CraigC
Sixgun Nut
The .480 deserves to be far more popular than the X-frames. They're a whole lot of unnecessary foolishness.
Well put!
44 mag 1.41"?
- Thread starter Cree k Henry
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Riomouse911
Member
I haven’t ever fired one, but isn’t the .480 Ruger akin to the .475 Linebaugh like the .44 Spl is to the .44 Mag? Sort of a sensible milder alternative to running full-throttle?
Stay safe.
Stay safe.
Yes and no. Only 2,000 PSI separates the two cartridges’ max operating pressures, however, the additional case capacity enables the .475 to push the heavies faster. That said, I usually run the .480 pretty hot.
Magnum Research already does. The .500 JRH is a regular catalog item and one of their most popular revolvers. I have two of them.
Riomouse911
Member
I gotcha... I would read the energy and recoil stories about the .475 L and could certainly see a desire to give shooters an option. If I didn’t have a .45 C Old Vaquero and a .454 SRH I probably would have gone the SRH .480 Route.
One of these years I’d love a 6-shot L-Frame .41 Special AND a Redhawk 5” in .50 Special... but things like mortgages, kids’ school, food, gas etc. keep getting in the way of custom guns like those...
Dreaming about them is good enough for now...
Stay safe.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
I really think the original .475 loads pushing a 430gr at 1350fps were well over the established SAAMI maximum or 50,000psi.
TTv2
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I tend to agree with that line of thinking. The .45 has bullets built for magnum and super magnum performance, but to my knowledge .429 bullets are built for .44 Mag and nothing more.
I am generally not a .44 Magnum fan, so I am a bit biased when I say this, but of all the super magnums, the .445 is the least sensible as are all based on the .44 caliber. .327 Federal, .357 Maximum, and .454 each have their niche and pros that outweigh their cons that make them worth owning vs the shorter cartridges they are based on, but the only thing a .44 super magnum has going for it is if the only caliber revolver that one owns is .44 and reloads for that, then it makes sense.
Riomouse911
Member
Remember these were originally drawn up during the silhouette craze years ago, designed to give an extra margin of energy to topple the 50 pound steel rams out yonder. All of them are nothing more than extended .357, .41 and .44 mag cases so those rounds and their shorter cousins can all be used in a Super Mag, with the exception being the .375 being made from shortened 375 Win brass with no smaller brethren. (The .357 Super Mag was just a tad longer than the Remington .357 Maximum, so they're pretty much the same round.) From what I recall they were pretty much niche rounds mostly served by Dan Wesson, which was the top dog of production revolvers at IMHSA shoots, and by Thompson/Center in their Contender.
My buddy shoots the .429 Swift A-frame and Barnes Buster bullets in his .444 Marlin, so those bullets should work well in a .445.
Stay safe.
My buddy shoots the .429 Swift A-frame and Barnes Buster bullets in his .444 Marlin, so those bullets should work well in a .445.
Stay safe.
silvermane_1
Member
Interesting, all of the ones I've ever seen were SA and/or 5 shot.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
No, what killed the .445 was the Freedom Arms 83 .454 being allowed in silhouette shooting and the eventual decline of the sport. That coupled with the fact that the .445 required a longer frame that no major manufacturer other than Dan Wesson was willing to accommodate. The stigma and eventual demise of the Ruger .357Maximum certainly did not help. What has made the X-frames more popular, where they have succeeded where the .445 failed is marketing. If a major manufacturer like Ruger or S&W had run with it, it probably never would've left the spotlight. The cartridge still makes a lot of sense in the Ruger Maximum frame, where it offers a good bit more velocity over the .44Mag but in a much lighter, handier package than the ridiculous X-frame.
Some are intended for the .444Marlin. The .445 basically duplicates what the .44Mag does out of a rifle. Bullets that work well out of .44Mag revolvers do just fine with a few hundred extra feet per second. There are more bullets available today that can take advantage of the extra velocity than at any time previous. My own experimentation with the .445 was to include the Speer 270 and 300gr, Swift A-frame, Barnes Buster and Lehigh solid copper WFN. In cast bullets, there is no shortage whatsoever. I'll test them up to the 405gr Beartooth.
Lew Shafer developed the .44UltraMag, upon which the .445 is based, as a hunting cartridge. Where it found fame was in the silhouette game pushed by Elgin Gates and legitimized by Dan Wesson, which was ruling the roost for IHMSA. This was decades before the X-frame. As large and heavy as the Dan Wessons are, the X-frames are still beefier, heavier, outfitted with five-shot cylinders and thus, capable of handling the higher pressures of the .460 and .500 cartridges. Still, loaded to 50,000psi, the .445 is certainly nothing to sneeze at.
All that said, the OP is discussing 1.4" cartridges that fit standard length guns, not 1.6".
.500 Linebaugh Super Redhawk by Huntington. It is a 5-shot as the cases are really fat.
I really like the BFR, I've had a few 454's, a 475 and a 500 S&W BFR, all Bisley grip versions. To me, the big advantage of a company like Ruger using the 500 JRH, or perhaps their version of the 500 JRH differently named, would be greater selection of ammo and for me, brass. I'd love a 500 JRH but until I can get brass for it,I'll pass. Sure I could cut down 500 S&W but at that point, I'd probably just stick with 500 S&W. As nice as BFR's are, it would be good to have the option a SBH or SRH factory chambered for a .500", because I think BFR's are definitely BIG guns, even with a regular sized cylinder they're notably larger than a Ruger.
Oh yea, really like your Amazon Prime show.
I’m working on getting a wider distribution on the brass for the JRH.
Thanks for the kind words!
silvermane_1
Member
Interesting, but still a 5 shot though.
sparkyv
Member
Fluted, relatively short bbl, half lug...let's really lighten the load. Why no fluted cylinder? I bet that's a handful. I want to really FEEL the pain! But she's a Beauty.
But she's a Beauty.It has to be in .50 Special or .500 Linebaugh. The cases are too fat.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
A six shot .50 would have to be YOOOGE.
silvermane_1
Member
That's right, they're .51, maybe something along the lines of a 50AE Rimmed, IIRC 50AE is .499.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Any .50 will have to be five. Just not enough real estate for six.
My favorite and most useful .50 cal is the .500 JRH. It was designed originally to fit in the limited confines of the FA 83. That said, five-shots are all you will fit in any wheelgun irrespective of the platform as Craig pointed out.
.38 Special
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Hamilton Bowen rechambers Redhawks for .50 AE, with moonclips. For enough money he will even make one up to imitate an S&W 1917, and boy if I had a spare $5000 laying around! Even with that miniature (by hand cannon standards) .50 cartridge, they still have to be five shooters, though.
Cree k Henry
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So, the verdict about a possible project gun of lengthening the 44 to 1.4" is that the 480 should be more popular
I agree.
I agree.
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
The verdict is that if you use the right bullets, there's no need for a longer case.
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