| Moderated by: PhilLozano, greysmoke | ||
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff 
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Hi all, well I called Harlan and my 500 Jeffery is still 2 to 4 weeks out, the McGowen barrels just arrived. I guess maybe I'll get lucky and those new RCBS Safari 3 die sets will be out by then saving me about $300 on dies. I'm planning on using Jamison brass, RL-15 and 600g Woodleigh PPs starting out at about 2000 fps and working up to 2150 fps. I figure that will be enough for anything I ever plan to hunt. Now that the weather is starting to warm up in Colorado I'm getting a bit impatient lol ... Regards all, Chuck |
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klallen Board Founder 
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looking forward to seeing results of your load development, c . always kinda assumed the .470cap would be the next step up i took from the .416rm, but when i saw the .505gibbs was offered in the cz550mag, desires leaned that way instead. now i'm thinking along the lines of a rebarrel, like you chose to do. find a used m77express for a nice price for the project, instead. anyway, be nice to see what that bad boy will do. good luck.  |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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I'll send pictures and a range report once I get the rifle back and work up some loads. I've got lots of load data, but every rifle's a bit different. Regards, Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Well I just bought my 500 Jeffery RCBS dies on clearance at Midway for $231 shipped (yes I know the RCBS Safari Dies are coming out, but I couldn't wait!). http://www.midwayusa.com:80/Pr...dium=eblast317200916 Now I just need brass, bullets, and my rifle! Regards, Chuck |
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PhilLozano Board Founder 
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How long until you get your rifle ? I'm waiting on mine, so I know the anticipation. |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Hopefully within two or three weeks Phil. It was supposed to be done in a month, but I was late getting my rfile to Harlan, and the .510 caliber McGowen barrels were a bit late in shipping. Hopefully by then I'll have some cartridges loaded. I'm thinking some nice wussy loads with 535g Woodleigh PPs moseying along at 2000 fps to start out with ... :) Chuck |
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PhilLozano Board Founder
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Mine should be done by mid May. I can't "pre load" as the smith building the rifle is the one making the dies as well. Maybe, . . . . . . . maybe . . . . . he will send me the dies before the rifle is done, but I doubt it. Each morniing I wake up thinking about this project. However, in my heart, . . . . . . . . . I know everything is sitting in a box in the corner of his shop waiting for the barrel to arrive. I hope it comes before mid May, as I have some R&D to do with some loads. Being that it is a wildcat of my own design, I'll have a lot of loading to do with the " guess-o- meter" loading pressure/data system. LOL |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Well the barrels just arrived at my gunsmiths and I guess I'm third in line, so I may get my rfile around Mid May too /cry .. I should have some ammo loaded up and ready by then. Maybe I'll practice slamming my shoulder into the deck posts to get acclimated lol Regards, Chuck |
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Rockydog Administrator 
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Chuck, You could always lie on your back on the floor and have someone drop bowling balls from chin high onto your shoulder. RD |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Well I've already put together what I call my "super abosorbent pad" for obvious reasons lol. No offense meant to any ladies online. It's a PAST Shoulder mounted recoil pad with a Kickeeze shoulder pad velcro'd to it. I figure it will help from the bench. . :) Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Well I called Harlan, the barrel's on my 500 Jeffery, they're starting on the effort to make it feed, then they have to put the hardware back on. Probably by the end of April it will be sitting here waiting to hurt me! :) Chuck Last edited on Sat Apr 4th, 2009 05:11 PM by chuckscap |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Hi Phil, my converted 500 Jeffery came in today. Harlan sent my rear sight in a baggie, must be a problem with it, otherwise it looks awesome. So I need a rear sight put on and get some ammunition loaded as soon as my press is ready. It weighs 11lbs empty but the balance is much better so it actually feels lighter and points better ... Regards, Chuck |
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hwy40 HB Pro Staff 
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What rear sight were you planning on using? It looks like he put the sight base on the barrel in anticipation of you installing an express style leaf. |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Yup, I'm hoping NECG makes an express sight that fits into the sight base. Regards, Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Well I sent my rifle back to Harlan for some tweaking at no charge. It came back with a new rear sight, and feeds and extracts flawlessly with both Woodleigh softs and 570g Barnes banded solids. So I'm off to the range this weekend. I'll post some pictures. I also bought 100 Cast Performance 525g cast lead/gas checked pre-lubed bullets and some 5744 for reduced loads, but that will be another day. :) Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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500 Jeffery, first day at the range. Things went well today with my CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery. The rifle functioned as it should feeding and extracting with no issues. I used loads on the light side (535g Woodleigh Soft Points at approx. 2100 fps) to start out with. Since my range is under construction, I really couldn't sight it in today, so I only shot 10 rounds, 5 with irons and 5 with my Leupold 1.5 - 5x. Next time I'll load enough rounds to sight in both irons and the scope and shoot for groups and chronograph. Recoil was fine both offhand and from the bench, no shoulder bruises, no headaches, no eyebrow cut ...  Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Got my 500 Jeffery sighted in today. No chronograph, that will be next time. 20 rounds from the bench, ouch lol. Actually no headache, maybe a bruise, we''ll see tomorrow. Shooting got better as the morning went on, so that's a good sign lol . I'm sighted in dead on at 25 yards and about 2" high at 100 which is what I was aiming for. Beginning to get comfortable with the rifle. Loads are nowhere near full power (535g at ~ 2000 fps). Regards, Chuck |
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PhilLozano Board Founder
