500 a square

[matt85]

hard to make a rifle weigh 10 pounds without adding something to the stock, unless the barrel is super heavy which would make the balance awful. without examining the rifle in question i couldnt tell you whether or not its a good purchase.

i will admit that starting with a 500 can be a bit much for some people. shooting heavy stopping rifles will be alien to most shooters and requires close attention to shooting technique. if you make a mistake in technique with these types of rifles you will pay for it with bruises and long lasting pain. however you can build proper technique by starting with lighter loads and easing yourself into the rifle (along with advice from helpful people on this forum).

-matt

 

[ChrisG]

I'm going to defer to Matt for expertise on the recoil of the .458's and bigger guns as well as their hitting power... my guess is that nothing comes close to the stopping power of a heavy, half inch lead and copper plumbob slung at 2200fps corkscrewed into an elephants cranium or a buffalo's pump room. But I can say that if you are interested in not spending a lot of money on your first african caliber, look into the Ruger Hawkeye African or guide gun in .416 Ruger. For the cost... they are hard to beat. Metal finish is a little crude but, function wise they are excellent. Mine shoots everything I have put through it and the stock is wonderfully executed for a rifle that costs under $1,000. @CAustin has taken everything up to elephant with his and I am sure, now that I have pinged him, he could add something more about it's effect on game. Suffice it to say, the .416 Ruger hits hard enough with a 400 grain bullet at 2,300-2,350 fps to down any animal that walks the planet. with 300-350 grain loads, it shoots flat enough for a 300 yard shot without too much holdover. It does all that with a recoil energy of right around 60 ft-lbs. That might seem high but it sure is better than any of the bigger guns and shooting off hand, the difference between it and my .375 H&H is negligable. You only notice when you are sighting in on a bench. Then it hammers you. Food for thought. Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[CAustin]

@ChrisG I agree with you for sure. I love my Guide Gun and it has served me well. Planning a big hunt next year for one of the dangerous six so I will let it prove it's worth again.

 

[larry4831]

@ChrisG I agree with you for sure. I love my Guide Gun and it has served me well. Planning a big hunt next year for one of the dangerous six so I will let it prove it's worth again.

I have one also in .416 ruger. I like it a lot. I have a fixed power 6x42 leupold on it and it groups well with 400 grain hornadys at 100 yards. I use the PP 2000 powder. I would recommend one .

 

[ChrisG]

I have one also in .416 ruger. I like it a lot. I have a fixed power 6x42 leupold on it and it groups well with 400 grain hornadys at 100 yards. I use the PP 2000 powder. I would recommend one .

Power pro 2000MR is the best powder I've found for mine as well. I still don't know how Hornady gets 2400 FPS from a 400 grain load though... I'm only chronoing my loads at 2325-2350 from a 23" barrel. I still wouldn't hesitate to take on anything in the world with it though.

 

[matt85]

Ruger's arent bad rifles but after handling and shooting both, in my opinion the Winchester M70 "safari" in 416 RM is a superior rifle for the same amount of money. plus you have the added bonus of the 416 RM being non-proprietary so factory ammunition is more wide spread and you arent stuck with Hornady.

but we have taken this thread a little off topic.

-matt

 

[larry4831]

Sorry to get off subject. In the reloading manual " any shot you want " Art Alphon has a section in there on the 500 A-square, they only list a 600 grain bullet and even the starting loads look pretty hairy.

 

[matt85]

if you end up buying the rifle, I will happily help you develop loads. I just checked up on the cartridge and according to Wikipedia the water capacity is around 140gr. the 505 Gibbs has around 180gr capacity and the 500 Jeffery has around 160gr capacity so with some simple math we can work out starting loads.

you can safely ignore the posted 600gr loads as they were fairly high pressure loads developed to get maximum power out of this beast which just isn't needed.

-matt

 

[farmboy]

I found a Lee mould for a cast six hundred grain bullet. I thought that would be the way to start. Still thinking it over

 

[larry4831]

I found a Lee mould for a cast six hundred grain bullet. I thought that would be the way to start. Still thinking it over

There's a couple sites on you tube a 15 year old boy is firing one. I also read a couple places it is not that bad at all, even with 600 grain bullets at 2470.

 

[matt85]

I found a Lee mould for a cast six hundred grain bullet. I thought that would be the way to start. Still thinking it over

be sure its a gas checked bullet otherwise it wont work, a standard lead base bullet wont handle even lighter loads from this cartridge.

as i said before, i recommend running a 570gr bullet at around 2100-2150 fps. this is plenty for any dangerous game and there is a wide variety of 570gr bullets out there to choose from.

-matt

 

[colorado]

Some advice. I went from a 375 H&H to my 500 Jeffery. It was a major step up in recoil but I love it. I have a CZ 550 with two mecury recoil reduc;ers in it. It weighs 11.25 lbs without scope, 12 lbs with scope. To start with, practice dry firing it so you're comfortable with it. Have a PAST Recoil Pad sewed into your shooting vest or get a cheap vest and have it done (cost me $15 to have it sewn in) and/or buy a Limbsaver slip on pad to put on for the bench. You can load your 500 A2 down to 500 NE levels (570g bullet at 2150 fps), it will still kill anything on the planet and kill them quickly. All of these are lessons learned from painful experience lol. Don't shoot it from the bench except for load development and sight in. After that shoot offhand, kneeling, sitting (not prone!) My 500 Jeffery is my favorite rifle to shoot now. Congrats!