The .475 Linebaugh is a rimmed revolver cartridge developed by John Linebaugh in the late 1980s in response to the scarcity of the

.348 Winchester The .348 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge. It was introduced in 1936, and developed for the Winchester Model 71 lever action rifle. The .348 was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever action rifle. Performance It ...

brass required to form his

.500 Linebaugh The .500 Linebaugh is a .50 caliber handgun cartridge designed for use in revolvers. It is considered one of the most powerful handgun cartridges designed in terms of kinetic energy and power factor (momentum). History The .500 Linebaugh cartri ...

cartridge. The cartridge is based on the

.45-70 Government The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as the .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873, which is known to collectors as the "Trapdoor Springfield." The new cartridge was a rep ...

case trimmed to 1.4 inches and loaded with bullets. While dimensionally similar to the older .45 Silhouette cartridge, the .475 Linebaugh is loaded to considerably higher pressures, resulting in significantly different ballistic performance. The .475 Linebaugh was first announced in the May 1988 issue of ''

Guns & Ammo ''Guns & Ammo'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competitive shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States. The magazine offers reviews on firearms, ammunition, optics and shooting gear. Also includ ...

'' in an article written by Ross Seyfried. In 1991, Linebaugh announced a 1.6 inch variant of the .475 Linebaugh for use in converted Ruger

.357 Maximum The .357 Maximum, formally known as the .357 Remington Maximum or the .357 Max, is a super magnum handgun cartridge originally developed by Elgin Gates as the wildcat .357 SuperMag. The .357 Maximum was introduced into commercial production as ...

revolvers. This cartridge is known as the .475 Linebaugh Long or .475 Linebaugh Maximum, and produces somewhat greater ballistic performance than the shorter round.

Usage

The .475 Linebaugh is intended primarily for hunting and defense against big game. The .475 is capable of propelling a bullet at a muzzle velocity of , developing of muzzle energy from a 5.5" barrel. These figures compare favorably to those of the popular .44 Magnum, which fires a bullet at , producing of muzzle energy from a 7.5" barrel. The .475 Linebaugh is ballistically comparable to the

.454 Casull The .454 Casull () is a firearm cartridge, developed as a wildcat cartridge in 1958 by Dick Casull, Duane Marsh and Jack Fullmer. It was announced in November 1959 by ''Guns & Ammo'' magazine. The design is a lengthened and structurally improve ...

, and "Trapdoor level" loadings of the .45-70 Government, though it is less powerful than the .460 S&W Magnum, .500 Wyoming Express, .500 S&W Magnum, and

.500 Bushwhacker The .500 Bushwhacker is a .50 caliber semi-rimmed revolver cartridge developed by TII Armory for the Magnum Research BFR revolvers. It is currently the most powerful revolver cartridge in the world, offering a similar level of ballistic performa ...

rounds, as well as Linebaugh's own .475 and

.500 Maximum The .500 Maximum, also known as .500 Linebaugh Maximum and .500 Linebaugh Long, is a revolver cartridge developed by John Linebaugh. Only a small number of custom made 5-shot single action revolvers, such as the BMF .500 Maximum manufactured b ...

cartridges. With the exception of the .500 Wyoming Express, however, the .475 Linebaugh is generally chambered in lighter and more compact revolvers than such "super magnum" cartridges, lending itself to easier carry and field use. This results in a relatively high power-to-weight ratio which, in the absence of a muzzle brake, often entails greater felt recoil than produced by heavier firearms chambered in more powerful cartridges. In 2003, Ruger introduced the

.480 Ruger The .480 Ruger (12.1×33mmR) is a large, high-power revolver cartridge, introduced in 2003 by Ruger and Hornady. It was the first new cartridge introduced by Ruger, and when introduced, was the largest-diameter production revolver cartridge, at ...

, which is essentially a .475 Linebaugh shortened to 1.285 inches with a marginally lower pressure ceiling (48,000 psi for the .480 Ruger vs. 50,000 psi for the .475 Linebaugh). The performance and recoil generated by the .480 Ruger with standard loadings are comparatively less than those of the .475 Linebaugh. Furthermore, just as the

.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...

cartridge will chamber and fire in revolvers chambered for the more powerful

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

, the

will chamber and fire in revolvers chambered for the .475 Linebaugh. However, given their comparable operating pressures, the two rounds are far closer in performance than such a comparison would seem to suggest. The .475 Linebaugh remains a relatively obscure cartridge, owing in part to the commercial success of Smith & Wesson's more powerful .460 S&W Magnum and .500 S&W Magnum cartridges. However, while the .475 Linebaugh was once an exclusively custom proposition, both the

Freedom Arms Freedom Arms is a Freedom, Wyoming based firearm manufacturing company, known for producing powerful single-action revolvers. The company was founded in 1978 by Wayne Baker and Dick Casull to produce the Mini revolver then later a revolver cha ...

Model 83 and the

Magnum Research BFR The Magnum Research BFR is a single-action revolver manufactured by Magnum Research. Modelled after the Colt Single Action Army, it is made from stainless steel and chambered for a number of very powerful pistol calibers, such as .500 S&W Magnum ...

are currently available in the cartridge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:.475 Linebaugh 475 Linebaugh Wildcat cartridges

Usage

See also

References