Hornady .475 Linebaugh Brass in Stock

[nicholst55]

at several places; Precision Reloading and Graf's, doubtless among others.  Now, if they'd just put out some .480 Ruger brass... so I don't have to trim Linebaugh brass!

[gnappi]

Jun 12, 2023 19:11:32 GMT -5 nicholst55 said:

at several places; Precision Reloading and Graf's, doubtless among others.  Now, if they'd just put out some .480 Ruger brass... so I don't have to trim Linebaugh brass!

After receiving a discouraging Email from Starline I "bit the bullet" and refined a method of cutting down .475 brass of which I have in sufficient quantity to either never need .480 brass or wait for Starline to produce it for me. In all my tests of loading and shooting, the results are equal to using .480 native brass.  

I know it's initially a PITA to setup to do it and the case length can vary a bit more than brand new brass but being immune from .480 brass availability issues is IMO worth the effort. 

On the slightly down side, cutting 475 down does two things. For one it inflates the perceived need for .475 brass, and it depreciates the overall understanding for the need of .480 brass.   

[nicholst55]

How are you trimming the Linebaugh brass? I'm looking for an easier or more efficient method.

[gnappi]

Jun 13, 2023 21:31:45 GMT -5 nicholst55 said:

How are you trimming the Linebaugh brass? I'm looking for an easier or more efficient method.

How are you doing it now? Have you prepped many to .480 yet? 


I do 25 to 50 at a time and do not rush it. I bought a Harbor Freight mini 2" chop saw and glued an aluminum gate on the left side of the material holder / clamp and it chops to size. Then I use a case deburring tool on the I/D and my Dremel tool in a vise with a fine stone bit to deburr the O/D.

If I do one at a time, it takes 40 seconds per case but now I just cut all to length first, then deburr all of their I/D then all of the O/D.  I tried the Lee 480 case trimmer as well as the Lyman trimmer as a final step to true the case mouth but it was a lot slower than just chamfering the mouth with the deburr and Dremel after the chop saw. 

After buying 500 pieces of 475 Starline brass and having ~300 native 480 brass I figure I'm set for a L-O-N-G time :-) Something puzzling about Starline, I "thought" changing calibers in their machinery for calibers like 44 mag to.44 special, .357 mag to .38 special and .475 to .480 would be relatively easy but I've noticed that the longer cases come ready for sale while the shorter do not so I suspect it's not as straightforward an operation as I thought?

PS, I tried using several Dremel bits to remove the 475 head stamp but it's an impractical waste of time as I do not have a 475 to confuse brass with.  

[nicholst55]

Looks like a good plan. I actually haven't trimmed any .475s down to .480 yet. I bought the Lee trimmer parts for that purpose, but I realize that is way less than optimum. FWIW, I emailed Starline last night and suggested that they either make a run of .480 Ruger brass, or drop it from their lineup entirely so we'll stop dreaming about it.

[gnappi]

Jun 14, 2023 8:03:47 GMT -5 nicholst55 said:

Looks like a good plan. I actually haven't trimmed any .475s down to .480 yet. I bought the Lee trimmer parts for that purpose, but I realize that is way less than optimum. FWIW, I emailed Starline last night and suggested that they either make a run of .480 Ruger brass, or drop it from their lineup entirely so we'll stop dreaming about it.

Do you have any native .480 brass and how much .475 do you have? Out of curiosity, which "launching platform" (revolver) do you have?  

I stocked upon .475 just in case Starline went the same route with 475 as they did with the .480.

[nicholst55]

I'm shooting the Bisley Super Blackhawk, and I have around 200 pieces of 'real' .480 brass, and 100 pieces of .475 brass. Reckon I'd better order some additional .475 brass while it's available - even though it is Hornady brass. I'm also keeping an eye out for any Winchester .45-70 brass in case things get really desperate. It's also currently made from unobtanium.

[gnappi]

Luckily you have 200 pieces of 480's which will tide you over for a while. I haven't heard of .480 brass having splitting issues so you may be good for a while.

But, I see your overall problem. Having 100 pieces of 475 doesn't really justify buying a mini chop saw unless you were able to get more but the Starline 475's sold out really fast and they're on "back order" again :-( I haven't seen Hornady .475 or .480 for sale except for on some known scam sites.

In any event if you already haven't thought of it, you'll have to acquire a combo case mouth deburring tool, but make sure it is wide enough to do the O/D of the case. The few tools I have "can" do the O/D but just barely, the Dremel turned out to be a better solution for the outside of the mouth.

[nicholst55]

Starline replied to my email, and they don't plan to make any .480 brass this year. They do have more .475 Linebaugh runs planned, but they commented that both are slow sellers. No big surprise there. Guess I'll have to shoot more .44s and .45s. I don't do .41 any more. I tried that back in the 70s and early 80s, and it was too difficult to get components or ammo (pre-Internet). I got tired of chasing brass and sold the thing.

[gnappi]

Jun 15, 2023 8:43:08 GMT -5 nicholst55 said:

Starline replied to my email, and they don't plan to make any .480 brass this year. They do have more .475 Linebaugh runs planned, but they commented that both are slow sellers. No big surprise there. Guess I'll have to shoot more .44s and .45s. I don't do .41 any more. I tried that back in the 70s and early 80s, and it was too difficult to get components or ammo (pre-Internet). I got tired of chasing brass and sold the thing.

