500 sw bfr test

[odfairfaxsub]

375 gr hollow base lee mold for muzzleloader sized with .501 sizer die.

13 gr trail boss- shot reasonably well at 2 inches at 25 yards no frosting or leading
11 gr unique- greatest load ever everything in 1 1/8 inch at 25 yards, no frost or leading
13 gr red dot- stout and the begining of the leading and not that great on paper. bore at muzzle started to show slight signs of frosting
12 gr unique- almost as good as the 11 grains spread the group to 2 inches at 25 yards but still hit the rock at 50 yards the size of a hard hat. the barrel was starting to look slightly frosted at the muzzle but i was still empressed it was getting the 2inch group

[saz]

How long is your barrel?
You didnt happen to run any of those over the chronograph did you? I'm jsut curious.

[odfairfaxsub]

7.5 inch barrel and my prediction was 11 gr unique was under 1000 but higher than 950. the 13 gr red dot pushed it near 1200 just guesses, we're getting a chrono soon but awhile back i asked about red dot loads in the 500 and some people said no experience in such matters but no probs we came up with some sturdy facts. seemed 11 grs of unique or red dot was better places to start. the trail boss burned clean but not as effective as used in 45-70

[subsonic]

Interesting stuff. Is your boolit the .500-360M 90472 made by Lee?

I think the .500-354M 90471 Modern Minie, Target would be really cool like a big .38 wadcutter, but haven't messed with it and just sold my 10" .500 S&W BFR to fund a .500 JRH BFR.

In the group buy discussion section, I've tried 2x to get folks on the bandwagon for a shorter nosed .500 boolit or even a wadcutter. No dice yet.

Everybody want's moulds for those big silly 700gr things or at least 500gr with the nose hanging out of the cylinder and just the gas check in the case, leaving plenty of space for powder to slosh around.

But then all the posts are about loading them down... weird. :veryconfu

[odfairfaxsub]

its the modern minie. the hollow base afforded the space for the powders sometimes (trailboss) and i love it because the bullet at .501 with 50-50 lead mix will actually push through the cyl but the hollow base is thin enough to actually blow out and thick enough to retain its integredy. it cuts nice large holes like a wad cutter would, it also has lots of room for lube and the groves are not that deep so its like lube city for the rifling. shot great, should have known better after finding the light loads did good should have left well enough alone so the clean up would have been easier but i don't like pulling ammo apart and the casings are dear to me lol.

[44man]

This is my boolit for the .500 JRH and should work in the S&W.
It is 440 gr with 29.5 gr of 296, Felix lube, Fed 155 primer, 1350 fps from the BFR, 7-1/2" barrel.
Then a 50 yard group.
Why anyone wants light loads confuses me along with shooting 25 yards.
I don't like the S&W caliber, the JRH is better.

[44man]

I did shoot the big BFR in .500 S&W with factory cast loads and it was deadly accurate. Just over kill and a mean recoil so I needed a glove to help my knuckle.
It would be fine for T- Rex. [smilie=l:
Might be good for cutting firewood too. :holysheep

[odfairfaxsub]

thats a great group man. at the time i have no other place to shoot and recover bullets other than at 25 yards. just saying. i like what your doing with that target though lol. we was using like 41 gr of h110 and those speer hollow nose plated jobs made a group just like yours with another gun (sw)

[44man]

thats a great group man. at the time i have no other place to shoot and recover bullets other than at 25 yards. just saying. i like what your doing with that target though lol. we was using like 41 gr of h110 and those speer hollow nose plated jobs made a group just like yours with another gun (sw)
Most of our guns today are something else.
They were designed to shoot certain loads though. That is where I stay. Some are harsh to be sure so the number of shots will be less during a session.
Get the .500 shooting then drop to a .44 and you can shoot all day with heavy loads.
It is just too hard to get the big ones to shoot light loads.
The important thing is, shooting light loads does not prepare you for hunting at all. You have to be comfortable with the gun.
Soon you will love the recoil and get better.
I have reached the point I grab the .500 JRH first over the .44, 45-70 and .475. NO light loads, only what is super accurate.
I fear only one revolver. Whitworth's .50 Alaskan with Bisley, dead smooth, shiny grip panels. Put rubber grips on it and I will shoot it. Never before. That thing can split a hard hat because it can not be held tight enough with the smooth grips. It is like pouring oil on the grips.

