Anyone considered/done this?

[Quick Draw McGraw]

Has anyone converted their .480 Ruger Bisley into a .475 Linebaugh? Just curious.

[zeus]

I see no reason to personally...in reality, the 480 will do anything the 475 will in all practical terms.

[seancass]

I wonder if you'd run into overall length issues.

I can see wanting 475 for caliber commonality reasons.

But as Zeus points out, you wouldn't gain an ounce of performance.

[Encore64]

Probably make more sense to just get a custom bullet mold with Cannelure set for maximum length for your cylinder. I don't believe any critter could tell the difference.

[singleaction]

SAAMI Max pressure for the 480 and 475 is 48k and 50k psi respectively. I don't really see a problem there, as 2k ain't squat when dealing with pressures this high. The problem, as already alluded to, is overal length. Most of your custom 475's have cylinders that are 1.8" or slightly longer. SAAMI Max OAL for the 475 is 1.765", I believe in deference to the length of Freedom Arms cylinder length limitations. What we have here is a very similar situation to what exists between the five shot 45 Colt and the 454 Cassull, only max pressures are much closer with the 480 and 475. (There is no SAAMI spec for 5 shot pressure 45 Colts, but most custom builders seem to recommend loads in the 50k psi range. The 454 max is 65k!) The only real advantage I can see with the 475, and it's a small advantage, is the extra pull the case has on the bullet with certain bullet designs when trying to squeeze out the very most velocity with given bullet weights. You can approach, or maybe even equal, 475 case capacity with the 480 by using long wide nose bullet designs that necessarily have a short shank with proportionally more of the bullets weight outside of the case. The 475 loaded with a WFN of the same weight and having roughly the same case capacity as the before mentioned 480 load would hold on tighter to the bullet, which could help the powder burn more efficiently and help deter bullets from jumping crimp. I happen to think that there isn't enough difference in the maximim performance of the two rounds to justify the effort. How long are Ruger's 480 SBH Bisley cylinders anyway?

[Fowler]

If my flawed memory is working I think Ruger is using a super hard Carpenter stainless steel that is harder than woodpecker lips, as hard or harder than most reamers are.

I have an FA with a 475 and a 480 cylinder, the difference between the two cartridges is real but purely conversational, I havent had the 475 cylinder in my gun in years, just no reason to do so.

[dmize]

I have examples of both. To me the difference wouldn't be worth the cost of reaming.
In fact if I had the opportunity to shoot a 475 before buying it I would have just stuck to my SRH.

[Alaskan454]

I wondered about this when I got my 480, soon realized there wasn't much benefit with proper bullet and powder selection. Probably why I haven't seen one converted so far.

[Quick Draw McGraw]

I appreciate the input guys. It probably isn't going to matter now, though. I have sent my Bisley in 3 times to get my front sight straight as it's canted and all 3 times it came back still canted. Got it back last night, shipped it out again this morning for the 4th time. I am requesting a rwfund at this point. Enough is enough.

[Yetiman]

Now you guys are making me feel extra bad about passing on a 480 SRH that was really cheap earlier this year. Just wan't in the cards when it presented itself due to other irons in the fire at the time.