Big Bore Addiction Group

My 375 H&H Francotte is 4ft long from tip to toe. Tell you what it makes for a fun rifle when your 5'3 weighing in at 147lbs!!!
 
in between a friends wedding on sunday and heading back to zambia tonight i arranged with paul to go to the range with some of my rifles he has in storage, including 4 i have never shot and yes @Royal27 that includes the 45-70 brockman i forgot i had......:oops: so the list was
cz .500 jeffery never fired
cz .416 rigby never fired
brockman 45-70 never fired
lang .470 never fired
rigby .350
rigby .275
winchester mod 94 30-30

the .500 was first and although fierce wasnt as bad as i thought it would be. off hand at approx 40/50 yards the first 2 shots were high and then left as i got used to it, then the next 2 were about 3 inches apart in the bull, so was happy and the feeding was fine (y) . love the way it looks and handles with the 20 inch barrel. shot the .416 next off the bench and its quite light so you knew when you fired it but 6 rounds no probs and the feeding etc was fine. @bassasdaindia the barrel is cut to 21 inches i think so you can see what a cz looks like , far nicer than with the long barrel in my eyes. paul said why not go for something smaller next :) so the .350 was up and very pleasant to shoot and a lovely rifle which i may try to get to zambia so i can use it more. the .470 was next and was more pleasant than either the .500 or the .416. might be changing my mind on selling it.......the .275 is a lovely little rifle that is a pleasure to shoot. the brockman was nice to shoot, but the bead on the front sight was so big it covered the whole of the card the target was on so difficult to fine tune. paul is going to have the sight taken down a bit. the mod 94 is just fun to shoot. @matt85 my apologies for sullying your thread with smaller than allowed cals, but to calm you down i took some photos of a wilkes 4 bore double and a stunning david mckay-brown .577 double which is one of a pair £80,000.00 or £160,000.00 for the pair............that were at pauls showroom. paul brought along a jeffery 450-400 as well that he was testing.
the cz`s .416 rigby and .500 jeff
DSCN0004.JPG
joined by the lang .470
DSCN0014.JPG

DSCN0010.JPG
the rigby .350
DSCN0007.JPG
my cowboy guns :P Cowboy: brockman 45-70 and mod 94 30-30
DSCN0026.JPG

jeffery 450-400
DSCN0031.JPG
paul about to fire it
DSCN0027.JPG
DSCN0029.JPG
wilkes 4 bore for matt :A Thumbs Up:
DSCN0034.JPG
DSCN0035.JPG
david mckay-brown .577 double
DSCN0036.JPG
DSCN0037.JPG
DSCN0038.JPG
 
The .577 is a sight for sore eyes...WOW...(y)
 
i would love to own that 577 NE! if i ever can afford one, i think ill pick up a Heym in 577 NE.

on another topic, i finally got myself an avatar. in the true spirit of a big bore junky this pig was taken with a 416 RM loaded with a 300gr TSX at 2650fps. the shot was taken at 140 yards from the prone position after a 250 yard slow crawl across an open field full of other game. the game farm owner thought i was crazy bringing a 416 to hunt pigs but i honestly dont shoot anything smaller at the moment. i love the 416 caliber and i love warthogs!

-matt
 
haven't been posting as much as I should these days... sorry been busy with work.

here are some big bore related pictures:

me (right) and Marius of KMG (left) with my warthog taken with a Win M70 chambered in 416 RM.


here is the team that brought down this cape buffalo. I was the trigger man using my AHR DGR chambered in 505 Gibbs.


the buffalo with the rifle and a cartridge.


here are two recovered .505" 570gr Swift A-frames next to an unfired bullet. (weights: 570gr, 509gr, and 503gr)



note: the first shot on the buffalo blew threw a 2" tree before breaking the buffalos shoulder and then punching threw the lungs (recovered from the offside of the animal). the second bullet was fired at near point blank range into the spine. two other shots were fired into the animal (not really required) but the bullets were not recovered. the bullets performed beyond expectation!

loads used (use at your own risk):

300gr .416" Barnes TSX over 81.5gr of H4895 for 2650fps from the 416 RM.
570gr .505" Swift A-frame over 134gr of RL-26 for 2300fps from the 505 Gibbs.

