TAFFIN TESTS: THE .475 LINEBAUGH

JOHN TAFFIN

The 1980's were certainly interesting and exciting for the big bore sixgunner to say the least, being a tremendous time of development. The .44 Magnum continued to be the most popular of the big bore cartridges aided immensely by the introduction of larger, stronger revolvers chambered for this excellent cartridge. Reloaders and hunters re-discovered heavyweight bullets for big bore sixguns and a decade that started with no available heavyweight bullets ended with dozens available in both cast and jacketed form.

The .45 Colt was also re-discovered as numerous custom gunsmiths offered conversions on Seville and Ruger frames in both traditional sixgun and fivegun persuasions. Suddenly the .44 Magnum had competition in the much older .45 Colt. The .454 Casull became a reality and in the process became the undisputed "world's most powerful" in the process. A young gunsmith, one John Linebaugh of Cody Wyoming, went the .454 Casull one better and offered the .first practical .50 caliber revolver, the .500 Linebaugh, and it became the new King of "the most powerful". The .500 offered power not with Magnum velocities but by utilizing 440 grain bullets at moderate velocities. The .454 Casull offered factory loadings of 300 grain bullets at 1700 fps while the .500 offered the reloader 440 grain bullets at 1250 fps. We could argue from now to eternity about which is really the most powerful.

Linebaugh did not sit back on his laurels and instead decided to combine the bullet weight of the .500 with the penetration of the .454 Casull. To John Linebaugh's mind what was needed was something somewhere in between the big .45's and the bigger .500. He split the difference and the result was the .475 Linebaugh.

Some wildcats are easy to make and some very difficult. The .475 has to be one of the easiest wildcat revolver cartridges to make. The starting brass is the standard .45-70, preferably Winchester-Western brand, which is trimmed to 1.410", and it is ready to load. If any other brand of .45-70 brass is used, the process becomes more difficult as inside neck reaming is required.

The RCBS Custom Shop (605 Oro Dam Rd, Dept AH, Oroville California 95965) offers case trimming dies and inside neck reamers as well as reloading dies for the wildcat .475 Linebaugh. I made .475 cases the easy way. I dropped them off at my local gunsmith and asked him to trim them in a lathe to a maximum 1.410" with 1.400" being acceptable. Trimmed brass was de-burred, run through the RCBS full length sizing die and expanding dies in succession and they were ready to load and shoot.

Reloading of the .475 is as simple as any other straight walled revolver cartridge and after my experiences with the .500 Linebaugh, I used nothing but CCI #350 primers for reliable ignition. The .475 Linebaugh achieves its highest velocities with WW296/H110 with John Linebaugh's recommended maximum loads being 33.0 grains with the 350 grain bullet, 31.0 grains with the 385 grain bullet, and 30.0 grains with the 400 grain bullet. With these loadings in a five and one-half inch revolver and in cold weather, I achieved muzzle velocities of 1534 fps and 1408 fps respectively for the first two bullets and the third charged proved to be too heavy for the particular .475 I was using resulting in hard extraction.

Cast bullets for the .475 Linebaugh are available from BRP and Cast Performance Bullet Company. Top quality double cavity moulds for the .475 are available from NEI and now from Cast Performance Bullet Company as well. Casting bullets from aluminum bullet moulds is quite easy with bullets dropping from the mould when cooled. Cooling takes a little extra time when 400 to 440 grain bullets are being cast.

For loading the .475 Linebaugh, I use four cast bullets: LBT's #476.350LFN at 350 grains, NEI's #390.477 at 380 grains, LBT's #476.420LFN at 395 grain, and LBT's #476.440LFN at 405 grains. All bullets are cast from a mixture of three parts lead to four parts type metal to acquire the respective weights. All bullets are sized to .476" in RCBS's sizing die and lubed with Thompson Bullet Lube.

The .475 Linebaugh is a superbly accurate cartridge/revolver combination with most loads tested giving incredible accuracy for such a heavy recoiling revolver. From a purely mathematical standpoint, a full house .475 loads in three pound Bisley revolvers provide 55 ft/lbs of recoil; a .44 Magnum in the same weight gun gives 20 ft/lbs. These figures do not take into account felt recoil which is determined by shape and size of the grip and the shooter's strength and mental attitude.

The most accurate load in the .475 Linebaugh during my shooting sessions has proved to be LBT's 405 grain bullet over 19.0 grains of Blue Dot for 1250+ feet per second and a 25 yard, five-shot group from a standing rest of three-fourths of an inch! Of fifty-four loads tested, forty-four shot at two inches or less at 25 yards, twenty were at one and one-half inches or less, and five were at one inch or less.

Favorite loads for the .475 include the 380 grain NEI SWC over 18.0 grains of Blue Dot for 1171 fps and 31.0 grains of WW296 for a full 1408 fps. Switching to the LBT bullets, I like the 350 grain bullet over 28.0 grain of H4227 for a very practical and accurate 1255 fps; 9.0 grains of WW231 for an equally accurate practice load at 922 fps; and 33.0 grains of WW296 for a full 1534 fps.

Switching to heavier bullets in the LBT lineup, a "moderate" load for the 395 grain bullet is 18.0 grains of Blue Dot for 1190 fps; and full house loads are assembled with 25.5 grains of #2400 (1355 fps) and 29.0 grains of WW296 (1394 fps). Four hundred grain bullets at 1400 feet per second give all the recoil anyone could want, believe me! The same caution applies here as to all Magnum loads assembled with WW296 or H110. These two powders should be used only for heavy loads and could prove dangerous if used for lighter loads. Blue Dot, H4227, and #2400 can also be used for full house or lighter loads and WW231 or HS-6 for lighter, practice type loads.

Often muzzle energies are quoted to compare cartridges. Many shooters subscribe to a different theory for comparison, namely elephant hunter Pondoro Taylor's Knock Out Theory. This mathematical figure is arrived at by multiplying Bullet Weight times Caliber times Muzzle Velocity divided by 7000. Using this formula, a 240 grain .44 Magnum at 1400 feet per second is rated at 21.0 KO while a 395 to 405 grain bullets at 1400 feet per second in the .475 are rated right at 38.0 KO or nearly twice the obviously powerful .44 Magnum.

Like its bigger brother, the .500 Linebaugh, the .475 is not practical as a target gun, silhouette revolver or personal defense gun though I'm sure it would come close to 100% as a one shot stopper. It is a hunting handgun for the sixgunner who prefers a traditional revolver with iron sights that will deliver the ultimate in penetration and power coupled with portability.

.475 LINEBAUGH

FIREARM: BISLEY 5 1/2" BRASS: .45/70 TRIMMED TO 1.410"

PRIMER: CCI #350 CHRONOGRAPH: OEHLER MODEL 35P

TEMP: 35-45 DEGREES GROUPS: 5 SHOTS @ 25 YDS, BRACED STANDING.