boomer
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 24
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Post by boomer on Feb 25, 2019 8:43:29 GMT -5
I have three Precision Center guns and one on the way. They are very tight which is what I want. Very tight B/C gaps, no end shake, very nice triggers, grips fit very well and very accurate. I feel the Precision Center guns are well worth the extra paid. I also have one production gun. It is very accurate as well. It is also much tighter than any of my rugers out of the box. It did go back for a canted front sight. Customer service was outstanding and I had it back in just over a week. All of my BFR's have some sharp edges and corners that I smooth. This does not bother me. I like doing it. Well good then. I will spend the extra on the precision center gun. The only thing left now is to decide caliber. I shoot the big bores mostly for fun. Game in my area is pretty much limited to deer around my yard and some wild boar at a buddies ranch. I am not worried about pushing either 500 to top end speeds (400+ grain bullets at 1,200fps should be way more than enough for my hunting situations) Been shooting the Ruger Bisley 454 with 300 grain cast but have not exceed 1,400 fps yet because the bullet is not gas checked (plain base 22bhn) I'm surprised I haven't seen bad leading at those speeds but I will not complain. Getting just a tad at the beginning of the forcing cone after 20 rounds for about 1/2" but it comes out pretty easy. I think I have reached the speed limit for this bullet. This load is very manageable recoil wise, like a hot 44 mag in the Ruger. This gun seems to shoot better as I increase the bullet speed. I don't know what a comparable load in the Bisley BFR 500 JRH or 500 Linebaugh would be like but I am excited to find out.
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Post by firedude on Feb 25, 2019 12:16:35 GMT -5
Get both is always the popular answer but if I could only have one it would be the JRH. Once the brass thing is done you have so many more bullet choices.
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Post by Quick Draw McGraw on Feb 25, 2019 16:03:04 GMT -5
Get both is always the popular answer but if I could only have one it would be the JRH. Once the brass thing is done you have so many more bullet choices. I feel exactly the same. IMHO, it doesn't get better than the .500 JRH.
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Post by 45MAN on Feb 26, 2019 7:38:29 GMT -5
I AM ON "THE FENCE" RE A 500 JRH. I ALREADY HAVE A BOWEN NIMROD IN 475L AND PLENTY OF 454's, AND AT 74 I PREFER LESSER KICKING REVOLVERS. IN PRACTICAL AND PACKABLE BIG BORE REVOLVERS, JACK HUNTINGTON "NAILED IT" WITH THE 500 JRH. IF I WAS GOING AFTER CAPE BUFFALO AGAIN, AND WANTED TO TRY AND GET IN REAL CLOSE, I WOULD CERTAINLY CONSIDER A 5 1/2 INCH BFR IN 500 JRH, OR A CUSTOM BANDED BARREL REVOLVER IN 500 JRH, BUT FOR NOW, UNTIL THE BRASS SITUATION GETS BETTER, I AM JUST NOT FEELING THE "NEED" NOR THE "WANT".
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COR
.375 Atomic
Posts: 1,522
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Post by COR on Feb 26, 2019 11:45:02 GMT -5
Comes down to logistics if you want to be practical... brass availability and cost is prohibitive (250pcs Linebaugh are about the same retail cost as 100 JRH)or just making the brass is a PITA. I will admit that more bullets are out in .500 if you don't cast and want to use Jacketed.
The JRH has it's place and its a fine cartridge in it's own right. It's a Ford/Chevy argument.
The Linebaugh came first and the Linebaugh is Bigger and I have the articles I saved from 1980's when I was first mesmerized by the ".500 Magnum"...it's an emotional argument, not a numbers/data driven one. It's only fodder here because we split the hairs and we care...They all do the same thing.
They launch big bullets out of short barrels and the differences are literally a few thousandths of an inch but WE CARE. .22 and .51 are only .29 apart and 7.36 mm is about the thickness of a bottom of a Styrofoam cup... PAGES of text shows how fortunate we are.
BTW...My Vote is the .500 Linebaugh simply because it is sexier.
