I was just looking at a used Tuarus RB in .480 that seemed like a good price $545.00 but then after returning home did some checking on them. Ruger as well as Taurus have discontinued production of their handguns in the longer barreled revolvers.

I would have thought that this cartridge would have made it in the Handgun Hunting world.

Will my .44 magnum loaded with a 305-gr WFT GC at 21.0 gr of H110 actually do the same thing?

Just curious, so I'm asking those in the know that maybe have owned and gotten rid of your .480 Ruger shooting handguns. Has there been accuracy problems with this cartridge? Just give me the total run down.

Thanks

I don't know why, but here is a recent post on the subject.

http://www.handgunhunt.com/forum/ubbthre...=true#Post31812

Got to be for lack of sales......Just my 2 cents but if Ruger would have put it in a 5-shot single action I think it would still be selling well for them....

What we forget is that the bulk of the market for these big guns is small, and not very sophisticated. I laugh when someone on a gun site says something like: "the market for 5-shot .480s is huge." Giggle. It is not huge at all after the dozen or two guys on that forum buy theirs. Selling guns is a business, and with gun companies being more and more focused on staying alive they have to make good business decisions. These decisions may not please those few of us affictionados.


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I also think the 480 took a big hit when the 500 came out. I would have purchased a 480 but considering the price of ammo as opposed to the 44 mag... I got the 44.

Now that is an answer I can live with as I reload anyway, and had questions about which would be more productive. But if I am not really gaining anything in the .480 Ruger, then it is better to just stay with the .44 Magnum and get a longer barreled one.

Thanks for the feed back.

The 480 has much more knock down power with not much more recoil. One of my friends has a 480 and we shot both the 480 and the 44 mag at the range and the recoil is only slightly more with the 480, we were using factory hunting loads for both of them. If ammo costs were not a factor, I would have gone with the 480 in target grey. It is a very nice piece.

Don't get me wrong Montanan, I love my 44 mag and now would not trade it. I would just get a 480 too.

Ahem... who's not very sophisticated?

I have a 480 Encore and had one of the old 6 shot SRH's After loading the cast bullets I am very happy with the accuracy of the 480 but I still can not get it to do what the 454 will do. With that said I still think a 355 WFNGC at 1350 in the 480 is a real thumper. The only issue I have is the 100yd drop compared to the 454 Energy being equal the 480 drops an extra 2" @ 100

The bullets cost 2X more and the brass is 1.5X more

It is looking more and more to me like an over priced want-to-be

Big but not big enough for the group it is running with.

Still think it is a cool round just a little lack luster

There are a lot of little things that lead up to the fall of the 480. I'm going to say the last straw that dropped the 480 was the bean counters at Ruger.

Guys
I've got a sideline comment. I know that the Linebaugh 475 is downward compatible to the 480 Ruger. Can the 480 Ruger SRH be made upward compatible, taking into consideration both pressures and physical characteristics of the larger 475. If so this would make the SRH much more versatile and marketable.

YES… and no. From what I have heard threw the grape vine that was part of its demise. BUT with the introduction of the 5 shot cylinder that is possible. I actually know a couple of guys that have had that done.

BUT, how much do you REALLY gain!

This was an issue a friend had discussed after the 6 shot model was discontinued. (Note: This is all third party hearsay and totally unreliable) He claimed that after the death of Bill Ruger, the company went to family members who had little interest in firearms. They want to move the company into other manufacturing areas, such as specialist investment casting services etc. Hard to credit it with any basis in fact, but stranger things have happened in other businesses once the founder passes on. Be a damn shame because I've always had a soft spot for Rugers. Would have bought a 480 if they were legal here.

Actually the market may be bigger than most think. It's all about "location, location, location". Put the proper round in the right platform and you'll have a hit. Single action Rugers in ANY caliber sell more units than the same caliber in it's comparable DA platform. No reason to believe any different would have happened with the 480. The distributor AcuSport commissioned several "limited" runs of 5.5" SS bisleys in various calibers and these are among the most sought after guns Ruger has made. No reason that couldn't have happened with the 480. It's the platform that can make or break the gun. IMO, the 5.5" SS bisleys should be added to Ruger's catalog; they'd sell just as well or better than stuff like 30 carbine Blackhawks.

I am part of the market for these guns and I've advocated for 5-shot 480s here and elsewhere. I don't claim to be sophisticated sitting around sipping wine and eating cheese or whatever, but I take offense to your above comment. And for someone who claims sophistication, you'd think spelling afficionado correctly would come easily.

I could not agree more Bisleyfan44!

Why don’t people look at the BFR 5 shot 454 SA? It is not a Ruger, but from what I have heard the are a well made firearm.

The BFR is a great gun. Mine is slowly transforming into a Ruger. I replaced the stock BFR rubber grip with grip panels from my SBH, which made a great improvement in how the gun handles recoil (and its looks!). It now wears a Ruger Single-Six front sight blade (not pictured) also. I needed the taller Single-Six blade to sight in. I'm just guessing, but I think Ruger could manufacture a 5-shot SA and sell them at a lower price than the BFR. If they were able to keep the price between that of a SBH and a BFR they would sell very well.

If BFR made it with a Bisley grip frame I would have had one long ago.

I'll take one in 5.5 inch and one in 7.5 inch.

Shawn