So what is the major differences between these two, other than the obvious .025?

I'm going to be getting one of these in a custom revolver at the start of next year, but not sure which one yet. Leaning towards the 475 after reading the Big Bore Revolver book though.

Keep in mind I have the 45 Colt, and the 460 S&W already. If the 475 is to similar to the 460, I'd rather go on to the 500.

I have a 475 Linebaugh and a 500 JRH. Whit and others have tons of experience, I have little. But intuitively, isn't it splitting hairs when talking about differences between these cartridges?

It seems to me that if you load the 500 Linebaugh
with bullets of equal weight of those commonly used in the 475 then the nod must go to the 475. More and more people, however, are loading 500s with heavier bullets (500 gr. neighborhood) and that probably does draw a line in the sand and put the 500s in a slightly higher level on the food chain.

With that said, I still think it's splitting hairs. They are all beasts.

it's actually .035 since the 500 is actually .510. The 475 is considered a good mix of the best of the 454 and the 500. It has good velocity although not quite up to 454 levels and it shoots heavy bullets just shy of what the 500 will handle. I guess you could say if you could only have one of the three mentioned the 475 is the best compromise. It can be down loaded for deer or loaded up for elephant. The 475 has a much larger selection of bullets, especially in the jacketed bullets and factory ammo from Hornady and specialty loaders is available. You can also shoot 480 ammo in it just like 38's in a 357. Recoil is similiar between the two depending on bullet weight. The 475 thrives in the 400gr area and so will the 500 but you can also take it up to over 500gr.

Thanks guys. That's the stuff I was looking for. Believe I'll go with the 475L!!

How about the 500 JRH? I was going to have a 500 S&W Special built, but you can shoot them in the JRH so am leaning that way myself. There is just something about that 1/2" bore....

The JRH is a good round too. Ballisitics are just about identical to the 500 Linebaugh but since it's .500 as opposed to .510 the bullet selection is actually better than the 475 because of the 500 S&W and 50 AE.

I am a real fan of the 1/2-inch rounds. They just offer more of everything. I love the .475, but I prefer the half-inchers. Neither will let you down, but I like bigger holes.

Well, since ya put it THAT way... Maybe I'll look at the 500 JRH a little closer.

I thought it was hard to come by stuff for reloading the 500JRH. Is that not the case? Maybe I misunderstood the big bore revolver book wrong, or am refering to the wrong gun... I'll have to go look.

I don't suppose the 500JRH is made in a double action revolver is it? I know I don't NEED it for this round, but I PREFER double action revolvers. Just personal preference is all.

you can have Jack build one on a Redhawk donor gun. The loading stuff is pretty easy. You buy S&W 500 brass and shorten it or I believe you can get the brass from him and I think he said Starline or someone was going to start producing it. The dies just buy ones that say 500 S&W/500 special and they will work. As I said earlier bullets are everywhere, I prefer jacketed but Whitworth prefers cast.

It's easy to load for, for all of the reasons Rod mentioned. Sure you can have it in a DA revolver. I used to have a .500 Linebaugh Super Redhawk. Huntington has built a number of .500 JRH DA revolvers.

I spoke to Mr Huntington last night. I hope to be able to post a photo of my 500 JRH Super Redhawk in about two more weeks.

RT, I went with the 500 JRH since I already had a .500 S&W. It is my understanding that I can use my .500 S&W dies to load the .500 JRH. I can also use the same diameter bullets that I am shooting in my .500 S&W. I plan to purchase my .500 JRH brass from Jack Huntington but in a pinch, brass can be made from .500 S&W brass. Since I already had a Freedom Arms .475 Linebaugh, the choice for me was between the .500 Linebaugh and the .500 JRH. I went with the .500 JRH for the reasons above. Like you, I prefer the feel of double action revolvers so I went with the .500 JRH on a Super Redhawk frame.

Best of luck with your project!

