If you believe that faster is better then by all means go for it I have been on Bison hunts and have seen 45 colts with 325 grain and 335 grain LBT style bullets and 454's side by side and all killed perfectly if you think that a 480 @ 1200 fps won't shoot through a Bison you are mistaken If you would like to check out WWw.BuffaloBore.com web site under field photo, and stories and then check out www.bigborehandgunners.com and see some of the game that I and others have taken with these revolvers you will see that I am not theorizing I have been killing game with these rvolvers for many more years than I care to remember A 400 grain
@1200 plus fps is avaiable from Buffalo Bore as well As Grizzly Cartridges and there would be little to no difference in killing power

I agree with jwp475...big bore revolvers can't be judged by foot-pounds of energy. It's all about how many Majors you can make. The linebaugh is about 16% better than the 480 on this basis and you pay a big price in recoil to get it.

Okay, let's back up a bit.

I am well aware of the fact that all of the aforementioned rounds already have diameter in their favor, hence no need for expanding-type bullets -- give me hard cast any day. Penetration to the vitals is always the name of the game -- that was never in dispute. But if we had all that we needed round-wise, guys like Dick Casull wouldn't have developed even hotter cartridges. What's the point. We'll never use our handguns for their sniping ability that's a fact, so I'm not too concerned about what it is capable of doing at 200 yards.

Now, in order to penetrate, your bullet needs to have adequate speed. As HHMAG mentioned it's just a matter of physics -- I think we can all agree on that. Again, all things being equal, if you have a premium bullet that will stay together, the one that is moving faster should penetrate deeper to a certain degree. Can you see where I am going with this?

I'm not ready to discount energy either. I have hunted alongside a friend who shoots a Casull with 320 grain Corbon loads, while I was shooting my .480. The Casull most definitely hits harder. You can see the way the hog reacts to being hit. Again, assuming good shot placement from the both of us. I can tell you with absolute certainty that my .416 hits game with a noticeably bigger whalop than my .375 ever did (sorry for the return to the rifle analogies, but I'm drawing on my own experiences). Is there a scientific term for whalop?!

I don't think that any of us really disagree with the principals.

I just don't think anyone would bother shooting .454 if the .45 LC was the absolute end all be all (I know it's a great round, so don't flame me) as god knows the Casull's not the most pleasant thing to shoot.

Now I want to draw on your vast handgun hunting experiences. Is there an optimal velocity in your opinions that will result in complete (adequate?) penetration? The big bore rifle guys seem to feel that between 2100 and 2400 fps is all that is needed, discounting the effectiveness of such ËimprovedËcartridges as those produced by Weatherby that jack velocity up considerably. This is also a matter of trying to prevent bullet failure when velocities rise to the stratosphere.

No reason to get bent or to start measuring barrel lengths, this is just good conversation. Thanks for increasing my knowledge.

First of what bullets weights and what speeds are you shooting in your 480Some freinds of mine shot 800 plus pound bison a couple of months ago and they like you believed that more speed was better even Jack and I warned them they firmly believed that the 500 smith and factory 440 grain would out penetrate every thing else on game because it did on steel. One thing for sure speed penetrates steel try a 22-250 on mild steel plate with soft points and then on game does not penetrate too deep long story short smith didnot exit on bison 500 linebaugh 525 @1100+ exited on two did more damage and put them both down quicker. I know where you are coming from as I once thought the same only through trail and error did I lean differently. Why do they make faster rounds such as the 460smith @2000+ fps BECAUSE VELOCITY SELL'S.I donot dispute your observations I tried 435grains in the 500 Linebaugh @ 1350 and I can promise you they do not game as hard or pentrate anywhere close to as deep as a525 grain @1130fps from my revolver but I find it hard to believe that 454 320 grain will a large animal such as Moose, or Bison as hard as a400 grain 480 @ 1200+ fps there can be some validity to speed on smaller animals such 200+ pound pigs or deer I shot a sheep with the 500 Linebaugh 525grain @ 1130+ fps behind the should and he fell so hard that he bounced Do not know how to explain any better but shoot enough large game{Moose, BIson ,ect and I think you will agree
GOOD SHOOTING

I have procured some Buffalo Bore 410 grain hardcast loads for my .480 and hope to try them soon on something -- damnit! You know the load 1200 fps. I'm not advocation light speed velocity and have perhaps not experimented enough yet with my pistols (not from a lack of desire, I'm simply overseas right now). I've been using my rifles a lot more as of late. I don't feel that big-bore rifle rounds need to be driven very fast either as I mentioned earlier. There's just too much opportunity for bullet failure when it is travelling too fast which could end disastrously on DG. That said, I will not be reducing the velocity on my Lott when I do take it to Tanzania!

