Anyone shoot a .480 Ruger? I am told the recoil is not as nasty as the .454 casul. I have carpal tunnel and had problems with my contender. I have the desire to get a new hunting handgun though. In my contender I used rifle calibers so am not up on true hand gun rounds. I will only be hunting white tailed deer so any sugestions? Should I just get a .44mag? How about the .41mag? .45 long colt? Pros cons on any of the avove? I do reload so that is not a problem.

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Don Nelson
Sw. PA.

I have the 454 and it kicks, especially with handloads. I've not shot the 480.. so I can't speculate. However, I can see no reason why not to get the 44 mag. The 44 mag is so much easier to handle than the 454..

Jacobite, I have all 3 of the ones you mentioned as an option to the 44 mag. Have Blackhawk in 41 mag and 45 colt and the 480 Ruger in the Super Redhawk. The 480 will do every thing the 454 will do at lower pressures and velocities if you are facinated by Foot Pounds of Energy and it will do more than the 44 mag will do. The 480 has a better selection of heavy bullets as compared to the 454 or 44 mag. Paul the Cast Bullet moderator made me bullets weighing from 310 grains to 460 grains for the 480 Ruger.

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AlleninAlaska

Ive shot both quite a bit and Id say the 480 is alot more pleasnt to shoot especially when it comes to muzzle blast. those full horse light bullet .454 loads even make my linebauhs seem pleasnt by comparison. They are LOUD!

For Whitetails a .44mag is plenty. If you hand load I would opt for a .45LC. At handgun velocities a bigger hole is always better. I own .44, .45, .454, and .500 they all work. I like the .454 in that I can load it down to .44mag velocities, or up to max loads. Lots of versatility. The .480 will never give you the penetration or versatility that a .454 can. But if you don't handload stick with the .44 mag and practice a lot.

I have to disagree about the comment about the penetration and versatility of the 480 Ruger. The 480 can be easily loaded up close to the 475 Linebaugh level or loaded down to the 44 Magnum level. However, it is still new in the market so give it some time and it will be a very popular cartridge. For the 480 Ruger, a 425-grain of hard-cast lead if loaded properly up to about 1250 fps will out penetrate any commercial 454 Casull loads. Have fun. Cheers. Ming

O.K. well answers for this are sure varied. Just to help me get an idea of what felt recoil will be like in a .480 let me ask this. How much more is it than a .44 mag.? Ming you say it can be loaded down to .44mag. velocity. I assume that would also result in close to .44 recoil? In my Contender I shot 45/70 but even loaded down some they were just too unpleasant to shoot as the carpal tunnel got worse. I have strong wrists and forearms but my hands are my weak link. I plan on getting shooting gloves this time around and hope they help. That darn trigger guard on the Contender is a pain also. I could be wrong but if the .480 can be loaded down for pleasant practice and deer, I can always load back up for bear or when needed. Prior to seeing the .480 I was looking at 45 colt. I had read some bad reports on penetration on bear with this cal. so was hesitant. Of course I am not buying it for bear. The only time it would be used for bear is if I have to go into some thick laural where I can not manuver my rifle. In that case I do want to know it will penetrate! I am buying it for mostly for deer hunting. I might add it will not be scoped. I am looking at it for close range hunting with open sights.

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Don Nelson
Sw. PA.

If you are just planning to hunt whitetails.. get a 44 mag.. I seriously just got the 454 to have it, and I can shoot it. But if I had to choose something b/c a problem like yours, I'd get a 44 mag.
Get one in a ruger redhawk (super if you want a scope). I've been shooting one of the redhawks in 44 mag since I was 12. It'll knock down deer or black bears just as quick as the 454 or 480.
If you really want something pleasant, get a strong revolver in 45 long colt. My friend has taken several deer and a bear with his and loves it.

Matt77,
If you really want something pleasant, get a strong revolver in 45 long colt. My friend has taken several deer and a bear with his and loves it. [/QUOTE]

I agree with you. I have some big bore handguns but not .45 Colt. My buddy has a .45 Colt Ruger Vaquero, IMHO the most versatile caliber with a huge bullets selection from 240 gr to 400 gr. Great accuracy, and less felt recoil than .454 Casull. What can do a .480 a .45 Colt can do too.

