American Hunting Rifles: Safari 550 Dangerous Game Rifle in 505 Gibbs

[Wheels]

Great looking rifle.

Great looking buff.

Congratulations Matt.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

I agree with Wheels.
Witold

 

[matt85]

its a nice rifle @matt85 you just need to shorten the barrel to 22inch max and take it to 10lbs tops and it will be very nice....

LOL taking 1 pound 4 ounces off the gun would make shooting that monster difficult indeed! at its current weight and length you get about 100-120 ft/lb of recoil and about 8+ inches of muzzle flip. shortening the barrel would increase muzzle flip and amplify the noise which i must say is already over the top (this gun is freaking loud!). lol the muzzle blast off this rifle will rattle teeth and pop ears and i dont even have a muzzle brake on it.

as for the buffalo, im having a euro mount made and im keeping the hide to make a hunting back pack.

-matt

 

[enysse]

The gun is perfect already.

 

[zephyr]

Matt you should definitely have mounted that tree!

Growing up, if you killed it you eat it

 

[spike.t]

"Matt you should definitely have mounted that tree!"

now @ActionBob that would be a painful place to get a load of splinters...........

 

[matt85]

"Matt you should definitely have mounted that tree!"

now @ActionBob that would be a painful place to get a load of splinters...........

LOL leave it to Mike to take it there... but for the record... I approve.

-matt

 

[CTDolan]

Gorgeous rifle. I'd buy one in a heartbeat, if I could, but will have to settle for something less expensive. It's only ever going to be a novelty, though, so I'm not terribly worried (I have other, far more practical calibers at my disposal), but I do love me a good rifle, even if it only exists to make noise, push back, and drive deep.

 

[CTDolan]

By the way, gorgeous buffalo, too.

 

[matt85]

Gorgeous rifle. I'd buy one in a heartbeat, if I could, but will have to settle for something less expensive. It's only ever going to be a novelty, though, so I'm not terribly worried (I have other, far more practical calibers at my disposal), but I do love me a good rifle, even if it only exists to make noise, push back, and drive deep.

why would it only be a novelty item? the 505 Gibbs will do anything you would do with any other large bore but it will hit much harder then most. the cartridge is suitable for all of the big 7 and could easily be used for PG if something pops up.

-matt

 

[larry4831]

, that is a beautiful piece of wood too Matt

 

[CTDolan]

It'll only ever be a novelty item because I cannot afford a 505 sufficiently reliable for field use against beasts both large and nasty. That it is a magnificent cartridge goes without saying, but it needs a rifle to match.

 

[matt85]

ah i understand.

it is true that you need a gunsmith who will take great care to get rifles chambered extremely large cartridges to feed reliably. the size of the 505 Gibbs case is both a benefit and a problem. on one side the large case makes pressure a non-issue as your shoulder will usually give out long before you reach dangerous pressures. on the other side the wide case makes it difficult to shape a magazine properly to hold the cartridge.

-matt

 

[CTDolan]

I'm interested in pushing 600 grains to 2100-2150 fps (Woodleigh, solid and soft), no filler (no pillow stuffing, vermiculite, oatmeal, or anything of the sort). The same goes for 570 grains (the Swift A-frame). Any suggestions?

 

[matt85]

I believe 134gr of RL-25 should get the 600gr Woodleigh to that velocity and 124gr of RL-25 under the Swift should get you to the desired range.

I used 134gr of RL-26 to get 2300fps from the 570gr Swift A-frame. RL-26 will work for both the above loads but you will need to increase them by about 1 grain or so.

-matt

 

[CTDolan]

Thank you!

 

[CTDolan]

The interesting thing? I've got a box of Norma 540 grain solids (monolithic). There is not a hint of an air space (no powder rattle, none). Were the cartridges not so expensive, I'd dissect one to determine what is inside.

 

[matt85]

they likely use a filler, most companies do with these large cartridges.

-matt

 

[CTDolan]

I wonder what the filler is. Might have to pull one apart to find out.

I used to have Graeme Wright's book "Shooting the British Double Rifle". In it he mentions fillers, but I forget what they are (I do think one of them was oatmeal, though...I know I heard of it from somewhere, strange though such a filler may be).

 

[matt85]

i wouldnt use oatmeal, its too heavy. i personally use Kapok fill which is very light and fluffy. also, id suggest avoiding pillow stuffing as it can leave a nasty residue when you need to use alot of it (i used to use pillow stuffing). Kapok fill can be bought for super cheap and a little bit goes a long way plus it burns clean so no nasty residue. i bought 1 pound for something like $9 shipped and that will likely last me the rest of my life.

-matt