Recall reading in some gunrag that the .480Ruger has less felt recoil than a .454Casull but offers more stopping power. Anyone have any experience with these? Assuming they are fired from a similar gun (such as a Taurus Raging Bull in .480 and .454), how do they stack up to one another in terms of recoil and stopping power?
.480Ruger VS .454Casull
- Thread starter Alan Fud
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critter
Member
I've shot both, but in different guns. The .454 was a Freedom Arms. Heavy recoil, snappy, lots of muzzle rise, lots of torque.
The S&W .50 (BIG, heavy gun) has lots of recoil but not as snappy. The heavy gun slows the recoil and, to me, was more 'comfortable'.
Either will take experience to shoot well for more than a FEW shots. Good stance, good ear protection, shooting gloves will help. A LONG shooting session WILL NOT be 100 rounds!
The S&W .50 (BIG, heavy gun) has lots of recoil but not as snappy. The heavy gun slows the recoil and, to me, was more 'comfortable'.
Either will take experience to shoot well for more than a FEW shots. Good stance, good ear protection, shooting gloves will help. A LONG shooting session WILL NOT be 100 rounds!
the 480 Ruger is in between the 44 mag and the 454 casull in power....it does shoot a bigger diameter bullet .475 to the 44 and 454's ....451-.452..the 44 and 454 has stopped every game animal in the world, and I'm sure the 480 will do the same eventually........the 454 casull in the Raging Bull is about the same as shooting a 44 mag in a Ruger to me....recoil is very manageable.........
dandean316
Member
I've shot the Ruger SRH .454, Ruger SRH .480 and the Smith .500.
The .480 was unpleasant and the .454 wasn't any better, but not worse. Both had a lot of muzzle flip to me. That said, I hate the SRH grips. So, with good rubber Hogue grips (I had them on my .41 Redhawk), I'd think it would feel much better.
My favorite was the .500. Great grips, more of a push back than snap, fairly comfortable to shoot. Much better than the .454 or .480.
If I could only pick one, I'd try to find a deal on the .454 and try good grips. It seems more versitle with light cowboy loads all the way up to heavy bear loads. There's also a way to shoot .45ACP in it with moon clips, although I hear accuracy is compromised. If it doesn't work out, you could resell it and probably not loose a lot. I see some used .454's around here for decent deals, but like one store told me: 'pretty much the .44 and .357 are standard, so we can't give good trades on anything but those.
The .500 at this point is expensive and so are the cartridges. Even to reload for the .500 it'd get expensive.
The .480 seems like a waste of time. You can only shoot .480, the components are limitied and the factory ammo is still pretty expensive. So if you are big on the .480, I'd check into a Freedom Arms .475 and you can shoot the .475 AND .480.
Hope that gives you something to go on.
The .480 was unpleasant and the .454 wasn't any better, but not worse. Both had a lot of muzzle flip to me. That said, I hate the SRH grips. So, with good rubber Hogue grips (I had them on my .41 Redhawk), I'd think it would feel much better.
My favorite was the .500. Great grips, more of a push back than snap, fairly comfortable to shoot. Much better than the .454 or .480.
If I could only pick one, I'd try to find a deal on the .454 and try good grips. It seems more versitle with light cowboy loads all the way up to heavy bear loads. There's also a way to shoot .45ACP in it with moon clips, although I hear accuracy is compromised. If it doesn't work out, you could resell it and probably not loose a lot. I see some used .454's around here for decent deals, but like one store told me: 'pretty much the .44 and .357 are standard, so we can't give good trades on anything but those.
The .500 at this point is expensive and so are the cartridges. Even to reload for the .500 it'd get expensive.
The .480 seems like a waste of time. You can only shoot .480, the components are limitied and the factory ammo is still pretty expensive. So if you are big on the .480, I'd check into a Freedom Arms .475 and you can shoot the .475 AND .480.
Hope that gives you something to go on.
Smaug
Member
Why bother going with that much power, (recoil) when a 44 Magnum will do anything you ask of it?
I just LOVE my S&W Model 29. I handload both full-house magnums AND light 44 Special target loads for it, and it is by far my most versatile gun. Deer hunting, bear hunting, self defense, target shooting... you name it. (mine has an 8 3/8" barrel)
Oh, and the price was good too: $455 out the door.
