I know we've discussed this before, but does anyone know why Ruger's not building .480s anymore? Has anyone communicated with Rugers?

After I heard they were discontinued I went out and bought a super redhawk. I called ruger and was told they were having extraction problems. Hey sure. Well I then went and shot and after just two cylinders of ammo the fired cases were getting very sticky. So maybe ruger ain't lying. But a quick cleaning of the cylinder and the problem is solved. But ruger is well know for ceasing production of something over a simple problem. Ruger told they are working on the problem and hope to reintroduce the 480. I doubt it will happen. Ruger has a lot of bean counters running things now. So any excuse to get rid of something that is not a big seller they will use. I know they have not sold many. My gun I bought new a few weeks ago and it was produced in 03.

Ruger is very stubborn! The easy solution is to go to a 5 shot cylinder with more meat around the case so the cylinder does not expand so much. Why they insist on stuffing 6 shots in their big bores is confusing.

I'm going to call or write Ruger some time this week do see what BS they're selling. You figure with the .480 being one of their cartidges, they would keep production going indefinitely -- I know this doesn't necessarily make business sense, but what kind of a signal does this send to the market when Ruger is no longer selling a product they had a hand in creating, and one that bears their name.......

I suspect they're so busy getting rich making toys for the cowboy shooters they have no time to worry about fixing the 480 SRH. As it is the SRH solves no problem I have, but a 5-shot 5-1/2 Bisley in 480 would be the cat's meow.

Seemed like a good cartridge to me. Sorry to see it go. I was sort of surprised other companies weren't jumping on it. A nice short barreled N frame Smith would have been an awesome backup pistol.

Kyler

I think Taurus is still chambering the Raging Bull in .480 Ruger, and I believe that BFR lists their .475 L as a .480 Ruger/.475 Linebaugh (Ruger does this with their SRH in Casull -- .45 LC/.454 Casull. Maybe that will shame them into offering the SRH in .480 again!

The .480 is a great cartridge but the price of the SRH has gone up so much it is a no brainer to get a BFR in .475 instead. More power, 5 shot cylinder, accuracy and the ability to use .480 brass if you want. Ruger would have been better off to gear up to a 5 shot .475.
I was reading about the new Ruger caliber for rifles, .375 Ruger or something. Then I seen the price of 20 rounds was listed at $50. More then the cost of shooting the .50 BMG.
Ruger is continuing Bill's legacy, stubborn to a "T". Good guns, yes, but too many mistakes and discontinued guns.

Jim, I can't imagine that an SRH is more expensive than a BFR! There are a bunch on gunsamerica in the $600.00 or less range....

It would have been nice had they offered a .475 Linebaugh, but then there really wouldn't have been a reason for the development of the .480......

I was comparing prices because they are closer with a new gun then I thought. I only paid $715 out the door for my BFR .475. I got the 45-70 for a little over $800. I am sure a used one can be found for a lot less. They scare some guys and after a shot or two, they sell.
I love the SRH in .44 but still think a 5 shot would have done the trick for the .480. As soon as someone found out the cylinders would expand, then shrink to lock the brass, sales went down. There is no danger problem but it is not convenient. It would not be nice to have to reload in bear country.
I question Ruger's thinking same as I question Marlin's. They make the .41 levergun with a 1 in 20 twist but stuck a stupid 1 in 38 twist in the .44. Some poor decisions can be corrected overnight. I hope the .480 comes back!
I think of guys that buy a SRH and send it out to be customized. That adds a tremendous cost that some of us can't afford. But it makes the gun what it should have been to start with.

I firmly believe Ruger developed the .480 because they wanted to stay with 6 shots. The .475 pressures with the heavy boolits just would not work.

If you will look at the SAAMI avevrage pressure for the 2 rounds the 475 is 5000 PSI higher than the 480 pretty close acctualy...

You're right Jim, they were around the $800.00 mark when new.

I was going to call Ruger today and even dug up their number, but I had to talk to Jack Huntington today (progress report on the .475!), and I asked him if he knew. He stated that it was the sticky extraction issue. Apparently enough had the problem for them to pull the plug on the .480 rather than correct the machining problem. Does that mean every .480 has the "problem"? Nope. Mine didn't.

