.480 Ruger

The .480 Ruger is a large-bore revolver cartridge Sturm, Ruger and Hornady introduced together in 2001, the first cartridge Ruger ever brought out under its own name. Its starting point was the .475 Linebaugh, a wildcat of around 1988 made by cutting down a .45-70 case for custom five-shot Ruger Blackhawks, but Ruger took the idea in a different direction: a shorter, lower-pressure round sized to fit six chambers in the cylinder of its double-action Super Redhawk.

Two dimensional choices make that possible. The case is 1.285 inches long, the same as the .44 Magnum’s and 0.115 inch shorter than the Linebaugh’s, and its large rim is turned down so that six rounds sit in the cylinder without interfering with one another. The round works at a lower maximum pressure than the .454 Casull, the other big-bore chambering the Super Redhawk then offered, and a .480 Ruger will also chamber and fire in a revolver built for the .475 Linebaugh. Early reviews were mixed, comparing its muzzle energy unfavourably with the Linebaugh’s and the Casull’s. Taurus later chambered its Raging Bull revolver for it as well.

The dimensions and pressure ceiling on this page come from the C.I.P. datasheet for “480 Ruger”. The single load is Hornady factory ammunition with a muzzle velocity the maker states for a 7.5-inch test barrel. No ballistic coefficient is recorded for it, and the heavier Buffalo Bore loading named in the encyclopedia’s table is not recorded because no current product page for it could be found.