Winter got a little brighter with the 505 Gibbs

S

stickhunter

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I posted a while ago about a Ruger RSM that I bought, which had been rebored/chambered to 505 Gibbs:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...in-505-Gibbs-updated-with-new-pics-in-post-14

Here's what Canada Post finally delivered this week:

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In the picture is a 30-30 Winchester for comparison --- side-by-side with the 505 Gibbs, it feels more like a 30 Carbine.

I bought the RCBS dies and 40 bulk Norma 505 Gibbs cases from site sponsor Budget Shooter Supply, and was pleasantly surprised to find the cost on par with US sources, plus the communication and service from Mr. Nierychlo was top rate.

I was originally trying to source Jamieson or Bertram brass, but discovered that the Norma brass was actually cheaper from the sources that I could find. Norma's reputation for making quality brass sealed the deal for me, and I figure that 40 cases should last me a long while. Of course, nothing is cheap about these kind of rounds; in the picture is about $500 worth of supplies.

Anyways, I still have to source a shellholder and 1 1/4" adapter for the 1" dies, but then I'll be ready to roll! This should be a fun winter project!
 
Very nice toys! I am hoping to beat the winter blues with reloading as well. Luckily I have my own 400 yard range 30 feet from the house, soon to be extended to 800!
 
Boomer said:
My .50 experience is limited to a .500 Nitro which was loaded with 580 gr Xs over 89 grs of 3031 (IIRC). Twenty grains more bullet weight and 51 grs more powder . . . one can only imagine.
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Yes, because 580gr with only 89gr is "no big deal". ;)
 
Love mine that's in a CZ 550, have fun it is a challenge to shoot but can be done. Learn your limits for how many shots you can take at one time, and stay below that. That is the secret to shooting anything with lots of recoil. I do about 8 shots at one sitting and that's all.
 
stickhunter said:
I posted a while ago about a Ruger RSM that I bought, which had been rebored/chambered to 505 Gibbs:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...in-505-Gibbs-updated-with-new-pics-in-post-14

Here's what Canada Post finally delivered this week:

032.jpg


In the picture is a 30-30 Winchester for comparison --- side-by-side with the 505 Gibbs, it feels more like a 30 Carbine.

I bought the RCBS dies and 40 bulk Norma 505 Gibbs cases from site sponsor Budget Shooter Supply, and was pleasantly surprised to find the cost on par with US sources, plus the communication and service from Mr. Nierychlo was top rate.

I was originally trying to source Jamieson or Bertram brass, but discovered that the Norma brass was actually cheaper from the sources that I could find. Norma's reputation for making quality brass sealed the deal for me, and I figure that 40 cases should last me a long while. Of course, nothing is cheap about these kind of rounds; in the picture is about $500 worth of supplies.

Anyways, I still have to source a shellholder and 1 1/4" adapter for the 1" dies, but then I'll be ready to roll! This should be a fun winter project!
Click to expand...

That should be fun to shoot gophers with!
Glad I could source them for you.

Regards, Henry
 
scott_r said:
So is this a hunting rifle? Fun gun ? both? Never shot or saw a 505 Gibb
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Hopefully a hunting rifle, one day, but for now a "learning experience" on how to shoot a heavy recoiling rifle. I don't have any plans to hunt Africa, but I'd love to take the rifle up to the Yukon one day for a bison hunt... maybe even moose. While it's way more than enough rifle for those purposes, and perhaps not as well-suited as a good 30-06, there's a lot of history and character to the round that intrigues me.
 
