John Linebaugh brought forth his big .475 revolver cartridge in 1988. At that time, and for many years after, the .475 Linebaugh was a wildcat cartridge adapted to specially modified, 5-shot Ruger Bisley revolvers sold by Linebaugh. Today, however, the .475 Linebaugh has been legitimized by Hornady, who has introduced it as a factory load, and Freedom Arms, who chambers their deluxe single action Model 83 5-shot revolver for the cartridge.

The Hornady factory load uses a 400 grain XTP-Mag bullet at a MV of 1300 fps and ME of 1501 ft. lbs. The figures at 50 yards are 1179 fps and 1235 ft. lbs., and at 100 yards the velocity is 1093 fps and the remaining energy 1060 ft. lbs. The .475 Linebaugh hits harder at 100 yards than a .44 Magnum does at the muzzle!

According to the fifth edition of the Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading the reloader can achieve a MV of 1100 fps with 21.1 grains of Winchester 296 powder behind their 400 grain XTP-Mag bullet, and a MV of 1350 fps with 26.0 grains of 296 behind the same bullet. The ME of the latter load is 1618 ft. lbs. At 100 yards the velocity is still 1114 fps, and the energy is 1164 ft. lbs. That is enough power to take large game at normal handgun ranges, as long as the shooter can get the bullet into a vital spot.

Note: A complete article about the .475 Linebaugh can be found on the Handgun Cartridge Page.