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Post by tradmark on Feb 26, 2019 12:41:43 GMT -5
Running any of the quality bullets out in .5 instead of .510 i thinks is sexiest but i hear your argument. If one actually kills big big things regularly the bullets and designed pressure limits tilt heavily in favor of the jrh. That said it is emotional and thats all that matters. Its nice to get the one you drool over for 20 years.
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Post by bula on Feb 26, 2019 13:18:53 GMT -5
No dogs in the hunt here, nothing bigger than the 2 480's. As the realtors say, location.. Am thinking that a good bullet choice, placed in the right location, with either, not likely to need plan-B. I've seen, held, shot that 500L. I'll vote sexy. In either case bullets will have to chosen, bought and loaded prior to the hunt, ability to find either in loaded ammo near hunting grounds..?
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Post by tradmark on Feb 26, 2019 13:50:05 GMT -5
If ability to find ammo near hunting grounds includes africa and alaska the 44, 454, 460 and 500 smith are your only real options.
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Post by bcelliott on Feb 26, 2019 18:10:01 GMT -5
I'm dating myself here, but I began reading Ross Seyfried's articles in G&A on hot .45 Colts, followed by the .475 and .500 Linebaughs before I was a teenager, and so it was no surprise that the first pistol I bought (actually, my dad bought!) was a Ruger .45 Colt. The .475 was not very appealing because the larger .500 was also available. For decades, I lusted after the .500 Linebaugh Bowen Nimrod. However, as I learned more about cartridge design, and handloaded both tapered and straight cases in handguns, I came to realize that generally, revolvers did better with straight cases, and auto pistols, with slightly tapered cases to aid extraction. Consequently, when the .500 JRH came out, I realized that, although the Linebaugh was bigger and sexier, the case design and bullet diameter of the JRH made more sense. I compromised and bought a BFR 5.5" that now has a Huntington grip mod (before the factory Bisley frame was available) and trigger job and Freedom Arms front sight. I had to sacrifice the aesthetics of the Nimrod and the sexiness of the Linebaugh, but I can't imagine a better "largest" caliber hunting revolver. If I could afford a Nimrod right now, I'd want one in .500 JRH (although I don't think Bowen offers it in that caliber). It's easy enough to trim .500 S&W brass to use in the BFR in a single step. I shoot basically two loads in my BFR, both with 440 grain large meplat hardcast bullets: around 950 fps using 231 powder, and around 1400 fps using H110. With a grip frame and grips that fit the hand, and plenty of concentration, the latter load is entirely manageable. With the JRH, I still haven't wanted a .480/.475, since if I need anything bigger than my heavy .45 Colt, I'm stepping right up to the .500 JRH. Just my $0.02...
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boomer
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 24
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Post by boomer on Feb 27, 2019 9:04:11 GMT -5
I have been looking around to see if anyone makes a set of caliber specific .500 JRH dies. From what I have gathered you will need to turn .200" off of the bottom of the .500 S&W seating die so that you can crimp properly. Hornady makes a regulation die set for the .500 Linebaugh but I don't see one for the .500 JRH. Maybe I overlooked something. I am getting ready to order my BFR Bisley from the precision shop and am still so torn on caliber. bcelliott's post about reading Ross Seyfried's articles are so true. I have lusted over one of those big barrel banded revolvers in .500 Linebaugh forever. From reading his post I am thinking we are about the same age. I have seen the amazing groups that many of you have shot from the .500 JRH but not from the .500 Linebaugh. Yes, there is more bullet selection for the JRH, but I would probably shoot two or three (350, 400, & 440's), and there is no shortage of these for the Linebaugh from Montana. I also do not worry about the top end potential of one over the other as 1,000 - 1,400fps plus will be all I will ever need anyway. I just want to assure myself that if I go with the Linebaugh that I am not giving up anything in the accuracy department for the sake of the name (the cartridge does look cool though!).