Damn, my last note from them at least gave me hope that they would run 480 this fall but I'm thankful I can at least make 480 from the 500 pieces of .475 I have. On the positive side it's good that the 480 has parent cartridges that can be modded. After modding the quantity I have already made, I can't see a faster more elegant method short of having a lathe make the cut. I investigated a reamer for my drill press to deburr the I/D but with only 250 left to do, I'll likely just "bite the bullet" and finish up the lot. 
 
Anyway, it sounds like you need to watch their website very closely and pounce on 475 when it becomes available because the last run was only available for a short while. Luckily you have some time to get setup in advance,  If you get the HF mini chop saw, and you cannot locate a suitable metal gate / stop like I used, send me your address and I'll get a piece to you. 

On the positive side, once you get a large batch of brass processed, you can buy ANOTHER pistol in .480 :-) 

[contender]

Due to the current lack of brass,, and especially ammo in .480,, it's a good time to buy a gun for very good prices. Use that as a "bargaining" factor.


Gun shop guy; "I have this real nice Ruger .480 here!"

You; "I might be interested,, do you have any ammo for it?"

Gun shop guy; "No,, but I'm sure you could get it."

You; "Well, I've heard a lot of ammo is not available right now. You get me 100 rounds of ammo for it, and I'll consider it."

Gun shop guy; "Well, I'm not sure about the ammo,, how about I knock off some on the price?"

You; "That's not enough off,, I'll give you $$$ and take a chance on TRYING to find some ammo."

Gun shop guy; "Ok, deal."

[gnappi]

Funny, I got my Ruger Bisley .480 for a bit over $800 with dies, 100 rounds of brass, a half dozen plastic ammo storage boxes, and 50 rounds of factory ammo. Oh, and a few pounds of gun powder 

[gnappi]

Jun 15, 2023 8:43:08 GMT -5 nicholst55 said:

Starline replied to my email, and they don't plan to make any .480 brass this year. They do have more .475 Linebaugh runs planned, but they commented that both are slow sellers. No big surprise there. Guess I'll have to shoot more .44s and .45s. I don't do .41 any more. I tried that back in the 70s and early 80s, and it was too difficult to get components or ammo (pre-Internet). I got tired of chasing brass and sold the thing.

Hang on, I thought about it a bit and them saying "both are slow sellers" makes no sense.  

They recently ran .475 of which I bought 500 pieces and they were in stock maybe a few days. Now that tells me if they are running more this year they way underestimated the need, they have no clue about how much pent up demand there is and are making runs too small.

Another thing is they're likely not taking into account that shooters like us are chopping the .475 to make .480. Maybe that's understood and deliberate on their part? I mean why tool up for .38 special, .44 special, .480 etc. if shooters are willing to consume what they have in stock?

Egads, there's even a cottage industry of sellers on Ebay making harbor freight mini chop saw cutting jigs for brass that can be converted to calibers that are less available.  

If I were a mover and shaker at Ruger, I'd order a couple of million pieces of .480 brass and offer them for sale (at a profit of course) if for nothing else to have a glimmer of hope that the  caliber doesn't die for lack of a commodity that should be available.  But, the bean counters at Ruger would probably fire me for suggesting this. 

Don't get me wrong, Starline has  been in our corner on brass availability AND I appreciate their efforts but this issue is frustrating.

[nicholst55]

Jun 15, 2023 10:44:32 GMT -5 gnappi said:

Jun 15, 2023 8:43:08 GMT -5 nicholst55 said:

Starline replied to my email, and they don't plan to make any .480 brass this year. They do have more .475 Linebaugh runs planned, but they commented that both are slow sellers. No big surprise there. Guess I'll have to shoot more .44s and .45s. I don't do .41 any more. I tried that back in the 70s and early 80s, and it was too difficult to get components or ammo (pre-Internet). I got tired of chasing brass and sold the thing.

Hang on, I thought about it a bit and them saying "both are slow sellers" makes no sense.  

They recently ran .475 of which I bought 500 pieces and they were in stock maybe a few days. Now that tells me if they are running more this year they way underestimated the need, they have no clue about how much pent up demand there is and are making runs too small.

Another thing is they're likely not taking into account that shooters like us are chopping the .475 to make .480. Maybe that's understood and deliberate on their part? I mean why tool up for .38 special, .44 special, .480 etc. if shooters are willing to consume what they have in stock?

Egads, there's even a cottage industry of sellers on Ebay making harbor freight mini chop saw cutting jigs for brass that can be converted to calibers that are less available.  

If I were a mover and shaker at Ruger, I'd order a couple of million pieces of .480 brass and offer them for sale (at a profit of course) if for nothing else to have a glimmer of hope that the  caliber doesn't die for lack of a commodity that should be available.  But, the bean counters at Ruger would probably fire me for suggesting this. 

Don't get me wrong, Starline has  been in our corner on brass availability AND I appreciate their efforts but this issue is frustrating.

Yeah, I speculated in my original email that probably half of their backorders for .475 are really .480 shooters who would prefer .480 brass, but will take .475 brass because they can trim it down and use it.  No mention of that in their reply.  They did comment on shooters buying in larger quantities than their immediate needs, just in case.  Do you think?  Maybe if Starline would produce the stuff in adequate quantities to begin with, people wouldn't hoard.  I know that I don't intend to get caught short again, regardless of how I have to go about it!

[gnappi]

Here's a thought, I just published a review on the Starline site for their .475 brass. Maybe if a LOT of shooters do the same, Starline would relent and make.480 brass? That is if they publish my review :-)


"Boy am I happy I can get .475 brass, I cut all 500 I purchased here to .480 Ruger, I'll bet many more do too"