RIP John Linebaugh

[Jeff Higgins]

Known for his custom big bore revolvers based on the Ruger Blackhawk frame, John passed away on March 19th. While we often over use and/or misapply such terms, John really was a pioneer in the realm of big bore hunting revolvers.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/in-memoriam-john-linebaugh-1955-2023/

It was either him or Hamilton Bowen who first produced five shot cylinders for the Ruger Blackhawk. I believe it was John, since Mr. Bowen chambered many of his revolvers in either the .500 or .475 Linebaugh. Mr. Bowen named no calibers after himself.

I never had a .500, but I did have a .475 for a little while. In one of my more "mature" moments, I came to realize I had no real use for such a gun (the same conclusion I reached with my Freedom Arms .454 Casull) and traded it off for something long forgotten.

Either his .500 or his .475 will launch 425-450 grain bullets at just over 1,300 fps. Recoil is what one might describe as "substantial". I spoke with John several times as he was building my gun. He at first refused to even sell me one in either of his proprietary chamberings - that was his initial answer to everyone who wanted one. He tried very hard to steer customers towards his five shot .45 Colt conversions, which actually beat the .454 Casull velocity wise. Certainly plenty of gun for anyone, he really pushed hard for folks to buy that instead.

Of course I wouldn't listen so he acquiesced and sold me one. He probably shouldn't have. He knew what he was talking about. He did recommend that even experienced shooters new to those calibers do two things - wear a bicycle helmet the first time you shoot it, and never put more than a couple of cylinders through it at any one session.

That proved to be good advice, on both counts. The hammer buried itself into the forehead on my helmet on my first shot. I soon learned to let it come back over my left shoulder instead of straight back. And, yes, more than a couple, maybe three cylinders through it found me reaching for the Advil when I got home.

I guess the biggest difference between John's sixgun conversions and other big bore handguns is just their "usability". They are the same size and weight as Ruger Blackhawk. Real world portable and useful. We see the .500 S&W, the massive big bore Desert Eagle, big bore single shots (no more than short rifles without a stock, really) and other less than practical "sidearms". In sharp contrast, we can wear one of John's guns on our hip, or in a shoulder rig, or whatever and scarcely even know it was there. Until we need to pull the trigger... that's where we really pay for that "portability".

So, yeah, very specialized tools for very specialized purposes. Certainly not for everyone (including me). A forward thinking "self made man" with no formal training, just an idea of something he wanted. One of the world's nicest guys, and one of the most respected in the shooting world during my lifetime. RIP, John.

[pwd72s]

I noticed the obit in American Rifleman. Like you, I see no need for a handgun that powerful.

To each their own...and lord bless the wildcatters. After all, my .257 Roberts Remington shoots a round developed by a wildcatter.

[Jeff Higgins]

My heavy .45 Colt handloads consist of an LBT (Veral Smith's Lead Bullet Technologies) 300 grain bullet at about 1,250 fps. I shoot these from my off the shelf Ruger Blackhawk, Ruger Bisley, and Interarms Virginian Dragoon, all standard six shot cylinder single actions. John's five shot cylinder would allow me to exceed 1,500 or 1,600 fps with the same bullet.

I have killed a variety of game with this load. It's achieved full penetration, i.e. with exit wounds, on animals of over 800 pounds on quartering shots. Basically shoulder to far side hip. It even went full length, lengthwise, through a mature bull caribou. What more do we need? Even the increased performance available through switching to the five shot cylinder seems unnecessary.

Then again, Ross Seyfried (out of Oregon, by the way) once regaled us with his story of shooting a Cape Buffalo with one of John's custom Bisley revolvers chambered in his .475. Ross went out alone because, well, it was illegal to do that. Even his camp staff would have ratted him out for the rewards offered by game departments for "game violations". So he couldn't let anyone know.

His first shot had little affect. All it did was was make it kind of look back over its shoulder at him. As Peter Capstick so ably described these guys, "they look at you like you owe them money"... In this case, a lot of money. Ross tried to apologize, but that didn't seem to have much affect either. It was "game on". With only four shots left in the cylinder.

Long story short (it was a really short story, actually), Ross's fourth and last shot was fired with the muzzle of the revolver rattling between its horn bosses, with Ross's left hand on its face. It had dipped its head at the end of its charge the way they like to do, to try to scoop him up between its inward facing horn tips. Ross landed on its back, with its nose between his feet.

Interestingly, the post mortem revealed that every bullet had, in fact, achieved more than adequate penetration. The old boy just didn't seem to give a schitt, apparently. No rifle would have really done much better. Just one of those days.

So, yeah, maybe if there are things like that in your neighborhood, that kind of power in a revolver might be justified. Otherwise, it's all just macho nonsense.

[Por_sha911]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

My heavy .45 Colt handloads consist of an LBT (Veral Smith's Lead Bullet Technologies) 300 grain bullet at about 1,250 fps. I shoot these from my off the shelf Ruger Blackhawk, Ruger Bisley, and...

Are shooting these loads with a Blackhawk New Model (smaller cylinder), Super Blackhawk, or the older beefier Blackhawk with large frame and cylinder with a thicker wall?

[Jeff Higgins]

Those loads are for full size Blackhawk frames only.

Ruger originally made two sizes, the Blackhawk and the Super Blackhawk. Actually, they introduced the Super sized frame after the original proved inadequate for the .44 mag. They built the two sizes through the late '60's or early '70's, then dropped the smaller frame and produced both the Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk on the same frame. Unnecessarily heavy for the .357 mag and standard pressure .45 Colt.

They have now reintroduced the original "Flattop" style smaller frame, along with a downsized Vaquero. Neither are suitable for these loads. They will safely digest "+P" level loads, with 250 grain bullets at 1,000 fps or so, but I would call that the limit.

All of that said, I finally rattled down to that level of load for my "hunting" loads in .45 Colt. The last several animals I've killed with the .45 Colt were actually with black powder loads from a 7 1/2" Colt Peacemaker. 40 grains of Swiss FFFg will propel a 250 grain bullet to just about 1,000 fps, which was the original "civilian" load (the Army never loaded more than 28 grains of powder). To duplicate this with smokeless, I use about 16 1/2 grains of 2400. These loads will drive broadside right through our biggest mule deer and elk. I can't see any reason for anything more, at least not for my use.

In other words, the smaller Blackhawk and Vaquero are still excellent hunting guns. They will accept loads heavy enough to kill deer and elk. Going after big bears, or moose, or that stray Cape Buffalo rampaging around your neighborhood might justify the bigger gun and heavier load.

[Por_sha911]

That's what I thought. I have Blackhawk NM Flat Top and I did a lot of research and found that it was not able to handle the loads you were describing. I use some Underwood 45 Colts which are beefy but still within normal Sammi pressures.

[Jeff Higgins]

That's all you will ever need, Joe. I worked my way up the revolver power scale when I was younger, and worked my way back down as I got older and (hopefully) wiser. Once we have achieved full penetration, the only real difference becomes how deep of a hole do we want in the dirt on the other side of the animal. And how much blast and recoil we are willing to endure to achieve that.

The concussion of a full house .44 mag load is more than I want to put up with without hearing protection. What led me to the .45 Colt was its ability to match, or even exceed the .44 mag at about 10,000 PSI less pressure. That translates into noticeably less concussion when fired. It made it easier to hunt with them. I used to have ringing in my ears for at least a day, sometimes longer, after taking game with my .44 mag. It's noticeably better (but still not great) with heavy .45 Colt loads. It's a lot better with closer to standard pressure loads. And they still kill everything I point them at.