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Post by bradshaw on Feb 27, 2019 9:42:02 GMT -5
“.... 1,000 - 1,400fps plus will be all I will ever need....” ----boomer
*****
A world of hurt separates a 440 grain bullet @ 1,000 fps and the same chunk @ 1,400 fps. On both ends.... especially the hand firing it. At 1,000 fps the 440 develops 977 ft. lbs. At 1,400 fps the 440 hammers out 1,914 ft. lbs. muzzle energy. Energy doubles and felt recoil does, too. The point is not to associate muzzle energy with game-slaying power (it does not). The point is to recognize the vicious ramp RECOIL takes during a dramatic velocity rise.
My view of a revolver as an instrument of protection insists the shooter be able to handle it one-hand. A revolver devoted to hunting may not see one-hand use and be ripe for more power and two-hand recoil. VELOCITY drives recoil.
Jack Huntington and Max Prasac make clear the .500 JRH is a child of the .500 S&W Magnum----a case designed for HIGH PRESSURE. Contemporary .500 Linebaugh brass may be made for high pressure, but John Linebaught built the cartridge that bears his name on a case formulated for lever action rifles of more modest temperament. As with the .44 Mag and .454 Casull, both the .500 JRH and .500 Linebaugh are frequently loaded below full throttle. And both are capable of producing enough power----and recoil----for anyone this side of a straightjacket. David Bradshaw
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Post by whitworth on Feb 27, 2019 9:48:38 GMT -5
I have been looking around to see if anyone makes a set of caliber specific .500 JRH dies. From what I have gathered you will need to turn .200" off of the bottom of the .500 S&W seating die so that you can crimp properly. Hornady makes a regulation die set for the .500 Linebaugh but I don't see one for the .500 JRH. Maybe I overlooked something. I am getting ready to order my BFR Bisley from the precision shop and am still so torn on caliber. bcelliott's post about reading Ross Seyfried's articles are so true. I have lusted over one of those big barrel banded revolvers in .500 Linebaugh forever. From reading his post I am thinking we are about the same age. I have seen the amazing groups that many of you have shot from the .500 JRH but not from the .500 Linebaugh. Yes, there is more bullet selection for the JRH, but I would probably shoot two or three (350, 400, & 440's), and there is no shortage of these for the Linebaugh from Montana. I also do not worry about the top end potential of one over the other as 1,000 - 1,400fps plus will be all I will ever need anyway. I just want to assure myself that if I go with the Linebaugh that I am not giving up anything in the accuracy department for the sake of the name (the cartridge does look cool though!). The .500 Smith & Wesson dies are typically meant for the .500 S&W as well as the .500 Special which is even shorter than the JRH. No modifications necessary.
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Post by bcelliott on Feb 27, 2019 11:14:34 GMT -5
boomer, perhaps Whitworth might give you his accuracy experience with the Linebaugh BFR, since he might be the only one on this forum so far who has extensively shot both cartridges in the BFR. It's my understanding that most BFRs are very accurate, but I don't know if one cartridge is inherently more or less so than the other.
One other difference between the Linebaugh and JRH is that the Linebaugh can accept much heavier bullets, while the JRH is limited to around 440 grains, unless you follow Lee Martin's method of internally reaming the case.
There are advantages to each cartridge, but if you can assure yourself that the one you really like performs well in the BFR, go with the cartridge that makes you happy. My personal compromise was less about the cartridge and more about revolver aesthetics, although, now, the JRH fully scratches the itch that the Linebaugh formerly caused. I'm really happy with my BFR, though. It's tight, strong, and accurate. You will love your precision center, whichever cartridge you pick.
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boomer
.240 Incinerator
Posts: 24
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Post by boomer on Feb 28, 2019 10:59:23 GMT -5
OK. 500 Linebaugh it is. Looks like they are about four months out for the precision shop guns. I will sit and wait patiently for it to arrive.
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Post by whitworth on Feb 28, 2019 12:05:40 GMT -5
OK. 500 Linebaugh it is. Looks like they are about four months out for the precision shop guns. I will sit and wait patiently for it to arrive. What did you say you plan to do with it?
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