John Linebaugh (November 15, 1955 – March 19, 2023) was an American
gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very h ...
from
Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in Northwest Wyoming and the seat of government of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Colonel William Frederick " Buffalo Bill" Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896.
The population was 10,066 at ...
, known for creating custom
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s. He was the
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
of the
.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 ...
(1986) and
.475 Linebaugh
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 brass required to form his .500 Linebaugh cartridge. The cartridge is based on the .45-70 Governm ...
(1988) cartridges. Gunwriter
John Taffin
John August Taffin (born May 2, 1939) is an American author from Boise, Idaho who writes several columns for gun magazines including ''Guns'', ''Gun Digest'', ''Sixgunner'', ''Shoot!'' and ''American Handgunner''. A former math teacher from 1964-1 ...
, a big-bore enthusiast, describes Linebaugh as a "pioneer" in developing powerful sixguns.
Biography
Linebaugh's early efforts in the 1970s produced revolvers made to handle much more powerful loadings of
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt (11.43×33mmR), is a rimmed, straight-walled, handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It was originally a black-powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1 ...
than standard firearms, and later expanded into creating his own cartridge designs.
After inventing the .500 and .475 Linebaugh, he later created a variant of each cartridge, lengthened to 1.61 inches, and appended "Maximum" to their names.
Linebaugh focused on developing cartridges which were compatible with standard-size revolvers, keeping them "old school" or "packable" rather than oversize.
Linebaugh died in
Clark, Wyoming, on March 19, 2023, at the age of 67.
He was laid to rest on March 28, 2023, at the Bennett Butte Cemetery
in section 108–5.
References
*"The sixguns of John Linebaugh". ''
American Handgunner''; 05/01/2006; Taffin, John
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linebaugh, John
1955 births
2023 deaths
Ammunition designers
People from Cody, Wyoming