SWEET!!! Now how do I get ahold of this guy??

Jack does awesome work, he built me a .500 Linebaugh bisley about a year ago and it's really nice.

I don't have his number handy but just do a search for Jack Huntington custom guns, but don't email him. Last I heard his email is down.

(530) 268-6877

Whitworth is the MAN! Thanks!!!

Hey, I've been called worse!

jack is one of the nicest guys ya wanna talk to. some gunsmiths act like you're bothering them, not him. great guy, great work.

Exactly!

Does the Redhawk work for the 500JRH build, or does it need to be the Super Redhawk? Or are those the same gun?

A Redhawk will work fine. There is actually very little difference between the two guns dimensionally. The SRH has a frame extension to accomodate the mounting of an optic, and the grip frame differs.

Having shot both the RH and the SRH, for shooter comfort I would lean towards the SRH in a boomer like the 500 JRH.

The grip frame of the SRH is much better.

Even though the Redhawk is more aesthetically pleasing, I concur with s4su and Whitworth. The ability to use hogue tamer grips plus the built in optic mounting system on the Super Redhawk make it a much more desirable platform on which to build a big boomer.

To me a SRH equipped with Hogue tamer grips, topped with an Ultradot is about as close as you can get to the "perfect" hunting handgun.

A combination that is very hard to beat!

I would think so, I've seen .500 Linebaughs built on redhawks as well as super red's

I would think so, I've seen .500 Linebaughs built on redhawks as well as super red's

Called Jack today and talked with him a bit about a custom 500JRH with a Redhawk. He said he "highly recomended" using a single action bisley for these heavy hitters. I just have a thing for double action revolvers, but maybe I should try a single action on this one.

My .500 Linebaugh SRH was one nasty creature when you touched it off. That DA comes straight back into the web of your hand.

the Rugers and old Sevilles are hard to beat for flat out durability and with the bisly grip they are easier to handle than a grip frame style that drives all the energy straight back. I like the gun to roll a little in my hand which is why you won't see rubber grips on a single action big bore.

The only problem with Sevilles is the lack of replacement parts, but they are great revolvers.

Ok, then single action it is. Guess I'll start looking for a Ruger Bisley for this build. Does it matter the caliber that you get since its going to be rebuilt anyway? I mean, are the frame sizes all the same no matter what caliber?

There is also .475 Linebaugh Long and .500 Linebaugh Long, also called Maximum. They require a .357 Maximum Ruger frame which are hard to find. For the standard Linebaugh calibers you can also use a Vaquero frame ( not New Vaquero). I happen to have a Vaquero .500 Linebaugh for sale if anyone is interested.

caliber doesn't matter, just look for a used gun. I used to cruies the pawn shops and look for beat up donor guns. As long as the grip frame and cylinder frame aren't gouged up or have severe pitting they will be fine. If the blue is gone, there is surface rust or some light scratches it will work, you just don't want any flaws that can't be worked out of the metal.

Awesome!!! Thanks for the tips.

seems like used Bisley's are hard to come by, I remember when people thought they were ugly! It's funny to see people at gun shows with a bisley for sale and it says ''engraved'', and they want a couple hundred more than a blackhawk or something.Hell, they all came like that except for the early ones with fluted cylinders and they didn't cost much more than a blackhawk.

what I don't get is how hard it's become to get aftermarket parts for them. I was doing Bisley conversions but the kits are almost impossible to get and if you do find them they are in blue only. I have one kit left. Alot of the aftermarket grip frames, sights and accessories for single actions have gone by the wayside. I know there has been a huge bump towards the tactical side but you would thing if there were enough handgun hunters and cass shooters to support the industry before there still would be. The only thing I can figure is with the way the idiots in washington have destroyed the economy people just aren't spending money on that kind of stuff.

your probaly right on that! It has slowed me down, and the sad part is it's only getting worse. these custom gunsmith's seem to keep going up every year, so the price of parts are getting higher