500 S&W question

[Varmint Hunter]

I'm fooling around with a 500 S&W T/C Encore with 20" bbl. Working with the Hornady manual I selected a few moderate loads. The manual used an 8.37" bbl. I ran everything over my Oehler 35P.

Shooting their 300gr FTX I used:

43.1 gr of Lil Gun in a Starline case with a CCI 200 primer and got an amazing 2,290 ft/sec with an SD of 8 (manual lists 1,800 ft/sec)

46.2 of H110 in a Starline case with a CCI 200 primer and got 2,134 ft/sec with an SD of 38 (manual lists 1,800 ft/sec)

350gr Sierra HP:

41.5 H110 - 1,882 ft/sec SD 43 (manual lists 1,550 ft/sec)

36.5 Lil Gun - 1,883 ft/sec SD 91 (manual lists 1,500 ft/sec)

I'm seeing a consistent increase of 300-500 ft/sec with the longer barrel. Chronograph reading for all my other rifles are normal and the same as previous outings so the chronograph appears to be reading correctly.

Does this sound possible? Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Muddyboots]

Yes, I had a 24" MGM barrel and actually saw little higher velocities. My rifle loved the Barnes 325 XPB and the 375 XPB. They were devastating on deer. Attached their load data for you. They also have a 275 which I never shot but bet it would be scorcher. Heads up on the 300FTX, I did not have good terminal results on deer with it. Bullet exploded when hitting deer and although I got them all, I was really skittish on how they disintegrated so easily. That is why I went to the Barnes XPB.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Yes, I had a 24" MGM barrel and actually saw little higher velocities. My rifle loved the Barnes 325 XPB and the 375 XPB. They were devastating on deer. Attached their load data for you. They also have a 275 which I never shot but bet it would be scorcher. Heads up on the 300FTX, I did not have good terminal results on deer with it. Bullet exploded when hitting deer and although I got them all, I was really skittish on how they disintegrated so easily. That is why I went to the Barnes XPB.

Most of these bullets were designed for pistol velocities and not rifle or significant increases in MV. I friend had a similar experience years ago shooting the 240 gr (?) Hornady XTP in a 444 Marlin.

To the OP, Yes these numbers sound plausible.

 

[johnnyk]

I had a scoped revolver w/8.3" barrel and never could quiet get book figures but that was with a Caldwell chronograph. I had mine set up for the 325gn Barnes also but have since parted ways with that monster and never even shot a deer with it.
I have 20-30 rounds of handloads (325gn Barnes & 350gn XTP Mag) and brass/dies for sale, if anyone is interested. Will pull bullets before shipping.

 

[wv270wsm]

Yeah the pistol bullets being driven that fast are going to be explosive. I too had a very bad experience pushing a 240 gr xtp out of a 444 . I got the deer but it wasn't pretty . Lesson learned

 

[Varmint Hunter]

So far, I'm not too impressed with the accuracy. I originally noticed some extreme fliers and chalked it up to a bad scope (2-7 Leo). I pulled the scope and replaced it with a new 2.5x Leupold and was expecting the problem to be resolved.

Unfortunately, I still get the fliers. At 100yds I can put 2 bullets within two inches and then have the 3rd land a foot away, or off the 18"x18" target all together. That's pretty extreme for a flier in a single shot rifle. It happened with both bullets but was worse with the 350gr Sierra bullet.

I'm going to increase the charge a bit and see how that affects the groups but I can't see that that would eliminate extreme fliers. I've shot better with scopes that were slipping in the rings, much better!

TWO OTHER QUESTIONS:
I noticed that CFE BLK provides the highest velocities and (by far) the lowest pressures. Has anyone had good luck with this powder in the 500 S&W?
I might try the 500gr Hornady bullet just for the heck of it. Is the recoil substantially higher?

 

[memtb]

So far, I'm not too impressed with the accuracy. I originally noticed some extreme fliers and chalked it up to a bad scope (2-7 Leo). I pulled the scope and replaced it with a new 2.5x Leupold and was expecting the problem to be resolved.

Unfortunately, I still get the fliers. At 100yds I can put 2 bullets within two inches and then have the 3rd land a foot away, or off the 18"x18" target all together. That's pretty extreme for a flier in a single shot rifle. It happened with both bullets but was worse with the 350gr Sierra bullet.

I'm going to increase the charge a bit and see how that affects the groups but I can't see that that would eliminate extreme fliers. I've shot better with scopes that were slipping in the rings, much better!

TWO OTHER QUESTIONS:
I noticed that CFE BLK provides the highest velocities and (by far) the lowest pressures. Has anyone had good luck with this powder in the 500 S&W?
I might try the 500gr Hornady bullet just for the heck of it. Is the recoil substantially higher?

Good Luck, I hope that you get it working for you! memtb