The extraction problem is Rugers excuse,but this is as much or more of a problem with the SRH in 454,so one must wonder....

My SRH in .454 Casull suffers from sticky extraction, but I often wonder if it's not from the astronomical pressures the Casull develops.....

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
My SRH in .454 Casull suffers from sticky extraction, but I often wonder if it's not from the astronomical pressures the Casull develops.....

I'm sure it is, all steel is a spring until it yeilds or breaks. All steels in this spring state has the same "stiffness". Thin walls will make for a springy cylinder and sticky extraction, no matter how strong the gun is. I too would like to see the SRH offered in 5 shot for both the 480 and 454.

This gives me the excuse I've been looking for to have Jack Huntington convert the Casull to .500 JRH (5 shot cylinder of course!)

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
This gives me the excuse I've been looking for to have Jack Huntington convert the Casull to .500 JRH (5 shot cylinder of course!)

NO! NO! NO!...the 500 G.D. save hundreds for the same power! load long in the BFR...the same oal as the Linebaigh and JRH

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
My SRH in .454 Casull suffers from sticky extraction, but I often wonder if it's not from the astronomical pressures the Casull develops.....

It is caused by the slopy way that Ruger chambers them.. It leaves the cylenders with a reverse taper when this eliminated they no longer stick.... Whitworth the next time that you talk to Jack get him to explain it to you. He has correct this in numerous SRH's. Jack rechambered a Redhawk for me to 454 and with factory 454 loads and reloads to the same velocity there was noi sticky extraction.....

Yes all steels (chambers) expand when pressure is applied and contract when the pressure is released....

You're not helping me out here -- I'm looking for an excuse to build the JRH!!

jwp -- you have a .475L and a .500 JRH, don't you? Which one do you prefer to hunt with?

The JRH........500's are awesome..........

What is your pet load for the JRH, jwp?

I have been shooting the factory loads by Buffalo Bore that Jack had them to do... I have some of the 425 grainers at 1375 FPS and some of the 440 grainers at 950 FPS and they are effective...
This exit in the off side ribb cage was made with the 440 905 FPS load

I plan on using Buffalo Bore's 420 grain load (WFN at 1350 fps) in my Linebaugh. jwp, have you tried any of Grizzly Cartridges' loads?

That 420 grian Bufalo Bore load is advertised at 1350 FPS is gets 1400+ out of my 6" 475s

The Grizzly Ammo is good Ammo.. I have shot some,Jack has shot more of the Grizzly Ammo than I have.. The Grizzly Ammo is not loaded as hot as the BB Ammo...That is not a bad thing,this stuff does not need to be balls to the wall to be effective.....

John, how did you find that Buffalo Bore load worked on game? I like and trust Buffalo Bore ammo -- it's good stuff. I might try out some Grizzly ammo just to see how it shoots, but I plan on using BB......

The BB ammo is excelent on game...The Grizzly Ammo is also very effective....

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:

It is caused by the slopy way that Ruger chambers them.. It leaves the cylenders with a reverse taper when this eliminated they no longer stick....

I don't quite buy that answer, at least not in my SRH.

If I shoot factory ammo then it is difficult to get the cases to start moving. Once they move 1/4 inch out then they come right out with no problem.
I can put those cases back into the chambers and they rub when they get to the last 3/16-1/4 inch.
If reverse taper was the problem then the cases would stick earlier when inserted back into the chamber. If it was reverse taper then it would also become harder to remove the cases as you push the ejector.

I think the problem is the cylinder steel contracting more than the expanded brass.

I think the real problem is Ruger didnt sell enough 480 SRHs to justify keeping them...but we'll never know if that's true.

Fumbler, you attributed this quote to me, but it was jwp's!

When I talked to Jack Huntington, he did confirm that some SRHs are indeed sloppy from the factory and he is of the opinion that Ruger should have built a 5-shot cylinder......whether or not this is a contributing factor in the discontinuation of production by Ruger, is an unknown.......

quote:

Originally posted by Fumbler:

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:

It is caused by the slopy way that Ruger chambers them.. It leaves the cylenders with a reverse taper when this eliminated they no longer stick....

I don't quite buy that answer, at least not in my SRH.