-matt
 

Attachments

  • P1000113_zpsl50ykcbi.jpg
    P1000113_zpsl50ykcbi.jpg
    115.6 KB · Views: 70
  • P1000114_zpspj2lbwmg.jpg
    P1000114_zpspj2lbwmg.jpg
    210.5 KB · Views: 132
  • cartridge1_zpsghapadfi.jpg
    cartridge1_zpsghapadfi.jpg
    430.3 KB · Views: 125
  • mariuspig_zpse52jvdax.jpg
    mariuspig_zpse52jvdax.jpg
    280.7 KB · Views: 63
  • heinrick_zpsjbndkp7y.jpg
    heinrick_zpsjbndkp7y.jpg
    425.7 KB · Views: 156
haven't been posting as much as I should these days... sorry been busy with work.

here are some big bore related pictures:

me (right) and Marius of KMG (left) with my warthog taken with a Win M70 chambered in 416 RM.


here is the team that brought down this cape buffalo. I was the trigger man using my AHR DGR chambered in 505 Gibbs.


the buffalo with the rifle and a cartridge.


here are two recovered .505" 570gr Swift A-frames next to an unfired bullet. (weights: 570gr, 509gr, and 503gr)



note: the first shot on the buffalo blew threw a 2" tree before breaking the buffalos shoulder and then punching threw the lungs (recovered from the offside of the animal). the second bullet was fired at near point blank range into the spine. two other shots were fired into the animal (not really required) but the bullets were not recovered. the bullets performed beyond expectation!

loads used (use at your own risk):

300gr .416" Barnes TSX over 81.5gr of H4895 for 2650fps from the 416 RM.
570gr .505" Swift A-frame over 134gr of RL-26 for 2300fps from the 505 Gibbs.

-matt

Matt,

Congratulations on finally getting a fully functional .505 and also on taking a fine buffalo with it.
Your experience with the A-Frame is yet another perfect performance report in the many I have either seen or read about.
I expect the one that busted through that 2" tree before hitting the buffalo, had shed a few FPS before reaching the target.
To quote John Luyt of Duke Safaris:
"I've never seen an A-Frame fail".

Cheers,
Velo Dog.
 
Last edited:
Congrats Matt, beautiful buffalo. A 570g A-Frame at 2300 fps is nothing to sneeze at! Both the 505 Gibbs and 500 Jeffery are lovely rounds. Nice rifle too
 
For buffalo country, I had long yearned for a bolt action to replace my 450/400 double. Multiple reasons behind this, including (among others): 11 lbs are much heavier in the evening than just after breakfast, wet doubles need more intricate maintenance than wet bolt actions, I grew up with bolts and thoroughly like them, I could definitely use the money left after I sold the double and bought one more bolt, etc, etc.

Now, regarding whatever I will mention below, keep in mind that I'm talking about a dangerous game rifle, to be used daily in the African bush - not about a benchrest rifle in the US, or a driven boar rifle in Germany or France.

For the rifle, the choice was easy: CZ. In my opinion, the best rifle around for the money, by a long shot. Granted, they are rough out of the box, but it's like a rough diamond: know what to do with it, polish it, and you got yourself a jewel. To have the same quality in steel, forgings, sturdiness, and reliable design, you'd have to pay several times the price of a CZ rifle - just for an action.

Caliber… Well, I liked the idea of a .404, ballistic twin of the 450/400, but with the capability to be on par with the .416 Rigby with modern components. Nice case, great history. Or the .450 Rigby, a great and versatile caliber, with a classic name and provenance. But the sad reality of where I live is that you simply can't get ammo, at least not easily. Really not easily. Especially elitist ammo.

The only big bore ammo you'll find anywhere, anytime (almost) in Africa is .375 H&H, and .458 WM. So, .458 Lott it would be. Can always get some .458 WM fodder when short on fuel.

My friend (and gunmaker - talented, too) Nate Heineke sourced the rifle and did the wee modifications I was considering essential, as well as the feeding tune-up, and the general balancing.

Here is what arrived:





CZ 550, .458 Lott, 20" barrel, 8.5lbs empty. Fast, light, handy… A keeper!


Nate also rough-shaped the stock for its final configuration. Some more rasping and sanding, trimming, polishing, and a bit of oil (the CZ-USA stock was nothing to write home about: too bulky, poor wood, sloppy ergonomics, basically a piece of CNC-carved 2"x4" - but at least it had enough "meat" that it could be brought to shape), and here is the result.