[odfairfaxsub]

i shoot my uncles 500sw that has the money to burn lets me shoot the thing off bags of course 25 times every month we all meet up. like i said we shoot full house loads but i load that gun that way, do you drive a truck around but never trailer it everyday? same as me shooting my 500 sw with unique in the case. not a sermon 44man, just a thought.

[44man]

i shoot my uncles 500sw that has the money to burn lets me shoot the thing off bags of course 25 times every month we all meet up. like i said we shoot full house loads but i load that gun that way, do you drive a truck around but never trailer it everyday? same as me shooting my 500 sw with unique in the case. not a sermon 44man, just a thought.
I shoot only for accuracy first, nothing else is worth taking my guns from the safe.
Second I hunt and I must be very familiar with my guns and recoil.
I also shoot very long ranges for fun. 200 yards is close for me but it is all my range reaches unless I go to my club.
I have nothing against anyone shooting light loads. It is that not a single revolver I ever owned would perform for me that way.
Then cost---there is so little difference between good loads and non performing loads that you lose more pennies from your pocket then you spend shooting. I will never try to save 2 cents a shot.
I need LESS shots to hit anything so in the end I save a lot. One good shot beats 50 misses all year. I will hit the target and grin at you while you empty your box of shells.
Practice with poor loads will get you nowhere at all.

[stubshaft]

I tend to agree with 44man but to each their own.

[Whitworth]

I fear only one revolver. Whitworth's .50 Alaskan with Bisley, dead smooth, shiny grip panels. Put rubber grips on it and I will shoot it. Never before. That thing can split a hard hat because it can not be held tight enough with the smooth grips. It is like pouring oil on the grips.

I can tell you with absolute certainty, that the .500 BFR recoils about half as much as the .50 Alaskan. It's a lighter revolver and it's burning a lot more powder.

It has nothing to do with smooth grips. You keep saying that, but you've never shot it. It doesn't move around in the hand at all as the grips fill your hand well. It's all in the muscle tension. And no one makes a rubber grip for the Bisley -- no need. Wrap your finger up well, Jim, and take the plunge![smilie=w:

[saz]

How much worse is the recoil on that 50AK compared to the 500 Smith?

[44man]

How much worse is the recoil on that 50AK compared to the 500 Smith?
HEE, HEE! :veryconfu
Ever stop an 18 wheeler with your hand? Put that thing in a rifle and you will be beat black and blue.
It can get away from you but my concern is my large middle knuckle. It is very large from shooting heavy bows.
I pick up Whits gun and see where my knuckle is and I tell him "no way." I hate Bisley grips! [smilie=s:

[Whitworth]

How much worse is the recoil on that 50AK compared to the 500 Smith?

Night and day, night and day......:veryconfu


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f196/MarkoR/500Smithand50AK.jpg

Sorry for the thread hijack.....

[subsonic]

I would give the Alaskan a try..... but I like the Bisley grip. My hand and it get along quite well.

The 10" BFR .500 S&W I just sold came with a Bisley grip frame modified to fit, as well as the factory gripframe.

I kept that Bisley gripframe :-)

[44man]

I would give the Alaskan a try..... but I like the Bisley grip. My hand and it get along quite well.

The 10" BFR .500 S&W I just sold came with a Bisley grip frame modified to fit, as well as the factory gripframe.

I kept that Bisley gripframe :-)
I get knuckle pain from the Bisley and it makes me shift the hold enough to open groups. I still get the pain.
I also HATE the square trigger guard on the SBH and have been cut to a bloody mess until I put Pachmeyer grips on them. I NEED a filler behind the guard.

[subsonic]

We all come in different shapes and sizes and with different amounts of muscle, tendons and bone.
We are what we are and like what we like. The cool thing is that there is somethin for all of us.

Just looking at the numbers, that Alaskan has to be a handfull, but it does have a brake. Whitworth, does the brake seem to do anything besides set things on fire and throw debris?

[Whitworth]

We all come in different shapes and sizes and with different amounts of muscle, tendons and bone.
We are what we are and like what we like. The cool thing is that there is somethin for all of us.

Just looking at the numbers, that Alaskan has to be a handfull, but it does have a brake. Whitworth, does the brake seem to do anything besides set things on fire and throw debris?

