Issues going from 480 Ruger to 475 Linebaugh???

[magnumwheelman]

tried doing a search, & didn't really find what I was looking for...

as per the title of the thread... what are the issues chambering a 480 Ruger ( lets talk both the Alaskan, & the Super Blackhawk ) to 475 Linebaugh???

cylinders too short to handle the heavier bullets ( my 1st guess ) or are pressures the real issue??? the Superback hawk is a 5 shot, Alaskan is 6 shot

any thoughts???

I have been considering looking at a Big Horn Armory lever gun as a 480 Ruger Lever Gun, but wondering if the Rugers could be chambered to 475, then all guns considered, could shoot both cartridges ( already confirmed that the BHA lever gun is supposed to cycle the 480 reliably ) only issue there, is the 475 barrels are all octagon, so the base rifle is $500.00 more that the 500 S&W rifle

even if handloaded shorter cartridges / bullets were the limiting factor, the same load could be developed for all 3 guns

[squigz]

I think there was a recent thread in Double-Actions that asked this very thing and someone had made some calls into prominent gunsmiths and they said they would not do it, specifically for Ruger Alaskans.

Edit - found the thread.


singleactions.proboards.com/thread/26978/ruger-alaskan-480-475l

[magnumwheelman]

Hmmmm... maybe since I already have Jack Huntington doing a 5 shot 500 JRH Alaskan, I could have my 480 Ruger Converted to a 5 shot at the same time, if the cylinder could be long enough to play with the "good" bullets...

[whitworth]

Mar 26, 2020 11:01:01 GMT -5 magnumwheelman said:

Hmmmm... maybe since I already have Jack Huntington doing a 5 shot 500 JRH Alaskan, I could have my 480 Ruger Converted to a 5 shot at the same time, if the cylinder could be long enough to play with the "good" bullets...

Years ago, Jack built me a .475 5-shot cylinder SRH and it was a great revolver. Very accurate. It was built on a .480 so it retained its factory barrel. Accounted for lots of game.

[magnumwheelman]

Whit... do you know if the frame window was lengthened, & or did you run into issues with cartridge length on any of the heavier bullets you may have messed with???

BTW... nice looking gun... I don't really have any issues reducing capacity on the double actions... easier to eject 5 cases from warm loads, than it is to eject 6 cases from warm loads... not something most worry about with single actions, & ejecting only 1 case at a time

[whitworth]

Mar 26, 2020 11:12:52 GMT -5 magnumwheelman said:

Whit... do you know if the frame window was lengthened, & or did you run into issues with cartridge length on any of the heavier bullets you may have messed with???

None of the above. No opening of the window and I never had an issue with bullet length. My standard load consisted of a 420 grain cast bullet at something north of 1,350 fps.

[magnumwheelman]

thanks

[bradshaw]

Mar 26, 2020 12:55:55 GMT -5 magnumwheelman said:

thanks

*****

Eyeball the frame & yoke of a double action. Sure you want to whittle on that geometry?
David Bradshaw

[magnumwheelman]

I don't think from Whits reply, than any whittling was required???

[whitworth]

Mar 26, 2020 13:48:39 GMT -5 magnumwheelman said:

I don't think from Whits reply, than any whittling was required???

Just a cylinder swap.

[edk]

Mar 26, 2020 10:51:51 GMT -5 magnumwheelman said:

what are the issues chambering a 480 Ruger ( lets talk both the Alaskan, & the Super Blackhawk ) to 475 Linebaugh???

cylinders too short to handle the heavier bullets ( my 1st guess ) or are pressures the real issue??? the Superback hawk is a 5 shot, Alaskan is 6 shot

any thoughts???

Purely liability.

[plowboysghost]

I looked hard at my 4-5/8" SBH Bisley .480 and figured on finding someone to give me a 1/8" or so in the chambers after reading an article somewhere online about Dustin Linebaugh doing that for someone once.
A little more looking at it brought me to ask myself "Why bother?".

Going by Hodgdon's load data for the same 405-gr bullet in both .480 and .475L, it doesn't seem there's a whole lot to be gained.

What I DID notice is that it would seem, at least on paper, that loading my Lee .476-400RF (sized to .476" ...actual weight 395-396gr.)long in the bottom crimp groove, and therefore getting the OAL of the .475L cartridge, should yield velocities within 30 fps(ish) of the Max .480 load (@45,200 psi) using the starting load for .475L, but with less pressure (40,000 psi).

I have tested this in my gun, but without the benefit of a chrono. My primers look about the same with 24 gr of H110 loaded long as they do with 22.3 gr of H110 loaded short...(flattening going on even at 21.5-gr loaded short but no cratering in any load I tested) No detectable stickiness in extraction, either way.

I like the idea of getting near the same velocity with roughly 5,000 less psi. Haven't committed to this just yet...only tested it.

I would "like" to have a .475 Linebaugh, but I just don't think there's enough meat on that bone to make it worth the skinning.

[bula]

Welcome to the forum PlowBoysGhost ! Howdy. 

[edk]

Apr 1, 2020 22:27:42 GMT -5 plowboysghost said:

I looked hard at my 4-5/8" SBH Bisley .480 and figured on finding someone to give me a 1/10" or so in the chambers after reading an article somewhere online about Dustin Linebaugh doing that for someone once.
A little more looking at it brought me to ask myself "Why bother?".

Going by Hodgdon's load data for the same 405-gr bullet in both .480 and .475L, it doesn't seem there's a whole lot to be gained.

Exactly! All the "480 is friendly" talk makes assumptions such as downloaded 325gr XTPs. Loaded to the same OAL with the same weight bullets, one at 48Kpsi and one at 50Kpsi they are almost the same. In fact, if you were to dive deeply into SAAMI pressure data you would find: "The SAAMI Pressure data outlined in this section is based on a Maximum Average Pressure for each cartridge and a Coefficient of Variation of 5%." In other words in the real world, Ruger 480 ammunition when measured is expected to produce 45.6Kpsi-50.4KPSI and 475L when measured is expected to produce 47.5Kpsi-52.5KPSI. That's right: on any given day in the field, you with your "Brand A" Ruger 480 loaded with "Brand B" ammunition and me with my "Brand X" 475 Linebaugh loaded with "Brand Y" ammunition, the Ruger 480 could be the more powerful gun. That's how little difference there is.

[plowboysghost]

Apr 2, 2020 6:52:45 GMT -5 bula said:

Welcome to the forum PlowBoysGhost ! Howdy. 

 Thank you.