Longevity of big bore revolvers, .480 Ruger, .454Casull, .460S&W, .500 S&W, etc.

[Fork]

I'm considering picking up a Ruger Super Redhawk in .480 Ruger as a pin shoot revolver, range toy and maybe some day for hunting. On paper it looks like an ideal pin shoot round, more pop than a .44 magnum, lighter recoil and lower pressure than a .454 casull, ability to use 410grain bullets, heavy 53oz frame to get back on target. I don't know how well they hold up in the long run though. If I use a .480 Ruger for pin shoot competitions, I could easily put 400-500 rounds through it a year. If I have to rebuild/replace it every few years I might be better just sticking with .44 magnum. I've heard that the dirty little secret about the .500S&W is that the barrels and cylinders have to be replaced every 2000 rounds but most .500S&W owners will never get to 2000 rounds and some only make it to 5 before selling it. I imaging the .460S&W has the same issues in not greater. Its commonly noted that the .357 maximum died off because of flame cutting issues after a few thousand rounds. How have other bore revolvers faired in the long term?

Also of consideration how well does the brass hold up? Since factory rounds are about $1.50 each I would plan on reloading. It would be nice to get more than 3-4 uses out of the brass.

 

[paul105]

At 400-500 rnds per year, I suspect the Super Redhawk .480 will out last you.

I have a .475 Linebaugh that has over 15,000 rounds down the pipe (mostly .480 Ruger Level loads) and it is still going strong. My gun is a Freedom Arms M83, but the Super Redhawk is a brute and should hold up equally as well.

I have a Super Redhawk Alaskan (2 1/2" BBL) and have absolutely no concerns whatsoever regarding it being able to hold up over the long run -- these are SUBSTANTIAL pieces of equipment.

I retired my first batch of 500 Starline cases after 20 reloads, at which time the necks started to split.

Pick a load that works for your desired application and enjoy.

FWIW,

Paul

 

[gamestalker]

My SRH 44 mag. hasn't had a whole lot put through it, but everything it's had fired through, it has been jacketed 296 loads, about 3 or 4 thousand of them. That revolver is just as tight and accurate as when NIB.

GS

 

[Zaydok Allen]

This is a difficult question to answer. I believe most owners will never put enough rounds of the hot stuff through their guns to find out. I have put maybe 250 rounds of 460 magnum, 150 rounds of 454 Casull, and 500 rounds of variously loaded 45 colt ammo through my 460 magnum. Not a lot by any means, and far below what you intend to use your gun for. But thus far I see no erosion of my forcing cone, or top strap cutting. I seriously doubt what ever 2000 round count and replace the barrel rumors you have heard. Maybe if you are pushing Buffalo Bore max loads all the time, but who does that in these guns anyway?

The X frames and SRH's are really well built guns. Shooting the 480, which is lower pressure I believe, I would think a SRH would last a good many years. Ruger revolvers are generally considered to be overbuilt too, so I think you are safe.

I'm not sure what barrel length you are looking at, but the SRH Toklat in 454 was reviewed by Hickok45 not long ago. I prefer the 460 family, as you have more ammo options. I was considering an Alaskan in 480 recently though. It just seems fun to me, but I already have a hard enough time affording ammo for the 460. I have nowhere to set up for reloading.

If you are going to reload, avoid maxing out the pressure, and I think you'll be ok for some years. You don't need that much juice on a pin shoot do you?

All of this is just my opinion and not based on any real empirical evidence. So take the chance or don't.

 

[Master Blaster]

It Depends on the Loads, Low pressure Lead Plinkers and the gun will live forever. High pressure maximum Jacketed fireball loads and it will suffer severe errosion and wear after a few thousand rounds.

 

[TRX]

In its day the .357 Maximum was reputed to cause severe erosion to the topstrap at the front of the cylinder. Everyone believed it then, anyway.

Other than possibly that, there's not much to worry about with a revolver. Autoloaders have parts hammering back and forth against stops and abutments; a revolver has no moving parts during the firing cycle.

Even if the gun has a finite life it might be worthwhile to do the sums. Some 1911 shooters get angry if a frame cracks at only 30,000 rounds. But when you add up the cost of that much ammo vs $150-$250 to replace the frame it doesn't seem like such a big issue any more...

 

[TimSr]

I bought this in the 80's when they first came out. Freedom Arms .454 Casull. I'm still reloading Freedom Arms brass from factory ammo I bought in the 80's as well. I've shot thousands of full power loads through it. I've got brass with more than dozen loadings, and have yet to throw a piece out. I don't expect to live long enough to see it wear out. I can keep 5 on a paper plate at 100 yards with iron sights.



I've got a Ruger Redhawk in .44 mag with a lot more shot through it, probably twice as many, and even older brass. I've had some WW Super cases start to crack after a dozen full power loadings. I can actually shoot this one better than the other one. I've heard that I might wear this one out eventually, but the Freedom Arms will last forever. We'll see.

 

[Barry the Bear]

Just cause the you can launch "bear killer" loads out of .357 and higher doesn't mean you have to. Most of my .44 mag get much more special and russian loads out of them than mags.

 

[TimSr]

Just cause the you can launch "bear killer" loads out of .357 and higher doesn't mean you have to.

I do. It's a sickness.

 

[50 Shooter]

I would think by now that if this was true, everyone would know about it by now. Not only that but S&W to save face would be fixing the guns that were out.

While large bore handguns, 2000 rounds isn't that many rounds for a person to shoot. And if they shoot regularly, they could shoot that many in a year or two.

Before I sold my Taurus 454, I shot all kinds of heavy bullets out of it. The heaviest being a 405gr bullet even though most scoffed at the Raging Bull being able to handle them. Never had a single problem with the pistol the entire time I owned it. Of all the ammo shot through it, 99% of it was handloads.

I guess you can say don't believe everything you read on the internet, most of that is true when it comes to gun boards.

Had to add that when it comes to the S&W 500, if you plan on shooting 700gr or heavier bullets you'll need a faster twist rate. There's a model that you can get I think from S&W called the John Ross model that will handle bullets this heavy or heavier.