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Looking 480 Ruger
- Thread Starter ScatPackLife
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- 480 ruger looking for
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Hey Scat --
Doesn't look like you received any responses to your 2021 inquiry so did you ever have any luck finding that round? Looks like, even now 2½ years later, Buffalo Bore is still the only company selling available 480 Ruger ammo... for a price: $4.96 per round, and that rate for measly 275 grain HP bullets (see below). (For the uninitiated who may be reading this, I refer to 275 grains as "measly" because 480 Ruger would typically be loaded with bullet weights between 340 and 425 grains.) I assume you've transitioned to reloading your own 480 Ruger so how's that going and which bullets (brand/type/grains) are you loading?
Doesn't look like you received any responses to your 2021 inquiry so did you ever have any luck finding that round? Looks like, even now 2½ years later, Buffalo Bore is still the only company selling available 480 Ruger ammo... for a price: $4.96 per round, and that rate for measly 275 grain HP bullets (see below). (For the uninitiated who may be reading this, I refer to 275 grains as "measly" because 480 Ruger would typically be loaded with bullet weights between 340 and 425 grains.) I assume you've transitioned to reloading your own 480 Ruger so how's that going and which bullets (brand/type/grains) are you loading?
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- Thread Starter
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I managed to find a decent stash from some folks on here. Enough to get me started and going for a little while. Got a few boxes of Gold Dot and Hornady in 325gr JHP, I did buy a box of Buffalo bore HC 370gr, I got lucky and someone had 2 boxes of 425gr HC Grizzly (serious womp), and I picked up a couple boxes of Underwood Extreme Penetrators when they had them in stock (also expensive). It took a few months to put my stash of 480 together.
I have had a lot stuff going on and have not had much range time the last year and a half (seriously need to go more). When I do go I'm mostly practicing with my CCW or testing a new gun (I have a problem, I never have right guns. It's the ADHD
). I haven't had much time to take the revolvers out, unfortunately. I've only shot the 480 twice 
. I love revolvers. I mainly use them for woods carry.
I will likely start reloading when I'm getting low on the 480 I have, not sure when that will be though. I also was planning to do some custom work to the SRH down the road: shorten the barrel to 5.5 or 6", add some porting probably, change the front sight to a S&W DW style, and bore the cylinder to a 475 Linebaugh. 475 ammo and brass seem easier to find than 480, and that way if I ever start reloading I won't have to trim the cases. I also want to find, or have custom made, a grip that fits my hand well. None of the plastic or rubber stuff I have tried fits how I would like. I've also considered setting it up with a red dot, undecided. All would be to increase potential speed and accuracy. I don't have the ability to do most of that work so it will go to a shop. It's gonna be a fun project, just don't know when I will get to it. Already changed the grips to something I like better than stock (not perfect but better) and put in some Wilson tuning springs. The trigger is 10x better. Not light but lighter and it just feels more crisp.
Ha, long reply just to say I haven't started reloading. Lol.
You have a revolver in 480 also I presume? It's a fantastic but very underrated and very misunderstood cartridge. The 480 was really originally designed for the following
- large bore magnum caliber with huge meplate.
- the capability of using a 350gr to 425gr HC or 300 to 375gr HP bullets with velocity ranging from 1100 to 1400 fps.
- have light recoil (for a magnum) in turn being more inherently accurate than revolvers that hurt hands, wrists, and arms.
- be easy to reload. (You can use a lot of 475LB stuff, dies, powder, bullets, casings cut down, etc., so it's not proprietary).
- be capable of taking medium to large game: deer, moose, black bear, brown bear, bovine, etc., which it can and has. (Don't believe me, check the BB website. Claims they took a 2300lbs bovine with this…)
It does all of the above fantastic. I really wish this cartridge would take off.
One can't really complain about the price, all magnum ammo is pricy.
One big misconception about 480 is that it was intended to replace more powerful calibers, but it really wasn't. It was made to have another option for people who wanted a big bore magnum that could take medium size to really large game but didn't like the recoil of 454/460/500/etc. It's really the only one of its kind if you think about it (that I know of). And the 325gr Gold Dots would work well for 2 leg creatures also (ouch).
As for recoil, with some expansions, the recoil is very close to 44magnum. I've tested this side by side.
I blame Ruger for the lack of traction of this caliber. The marketing was lacking and I think they weren't the wrong route.
The only downside is that 480 can be hard to find loaded ammo.
Anyway. If you're looking for loaded 480 Ruger I suggest going to websites that have the current pricing (not 2012 pricing) and get on the in-stock notifications. That's how I got the Underwood.
