The initial response to the .480 Ruger was mixed, as many reviewers compared it unfavorably to the more powerful .475 Linebaugh or .454 Casull, and wondered why Ruger had bothered to introduce a lower-powered cartridge. (This was based on muzzle energy alone, with no regard to either bullet diameter or weight, or to TKO, as was evident in the sales literature and magazines of the times, which compared the new 325 gr load's muzzle energy to the muzzle energy of other handgun hunting cartridges.) Indeed, the first factory load, a bullet at , is nearly within reach of the .44 Magnum. However, with bullets of and higher, the .480 Ruger starts to show more potential. The standard .44 Magnum powders, in similar amounts, will push a bullet at over 1300 ft/s (thus yielding a TKO factor around 35.28 vs. 34.62 for a 325 gr 454 Casull at ). This provides . of muzzle energy, about 50% more than commercial .44 Magnum loads, showing the .480 Ruger's good efficiency with the heavy bullets. The lower velocities and lower pressures mean the .480 Ruger has less felt recoil and muzzle blast than the higher pressure super-magnums.