500 S&W Cast Bullet Loads

[Clay M]

I am new to the forum,but not to handloading or bullet casting.I have an RCBS 400 grain mould .I was going to use Linotype and Carnuba Red lube.I want to keep the velocities around 1200 to 1300 because it is plain base.I want to avoid leading.I have a good supply of MP5744,4227,2400, and Unique.Just wanted some accurate load suggestions,I have no data for 5744.

Thanks for the input.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use H110 for GC boolits. It's the most accurate through my 4" X-frame. And there is lots of data out there for that.

I also have a PB 385gr. RF from balisti-cast. The best load for that one is 16.7 gr. of Unique.

Good Luck,
Jon

[Clay M]

I use H110 for GC boolits. It's the most accurate through my 4" X-frame. And there is lots of data out there for that.

I also have a PB 385gr. RF from balisti-cast. The best load for that one is 16.7 gr. of Unique.

Good Luck,
Jon

Thanks I will give the Unique load a try.I am going to order a Hoch gas check mould,but I haven't decided the weight yet.Maybe 375 or 400 grain.

[44man]

We have been shooting my PB boolit from WD, WW metal out of my friends .500 S&W.
Works good. I don't think you need lino or a GC.
My boolit weighs 440 gr. Same one I shoot from my JRH. We are shooting faster then you want to so you could save some money.

[Clay M]

Still waiting for my brass and other items to come in.The 500 will be a fantastic gun for cast bullets.Just don't want to have to scrap lead out of the bore.I am unsure how fast I will be able to drive a plain base bullet.

[44man]

I shoot PB over 1600 fps all the time. I have taken them to max in a .454.

[shorty500M]

Fit, fit and fit! Thats the ultimate secret to lead-free barrels. Proper alloy and hardness helps and soft gooey lubes that leave a lube star on crown are great too but if slug doesnt fit all else is wasted effort. Gaschecks can help in rough bores but are rarely needed in quality handguns. As 44man said- top velocities are possible w/o gaschecks.

[Clay M]

We will see how good this new Smith barrel is .

[Iron Mike Golf]

Clay, you can download the Accurate load manual from their website. They have 400 gr jacketed load data for 5744. Starting charge is 37.0 gr for 1385 fps.

I have shot 440 gr GC boolits using 28 gr of 5744. It was pleasant to shoot and gave nice groups. No chrony data, but their book shows 34.4 gr giving 1300 fps. I'd guess my load was around 1150 to 1200 fps.

[Clay M]

I have a big jug of 5744 that I bought years ago.It is good powder for reduced loads in old black powder cartridges.The burn rate is close to 4227.It should be a great powder for the 500.

[shorty500M]

Clay, you can download the Accurate load manual from their website. They have 400 gr jacketed load data for 5744. Starting charge is 37.0 gr for 1385 fps.

I have shot 440 gr GC boolits using 28 gr of 5744. It was pleasant to shoot and gave nice groups. No chrony data, but their book shows 34.4 gr giving 1300 fps. I'd guess my load was around 1150 to 1200 fps.

yes you quessing on the money! When gun 1st came out i played with 5744 using 50-70govt. Data as my reference. 425 to 460grainers ran at 1200fps with 28g in 8-3/8 S&W.

[44man]

697815744 sounds good, I have some to test in my friends Smith.
Now here is my 440 gr PB shot at 50 yards from a BFR .500 JRH at 1350 fps. More pressure then the big S&W case.
Nuff said?
Don't worry about a S&W barrel.

[Clay M]

I am looking forward to working with the 500 .It has been a job to find all the components , but should have them all by the end of the week.The RCBS mould looks like a good design.Once I get the load, I am interested in seeing what it will do at 100 yds.

[bbailey7821]

Howdy Folks!

Finally got to the range with the W296 handloads and chrony. First off, Thanks to 44Man for getting me started on the 600g NOE suggested starting point! All these were shot in my 10 inch BFR off of the bench. Use them at your own peril and please be safe! All these are full power loads, so recoil on all is not for the "faint of heart"...

Here we go:

300g Hornady XTP Lipstick @ 43g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1936/18 dev. Very accurate. No pressure indications and easy extraction.

350g Hornady XTP-HP @ 42g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1886/27 dev. Very accurate. No pressure indications and easy extraction.

440g Lee cast FPGC @ 38g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1598/9 dev. Very accurate. Some flattening of the primer, but had easy extraction. I personnally would not attempt to improve on this and will not take it any further. I will comment that this was the most accurate of all the loads tested today.

NOE 600 Pointy Plain Base(actually weighed 575g) @ 30g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1355/14 dev. Very accurate. No pressure indications and easy extraction. Very lively recoil, but manageable.

- increase charge to 32g showed Av. 1460/18 dev. No pressure indicators or extraction issues, but the recoil here is getting pretty heavy. This one also proved to be very accurate and penetrated about 6 feet into packed clay.

[Clay M]

Howdy Folks!

Finally got to the range with the W296 handloads and chrony. First off, Thanks to 44Man for getting me started on the 600g NOE suggested starting point! All these were shot in my 10 inch BFR off of the bench. Use them at your own peril and please be safe! All these are full power loads, so recoil on all is not for the "faint of heart"...

Here we go:

300g Hornady XTP Lipstick @ 43g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1936/18 dev. Very accurate. No pressure indications and easy extraction.

350g Hornady XTP-HP @ 42g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1886/27 dev. Very accurate. No pressure indications and easy extraction.

440g Lee cast FPGC @ 38g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1598/9 dev. Very accurate. Some flattening of the primer, but had easy extraction. I personnally would not attempt to improve on this and will not take it any further. I will comment that this was the most accurate of all the loads tested today.

