Ruger 480

I would like to know what everybody thinks about this cal. in the Ruger. The ruger has a 7.5" barrel a friend of mine has it and wants to sell it, and what price do you think its worth. The gun has only 20 rounds through it. It's a super redhawk with a gray finish.

I think you would like the 480 cal. I have a 475 linebaugh and also shoot the 480 Ruger in it. Very good preforming round with managable recoil. The recoil is a bit stouter than heavy load 44's. Mine is on a Blackhawk frame though, the felt recoil would probably be less with the SRH. Not sure what it's worth for, I'm more of a single action fan. I did sell a SRH about 5 years ago, 44mag, 4x simmons scope, shoulder holster, hard case, hogue grips and 100rds of ammo, for $550...KRal

If you can get it for $500 I'd call that a good deal. They sold for $619 new here, some places less and some more.

I have to agree 100% Comparing my 44’s (with the same load) in both the SBH and the SRH, the SRH is always more comfortable to shoot!

Since the future of that gun in that cartridge is uncertain and the price is right I'd get it.

I would if I could, I am going to have to weight until I have the funds. I am thinking a FA may have to come first though. LOL

I've shot full-tilt .475s in SA revolvers and I have one on an SRH and the double action is considerably worse from a recoil standpoint. The DA revolver comes straight back and if that's not enough, it beats up the web of your hand as well. It's fun! Gotta love big-bore handguns!

The .480 Ruger is a great cartridge and will do nearly all the .475 Linebaugh will do. Load it with a 400 + grain bullet at about 1,200 fps and you've got a real killing machine! Don't get caught up in the muzzle energy wars, it'll put the hurt on big game, and it doesn't kick like the .454. It's a win-win situation IMHO!

If you can get it for $500.00 that's a great deal! I bought my first one new for about $800.00 when they were first introduced.

I want one… but I am figuring buy the time I am able to afford one they will still be around. One day… but it will more than likely be a few years.

Clayzzz... I would say buy it!!!!

Clayzzz it's a great gun.If the one I had,had been in Ruger I would still have it.I had a Raging Bull.Loved the way it shot ,extremely accurate,not finicky about bullet choice.I was concerned for the way Tarus has treated it's customers.I was concerned if I had a problem with it they would not stand behind it and I would be out that money so I off loaded it for a Ruger and have not regretted it one minute.If you can get it for $500 buy it!!

I have the exact same gun. I bought it through the want adds locally. Mine came with a set of houge grips as well as the factory grips and two twenty round boxes of factory ammo both were partially used. It had been fired 14 times. The man I bouth it from was not a handgun hunter and it was just to much for him. He wanted to buy something along the lines of a 9mm power wise. His asking price was $450.00 and I gave him $400.00.

I have since mounted a 2x Leupold on it. I have gotten great accuracy from it and it fills a good niche between my 44 mag / 45 colt and then my 454 Casull. I load it per the manuals and have not tried to make it do what was not intended and I have experienced no problems with it.

Hope this helps

shooter_44, sounds like you stole that SRH, if you want your money back let me know....KRal

I have a SRH in 480 with the 9.5" barrel. LOVE IT!! I have taken 3 deer and 10 charlies with it so far. I paid $545.00 out the door for mine 7 years ago.

I see most of the SRH's going for about $600.00 new on the auction sites. As a general rule with a used gun in excellent shape (20 rounds fired) I figure it's worth 75% of new price. So $450.00 would be right in line for this gun. But hey what's $50.00 between friends. I would not hagle over $500.00 either if I really wanted it.

Does the line form behind you, KRal? LOL!

If you want a 480 SRH, better jump on it. Ruger is making a final "clean-up" run of 7.5" SRHs with parts in inventory and that'll be it. All 480 models have been dropped from their catalog for good. Once everyone realizes there will be no more, prices will only go up. It's a shame too, awesome round.

About two years ago I found an add for a Freedom Arms Premier Grade model 83 in 454 for $750.00. I did not have the cash at the time but still kick myself for not borrowing from a friend or selling some other guns.

Last week I found a Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70 for $300.00. I am a firm believer in reading the want ad paper every Thursday when it comes out. Never know what you may find.

It is a mystery to me why Ruger dropped the .480 Ruger. Especially after they had decided to change the .480 SRH from a 6 shot to a five shot for strength purposes. I know this actually happened because I looked at a 5 shot .480 SRH Alaskan at the 2007 SHOT Show. From what I gleaned from the Ruger folks at the show, there was a "perceived" safety problem by shooters because of the elastic properties of the Carpenter steel used in the SRH revolvers. This was documented in the .454 Casull SRH revolvers in a number of shooting magazines. The 5 shot cylinder was supposed to be the answer to those concerns.

At this point,Magnum Research has also dropped the 475/480 chambering from its BFR Revolvers, and I understand the .480 Raging Bull has also been dropped by Taurus. The cartridge deserved better. IMHO, it was killed off by gunwriters comparing it to the .44 Magnum, and the rise of the .50 caliber. Too bad Ruger did not pony up the licensing money and name it the ".475 Linebaugh Special". I killed a Texas whitetail with mine last December. One shot with a 410 gr hardcast, and DIT. Can't ask for more.

