510 Wells and 550 Magnum Anyone have one or shot one. Looking for Advice.

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BigBore585

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So Im looking to build either a 510 Wells or 550 Magnum built on my Weatherby Mark V action. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with either of the cartridges. I know they are both Large. I'm looking to have one built just because. So the hole " why do You need something that big" talk can stop before it even starts. I'm wanting to build it on my Weatherby Accumark because I already have it. Or should I just sell the Weatherby and build it on a CZ action? I Run Guns has CZ 550 Magnum actions with a 416 Rigby bolt face for just under $700 US. So to make a long story short any advice would be great!

Thanks!
 
I'm a Brno/CZ fan, and I'm not enthused with multiple locking lugs, but there are some realities to consider here. First, you already own the Weatherby, and it is a proven, safe, and reliable action, and perhaps the smoothest feeding big bore ever, or you would not be inclined to use it for the build. CNC machining has improved the likelihood that all 9 locking lugs will have equal bearing, whereas it was contentious issue in earlier rifles. Acquiring a CZ-550 or a Brno 602 action will increase your cost significantly, but it might be worthwhile if you end up prefering to leave the Weatherby unmolested. IMHO, the most important upgrade to consider, regardless of which platform is chosen, is towards improving the factory stock, with precision bedding, and reinforcing with cross bolts, or upgrade from wood to a high quality fiberglass stock, with pillars and cross bolts installed to resist the 100+ ft-lbs of recoil.
 
I shot a buddies proprietary cartridge which was virtually identical to the 510 Wells, his was on a true magnum Mauser (don't recall the make).
Personally I would start with the Brno/CZ for several reasons;

The CZ/Brno has a longer throw and magazine.

The CZ/Brno will hold at least 1 and maybe 2 more under than the Mk V.

Then there is the whole CRF vs PF thing, personally I'm bifeedual so I don't give a rat's a$$, but nonetheless the CZ/Brno is a true CRF action with the big claw extractor and the fixed mechanical ejector.

98 style boltfaces are very easy to modify, if necessary................I assume the Mk V would start with a 378-416-460 boltface and no mods would be needed?

I have never really looked at my Mk V triggers but it is hard to get more simple or reliable than the CZ/Brno trigger assy.

Just a few points for your consideration there BB585...............
 
IIRC, Casull, who unfortunately doesn't post here much anymore, used to have a .510 Wells. Maybe shoot him a pm.
 
Thats to bad. Would be nice to have some first hand knowledge of the 510 Wells. I was talking to one member who has a 505-416 Rigby. He loves it. Says its a good time firing 650gr bullets. I believe him haha.
 
Just a quick side question. Anyone know of a good smith local to Calgary that could do the build? I contacted one smith and he said he would get back to me, I haven't heard back from him. So any suggestions? Im sure the smith I talked to is busy, but a quick " I havent for got" email or phone call would be nice.

Oh and that .577 REWA sounds awesome.
 
BigUglyMan said:
I believe he was having that built when I visited him. He also supplied me with my as yet unused .510" Bevan blank.
Click to expand...

That was a different one I think. I actually picked the Enfield up for him. You may be thinking of this brute:

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I have a friend who owns a weatherby, in a .510 wells. Had the chamber reamed to accomodate millitary bullets.......probably costs less to shoot than the original .460 Caliber.
 
I'm the guy with the 505/416 (technically .505 Pietsch).

A few other thoughts:

My rifle weighs in at just under 12 lbs, and has no muzzle brake. If I were doing it again I would likely go a little heavier or add a brake...but if you observe the fundmentals the recoil is actually quite manageable.

I find 10-15 rounds in a session are quite enough though. Beyond that and the flinch-monster starts creeping in.

I had both a CZ550 and a Weatherby donor action at the time I had mine built, and I went Weatherby. I too am "bifeedual" (<-I love this word!) and liked the feel of the Weatherby better. I've had no trouble with either feeding or extraction.

I don't tend to run loads hot; I was just trying to duplicate 505 Gibbs ballistics, and found the rifle liked 600grs at 2200fps. Brass is lasting forever, and the cases just fall out of the chamber. You could absolutely drive them faster, but I'm happy here.

I've been shooting it for 15ish years now, round count is just shy of 700, and I've had no problems with parts breakage. Barrel is Krieger, and the trigger is a stock Mark V, tuned to 2 lbs, and it has never shifted.

The back of the monte-carlo cheek-piece on the stock has taken a beating from the hearing protection. When I get a minute I'll post a pic; it is a little funny.
 
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