I guess the advantage the .475 Linebaugh has to offer is the ability (through increased case capacity) to take an even bigger pill and move it at moderate velocities over the .480's more limited capacity. Looking forward to trying the Buff Bore loadings.

You are right in the fact that velocity sells. The 500 Smith brags about 2500 ft-lbs of muzzle energy. While that is pretty damn significant in the pistol world, the garden variety '06 easily exceeds that and I won't even get into the big bores. Obviously pistol velocities will never be comparable to those of long guns.

Whitworth, I beleive that you will see a dramatic differenc with these bullets If my asumption is correct you were shooting 325grain.
Sectional density for the 320 454 is .225 for the 480 325grain is .206 and the 412 grain is .261 a signifcant difference
GOOD SHOOTING

I know they aren't available as commercial loads, but the 480 can launch a 460 gr @ 1050-1100 fps, when loaded to the same OAL as the 475. The 460 gr bullet is so long that if it is seated to the crimp groove, the gas check swells the case.

The other nice thing about that bullet is I can drill out the nose and make it a 400 gr hollowpoint. I'd love to try that one on a deer

Especially if cast a bit on the soft side.

If you want a hand gun caliber that will take anything, the .475 with the right bullets will do it. My son hunts large game with a hand guns,but does keep the old man happy and uses a rifle from time to time.In 1999 severe arthritis in my shoulders caused me to take a long break from big bores rifles. I got interested in big bore hand guns, with a nudge from junior,i jumped into a .454 in a raging bull and never looked back. My next purchase was a F.A.83 7.5 inch in .475. We both took very nice Brownies in 2002 all with the Beartooth 435 grn hard casts at 1325 f.p.s. The .475 will shoot through buff shoulder to shoulder and has penetrated on frontal brain shots stopping in the rear neck muscles of a 5 plus ton Elephant. As i see it, it has one draw back and that is punishing recoil, but it can be worked into with time and dilligence. When we go fishing in bear country i never feel under gunned with it comfortably hanging off of my belt. Some chaps call it a cannon, i call it confidence. Charlie

I sent you a PM, Charles.

BTW...the 480 RB has 5 chambers and can be loaded to 1.810 COL duplicating the 475 Linebaugh. I use this COL in mine, but stick with Blue Dot and Longshot to get the std length 480 ballistics with a 50% reduction in charge weight. This cuts recoil considerably and still gives outstanding performance at safe pressures.

we have done alot of penetration testing on all the big guns. What weve found is the obvious penetration increases with velocity up to the point of bullet deformantion. What weve found as ideal is a heavy bullet cast out of 5050 ww/lynotype. pushed to about 1400 fps at the max. Theres little differnce between 1400 and 1100 but there is some. Cast bullets pushed any harder ususally do worse the softer bullets nose deform and the harder bullets crack. A .475 is deffinately capable of more penetration then a 480 but bullet design and weight meant more then velocity. A good lfn or swc heavy for the caliber is ideal. The smith big guns are fine guns but wont do anything the smaller gun will do with cast bullets. Pushing a cast bullet to 2000fps in nuts in a handgun. If you want to shoot jacketed stuff at 200 yards buy one but id about bet theres not a man here that can guarentee a humane hit 100 percent of the time with any revolver at those distances. I love shooting long range with a sixgun its one of the most fun things you can do with one but we blast rocks way out there not living things.

I have shot a few pigs with my SRH 480 and am impressed with the performance of the cartridge. The 475 Linebaugh is certainly a very impressive cartridge but I don't see how it can kill a pig any better than either the 480 or 454. If you want a more powerful handgun cartridge, why not go with the biggest and meanest available - 500 S&W, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
How many of you have a revolvers chambered in .475 Linebaugh? This is a caliber that I have wanted for a very long time. I have an SRH in .454 Casull and one in .480 Ruger and was wondering if it would be worth having a revolver in .475 Linebaugh. The factory Hornady loadings are quite conservative, and not much more than the .480 offerings. Do you guys think it is a big enough step up over the .480 to warrant owning one? I would like to have an SRH built Bowen, but only if it will be a significant step up. I mainly use my handguns to hunt hogs. What kind of ballistics are possible with the .475? Thanks in advance.

MingBogo; I have not seen the 500 Smith with the current factory loads available out perform a 475 on game. Until the 500 Smith can out perform the 475 on game I will not consider it the Biggest and Meanest out there. At this time that distinction belongs to the 500 LInebaugh with 525 grain bullets.

Whatever you desire...not agreeing or disagreeing! Cheers!

quote:

Originally posted by jwp475:
MingBogo; I have not seen the 500 Smith with the current factory loads available out perform a 475 on game. Until the 500 Smith can out perform the 475 on game I will not consider it the Biggest and Meanest out there. At this time that distinction belongs to the 500 LInebaugh with 525 grain bullets.