I think you missed the point. 44man raised the issue of the .50 Alaskan and I answered, and even apologized for the thread hijacking. The brake doesn't do much of anything, really, and certainly doesn't "throw debris" or "set things on fire." It is a horse that is really hard to shoot, unlike the .500 S&W BFR we shot recently (with heavy loads, I might add). It was actually fairly pleasant -- relatively speaking. Keep in mind also that my .50 AK is not a BFR, it's a D-Max and considerably lighter by a pound or so, and you have to fill that big case with powder. Again, it's just a novelty -- nothing more, nothing less. The recoil is rather life changing....:bigsmyl2:

[saz]

It is a horse that is really hard to shoot, unlike the .500 S&W BFR we shot recently (with heavy loads, I might add). It was actually fairly pleasant -- relatively speaking. Keep in mind also that my .50 AK is not a BFR, it's a D-Max and considerably lighter by a pound or so, and you have to fill that big case with powder. Again, it's just a novelty -- nothing more, nothing less. The recoil is rather life changing....:bigsmyl2:

Holy ****. That one cannot be very plesant.

[Whitworth]

Holy ****. That one cannot be very plesant.

It's not, but it is fun to blow the dust off of it every once in awhile and burn some powder. The gun is very well built, clean, has a slick action, nice hand-filling custom grips, etc.

[Mohillbilly]

Can a 500 S&W BFR be rechambered to the Alaskan round / or would MR build another cylinder for my gun ? wonder how much ?

[Whitworth]

Can a 500 S&W BFR be rechambered to the Alaskan round / or would MR build another cylinder for my gun ? wonder how much ?

MR won't build a .50 Alaskan. Plus, it's a .510 bore so a cylinder change wouldn't do it.

[Frank]

Whitworth:

Again, it's just a novelty -- nothing more, nothing less. The recoil is rather life changing....
Why don't you find a reduced but accurate load for it so that it is more than just a novelty?

[Whitworth]

Whitworth:

Why don't you find a reduced but accurate load for it so that it is more than just a novelty? 8-)

Cuz I have enough .50 cals that are earsier to carry that will do the same thing with less drama. I did take it on a hunt last year, but I didn't see anything. You have to be super careful if you are hunting out of a tree stand, so you don't get blown out! :kidding:It's a big case, and hard to load down. Since it's a rifle round, it is difficult finding a powder that will work with a short barrel. Even reduced loads tend to be pretty heavy in the recoil department. I could possibly get it down to maximum level loads, but I would rather tote my maximum in the field since it weighs almost a pound less.

[stubshaft]

I shoot the 50 AK out of an Encore with a 16 1/4" MGM barrel. I built the barrel that long to get the most powder burning potential out of it and so that I could double it as a rifle if I chose to do so. Recoil is heavy but not unmanageable, in fact I broke the frame screw that the Pachmayr's attach to once (T/C replaced it). My standard load is 52.0 4198 behind a 580gr. LFN that Veral made for me, it chrono's at 1650fps. I usually shoot about 200+ rounds through it every month and it is great at blowing over the silhouette targets and frames at 50 yds. and spinning the 4"X4"X3/4" plates at 100. I don't download it and if I want to shoot something with a little less recoil I'll plink with my 500 S&W 12" MGM barrel on the same platform.

Like any big bore it takes time, dedication and practice to shoot it proficiently. It is a very accurate cartridge.

[Whitworth]

Most definitely! The problem is when you put that much power in a 4-lb package, you'd better bring a saddle as well!

[jwp475]

How much worse is the recoil on that 50AK compared to the 500 Smith?


I owned the 50 Alaskan that Whit has before Whit purchased it from me. The gun is built on a D'Max frame the pr-runner to the BFR stretch frame and is considerably lighter. The revolver generates about 92 Ft pounds of free recoil and is a handfull to say the least

Here is a photo of a friend shooting Whit's 50 AK at a Linebaugh se,inar a few years ago.



http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d62/jwp475/LinebaughSeminarJackson2007005.jpg


That is the recoil from a 525 grain bullet at just under 1600 FPS

[Frank]

Whitworth:

I could possibly get it down to maximum level loads, but I would rather tote my maximum in the field since it weighs almost a pound less.
You've convinced me I don't want a .50 Alaskan. I'm far more interested now in the .500 S&W BFR. How does the .500 Maximum shoot?

[stubshaft]

A friend of mine put a plastic shield inside the front of his baseball cap after he got dinged with my 454.