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BER007
Keep the faith in any circumstances
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BBER007@HOTMAIL.COM

Don,

If you are a reloader, you can virtually tame any of the big beasts including the 454, 480, 475, and 500. The 454 can also be loaded down safely to the 44 Magnum level if you desire. Don't use H110 if you want to do this. I would use either 2400 or H4227 for "mid-range" type load. This type of load would be classified as 44 Magnum recoil level type load. If you want to go down even further, then use a even faster powder like HS6 or Unique. Lastly, if you have a problem with your hands then maybe it is a good idea to stay away from any of the big magnum cannons. Good luck. Cheers. Ming

You realize if you get 5 different people and ask this question you will get 5 different answers. For deer here in Pa. I use my .454 loaded with 250 grain Hornady XTP's at 1500fps. I use W296. Believe me at handgun range it is all you need to kill a Whitetail. In fact more than you need. For the .45 LC let me say that very little can stand up to a 300-325 grain hard cast bullet of proper design moving at 1200 fps. Remember that the bigger the bore diameter at a given velocity you will feel more recoil. It's physics. Don't forget revolvers don't just rise during recoil, they also tend to twist. If you are not going to handload, the .44 is your best choice. If you do handload than any of the calibers mentioned will work. Check out sixguns.com for more opinions on the .45 LC. You will find that is the caliber of choice amongst many hardcore handgun hunters.
Good luck

Ok, i will be the odd man here....

Get a 41mag!! I have killed everything that we are allowed to in PA (except for a bear or bobcat(ooopppsss, forgot, elk)) and have never wanted or needed more power! A 210 bullet at 1350 fps is more than enough for a whitetail. I have been using this caliber for 15 years in different guns and will continue without feeling that i am undergunned!!

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mike

NRA Life Member

[This message has been edited by mssmagnum (edited 05-20-2002).]

Everyone preaches loading down. However, you may find that loading down may not give you the accuracy you want. Also, i see no need in shooting much smaller than 300 grain bullets in the 454 casull... if I wanted to shoot smaller weight bullets I'd use a 44 mag.

Check the favorite loads forum for my 480 data.

The beauty of the 480 is it is accurate at full throttle, mid throttle, and idle. I've shot 310, 320, 335, 390, 400, 435 and 460 gr cast out of it, from 600 fps to 1400 fps, and all bullets have been capable of at least 1" 25 yd groups, most would do 1" at 50 with tailored loads.

My most accurate and pleasant load is a 310 gr cast over 9.7 gr unique, does 1000 fps and has grouped 1 1/2" @ 100 yds for 3 shots. There is no doubt in my mind such a
"mild" load would be fully capable of whitetails. But, you can also load 400 gr bullets @ 1200 fps, which will take anything in NA, and w/o ripping your arm off.

The recoil of the 7 1/2" SRH isn't that bad, especially if you have a scope on it.

I'm a Contender guy, too- I just got .454 Casull (FA- would get a Bowen or Linbaugh if I didn't get it for so cheap :^)

I really like 255 grain SWC bullets using Ruger/TC load data. Not bad at all for targets, and I know it will flatten a deer. I have the groups to prove it.

Now, I just was working up some Casull loads- 335 grain Cast Performance with like 25 grains of Lil Gun. Recoil tolerable, but your hands feel it. I'm getting padded gloves. Hands were feeling it, but not sore.

As for performance, the LBTs and 300 XTPs were blowing right through 14" of cherry tree (the hardwood, not fruit). These are BIG holes.

For me, the .454 is a .45 Colt with not worry about loading it way past what I need. Need? Heck, past what I want. Want? Load past that, just to see what it's like.

I have .45/410 and .45 Long Colt (only) 10" barrels- I'm going to wring them out this summer, and compare with FA for accuracy and handling. I'm looking forward to trying some .45 spire points T/C makes for muzzleloading. Taper crimp, single shot only!

C'mon- every kid wanted a real Cowboy gun- NOW IS YOUR CHANCE!

Pete

Paul H. I'm still thinkin about the 480. Just have to work up to spending the money for a Bisley conversion by Bowen. I'm savin my Bisley for it. I became excited about it as soon as Hodgdon posted 480 data at there web site. Glad to see your comments. thanks

sweet, it's neat to see that your downloads are great. I just wondered, because I have heard alot about people downloading certain cartridges and that they don't perform well loaded down.
thanks

.45 COLT in a Stainless Ruger BlackHawk Bisley with 5.5" barrel!! Easy to Pack. Easy to shoot. Can be loaded to 14,000 PSI for plinking, varmints or target work and 32,000 PSI for taking any game on this continent.

I have Super Redhawks with scopes in .44 Magnum and .480 Ruger that are great for shooting off the bench or from a stationary position(HEAVY). But for hunting and packing all day I much prefer the Blackhawk Bisley in .45 Colt.

Check out the penetration of the .45 Colt at the following link! http://www.sixgunner.com/linebaugh/penetration_test.htm

[This message has been edited by Shark Bait (edited 05-23-2002).]

Shark Bait,

I agree 100% with you; .45 colt has a great potential of penetration.

The velocity out a factory Ruger .45 colt is enough to take nearly all animals living on this earth.

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BER007
Keep the faith in any circumstances
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BBER007@HOTMAIL.COM

I shoot the linebughs alot and the .44 mag too. But If I had to have keep only one big bore revolver it would either be my .45 vaquaro or my .45 stainless bisley. The .45 is the most versitle revolver round that exists It is easier to load down then the .454 (less air space) and it can be loaded hot enough to kill ANYTHING!