Anyone Hunted with A .500 Jeffery?

I was wondering if any of you guys have hunted with or do hunt with a 500 Jeffery? If so, what have you hunted and what has been your experience? Do you use it scoped or open sights?

I have wanted a big .50 cal bolt gun for a little while and picked up a Safari Classic .500 Jeffery at the DSC show this year. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet but I finally have some ammo on order for it. I kinda bought this gun as somewhat of a novelty of having such a big bore bolt gun doubting that I would actually hunt with it. However, I recently found a WJ Jeffery made 500 Jeffery at a nearby shop and it was a huge bolt gun and a thing of beauty but very pricey of course compared to the CZ Safari Classics gun. Since I found it, I can't hardly stop thinking about it. I am afraid that I would just about have to leverage a kidney to be able to pull the deal off but I may be able to sell a few guns (probably starting with my CZ 500 Jeff) to get there. I am trying to rationalize what in the world I would use it for besides maybe a bucket list type elephant some day (big long term dream). Thus, I was curious if any of you guys have any experience one way or another with the caliber in actual hunting situations? Thanks guys!

im sure @colorado will come along soon, he uses a CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery and is very happy with the cartridge. @Velo Dog also has a 500 Jeffery but i dont know if hes hunted anything with it yet.

While not a 500 Jeffery its pretty close: @ActionBob has taken a buffalo with his 505 Gibbs with very positive results. i plan on taking a buffalo early next month with my 505 Gibbs and have absolute faith in these 50 cal hunting rifles.

the 500 Jeffery can pack some serious recoil if using a 570gr bullet at 2300fps. but if you use a 535gr bullet at 2300fps or a 570gr bullet at 2150fps the recoil (while still heavy) is much more manageable. personally id load it with a 570gr Swift A-frame at 2300fps... but i enjoy heavy recoiling guns. a 570gr Woodleigh SP or Barnes TSX at 2150fps would be plenty of power to drop any critter on your safari.

also, be prepared to hand load! factory ammunition is seriously overpriced for these cartridges and the selection is limited. however if you have $$ to burn then Superior ammunition can make you a wide variety of loads.

-matt

Vette447,

Since you have a .500 Jeffery, you should train-up with it and at least take it out on a USA hog hunt.

Gizmo and others offer great prices for feral hog hunts.

As Matt85 mentioned, I have a .500 Jeffery.

It's a CZ that I am slowly but surely having modified to my preferences, with repeated trips to the Gunsmith.

Not sure if/when I will take it hunting but, I would like to go today.

I don't load mine hot and so am able to tolerate the recoil pretty well.

Also, it is quite accurate with 2100 fps loads (really large bore rifles are typically very accurate even with the higher velocity loads listed in reloading data as well).

Cheers,
Velo Dog.

Hey Vette you owe it to yourself to go hunting with that 500 Jeff! I absolutely love my CZ Safari Classics 505 Gibbs and it laid out my last buff very nicely...

How does yours shoot and how does it fit you? Mine is really the biggest gun I have in a couple ways, the thick wrist and overall weight of the gun, the big cheek piece, not my longest lop but close... I was surprised when I picked it up how bulky it felt, yet it pulled up about perfect for me.

I have mine scoped with the older style fiber optic/tritium Trijicon 1-4x24 30mm scope. (I have not tried a new model that I have only seen on line so far). The scope is set for me and has wacked a guy or two I keep it set at 1.5 or 2x when hunting but have turned it up to 4x and shot 200 yard targets with it and was very pleased with the results. A leupold VXR 1-4 would be a great scope on there as well, a VX6 1-6 would be even better but might actually be overkill. I highly recommend a lighted retical... Vortex makes a nice illuminated 1-4 as well and you can count on the warranty from them. The advantage of the Trijicon is no batteries. A 1x illuminated scope with a very wide field of view is that is really works like a red dot, yet can be turned up for a longer shot. An example would be I was on a buffalo stalk and my wife spotted a real nice kudu in range but out there a bit for 1x. I did not take the shot as I had a kudu and was being picky but it is an example of wanting to be flexible.

How does your CZ feed? I had to send mine back to Triple River for work and it is much improved now although not perfect. I can count on it being reliable with brass cases now (not nickel plated one). And can you put 3 down and close the bolt on an empty? Mine is very tight but does it. That is how you often will be expected to carry your gun hunting in Africa.

That CZ should be a great hunting rifle. Keep us posted! If you do decide to part with it, I would bet some guys on here might be interested in it.

Thanks for the info guys. I am very happy to own a 500 Jeffery and plan keep one in the stable. I am just pondering keeping my CZ and enjoying it with some tweaks as needed or try to sell a kidney so I can possibly "invest" in this WJ Jeffery 500 Jeffery rifle that I found. Either way I will have one in my safe I think.

I am excited for my ammo to come in so that I can go shoot mine (if I don't trade up for the other). I think it would be a blast to go hunt with one. I probably should have given some background in the first post. I suffer from a fair advanced case of the Big Bore Addiction and have posted numerous time in the "support group" thread in this forum. Among others, I have a few 416's and have hunted with the 416 RM. I also have a nice 500 NE double but all I have been able to hunt with it are watermelons and jugs of water up to this point.