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Well, get those loads up there where they belong ! You wanted a brusier, now you have one. |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Yes Sir! Gonna work up a load with the 570g TSX at 2300 fps now that my shoulder is getting numb .... :) Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Gonna go take the Jeffrey out with a chronograph, some 570g TSX handloads and blow up some DWJs (Dangerous Water Jugs) tomorrow. Not sure I'll get to 2300 fps tomorrow, but working my way up ... Regards, Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Shot all three loads (535g Woodleighs 90g and 95g H4895 and 570g TSX 95g H4895) both with and without a scope, all water jugs and water bottles DRT (Dead Right There) lol! Still have a ways to go. Chronographed all three loads, the 570g TSX's only got up to just over 2100 fps. I'm going to switch to RL-15. I think shooting the 570g TSX's at 2300 fps should be a good all around load. Still no problem shooting from the bench with a scope, off hand recoil is not an issue at all. My two friends loved it! Chuck |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Hi, I went out to the range today to do continue load development, for the first time I'm actually considering a lead sled lol. I shot five 3 shot groups using the Barnes 570g TSX with both H4895 (98 to 101 grains) and RL-15 (101 to 105 grains) ending at the recommended max for each in the Barnes Manual #4. Once I got close to the max (which showed no pressure signs at all) off of the bench to say it was painful would be an understatement. I did not develop a flinch, but I could see it happening if I continued (I shot 15 rounds from the bench (sitting), some just over 2300 fps. The difference in recoil between a 570g bullet at 2100 fps and 2300 fps is striking. That coupled with a the bench rest being too low tended to focus the recoil high up on the shoulder (ice bag on it now lol, pictures should it bruise up beautifully pictures will follow NOT) I was shooting between 1.5" to just over 2" groups at 200 yards so accuracy was fine with all loads. I only have a 1.5 - 5x scope so a lot of the error was in sight picture as well as the shooter, the rifle is more accurate than me as is usually the case. So all of you who recommended keeping the 500 Jeffrey load down to 500 NE levels, yes you were right of course. Shooting the 500 Jeffrey at relaxed 500 NE levels is fine (570g at 2100 fps), I'm sure off of sticks or offhand all of the loads I shot today would've been fine, but even though I intend to really limit any bench shooting, I want to be able to shoot a limited amount of rounds from the bench for load development and sight in without pain. I guess I've found my recoil tolerance level lol Thanks all for all of your help, going to give the shoulder a few weeks to recover ... Chuck |
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msisut member
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I am also a 500 Jeffery nut. I'm building 3 of them now. One for each of my two sons. I was with you all the way until you said Woodleigh bullets. I had very bad experience with the Woodleigh bullets. It very nearly ruined my African hunt. They would not hold up on velocities over 2000 fps. When I tried to talk to the woodleigh man at the Shot Show he totally ignored me. I now use Barnes and have had 100% success on every animal taken in Africa. I have used all my Woodleighs. They worked great on paper targets. Last edited on Sun Aug 2nd, 2009 07:10 PM by msisut |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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I've heard the same comment about the Woodleighs from an Alaskan guide (Phil Shoemaker) who shoots a 510 Gibbs (505 Gibbs with a .510 caliber barrel). He shoots the 570g Barnes TSX's after dropping a charging Alaskan Brown Bear with the 535g Woodleighs softs twice. I guess he only got 18" of penetration. I switched over to the 570g Barnes TSX's and Banded Solids but I haven't shot anything with it yet. I'm shooting them at 2100 fps (500 NE velocity) in order to preserve my shoulder. It should be enough for Brown Bear and Cape Buffalo. So I'm a 500 Jeffrey novice, willing to learn (I've reduced my handloads since I got a beautiful shoulder bruise from shooting 570g Barnes at 2400 fps 4 weeks ago from the bench to prove it ...) Regards, Chuck Last edited on Sun Aug 2nd, 2009 07:59 PM by chuckscap |
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msisut member
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Hi Chuck, I shot two cape buffalo with the soft nose Woodleigh bullets. Both animals showed no penetration from the soft point. Fortunately the PH insists that the remaining rounds in the rifle are solids so I got my animals. When we skinned them the soft nose looked like shot pellets slightly under the tough skin. The solids went right through the animal. The next trip over I took two giraffe with one shot each using the Barnes tsx. I recovered one of these bullets. It went through a shoulder bone and straight into the heart. It had perfect expansion. I have taken approx. 40 African animals, Canadian elk, black bear, sheep and antelope all with Barnes bullets (except for the first experience with the woodleigh). When I hunt I always think that every shot fired is at least $1,000.00. Many hunts these shots exceed this cost. A wounded and lost animal is very bad for every one involved. I love the large caliber rifles. Most of my hunting is done with a 9.3x64 Brenneke or a 450 Ackley. I also have my 500 Jeffery, 505 Gibbs, and a 510 Wells. I take a lot of pain pills!!!!!!!! If my spelling or grammar is off it is because of over 50 years of recoil abuse. Regards, Glenn |
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chuckscap HB Pro Staff
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Thanks Glenn, I'm glad I'm on the right track with the Barnes TSX's and solids. They shoot real well in my CZ and I seat the TSX's out to 3.73" OAL in my rifle and still have .1" freebore. I'm taking the 500 Jeffrey Elk and Deer hunting this fall so my plan is to get real comfortable with it before I hunt anything dangerous with it. Thanks for your advice, Chuck |
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msisut member
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Chuck, Keep in mind that dangerous game will be taken at about 70 to 80 yards. Most PH's will not let you shoot over 100 yards. Even the non dangerous game will be taken at less than 100 yards. Your 1.5 Leupold is the perfect choice for a scope. On the high recoil rifles keeping your scope from moving is a real challenge. There is no substitute for doing a lot of shooting and learning to not be afraid of the recoil. Once you have reached this point you really won't notice the recoil any more than you would a 308. Do a lot of shooting off from sticks versus the bench. And remember each shot is at least $1,000.00. Regard, Glenn |
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