looking for .480 Ruger

[gjlog]

Was at Fleet Farm the other day and asked whether they carry .480 Ruger. They don't but could order it for over $100 for a box of 20. Anyone have a source for this ammo?
Thanks,
GJ

[JJ]

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/f ... ?a=1148676

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/36399

http://ammoseek.com/ammo/480-ruger

[dleong]

They don't but could order it for over $100 for a box of 20.

Are you sure you did not accidentally step into a Gander Mountain store?

I handload for my .480 Ruger 9.5" SRH, and have a hard enough time finding reasonably-priced projectiles for it. Best of luck in your quest for factory ammo in that caliber.

[Seismic Sam]

The 480 Ruger is destined for a spot on the museum shelf right next to the 41 Action Express. It was a good idea at the time, but once the Smith 500 showed up it was an oddball footnote with no future and even less bullet supply than the 41AE.

[gjlog]

Well, on that cheery note, I will be sure to order extra rounds. Wish I knew how to reload.

[Seismic Sam]

Well, on that cheery note, I will be sure to order extra rounds. Wish I knew how to reload.

Well, in this particular case, with ammo this hideously expensive at $5 per round, you probably SHOULD be reloading!! You can get a Lee single station press, some dies, a powder measure and a scale and some other stuff and reload 480 Ruger for no more than the price of two boxes of ammo. Yes it's slow, but it DOES make perfectly serviceable ammo, and provided you don't know how much easier it would be on a Dillon 550, you can be a very happy camper. And with this caliber, you only want to load up one box at a time anyway. Not like some Gamer going through 10K rounds of 38 Super a year - not even close.

So think about it. As far as manuals, you will be a bit of a bind because the newest ones don't include the 480 Ruger anymore, but in this unique instance I can make copies of what few manuals have data and send them to you. Step 1 is buy Lyman 3rd Edition pistol manual, AND ALSO one of Speer #14, Hornady #9, or Nosler #7 and read them cover-to-cover.

Realistically, with this nice but obsolete niche caliber gun, you have a choice of selling the gun or getting into reloading. That's about it.

[cobb]

The 480 Ruger is destined for a spot on the museum shelf right next to the 41 Action Express.

I don't think so, I think a 480 Ruger has it place just like a 44 special. The 44 special is not a real popular round but in a 5 shot revolver designed for a 44 special is a very simple and effective utility revolver. I would be very interested in a 480 Ruger if in a revolver that is designed for "THAT" cartridge instead of a 475 Linebaugh chambering or heavy framed revolver that is designed for the 44, 454, 475, etc. and then adapted to the 480.

So what about a GP100 chambered for 5 rounds of 480? A smaller framed carry revolver that would deal effectively with all 2 legged and pretty effective with many 4 legged predators while in the woods.

[Seismic Sam]

You make a lot of good points about a need for a powered down over 45 caliber handgun, but I still think it's a niche that no manufacturer will want to touch, especially seeing as they have demand for everything they make already. The de facto standard in mainline big bore pistols is firmly set at .500", and there's no reason to go back down to 480 for the little difference in size of the ammo. They already have a 500 Special out there with a shortened case, and brass and bullets for that will always be available. The 41AE was pretty cool when it came out, as it allowed you to go from a 9mm to a 41 semi-mag with a barrel, recoil spring, and mag change, and this was when the 10mm was just coming out. Once the 40 was introduced, it was all over for the 41AE. In this case the 480 is part of an incremental increase in caliber above 45 for mainline FACTORY calibers (as opposed to the wildcat cartridges made by Linebaugh). Unfortunately, what was a significant development back then is now barely a wide spot in the road, and there's nothing you can do with a 480 that you can't do with a 500 Special. So different smaller pistols might be an interesting market, but going back from 500 to 480 isn't going to get people to line up and buy those kind of guns.

[Rodentman]

«oddball footnote with no future »

For a second there I thought you were talking about The Rodentman.