Alan
I probably should have been more specific when talking about the recoil of the .475s and .500s. Of course, I've fired both on numerous occasions but on the day to which I was referring to in my previous post we had on hand three of the big-bore monsters. Two Ruger Bisleys in .475 and .500 Linebaugh and one Bisley-Maximum in .500 Maximum caliber. Let's not discuss that last one. I honestly believe playing with my crocs is more fun! Both the .475 and .500 were built by John Linebaugh on Ruger Bisleys and are identical except for caliber. I guess the .475 would be a tad heavier because it has smaller holes but not enough to write home about. The bullets were within 5 grs weight of each other and the powder charges within 1.5grs. According to John the .475 runs at about 50,000 CUP while the .500 churns up about 30,000 CUP. The cartridges are ballistically similar except for pressure. I don't exactly know how pressure affects recoil but I do know that the recoil of the .475 feels noticeably sharper. This was confirmed by the other four shooters who also fired the guns side by side. Of course, I completely agree with Chris. Felt recoil is very subjective and depends on many factors. I also agree with him about the grip shape of the Ruger Super Redhawk being better than the FA revolver. But in recoil control the Bisley beats them all. It rolls in your hand and keeps a lot of the recoil off your palm. I'm not sure if the .475 has more recoil than the .500. Maybe it's the same amount of force delivered a different way. Perhaps someone with more knowledge on the pressure-recoil subject can help us out. One more thing I just thought of, the .500 really isn't any more uncomfortable to fire than hot .454 Casull handloads. With both cartridges I can fire about 50 rounds without becoming fatigued. But with the .475 I have to rest at about 30 rounds.
Hope This Helps
Dave