Big-bore handguns are not a new phenomenon. They have existed since handguns. Seems someone has always built one bigger or stronger or more powerful or.... The .475 Linebaugh came about as gunmaker John Linebaugh worked to develop a big-bore sixgun that was easy to carry but powerful enough to stop any creature on earth. Working on a .50 caliber revolver, Linebaugh ran into a snag when it looked like Winchester was going to stop producing the .348 Winchester brass that the .500 Linebaugh is designed around. Searching for something to use he came up with the idea of using .45-70 brass. Cut to the proper length and expanded to take a .476" diameter bullet, the .475 Linebaugh was born.

The gun that Linebaugh built to handle the .475 is based on the Ruger Bisley design, though now he builds them on the Ruger Vaquero frame also. I prefer the Ruger Bisley grip-frame with these hard-kicking guns since it handles the recoil much better - in my opinion. Linebaugh opens up the frame "window" to allow use of a larger diameter cylinder. The cylinder that is installed is a 5-shot making it much stronger. A new barrel is installed, the action re-worked to allow silent loading and to work with the 5-shot cylinder, and the whole gun is generally remodeled. What comes out of Linebaugh Custom Sixguns is a single action revolver that is the same size as the Ruger, but now is on par with the .375 H&H Magnum for power. Light, easily carried on the hip, this big-bore is a serious gun.

The .475 Linebaugh will push a 385 gr. bullet at over 1500 fps, a 400 gr. bullet at 1450 fps and a 420 gr. bullet at over 1400 fps from an 8" pressure barrel. Velocities vary from handguns with shorter barrels. My personal 5 1/2" .475 will run a 420 gr. bullet at over 1340 fps and a 400 gr. over 1400 fps. These loads are extremely powerful. My "standard" hunting load for game in this country has been the 400 gr. hardcast LBT at 1250 fps. This load is very accurate, easier on the shooter than the full power loads, and powerful enough to drop anything I run across easily. 

I used the 1250 fps load to kill a large wild boar hog several years ago. We had hunted for several hour when this boar attacked us. It ran 2 guides up trees and then came after me. I was hunkered down behind some brush and when the hog came out into a clearing about 15 feet away I shot him through both shoulders. The bullet went through, made a large dust cloud on the off side and bounced off through the trees. At the shot the hog spun around and collapsed right there. The shot had taken off the top of the heart and pulped the chest cavity. 

Making cases for the .475 Linebaugh has always been a chore, though not as much work as making the .500 cases. I begin with virgin .45-70 cases. I cut mine off at 1.8" length more or less. Usually I use a sharp tubing cutter. I insert a hardwood dowel of the proper size into the case before cutting. Once they are cut off I then expand them to .476" and then trim them to 1.5". Afterwards I load them with a light 900 fps load using a 400 gr. bullet. After firing the cases are trimmed to 1.4" - the standard length. It is a time consuming chore making 100 rounds of brass for the gun.

Now however Buffalo Bore Ammunition Co. is producing properly headstamped .475 Linebaugh brass ( as well as the .500 Linebaugh brass) and loaded ammunition. This sure has lightened the work load of those of us who like these big calibers. Buffalo Bore's products are listed on their website at http://www.buffalobore.com/ .  In addition Hornady is now offering .475 brass, bullets and loaded ammo and Speer is making some fine bullets also.  Since I initially wrote this article a couple years ago on another website, Freedom Arms has begun producing their fine gun in .475 Linebaugh, making it the first factory-chambered gun for the round.  The one I had for testing purposes proved to be extremely accurate with about any load I ran through it.  Today the Big Bore sixgun enthusiast has a nice choice of guns, ammo, bullets and brass for this one-time wildcat.

While I like the power that can be generated in this small package, I have used the .475 Linebaugh for other things. Like FUN SHOOTING! One of my Fun Loads is with a .490" diameter round ball. This ball is approximately the same diameter as the chamber and is too large to use in a cartridge case. I take my old .475 cases that have developed neck cracks and trim them back 1/8". To fire the round ball I lube them with Lee Liquid Alox, then shove them into the chamber. They cannot fall out due to the "step" in the chamber where the diameter changes from case diameter to bullet diameter. The cut-off cartridge is primed and loaded with 5 gr.of Bullseye powder, then shoved in behind the ball. These loads are light but pretty accurate. And they are fun to use either shooting targets or just plinking.

Another load that is interesting is my .45 ManStopper Load. This load uses a fired .45 ACP case AS THE PROJECTILE. It actually began as an experiment in barrel cleaning. I had leaded the barrel heavily with some cast bullets I was testing and was looking around for an easy way to clean the barrel when it came to me. The outside diameter of the .45 ACP case is the correct size to fire down the barrel of the .475 Linebaugh!! I grabbed an empty .45 ACP and shoved it into a .475 case that had 10 gr. of Unique in it. Firing the .45 cartridge base-first as sort of a large all-metal wadcutter did not work. Halfway down the barrel the primer blew out of the .45 case leaving it stuck in the middle of bore.

Not to be undone, I drove it out of the barrel and reloaded, this time with the .45 ACP base-down in the .475 case. KaWHAM! Success! It blew a nice hole in an oak door that I had laying in my shop. I spent the afternoon loading various powders and charges and blowing holes in things. It was wonderful. On the range they proved fairly accurate. I have not shot them over 30 or 40 yards but Tim Sundles of Buffalo Bore Ammunition Co. has taken the idea to new heights and is doing some (fairly) long-range shooting with them at velocities approaching 2000 fps. Tim was a little skeptical at first, but when I forced him to shoot some and he knocked a chicken off the stand at 25 yards he was convinced. Now I am not the only .475 nut-case on the planet. There are at least 2 of us.

A while back Mike R. sent me some full-wadcutter .475's.  These are a short fat button of a bullet.  He had them already sized and lubed.  I stuck loaded some over 7.0 gr. of 700X and shot them at 25 yards.  Recoil was about like a 45 ACP.  Not sure what the velocity was, but it was not real high.  The groups I fired went into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" for 5 shots.  Since I have not tested them to find any accuracy loads I thought this was pretty good performance.  It sure would be interesting to fire one at 1900 fps through the ribcage of a deer or hog to see what the full-wadcutter would do..... though these are designed primarily for plinking loads and not for hunting.

Select an image for a larger view

Though the .475 Linebaugh will develop tons of muzzle energy, you don't really need to beat the gun or yourself like that all the time in order to enjoy it.  (Yes, you can have fun that does not involve pain!)  The lighter loads can be a source of hours of fun, they work great on varmints and pests and tin cans and plastic bottles, and they open another world of shooting.  And when the rhino's invade your back yard you can still stick in the nuclear loads and clean them out!

There are a number of fine craftsmen building .475 Linebaugh's these days in addition to John Linebaugh.  I probably have left one or two out that I am not aware of....

John Linebaugh of Linebaugh Custom Sixguns  - the creator of the .475 Linebaugh.

Others who build the .475 are:

I think Phillips and Rodgers offers  .475 conversions. Also Jack Huntington has done these I believe.  Forgive the oversight of any others.  It is not intentional.

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475 Pressure Data from Hodgdon's Powder Co.

385 gr. cast LRNFP  .476" diameter c.o.a.l = 1.810"

385 gr. cast LRNFP  .476" diameter  c.o.a.l.= 1.810"

420 gr. cast LRNFP  .476" diameter  c.o.a.l.= 1.810"

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