I just LOVE my S&W Model 29. I handload both full-house magnums AND light 44 Special target loads for it, and it is by far my most versatile gun. Deer hunting, bear hunting, self defense, target shooting... you name it. (mine has an 8 3/8" barrel)
Oh, and the price was good too: $455 out the door.
I've shot the Ruger 480 and loved it. It is just enough- right on the end of enjoyable and controllable vs painful. Recoil recovery is faster than with the 454 Casul. It does not have the same energy as the Casul, but it does deliver a heavy blow with quicker follow-up shots.
The point about going to a Freedom Arms weapon for a 475 is good- but expensive. Over twice that of a Ruger SRH. And shorter rounds through longer chambers are not as accurate as when the chamber fits. So if I had a 475 Linebaugh I'd probably load the longer case up and down as I saw fit. The point about expense of the 480 Ruger ammo and components is true- but will soon fade, as the cartridge gains popularity. It has to be cheaper to shoot than the Linebaugh.
I love the 41, 44, and 45 Colt. I plan on getting a 480 when funds permit.
The goal of a big bore to me is portability, shootability, and bringing a large diameter, heavy slug to the target rather than attempting to compete with a rifle. The Casul is loaded hotter, the pressures exceeding many rifle rounds.
My opinion. I believe the Ruger 480 logical. It also feels right in the hand. And it's loaded to the same saami specs as the other mags.
munk
The point about going to a Freedom Arms weapon for a 475 is good- but expensive. Over twice that of a Ruger SRH. And shorter rounds through longer chambers are not as accurate as when the chamber fits. So if I had a 475 Linebaugh I'd probably load the longer case up and down as I saw fit. The point about expense of the 480 Ruger ammo and components is true- but will soon fade, as the cartridge gains popularity. It has to be cheaper to shoot than the Linebaugh.
I love the 41, 44, and 45 Colt. I plan on getting a 480 when funds permit.
The goal of a big bore to me is portability, shootability, and bringing a large diameter, heavy slug to the target rather than attempting to compete with a rifle. The Casul is loaded hotter, the pressures exceeding many rifle rounds.
My opinion. I believe the Ruger 480 logical. It also feels right in the hand. And it's loaded to the same saami specs as the other mags.
munk
SnWnMe
Member
The Ruger 480 has very little metal between the cylinder chambers. It looks skeeeery.
I have shot the .454 SRH, and now own a .480.
The .454 shoots non-expanding, hard cast bullets clean through a bison. The .480 will also shoot non-expanding bullets clean through a bison, and makes a slightly bigger hole. Sounds to me it's got more killing power, velocity not withstanding.
The 500 depends a lot on its muzzle brake to reduce recoil. I hate muzzle brakes as I don't like to hunt with ear protection, and a .500 with a brake has got to be brutal on the ears. No brake, it's now brutal on your hand.
The .480 is the biggest six shot revolver caliber I know of, and you can easily take the scope off and on without removing the rear sight. The fact that it's DA makes it a better fighting pistol, if such an emergency occurs.
As far as strength goes, the SRH in both .480 and .454 is made from Carpenter Custom 465, which is far stronger than most 4130 or 416 steels. I don't worry much about its strength.
My recent move to NC has my reloading stuff buried, but I'm looking forward to load development with the big Ruger.
The .454 shoots non-expanding, hard cast bullets clean through a bison. The .480 will also shoot non-expanding bullets clean through a bison, and makes a slightly bigger hole. Sounds to me it's got more killing power, velocity not withstanding.
The 500 depends a lot on its muzzle brake to reduce recoil. I hate muzzle brakes as I don't like to hunt with ear protection, and a .500 with a brake has got to be brutal on the ears. No brake, it's now brutal on your hand.
The .480 is the biggest six shot revolver caliber I know of, and you can easily take the scope off and on without removing the rear sight. The fact that it's DA makes it a better fighting pistol, if such an emergency occurs.
As far as strength goes, the SRH in both .480 and .454 is made from Carpenter Custom 465, which is far stronger than most 4130 or 416 steels. I don't worry much about its strength.
My recent move to NC has my reloading stuff buried, but I'm looking forward to load development with the big Ruger.
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