I'm heading to Idaho in May for a bear hunt. What is your opinion on 275g speer gold dots out of a 480 Ruger at a max distance of 40 yards. I have never used these on any game, but they shoot very well out of my SRH.
Thanks

I'm a heavy for caliber sort of pistol hunter so that combination sounds a little light to me - more of a deer bullet than a bear bullet. If I was trophy hunting I'd want a bullet that would work for any reasonable shot that presented itself. Have you tried any LBT-pattern hard cast flat points in your 480? Good hunting!

Yeah, that thought (too light) crossed my mind as well. It's just that lighter bullets group soooo much better than the heavier ones in my SRH. My other thought was that many people have taken black bears with a 44 mag and 250-275 grain bullet so why not the same weight in a .475 cal? Thanks for the response!

The 44 bullets will have better s.d. than a .476 bullet of the same the 325 hollow points in 480 Rugar do not pentrate very well neither will the 275 grain gold dot as the gentleman suggested an LBT stlye hard cast would be simply awsome.I have been shoot a 475 LInebaugh since 1987 and ther is no jacketed bullet that can compare to the hard cast for performance on game.
BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Hey guys, thank very much for the info! Do you have any more info (a link maybe) on the LBT style hard cast bullets?

Try this place for quality hardcast bullets.
Cast Performance

You can also try:
http://www.beartoothbullets.com

If you don't reload, contact Buffalo Bore ammo (I believe that their web address is www.buffalobore.com) as they have various cast bullet offerings. I have yet to try this ammo on game, but there are many here that swear by it.

WOW, thanks very much for the links and info! Looks like I will definately give these hard casts a try. I just hope I can get 350-370 grain bullets to group. Thanks agan!

Another Question is how tight of group to you need to kill a blk bear at 40 yards. If the gold dots are giving you 2ins and the hard cast 4inchs they both are way more min of blk bear.

It is easy to get into the rut that every gun has to be super accurate. I have p dog guns that shot .5 and better. It is very easy to think that all my rifles need to do that but a deer or elk gun that does 1.5 or 2 well kill lots of deer and elk out ot normal hunting ranges.(IE 300to 400 yards.) Longer range hunting needs a more accurate rifle so you pick the one you need. Then limit yourself to the range you and the rifle can handle.

Sure I would like all my guns to be super accurate but not the case nor is it needed all the time.

I have bought the Cast Performance bullets from Graf and Sons and Cabelas.

Thank for all the input guys! I just ordered some (100) 370 Cast Preformance bullets and I'll try them out this weekend.
P DOG SHOOTER, I agree with you 100% - we all get caught up in accuracy trap. I'm just as guilty of that as anyone. Its just hard for me going from shooting my 30-06AI encore pistol and getting a 1" or better group at 100 yards and then shooting my SRH at 50 yards and getting a 2 to 3 inch group. But you are right on the money, it doesn't take a .25" gun to kill a bear at 40 yards.
Thanks again guys. I'll let you know how I make out at the range this weekend.

Tip make sure you crimp them hard, and good luck on you hunt. Charlie

Ihave been loading lee 310grlfn harded bullets that I cast in my red hawk at around 1300 fps. they shoot into 2in at 25 yards.

Use h110 and you8 should get a very useful load

I finally made it to the range to work up some loads with the 370g Cast Performance bullets. They all grouped GREAT. I was getting an honest 2" group at 50 yards with all the loads I worked up with H110. I got AMAZING groups at 25 yards. I had one group with 24g that was almost scary...1 ragged hole! Thanks again for the tip on the hard cast bullets! I don't think I'm ever going back to jacked bullets.

Your bear hunt is geting awful close I bet the tension is building. Good luck.

Heavier bullets and large amounts of H110 have always worked well for me. Good luck on your hunt.

Jason

Thanks for all the good wishes! Yeah, I'm pretty excited about the hunt especially now with the awesome loads my SRH is capable of. I just hope I don't break my ankle on the second day of the hunt like I did last year!