we do not even have a 480 in stock. We have some ammunition for it but not much. I would consider the 460 as an all around cartridge. We have both the 500s and the 460s in stock all the time. You can shoot the 460, 454 and 45 colt out of the 460. I have heard good customer reports about the S&W 500 for big game hunting. I do not think that the 480 really caught on very well and would be stocking up on reloading components if you decide to get one. I enjoy shooting my 454 but have not had the opportunity to take big game with it yet. If you want a 480, get one and enjoy it. Life is too short not to enjoy yourself!

So You want a .480 huh? I bought a super redhawk with a 9 1/2 inch barrel shortly after they came out, I called it my war club since I figured if I missed six times, I could allways bash whatever I missed to death. The big burly guy at the gun counter said no one could pay him enough to shoot the thing, but I went ahead and bought it. Being an average size guy I was supprized at how easy it was on the wrists, more of a dull shove than a sharp kick. The accuracy was pretty good and made some spectaculare shots as well. As for availability and popularity, I think it didnt catch on as well as ruger wanted it to since I cant find it chamberd in any of thier guns in the 2007 catalog. Wish I still had mine ( got poor/married and sold it), I really liked pulling that big sucker out on camp trips and seeing my buddies reactions, it was a 10 on the intimidation scale.

I purchased a Super Redhawk last September before deer season. I put a red dot sight on it. I am of averave size and I do not think the recoil is terrible. It certainly does have some but I find easy to control. In one sight in/practice session I shot over 30 times in less than an hour and was not hurting from the recoil. On the last day of the season I shot 2 deer in less than 20 seconds. Both were one shot kills in the heart area and the deer did not travel more than 10 to 15 yards. The deer were shot at a distance of 25 to 30 yards and were standing one behind the other. To me, it sad that the 480 is not more popular.

farmall: With performance like you experienced, it may not be too long at all until it IS more popular! Good job!

After several years of deer hunting with an -06, I grew bored with the "trigger pull" style of hunting. I've switched over to hunting with handguns after talking around. Here in SW MO the shots are usually less than 100 yards and very attainable for a big bore H/G. And after hunting with a chest holstered H/G I can't imagine carrying a rifle any further than from the truck to the shooting bench.I've scoped my .480 Super Redhawk and it shoots very docile as long as it is not muscled- just lock on the target, squeeze the trigger and enjoy the ride. I still have the .480 but since moved on to the .460 mag. It seems to be a much more capable gun with multi calibers and if I'm going for speed I can run 200 gr. or knockdown short range use the 395 lead. And over all I think the .460 is a little more forgiving with hand tension on the grip.

I've had my .480 SRH for about 4 years now and though I don't get a chance to shoot it much, I really enjoy it when I do. My Super Redhawk is a 6 shooter with a 7 1/2" bbl and a Bushnell 2-6 variable scope mounted on top. My favorite load is a 410 gr. CBP LBT over 21.5 grains of W296. It chronys around 1250 fps. From the bench, it will put 6 holes in a 4" circle at 100 yards when I do my part (when I'm calm and don't flinch). I've heard Ruger had stopped production of the Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger. If this is true, I'll be looking for a 5 cylinder .480.

I picked up a Super Redhawk 480 ruger with a 9-1/2" barrel last year for deer hunting. I settled in on a Penn Bullet 420gr Thunderhead bullet over a full charge of H110 (around 1100fps+/-). Recoil is there, but its a heavy push versus a hard snap of the 454/hot 45colt. I didn't get a chance to test it capabilities on game this year, but have no doubts. I was looking for a 454 so I could shoot 45Colt, but a deal came up on the 480 and I jumped. I've been very happy with accuracy. It's wearing a Millet SP1 Red Dot and will repeat kill zone hits at 100yds without issue. Since I end up in the thickets of PA, I may be handgun only for the coming season.

I sure would like to be able to find one around me for sale! I have been looking but what I have seen had been used hard and put away wet you might say. I am still looking as matter of fact.

I have two of them, a Ruger Super Redhawk and a custom 5 shot built by Gary Reeder on an old Ruger Blackhawk frame that was sitting in a cigar box as parts. The custom was ordered with a Bisley hammer and trigger, and a Super Blackhawk grip frame - cool! Reeder doesn't list the Ultimate .480 Ruger anymore - most guys want the .475 Linebaugh (the .480 Ruger can be fired in the Linebaugh), but I bet he'll make one up on any Blackhawk frame.

Let me state that the .480 Ruger is the single most accurate and consistent preforming cartridge I ever worked with. By that I mean; my loads using the same powder, charge weight and bullets produced velocities within 10 fps of those developed by John Taffin. My loads were developed independently of Mr. Taffin's when the .480 first appeared on the scene, when Taffin published his article I was simply amazed how the results were so close as to be identical, given that I live in temperate California just above sea level and Mr. Taffin is (I believe) in Montana. Mr. Taffin went on to take a bison with his .480 Ruger - shooting completely through the tough critter!

Lay in a supply of Starline Brass, and check the Cast Performance Bullet Co. line of bullets. The Speer 400 grain worked well, as did the Hornady 325's. Hornady brass is also good, but the Starline is available in 500 lots at a better price. Winchester 296 is the preferred powder for hunting loads, very accurate. If there is one powder - this is it. I also found AA-1680 good with heavy cast bullets, accurate but with lower velocity, as was IMR 4198, Li'l Gun not so much.

In factory ammo, Federal Vital-Shok ammo with Barnes .270 grain bullets is loaded hot, it has brutal recoil and sticky extraction. Hornady 325 grain factory is a bit milder and extracts normally.

Recoil with maximum loads is about all I can handle, even with 20 years of shooting IHMSA competition with every magnum and wildcat cartridge imaginable. A shooting glove is needed to prevent bruising and bleeding during long range sessions off the bags. The glove also prevents the revolver from escaping under recoil. I relax when shooting, and one time I relaxed too much and found the Super Redhawk landing on my chest when it fired! If this bothers one, the barrel can be Magnaported. I recall Gary Reeder writing of one of his wildcat magnums (a true handcannon, not the .480), that he engraves your name on the revolver so when you arrive at the E.R. with the front sight imbedded in your skull, they know who owns the gun.

I use mine occasionally as horse pistols, carried on my varmint hunting cart in case I run into something nasty with teeth, tusks or claws.