I have had a lot stuff going on and have not had much range time the last year and a half (seriously need to go more). When I do go I'm mostly practicing with my CCW or testing a new gun (I have a problem, I never have right guns. It's the ADHD
). I haven't had much time to take the revolvers out, unfortunately. I've only shot the 480 twice . I love revolvers. I mainly use them for woods carry. I will likely start reloading when I'm getting low on the 480 I have, not sure when that will be though. I also was planning to do some custom work to the SRH down the road: shorten the barrel to 5.5 or 6", add some porting probably, change the front sight to a S&W DW style, and bore the cylinder to a 475 Linebaugh. 475 ammo and brass seem easier to find than 480, and that way if I ever start reloading I won't have to trim the cases. I also want to find, or have custom made, a grip that fits my hand well. None of the plastic or rubber stuff I have tried fits how I would like. I've also considered setting it up with a red dot, undecided. All would be to increase potential speed and accuracy. I don't have the ability to do most of that work so it will go to a shop. It's gonna be a fun project, just don't know when I will get to it. Already changed the grips to something I like better than stock (not perfect but better) and put in some Wilson tuning springs. The trigger is 10x better. Not light but lighter and it just feels more crisp.
Ha, long reply just to say I haven't started reloading. Lol.
You have a revolver in 480 also I presume? It's a fantastic but very underrated and very misunderstood cartridge. The 480 was really originally designed for the following
- large bore magnum caliber with huge meplate.
- the capability of using a 350gr to 425gr HC or 300 to 375gr HP bullets with velocity ranging from 1100 to 1400 fps.
- have light recoil (for a magnum) in turn being more inherently accurate than revolvers that hurt hands, wrists, and arms.
- be easy to reload. (You can use a lot of 475LB stuff, dies, powder, bullets, casings cut down, etc., so it's not proprietary).
- be capable of taking medium to large game: deer, moose, black bear, brown bear, bovine, etc., which it can and has. (Don't believe me, check the BB website. Claims they took a 2300lbs bovine with this…)
DANGEROUS GAME HEAVY 480 RUGER - Mono-Metal Pistol & Handgun Ammunition
DANGEROUS GAME HEAVY 480 RUGER - Mono-Metal Field Proven pistol and handgun ammo. Maximum firepower bullets. Best ammunition for pistols and handguns for sale. Buffalo Bore. Strictly big bore. Strictly Business.
www.buffalobore.com
It does all of the above fantastic. I really wish this cartridge would take off.
One can't really complain about the price, all magnum ammo is pricy.
One big misconception about 480 is that it was intended to replace more powerful calibers, but it really wasn't. It was made to have another option for people who wanted a big bore magnum that could take medium size to really large game but didn't like the recoil of 454/460/500/etc. It's really the only one of its kind if you think about it (that I know of). And the 325gr Gold Dots would work well for 2 leg creatures also (ouch).
As for recoil, with some expansions, the recoil is very close to 44magnum. I've tested this side by side.
I blame Ruger for the lack of traction of this caliber. The marketing was lacking and I think they weren't the wrong route.
The only downside is that 480 can be hard to find loaded ammo.
Anyway. If you're looking for loaded 480 Ruger I suggest going to websites that have the current pricing (not 2012 pricing) and get on the in-stock notifications. That's how I got the Underwood.
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Excellent reply! And good info to boot. Just a few add-ons. First, if you're going to have the revolver shortened/ported then, as you likely know, the good folks at Magnaport International (in Michigan) have specialized in that for RSR, as well as fitting a new front site: https://magnaport.com/
Second, it does seem to be an enigma why the Ruger 480 never really took off compared to its big bore brethren, and like you I believe Ruger itself was a big part of that fault. All you have to do is look at barrel lengths for 454 Casull in their own Ruger SRH compared to the 480 Ruger and that tells the story of how little they support their own cartridge. And now that Ruger owns Marlin are we hearing about an upcoming lever action 480 Ruger? Nope. It's as if Ruger views its own 480 Ruger caliber the same way Brandon views his illegitimate granddaughter...
Lastly, Wiley Clapp (writing for NRA's March 2015 American Rifleman) addressed a definite reason 480 Ruger failed to capture market share when he writes:
"The .480 Ruger never really caught fire as a popular handgun product and the recoil was not really the issue. The .480 Ruger came onto the market at about the same time as S&W's .500 and .460 Magnums. These massive revolver cartridges and the over-sized wheelguns that fired them effectively trumped everything available in handgun power."
Second, it does seem to be an enigma why the Ruger 480 never really took off compared to its big bore brethren, and like you I believe Ruger itself was a big part of that fault. All you have to do is look at barrel lengths for 454 Casull in their own Ruger SRH compared to the 480 Ruger and that tells the story of how little they support their own cartridge. And now that Ruger owns Marlin are we hearing about an upcoming lever action 480 Ruger? Nope. It's as if Ruger views its own 480 Ruger caliber the same way Brandon views his illegitimate granddaughter...
Lastly, Wiley Clapp (writing for NRA's March 2015 American Rifleman) addressed a definite reason 480 Ruger failed to capture market share when he writes:
"The .480 Ruger never really caught fire as a popular handgun product and the recoil was not really the issue. The .480 Ruger came onto the market at about the same time as S&W's .500 and .460 Magnums. These massive revolver cartridges and the over-sized wheelguns that fired them effectively trumped everything available in handgun power."
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