My first big bore

Wyatt Smith

AH legend
Joined
May 9, 2019
Messages
3,327
Reaction score
7,534
Location
Pike county
Media
43
I just bought my first big bore, after having owned three 375s and a 416.
I put in what I considered a low bid on a CZ 550 chambered in 500 AHR. I wound up winning it at $2200. I have not laid eyes on the rifle yet but figured if it was a 500 AHR it was probably built by AHR, I hope so anyway. I know it has a synthetic stock, hopefully Wayne’s AHR synthetic and not a B&C.
I’m comfortable with the price I payed either way as the CZ are getting hard to find and it could probably be parted out and recover most of the funds I payed for if need be.
 
I just bought my first big bore, after having owned three 375s and a 416.
I put in what I considered a low bid on a CZ 550 chambered in 500 AHR. I wound up winning it at $2200. I have not laid eyes on the rifle yet but figured if it was a 500 AHR it was probably built by AHR, I hope so anyway. I know it has a synthetic stock, hopefully Wayne’s AHR synthetic and not a B&C.
I’m comfortable with the price I payed either way as the CZ are getting hard to find and it could probably be parted out and recover most of the funds I payed for if need be.
Nice! If it’s an AHR you definitely hit the jackpot! Agree with your other point about the price as well.
 
Definitely a good grab, regardless, but the jealousy factor will be sky high if it's an AHR build. Did it come with dies and brass??
Does and brass are available from the seller separately. He’ll charge 3.50 per case and 100 for the dies. I’ll purchase all he has.
 
Definitely a good move. I don't see any left available on Wayne's website anymore.

I've half contemplated buying the remaining 270 Howell brass and dies he has listed just in case I cave one of these days and buy the rifle in said caliber Steve Bertram has for sale on GI that's been up forever.
 
IMG_6740.jpeg
IMG_6741.jpeg
IMG_6744.jpeg
IMG_6743.jpeg
 
Appears to me the bottom metal was improperly mounted in a used stock. It is clearly mounted lopsided (i.e. closer to one side of the stock than the other side). I would be very surprised if that does not (or at one point did not) adversely affect cycling. You don't have any ammo to check cycling? Maybe you can find a few rounds to check before ordering the components and dies. You may need to bail early on this one. Is the barrel stainless or just in the white?
 
I just bought my first big bore, after having owned three 375s and a 416.
I put in what I considered a low bid on a CZ 550 chambered in 500 AHR. I wound up winning it at $2200. I have not laid eyes on the rifle yet but figured if it was a 500 AHR it was probably built by AHR, I hope so anyway. I know it has a synthetic stock, hopefully Wayne’s AHR synthetic and not a B&C.
I’m comfortable with the price I payed either way as the CZ are getting hard to find and it could probably be parted out and recover most of the funds I payed for if need be.
@Wyatt Smith
Now that's what I call go big or go home young grasshopper.
You may have to cut a few more cords if wood to feed it tho.
Have fun mate.
Bob
 
Well, it may possible that that was a very early Ed Plummer AHR, it most certainly was not a later iteration. All the synthetics I have owned have a shadow line cheek piece. Bolt is certainly different from all AHRs I have seen as well. Almost certain AHR has no hand in it at any time, but I could be wrong. That being stated, I think it is likely worth what you paid for it. Just needs a little work.

I know you said brass and dies were available from the seller and hope you bought hundreds of pieces of brass at $3.50 each! If so, you could turn this into a money making proposition. Good luck!
 
Last edited:
Definitely a good move. I don't see any left available on Wayne's website anymore.

I've half contemplated buying the remaining 270 Howell brass and dies he has listed just in case I cave one of these days and buy the rifle in said caliber Steve Bertram has for sale on GI that's been up forever.
Funny thing is I have contemplated doing the same for about three years. :-) That rifle just won’t sell and last time I looked at AHRs site, they were still selling brass for a dollar each. For memory, brass and perhaps dies come with the rifle as well.
 
Congratulations Wyatt :)

I see a lot of good here:
  • Barrel band front sight
  • Barrel band front swivel
  • Direct trigger
  • 3 positions bolt-mounted safety
  • Recoil shoulder on the front square bridge
  • Not sure what our canadian friend means, but, to me, the bottom metal seems well bedded in the stock
  • The barrel is of appropriate contour
  • The stock appears appropriately beefy and deep-bellied. I do believe that it may very well be a B&C -- it looks exactly identical to the one I have on a .375 -- and these are really good stocks. Pulling the action out of it will tell you instantly if it has the full metal bedding block or if it is an earlier one with just metal pillars as I suspect may be the case. In either case, they are indestructible.
So, OK, in a perfect world the rear sight island would be integral (not much that you can do about that), and the rifle will likely benefit (from an aesthetics perspective) from cerakoting the stainless barrel in a matching black, and plugging or replacing the bolt handle, but this is not a big deal. I would agree that it is likely an Ed Plummer rifle, from before he sold AHR to Wayne, and Ed knew how to put rifles together.

The tooling marks / paint scratches on the stock likely indicate a home-restock with a drop-in stock (Ed's originals were typically wood laminates, and in any case he would not have left imperfections like these come out of his shop), but touching them up is really not a big deal.

As to the caliber, sure it is not very common, but it is good. Most folks comment on the rim being less rebated than the .500 Jeff, which is huge in terms of reliable feed, but just as important is the fact that the cartridge is also longer, which facilitate a lot feeding from the long (Rigby length) CZ 550 action.

Unless there are hidden vices (always possible with second-hand rifles), it looks to me like you have a bomb-proof DG stopper ready for hell or/and high water (assuming it feeds, which I am willing to bet it will because Ed knew what he was doing), so I would likely think twice about letting it go, assuming you have some brass and you reload.


PS1: the one thing I would suggest, is to shoot it a couple times without a scope first -- it is a kicker -- and when you mount one, to push it as forward in the rings as mechanically possible, without giving a thought about "perfect" eye relief distance. It matters not whatsoever if you see a fuzzy black ring around the sight picture, it has no bearing on point of impact, but it sure reduces the risk of being clubbed to death during recoil. Make no mistake, this will recoil A LOT more (almost twice as much actually: ~120 ft lbs vs. ~65) than a .416...

PS2: If it is a B&C stock, there is a hollow compartment in the stock that you can access easily by removing the recoil pad. Pouring lead shot-enriched resin in there will add mass, makes the rifle balance better (it likely has a heavy barrel!) and it will cut recoil meaningfully. If it is indeed 10 lbs, you likely would want that rifle to gain at least 1 to 1.5 lbs.
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
58,548
Messages
1,263,925
Members
105,117
Latest member
EdwardHolt
 

 

 

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I’m looking to buy an older leupold vxiii 1.5-5x20 with a standard duplex reticle
Dangerous Dave wrote on Reza7700's profile.
Reza Call me any time you want to talk about Elephant. hunting and CMS.
I've hunted two Elephant with CMS.
In 13 African safari's and an equal number of North American hunts, BUZZ is the best guide I have ever hunted with.
Regards
Dave K
[redacted] or email [redacted]
 
Top