My CZ (and the WJ Jeffery I found) are very big guns with good mass and a very thick wrist as noted above. However they both shoulder very well and feel great in the hand. I am thinking the 500 Jeffery recoil out of one of these big guns should be similar to the 500 NE out of my double. What do you guys think? Also, that is sorta part of my dilemma too. I already have this 500 NE and assumed that if I ever got to chase elephant that it would be my gun of choice. Seems like the 500 Jeffery (or 505 Gibbs for that matter) would fill about the same time. At least with iron sights. Am I thinking about that right?

Of course, I usually am of the motto that it is totally fine to have more than one hunting rifle to fill the same role. Just need the make more trips to Aftica to use them.

i have fired a 500 NE and ive fired a 505 Gibbs loaded to 2300fps with a 570gr bullet. the heavy loaded gibbs has a fair bit more recoil then the 500 NE. having said that... i found two of the three rifles in 505 Gibbs to be more comfortable then the 500 NE i fired. the AHR was made to my specs so it fits me well and i can deal with substantial amounts of recoil with out discomfort and CZ 550 magnum rifles seem to fit me well. i tried a MRC DGR in 505 Gibbs and not only did i have a lot of trouble with the gun, it didn't fit me right and the recoil felt sharper then it did in the other two guns.

that CZ 550 you have can be made into a very fine DG rifle! id send it off to AHR to have them swap the safety out and work the action/magazine. if you don't plan on adding a scope then id also want a little weight added to the rifle. i like my 50 cal hunting rifles to weigh at least 11 pounds empty. (my AHR DGR is 11 pounds 5 ounces with optic)

-matt

I hunted my elephant with a M70 416 rem mag. My limited experience tells me I value the 505 more for buff and hope to use it on a hippo on land hunt one day. I'm just to out of shape, lazy, or old and stiff backed (or all the above to want to carry a 12# gun for the long brisk walks in tough going on an elephant hunt.

I like my 505 scoped. I hear a lot of comments about this or that load to shoot this or that critter and this caliber for that animal.. And open sights etc.. Every DG PH I have asked, has requested I bring a scoped rifle. Will they be glad to hunt with a client with open sights, yes if it is what the client wants and 1. proves he can make a good shot 2. is willing to accept he may have to pass on some opportunities if they cannot get close enough.

I'm also of the opinion that the absolute best gun to shoot the animal you want that happens to be in front of you at that second, is the gun in your hands (providing it is adequate)! And a hunter/client is supposed to be armed to make a good killing first shot and then be prepared to follow up as/if nessasary... A PH on the other hand should be armed first to stop a dangerous situation. Thus the term "stopping gun" or stopping caliber. And the PH should be prepared if the client wants backup, or if he honestly thinks he needs to backup a clients shot to prevent a wounded animal from being lost.

So as for advice on the expensive gun vs. the CZ.. It all depends on you... If I had to make the financial choice of buying an expensive gun or going on a hunt, I would choose the hunt. And if you have that CZ working properly, there are few if any bad things about it as a hunting rifle. And a lot of good things! That gun is meant to hunt... It just may take some tweeking.... Which perhaps you have considered a AHR upgrade and if not, @matt85 can circle back around and promptly fill you in why you should... I took the cheaper (free) route of taking mine back to Triple River and I was content enough to take it hunting after they re-worked it... I would not have hunted with it prior to that as it would not feed well enough.

Now if you want the expensive 505 more than you want the hunt or can do both... Or want the gun more than something else of that cost... Go for it! Like I said earlier, I think that CZ 500 Jeff is good property and could be sold easy enough, especially at second hand prices... You can always PM me

As for having too many guns to hunt with, yea we could start a club or support group for that as well... in a few days I expect my first 404 Jeff to show up and so will have something like 12 bolt guns from 375 to 505 caliber. The CZ 505 will go hunting with me again and some other gun will have to sit in the safe.... I like it and it shoot that well.

Oops Matt was posting while I was typing... So there you go. I don't mind the safety although I agree the upgrade would be nice. I'm ok with the CZ trigger but don't especially love it so an upgrade there would be nice as well... And of course the must feed adequately.

Vette you probably have a mercury tube in the stock of that CZ and I think it helps.. other will argue some dead lead weight will do the same but I just know that my CZ with the tube is a lot less punishing than my RSM 505 without. I guess the point is you likely have it and it is a nice feature you'll want to keep. I assume you have a barrel band.

@vette447 there is one big requirement you need to fulfill yet... Post some pictures! And go get some of that expensive gun your looking at let the rest of us see that as well.

ActionBob said:

. . . . So as for advice on the expensive gun vs. the CZ.. It all depends on you... If I had to make the financial choice of buying an expensive gun or going on a hunt, I would choose the hunt.

Now if you want the expensive 505 more than you want the hunt or can do both... Or want the gun more than something else of that cost... Go for it!