A few more personal touches…

The aperture drilled to 2.5mm, the NECG/Recknagel sight streamlined, and sharp angles smoothed





The ugly CZ bolt handle hole plugged with a piece of hippo ivory





The void left by the express sights filled with a steel plate filed to size





The front bead replaced with a homemade fiber-optic sight (cut out of a Patridge sight, and much sturdier than the fiber front sights available around)






Oh... I almost forgot. The thing holds six rounds down. Yep, six. In the magazine. No efforts, easily close the bolt over them, and feeds like a pig in a trough: you can throw anything in, it's gone in a blink.




As I said earlier, a keeper!


@Kano I know this is an old post , but your rifle is magnificent , I am busy with a very similar project at the moment.
 
i just got my 505 Gibbs back from AHR, as promised he repaired all of the dings in the stock and refinished the rifle! he also rigged up a new bottom plate for the QD optic mount to account for the different type of red dot im running (had a water issue on my last hunt). the rifle looks fantastic and is ready to be sighted in for the next large and dangerous hunt (hopefully elephant and hippo).

if your in the market for a large bore rifle, then I do strongly recommend American Hunting Rifles!

-matt
 
Matt, that is a dandy of a buff. Beautiful rifle too. Congrats!
 
Totally addicted, there is no return for me.
It started off with a 375 H&H and has now totally taken control of me with my .450 N.E 3 1/4 "
Think my next step is a 500 N.E
 
Petrus, that sounds like a good plan to me. (y)

ive now shot both the 505 Gibbs (extensively) and the 500 NE (rifle belongs to Cal). i can say with the utmost certainty that the 50 caliber rifle cartridges provide an excellent balance of power and recoil. a 570-600 grain bullet at 2100-2300 feet per second will give you bone crunching power with recoil that still allows for guns of reasonable weight to be easy to practice with.

i have shot a 600gr solid from my 11 pound 505 Gibbs at 2300fps and its not nearly as bad as most would think. however, i prefer 570gr at 2300fps or 600gr at 2250fps as my personal limits.

-matt
 
guys I think my big bore addiction might be worse then I thought... it seems like I cant bring myself to shoot smaller rifles any more. I have a 6.5x55 that has been collecting dust for months so I figured if I got a 338 WM it might be big enough to keep me interested... but now that brand new rifle seems to be collecting dust as well. even the 416 struggles to get any attention and I really need to develop a load using the 325gr NF SS bullets.

the 505 Gibbs just keeps calling to me! so many loads I want to develop and so much shooting I want to do but so little time. I need loads for the Peregrine 600gr VRG2/3, Woodleigh 525gr SP, North Fork 600gr CPS, and these 600gr cast bullets ive been getting off gunbroker. :E Crazy:

please tell me im not the only one having this problem!?

-matt
 
Matt you aren't the only one with these addictions. Looks like you will need to talk to Cal about his 8 Bore double:rolleyes:
After shooting a 8bore a few dozen times your 505 won't have any recoil at all. I am building a 8 bore rigby style muzzleoader
this winter. Have all the parts just need the time. You never know when the mastodons will start hatching and charge southern az
would want to disappoint them by shooting the next years meat with my little 450NE.:eek:
 
lol ive shot the 8 bore in question (Cal's) and thats a nice rifle! but im in the process of selling my doubles, not buying new ones. once ive bought my house i can start to think about saving up for a double. id like a Heym Safari in 500 NE.

the thing about calibers bigger then .510" is the limit to how many times they can be fired in a sitting is pretty small. for example i doubt i could fire a 600 NE accurately more maybe 6-8 times in a day and that number would shrink with a fully loaded 8 bore. at least with my 505 Gibbs i can send around 25 rounds down range without serious side effects.

on the topic of doubles, one of these days i want to try shooting a 577 NE! ive tried just about every other large bore double cartridge out there save the 700 NE (which id also like to try).

-matt
 
Ok Guys I need some help, I'm looking to buy 1 round for a 404 Jeffrey, I want to get a head start on modifying the Magazine from my Mod 98,thank you ,Rob
 

Forum statistics

Threads
53,636
Messages
1,131,725
Members
92,726
Latest member
IsmaelMorg
 

 

 

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top