First introduced in 2003 as a six shot Super Redhawk, initially there were some rumblings of case extraction sometimes being an issue. Reloaders being what they are, that may or may not have been due to loads being created and shot hotter than they should. So in 2007, the caliber was dropped and later introduced as a 5-shot version. A few years later, and again the cartridge was dropped from their lineup. Regardless, it’s now back again as a six shot version, and it works great… third times a charm!
I obtained both the 7.5” Super Redhawk hunting version and the 2.5” snubbie Alaskan model, meant for wearing on your hip if in bear country. In 2006 when I first reviewed the Alaskan model in both .454 and .480, I found the .480 measurably easier to shoot with factory loads. The .454 really rapped my trigger finger hard with each shot, especially the 300 grain load. No such problem at all, even with full-power .480s. Slightly milder .480s handloads were never an issue to my shooting hand. So now armed with the latest six-shot versions of both models, I wanted to see what the shooter gives up in regards to speed with the short Alaskan vs. the much longer barreled 7.5” hunting version.
Chapter 1: Feeding your .480
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I was able to round up 5 bullets to test in the fresh .480s. The 275 grain Speer Gold Dot, Barnes’ solid copper 275 XPB with a HUGE hollow point, and the Hornady 325 XTP, which is also factory loaded by them. Cast bullets included a 335 grain semiwadcutter (SWC) from PENN Bullets (www.pennbullets.com) and from Cast Performance Bullets, a 375 grain WFN plain base (www.grizzlycartridge.com). Powders included the traditional slow burners like Hodgdon Lil’Gun, H110, and Alliant 2400. For moderate loads, I included Alliant Power Pistol and Blue Dot. Lighter loads used fasterpowders such as Hodgdon Universal, Alliant Herco, and Vihtavuori 3N37 and Tin Star.
All loads were capable of “walking a tin can” at 50 feet… how much better you could do, and at what distance is up to you. Mostly, I wanted to see how shootable slow burning powders were with full charges, how much the medium burning rate ones gave up to the traditional slow propellants, and what smaller...
charges of faster burning powders could deliver from both the short and long barrels.
Lastly, I wanted to test the three expanding bullets for performance in a water tank when fired from the short Alaskan, knowing that if a bullet expands from a 2.5” barrel, it will of course also work great from the much longer 7.5” barrel of the Super Redhawk.
Chapter 2: Handload Performance
The 275 grain Speer Gold Dot reached right at 1,300 fps from the short Alaskan and picked up 250 fps when shot from the longer Super Redhawk when using around 33 grains of the slow burning Lil’Gun powder. Surprisingly, the medium rate Blue Dot and Power Pistol came within around 30 fps using only 24 and 19 grains respectively. No critter would ever notice that small a difference in speed, but your gun hand will notice a reduction in recoil, and your ears appreciate much less of a concussion from the medium burning rate powders. The fastest powders were very easy to shoot- low recoil and blast- while still driving the Speer to almost 1,200 fps from the short Alaskan, at which speed the Gold Dot still opened very nicely.It expanded to .82” and retained 100% of its weight. Note that the classic H110 was about 110 fps behind Lil’Gun in the shortie, but it came within only about 35 fps when fired from the much longer Super Redhawk.
Due to its greater length (0.934”), the Barnes XPD eats up more case capacity than the shorter Gold Dot (only 0.605” long). That results in about 30 fps less from the Alaskan and around 100 fps less from the long barrel. Just a note, but the Barnes expands incredibly to 0.95” when pushed out of the short barrel at similar speeds as the Speer. Again, 100% weight retention was achieved by the all copper Barnes. Top speed in the Alaskan was almost 1,270 fps; the longer gun gave me 1,430 to 1,460 fps.
Hornady’s 325 grain...
XTP factory load hit 1,152 in the Alaskan and 1,274 from the Super Redhawk. I was able to match the Alaskan’s speed with Power Pistol or Blue Dot, and match or exceed it in the long gun with H110, Lil’Gun, Power Pistol or Blue Dot. Alliant 2400 came very close at almost 1,250 fps. In the hunting handgun, it approached 1,300 fps or above,using four powders- H110, Lil’Gun, Power Pistol or Blue Dot. Again, the lesser charges of the medium burning rate powders produced less blast and recoil that the traditional slow powders from both guns. From the short Alaskan, the 325 Hornady opened up beautifully to .79 caliber while holding on to 290 grains, or 89%.
A great relatively inexpensive bullet for plinking or hunting is the 335 grain semi-wadcutter cast bullet from Penn Cast Bullets. It could be driven from almost 1,100 to 1,150 fps from the short Alaskan on Lil’Gun, Power Pistol or Blue Dot. Only 15.8 grains of Power Pistol was the most pleasant to shoot, yet still delivered 1,129 fps. Two great plinking loads used 12 grains of Universal, or 14 of Herco, for right around 870 fps from the 2.5” barrel of the Alaskan. Top loads in the Super Redhawk hit 1,300 to 1,400 fps and would work great on hogs, black bear, elk or moose out to as far as the hunter felt comfortable, 100 yards being no problem if the shooter was capable of the shot.
The 375 grain plain base Cast Performance Bullet worked well at speeds of up to 1,300 fps without leading in either of my test guns. Just slightly lighter charges of the same powders used with the 335 SWC produced very similar speeds. Even in the shorter and lighter Alaskan, top loads caused no harm to my right hand when shooting a cylinder-full of these bullets. It would work just as well on the very same game as the 335 SWC.
Summary
Again, I found that the .480 Ruger is acceptable to shoot- recoil-wise from even the compact Alaskan. If you can handle a .44 Magnum, stepping up to the .480 is totally doable. The jacketed bullets did indeed expand well, from even the 2.5” barreled version. Scope the long Super Redhawk with the supplied rings, and you have a big bore revolver...
capable of 100 yard shots on medium or large game- if the shooter is confident at that distance. Driving a 325 grain bullet to about the same speed as a .44 Magnum pushes a 240, there is a noticeable increase in horsepower while still being manageable. A 335 or 375 grains hard cast bullet with a wide flat point is also a force to be reckoned with against pigs, bears, elk or moose.