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+1 . . . as with many decisions in life I find it to be about priorities. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Big5 said:

+1 . . . as with many decisions in life I find it to be about priorities. Good luck with whatever you decide.

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+2

Vette447,

+1 with ActionBob regarding PHs generally prefer a client to use a scoped rifle.

Maybe (maybe) for elephant that is not necessarily so (?).

But otherwise, you will have more opportunity for that once in a lifetime buffalo, if your rifle is scoped.

Not to mention opportunities on lesser species.

Admittedly, I do not plan to scope my .500 Jeffery (or either of my .458's for that matter - one is a Lott, the other the Winchester clambering) because I am concerned with a scope vs eyebrow scenario.

However, I have fired ActionBob's scoped .505 Gibbs (CZ) with 525 grain at 2300 fps and received no such impact.

So, scoping such hard kickers seems to be fine, in spite of my paranoia, as long as you choose a generous eye relief model of scope and, take care to not place your eyebrow too close.

Regards,
Velo Dog



.

Velo Dog said:

However, I have fired ActionBob's scoped .505 Gibbs (CZ) with 525 grain at 2300 fps and received no such impact.

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only because I was there to warn you to keep your head back!

im not a fan of scoping anything bigger then a 416. anything bigger then a 416 is pretty much solely for large and dangerous game which I don't believe shot be shot much further then 50 yards any way. that scope on the 505 Gibbs claimed plenty of victims before I became very strict about how far peoples heads had to be from the scope. during my work with that rifle the scope hit me no less then 4 times but thankfully it had a rubber protector which kept it from breaking skin.

the 500 Jeffery and 505 Gibbs are best used with iron sights or a red dot optic. I use a Trijicon RMR on my 505 Gibbs and so far have been fairly happy with it. my only gripe is the dot is a bit large but again its not a long range gun any way.



-matt

matt85 said:

during my work with that rifle the scope hit me no less then 4 times

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I must have a short neck or Matt has a long one.

matt85 said:

thankfully it had a rubber protector which kept it from breaking skin

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And thankfully your head did not break the rubber protector nor the scope!

Reading this about Action Bob's 505 has me excited to shoot one!

in my defense your scope hit two other people as well. one guy actually got his head split open pretty good! i had to clean some blood off the rim of the scope.

btw, where is @colorado? i know he uses a CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery.

-matt

Sorry I was away for the rest of the weekend after kicking this discussion off but I am glad to see all of the great replies. My CZ 550 does indeed have the barrel band and mercury recoil reducer(s) installed in the stock. Look at post #530 here, I had posted a few pics back sometime ago:
http://www.africahunting.com/threads/big-bore-addiction-group.16761/page-27

I agree that I need to prioritize to see if I decide to try to get the WJ Jeffery .500 Jeff rifle, I would need to be able to get it without hurting my chance of going hunting again because I would like to go back to Africa next summer if possible.

If I do keep the CZ, I plan to send it to AHR to have at least the #2 upgrade. I really love all of these AHR rifles that keep getting posted up on here. I am not sure whether I would scope it or not but it is nice to have the option. I have some concerns about scoping a rifle in a caliber this large for fear of getting smacked by it as has evidently been the case with ActionBob's 505. However, on the other hand, I would be concerned about possibly missing out on good trophy opportunities having just an iron sighted rifle vs a scoped rifle unless I was only going to use it to hunt elephant.

vette447 said:

However, on the other hand, I would be concerned about possibly missing out on good trophy opportunities having just an iron sighted rifle vs a scoped rifle unless I was only going to use it to hunt elephant.

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this is why you bring two guns on your safari. im bringing the 505 Gibbs and a 416 RM on my buffalo hunt. the 416 RM is my PG rifle but also doubles as back up for my 505 should any thing go wrong. i load the 416 with a 300gr Barnes TSX at 2650fps which gives it the ability to reach out and touch targets at 200 yards.

-matt

Warbird782 said:

Reading this about Action Bob's 505 has me excited to shoot one!

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Sorry it did not this past weekend, but we'll get there soon!

matt85 said:

this is why you bring two guns on your safari. im bringing the 505 Gibbs and a 416 RM on my buffalo hunt. the 416 RM is my PG rifle but also doubles as back up for my 505 should any thing go wrong. i load the 416 with a 300gr Barnes TSX at 2650fps which gives it the ability to reach out and touch targets at 200 yards.

-matt

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Agreed, I can't see that a rifle like this .500 Jeffery (or my .500 NE Double or your 505 Gibbs) would ever be the only rifle I would bring on a safari. Never know when some amazing specimen of a Plains Game species or something else you are interested in may present itself for a stalk. A .416 RM or .416 Rigby would be excellent scoped "medium bore" rifles to accompany since they are capable of taking anything on the planet as well and can probably be counted on for at least a 200 yard shot assuming you have practiced with it.

My 500 Jeffery is fine for 200 yard shots. Sighted 2.5" high at 100 yards, it's dead on at 25 yards and again at 175 yards, only 3" low at 200 yards. Still hits like a freight train at 200 ...