NOE 600 Pointy Plain Base(actually weighed 575g) @ 30g, virgin trimmed WW brass and Win. LRM primers - Av. 1355/14 dev. Very accurate. No pressure indications and easy extraction. Very lively recoil, but manageable.

- increase charge to 32g showed Av. 1460/18 dev. No pressure indicators or extraction issues, but the recoil here is getting pretty heavy. This one also proved to be very accurate and penetrated about 6 feet into packed clay.

Only problem,I would need a new set of arms if I used these loads.All the recoil comes straight back.
It would be good for hunting T Rex's though...

[Clay M]

A question for you 500 S&W shooters. What dia expander plug do you use for cast bullets.The RCBS dies come with a .495 dia plug which is for jacketed bullets.
The cast bullets are sized .501

[bbailey7821]

[smilie=1:I use the .495 dia that came with the set. It works great if you only flare the mouth just enough to get the boolit started. Case tension is a great tool, so you don't have to go nuts on the crimp and risk rippling your brass.

[44man]

My friends and I use Hornady dies only. No way to measure the expander. It works.
Keep the boolit hard enough to resist brass and a jacketed expander is fine. DO NOT REDUCE CASE TENSION. But the secret is not how much tension, it is that every piece of brass has the same tension. That is head beating on the wall stuff!

[Clay M]

RCBS is supposed to be sending me a .497 0r .498 expander.I will try the .495 and see how it works.

[44man]

I just do not have enough experience with the .500 S&W. I will not tell you what to do. I have one boolit mold and my friend has none.

[Clay M]

I love the design of the RCBS 400 grain mould with two grease grooves . It cast and sizes well.2400 seem to be the best powder so far . It is very versatile.I figure 30 or 31 grains for 1350-1400 fps. Should make a good deer hunting load for the deep woods, thick brush areas.
I did seat some cast bullets using the .495 expander .I found there to be no lead shaving , BUT I am using straight Linotype.I will see how the leading goes with the plain base bullets.If my load works out I will try to cast closer to Lyman#2 and quench in water to bring the hardness up.

[Clay M]

Best groups today with the 500 were with the RCBS cast 400 and 29 grains of 2400 Nice round 2" five shot groups.I will change from the Fed 210 to Win primers and see if it makes any difference .No leading,but I need to chronograph this load.It may be just shy of 1300fps.I am after manageable accuracy and not power as any load will work fine for whitetail deer.

[44man]

Best groups today with the 500 were with the RCBS cast 400 and 29 grains of 2400 Nice round 2" five shot groups.I will change from the Fed 210 to Win primers and see if it makes any difference .No leading,but I need to chronograph this load.It may be just shy of 1300fps.I am after manageable accuracy and not power as any load will work fine for whitetail deer.
Very wise, no need for all the gun can do.
I like that you will test primers and don't leave out a LP mag primer, it might work.

[Clay M]

Another nice thing about these loads using Linotype is, I don't have to change out the muzzle brake .The regular jacket bullet brake works,with no leading and very little fouling.

BTW Bore Tech Eliminator is the best cleaning solvent I have ever used.It takes all the jacketed material out,as well as the fowling and any minor leading.Plus it doesn't eat your fiber optic sights like most harsh cleaners.

[Clay M]

I chronograph the 29 gr of 2400 with the 400 gr RCBS cast lino bullet.Here are the results:

Five shots with a win primer:

Ave vel: 1394
Extreme Spread 28
Std Dev: 10

Five shots Fed primer
Ave vel: 1384
Extreme spread: 59
Std Dev: 23

The fed primers outshot the win at 45 yds.I got 2.5 " groups with factory iron sights off a bench.The win primers I got a 3.5" group.I will need a scope to test at 100yds,but I think I have found my loads.

[44man]

Very good. See how a primer change can cause an affect. Just little things.
Ignore the SD, means nothing.

[Clay M]

Not bad for a 30 year old can of powder.It has just been stored out in my loading room and it gets plenty hot during the summer.It is kept dry.

[44man]

Not bad for a 30 year old can of powder.It has just been stored out in my loading room and it gets plenty hot during the summer.It is kept dry.
It is still good powder. I loved 2400 back then.

[Clay M]

It is still good powder. I loved 2400 back then.

I still have at least 3lbs of the old powder. That should be enough to finish wrecking my arm...

[grizz521]

Clay, You are casting pure Linotype? From what I've read this is a no no? Straight lino will fragment on impact

[Clay M]

Clay, You are casting pure Linotype? From what I've read this is a no no? Straight lino will fragment on impact

I just used it for an initial test to see if I could get accuracy without any leading. From this point now I will use about 70% wheel weight and 30% lino with water quenching.

[grizz521]

I've been using gas checked bullets and have been casting my 100% wheel weights with an ice water quench. They end up being 14-16 on the hardness scale. I've never had any serious leading, but that's why I use the gas checks. I used to mix wheel weights with about 20% lino by weight. Never saw an advantage having the hardness up at 18-22. Just thought I'd share my limited experiences.

[Clay M]

The extra tin just makes them cast easier .I don't think I need a gas check as I do not plan on pushing the RCBS bullet over 1400fps.I may get a gas checked 350 grain mould.

[bbailey7821]

Started a new thread for the 400g Miha mold at

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?201802-500-400g-Mihec-handloads

[Clay M]

Started a new thread for the 400g Miha mold at

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?201802-500-400g-Mihec-handloads

They are fantastic guns if you can stand the recoil.I am interested in getting a 350 grain mould to test.I will probably send a bullet to Dave Farmer at Hoch and get him to make up a new mould.I am waiting for the springs from S&W.They said one was out of stock.

[bbailey7821]

Got the range report in on the Miha 400 grainer...showing some promise


http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?201802-500-400g-Mihec-handloads