stickhunter said:
Hopefully a hunting rifle, one day, but for now a "learning experience" on how to shoot a heavy recoiling rifle. I don't have any plans to hunt Africa, but I'd love to take the rifle up to the Yukon one day for a bison hunt... maybe even moose. While it's way more than enough rifle for those purposes, and perhaps not as well-suited as a good 30-06, there's a lot of history and character to the round that intrigues me.
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Casull used the following combo on his Yukon Bison hunt:
Ruger #1 in .50/140. One shot through him and he never took another step, the range was 98 yards on one end of him 100 yards on the other according to my range finder. The bullet was a 570 grain Barnes XLC at 2335fps.
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If you can start with the lighter bullets. I found my 450gr .510's were perfect to get used to the gun and figure out how to shoot the big bugger. I now have very few 450's left and not many 535's either. The Hornady 570's are cheap, relatively, so I am using those now. I have pushed all bullets up to 600gr over 2300 and the 535's over 2500. My loads now are a bit faster than 500 nitro and seem to push me just fine. No need for more but I have found a few max loads. I saw your dies and thought $300 just like my 510 Wells. Norma brass is good stuff. I use Weatherby 460 brass which is made by Norma. I tried Quality Cartridge brass and it is so soft even mild loads stick in the gun. 10 out of the first 20 I got had flaws in the brass right through. Some you could see light through to the inside. I would avoid those.

Enjoy the big gun. Getting it all together is most of the fun. I only shoot up to 6 rounds per session so far. I could shoot 20 460's no problem just for comparison.
 
Boomer said:
Interesting comparison. My .510-580 X at 2150 expanded to about .90" and penetrated about 32" of African buffalo.
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That near inch expansion is incredible! Boomer, what cartridge were you using?

I've been planning to purchase a mould to cast bullets for my 505 with the thought that this would be an "affordable" way to get lots of practice bullets for lower power training/conditioning loads, and could even service as full-power hunting rounds for NA game. I also really enjoy the process of bullet casting. Both LBT and Accurate Molds produce 50 cal profiles. My concern is to find a bullet that will be a good accurate fit for my rifle as there aren't many factory moulds out there or data available on what designs have worked for people. The recommendation I've been given is to source some jacketed bullets (probably Hawk) to fire form my brass, use a fired case to create a lead throat swage, and then send that swage to one of the mould makers to get it measured and a mould produced.

Hopefully such a bullet would then feed well in the rifle. I spoke to the gunsmith, Steve Holborn, and he told me that the client had supplied him with bullets and dies so that he could tune the feed rails/ramp. Unfortunately, he couldn't recall what the bullets were, and that data wasn't provided to me when I purchased the rifle.

As I mentioned, this will definitely be a great fall/winter/(and hopefully just up to spring) project.
 
Boomer said:
Interesting comparison. My .510-580 X at 2150 expanded to about .90" and penetrated about 32" of African buffalo.
Click to expand...

I talked to Rob about that rifle - Ruger No.1 - he said it was an absolute brute. that says a lot coming from him! He took the pictures down, but he actually recovered the bullet as he could see where it hit and skipped along the frozen lake behind the bison.

Too bad he doesn't post here any more. He has tons of knowledge about the big boomers. One of the neatest rifles he had was a .600/.577 REWA on a P14 Enfield!
 
stickhunter said:
That near inch expansion is incredible! Boomer, what cartridge were you using?

I've been planning to purchase a mould to cast bullets for my 505 with the thought that this would be an "affordable" way to get lots of practice bullets for lower power training/conditioning loads, and could even service as full-power hunting rounds for NA game. I also really enjoy the process of bullet casting. Both LBT and Accurate Molds produce 50 cal profiles. My concern is to find a bullet that will be a good accurate fit for my rifle as there aren't many factory moulds out there or data available on what designs have worked for people. The recommendation I've been given is to source some jacketed bullets (probably Hawk) to fire form my brass, use a fired case to create a lead throat swage, and then send that swage to one of the mould makers to get it measured and a mould produced.

Hopefully such a bullet would then feed well in the rifle. I spoke to the gunsmith, Steve Holborn, and he told me that the client had supplied him with bullets and dies so that he could tune the feed rails/ramp. Unfortunately, he couldn't recall what the bullets were, and that data wasn't provided to me when I purchased the rifle.

As I mentioned, this will definitely be a great fall/winter/(and hopefully just up to spring) project.
Click to expand...


That was a .500 Nitro loaded with 89 grs of 3031 for about 2150. I also got that expansion from the .375/380 Rhino loaded to 2300 in a test with my Ultra.

The .510/580 gr X with a .375/270 XLC
DSC_0064.jpg

.375/380 gr Rhino with a 270 gr XLC and a 300 gr X
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