Yeah it's a mystery to me also. The only thing I can think of is that with the 5 shot cylinder the 480 could be pushed to Linebaugh velocities and Ruger didn't want that.

I have always loaded mine reasonable and have not had the problems that some have reported.

There were no strength issues with the 6-shot SRH, but there were some with extraction problems. The decision to drop the .480 from the SRH lineup was a "marketing decision" -- at least that is what Ruger told me.

It is a fine cartridge, but it will not push the heavier bullets as fast as the .475 Linebaugh -- there's just not enough case capacity. That said, there really is no reason to push it that hard anyhow as a good 400+ grain flat-nosed hardcast bullet at 1,200 fps will go end to end on nearly any large animal!

I have heard that about the "extraction" problem before, but never had clarification as to what caused it. Were the chambers rough, the loads too hot, the Hornady brass??? Some speculated that the thin chambers allowed the area between chambers to flex and the brass did not contract enough for easy extraction. Ruger did design a 5 shot cylinder, so if the 6 shot cylinder was strong enough why was the 5 shot even considered, let alone designed???

I have shot heavy loads, nothing over the top with Hornady brass and did not have any extraction problems. Not trying to stir the pot, but it just makes me wonder what the real story is. I've had my 480 for 7 years and all kinds of RUMORS have surfaced and none were ever substantiated.

I would speculate the real reason Ruger orphaned the 480 was the bean counters said it had to go.

+1

I still say if it would have released in a 5-hole SBH Bisley there would have been better support. I had a SRH in .480, too big, didn't like it. One of these days I'm gonna have that 5-hole SBH Bisley in .475 caliber but my investment is gonna help feed a gunsmith's family, not a company executive's bottom line.

Yeah, a 5-shot SA revolver would have sold like gang busters IMHO.

All cylinders expand and retract. Apparently worn out bits were causing some sloppy machine work. I've had two and neither had any extraction issues.

Again, Ruger told me it was a marketing decision to drop it from their line.

The problem with the sticky extraction is the sloppy chambers that Ruger put in the SRH. The reverxe tapper is the culprit whn this is correvted then there is no problem.

I have from a very good source that Ruger is considering offering a 5 shot Bisley in 480 and Another chambering is being offered to Ruger for consideration.
Any Idea what that chambering is, Whitworth?

I never said there was a safety problem with the 480 SRH. Only that there was a "perceived" problem. This was based on the complaints received by Ruger due to hard extraction with certain ammunition. The Carpenter steel alloy used in the 454/480 SRH has the ability to expand in response to pressure (much greater that regular steel as I understand). The problem stemmed from the fact that when the steel retracted, the brass did not and that caused the difficult extraction. This only happened with higher pressure loadings. This phenomenon was covered in depth by Brian Pearce in his column for Rifle magazine a few years back.

In the end, it probably was a bean counter decision. The word that I got from Ruger yesterday is that "...480's have been trickling out but will go away...".

You are in incorrect in reguards to expansion when pressure is applied being greater than other steels. ALL steel expands when pressure is applied and this ii in no way is the cause of the extraction problems. When Brain Pierce wrote that it was one of the dumber things to be put in print. I have pressure tested steel for over 30 years and have a bit of expeirence to draw from. Steel will contract back to its original dimension unless its yield strewnth has been exceeded and then it will not contract.

Again it is the reverse taper that is in the chambers and this is caused by the sloppy way that they are chambered

http://www.cartech.com/techarticles.aspx?id=1608&terms=*ruger*

I've seen too ,many repaired by removing the reverse taper and never sticking again to buy that line of BS

Ruger chambers with a "Wobble Head" and chamber all 6 chambers at once. They ream then fast by shoving the reamers in fast and they used the reamers when they are a bit dull. This xauses them to walk off line ans results in what is know as a reverse tapper, ony a dew tenths of a thousndth is all that is needed to cause extraction problems when dealing with a case that has vry little tapper in it to begin with

.500 Jerch by chance?

A 5 shot Bisley would be a sweet deal
They would sell them faster than they could make them

Got any info on that one or do you mean the 500 JRH?

Yes

That is precisely what I meant! That would be great, as it's a darn good cartridge.

I know this thread is a dead horse, but I thought I would let the members know what I found out.


This e-mail is in response to your question or comment of 01/18/2009

I wanted to inquire about the Super Redhawk in 480 Ruger. I have heard rumors of the possibility of it being introduced into the market again, but I wanted to find this out from the source.

Thanks for your time.

Duane Holcomb



Response:
We apologize for the delay in replying to your email. Unfortunately, we have no plans at this time to re-introduce this model.

Sincerely,
Ruger Firearms

Hi All. I just replied to another email that I just got a SRH in .480. My local dealer got it from Davidson's. They had a bunch in stock. Read on the Ruger forum that some people believe it was a inventory clean-up production run, but in any case, I got one for $650. Just picked it up yesterday.

Davidson's has less than 90 brand new .480. So if you want a new one it's not to late.

http://www.galleryofguns.com/Genie/defau...&sit=Adjustable