If I shoot factory ammo then it is difficult to get the cases to start moving. Once they move 1/4 inch out then they come right out with no problem.
I can put those cases back into the chambers and they rub when they get to the last 3/16-1/4 inch.

If reverse taper was the problem then the cases would stick earlier when inserted back into the chamber. If it was reverse taper then it would also become harder to remove the cases as you push the ejector.
I think the problem is the cylinder steel contracting more than the expanded brass.

I think the real problem is Ruger didnt sell enough 480 SRHs to justify keeping them...but we'll never know if that's true.

The case tapersa ever so slightly fron the base to the end chamber reamer only needs to wobble out a few 10 thousands at the end of the cylender (toward the barrel) to create the exact condition that you are experienceing

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
Fumbler, you attributed this quote to me, but it was jwp's!

Sorry about that! I deleted the wrong name.

quote:

The case tapersa ever so slightly fron the base to the end chamber reamer only needs to wobble out a few 10 thousands at the end of the cylender (toward the barrel) to create the exact condition that you are experienceing

I understand, but I don't think that's the problem in most of the guns. If the chamber was larger close to the muzzle, then the cases would be larger at the case mouth compared to the head.
If you took that case out and reinserted it into the chamber, then wouldn't it it be easy to push it into the last 1/4 inch? (The fat part of the case would be going into the widest part of the chamber)

quote:

Originally posted by Fumbler:

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
Fumbler, you attributed this quote to me, but it was jwp's!

Sorry about that! I deleted the wrong name.

quote:

The case tapersa ever so slightly fron the base to the end chamber reamer only needs to wobble out a few 10 thousands at the end of the cylender (toward the barrel) to create the exact condition that you are experienceing

I understand, but I don't think that's the problem in most of the guns. If the chamber was larger close to the muzzle, then the cases would be larger at the case mouth compared to the head.
If you took that case out and reinserted it into the chamber, then wouldn't it it be easy to push it into the last 1/4 inch? (The fat part of the case would be going into the widest part of the chamber)

The last part of the chamber is still smaller than the front and is only a few 10 thousands of an inch over size not enough to affect inserting into the front of the chamber.
We covered this extensively in another thread here a while back and one of the Smiths at JRH
Advance Gunsmithing chimed in and confirmed as much..
Ruger chambers the SRH with a wobble head and chambers all six chambers at once with six different reamers... I have seen chamber cast measured and confirmed as much....
Call Jack Huntington (530-268-6877) and ask him,he has repaired many by simpley removing the revers tapper and the cases no longer stick

quote:

Originally posted by jwp475:

Call Jack Huntington (530-268-6877) and ask him,he has repaired many by simpley removing the revers tapper and the cases no longer stick

Or do they no longer stick because they are now polished?
Ruger chambers aren't exactly smooth.


Seriously though, the first sentence in your last post confuses me.

Help me get this straight. You're saying:

-The muzzle end of the chamber is larger than the firing pin end of the chamber, correct?

-A case fired in this chamber would have a case mouth that is larger than the rest of the case wall.

-Somehow this explains why it is easy for me to pass the large mouth of a fired case through the small firing pin end of my chamber, yet it is difficult to make the large case mouth go into the large muzzle end of my chamber?

Fumbler,I sent you a PM................

This means that all of your Ruger SRHs are defective -- so, send them to me!

Put me in line for the 480's folks are throwing away

I solved the sticky case issue by not loading hot enough to stick cases, and fortunately my most accurate loads are below that pressure.

My brother-in-law just bought an SRH in .480 and he's worried about the fact that Ruger dropped the caliber. My .480 never had any extraction issues (my .454 SRH is another story), and I don't expect his to experience any issues.

Damn, after having my computer burn itself up and getting another one going, you guys still talking about the 480Ruger? Dude, get your SRH back from Huntington yet? BTW, I can't seem to get into my profile to put in a signature.

475Guy -- you starting from scratch again??

Haven't gotten it back yet, but am anticipating it's arrival in the next couple of weeks......damn, I can't wait! In fact, I'm going to call Jack today to get a status report......

Ordered some more ammo from Buffalo Bore for it and a set of Hogue grips.....will keep you posted!

Rumor has it Ruger will be bringing back the 480 as a 5 shooter.