Hi Frank B
So far every response here has been very accurate.
In August of 1986 i was reading my new issue of guns and Ammo. You Know the one.
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Oh ya. The one article that changed the course of my Life.
The sheer size, the hole in the Barrell, The back light shining thru the massive void in the cylind
er. Haha.I LOST MY EVER LOVING MIND!!!!!!!
within 3 months i had a working unit.
Douglas hooked me up with some 1 in 20 twist and Trident metals in Houston the 17-4 ph.
A friend of mine had recently bought a bisley in 44 and hated the grip frame, So i traded the Super blackie dragoon and trigger on my donor out for his.
He loved the hammer so i had to mod the back of it to fit the Dragoon. And i kept my Wide spur. But it was my first bisley and i liked it.
None the less i had the new model donor 44 ripped apart in an hour after completing the article for the third time that august evening.
A chat with Mr linebaugh in January of 1987 reassured me that i was spot on, on my build and that my assumption for loads were correct.
My old Browning 348 lost a hole pile of designated shells i had reloaded several times over. Most of my bullets were around 450 grains because that was the only mold that i had for an old sharps.
However i never looked back. I have always loved the 500 Linebaugh. I have literally built over 200 of them for myself and friends through out the years.
Up until about 93,94, 95 or so i always loaded hot. The accuracy i experienced was phenomenal. One thing i noticed early on was the knuckle getting mashed with every shot.
My hands were fat and i needed to do something so i took the grip frame and welded up the back of the front strap and then cleared the inside with a 5/16s long end mill for main spring clearance. That left a bit of platin for the grip panel to sit on
without being to terribly thin. Later on that year (1987) probably around the end of the summer a man at work ( Baker Oil Tools navigation) gave me a 4 foot by 4 foot square sheet of 1 inch thick C360 Brass and i made my first bisley grip frames. Complete with all that i had learned at that time. So back to about 93-95 or somewhere around that time frame. I had made some stupid long distance shots with that 5 and a halfer that i made in 86, So stupid that i had to prove to my dad that it was possible. So i started stretching the barrel lengths. What i notice was that the shorter barrels kicked at different timing events during recoil. 5 and a half was muzzle flip to push back was even. 7 and a half on up the muzzle would rise faster than the straight back recoil in to my knuckle. On a rest the longer barrels would clip my forehead every time. I noticed that the 500 and my hold did not like to rest. It wanted to be held with both hands capable of floating.
I couldn't hit squat when i held her down on the leather sand bags because i could not wrap my hands around that mammy. However i did notice that when i layed my hands as if to shoot weaver stance and rest my hands on the bag for steadiness. i could strike a match. Something that i noticed on a 9 incher i built was that with the 500 grainers on up, My first shot would be spot on and the second would be off a smidge and 3 worse and 4 and 5 barely on paper.
So for an experiment once i realised that the 4th and 5th bullets were darn near hanging out the front of the cylinder was that i was not crimping the crap out of them. I loaded the rounds in one at a time. Shot one, Spot On. Loaded the second round while leaving the spent case in number 1. Spot on. Shot 3 the same , Spot on and so on so forth. What i found for myself was that pressure variations were present. Previously my primers were smashed more as the rounds progressed toward shot 4 and 5. Most generally i crammed as much 296 or H110 as i could fit in there and the shorter barrels didnt seem to care but the longer ones did. I also realised that on the 9 incher that the barrel twist was 1 in 15 and not one in twenty like i had previously purchased . I have found that 1 in 18 works best for all around. This is all academic for my own experiences but somewhat a total wash with all the different options available. Make sure them bullets are not moving out of the shell under recoil. And of course we are all different, so dont under estimate the shape of the grip frame. The Bizznanna is cool but dosent work for everyone. The Ruger Bisley is cool but does not work for everyone.
I built a 500L for a friend in the early 2000s with an extended length Super Black Hawk Bisley trigger guard grip frame and he can shoot it with the best of them. It works for him.
It sound like you have good reloading experience so just a reminder about bullet crimp. Magnum research makes a Dandy Revolver so dont get frustrated buddy. If it is a bad one i guaranty they will make it right.
The 500 Linebaugh is a strong contender in the Tyrannosaurus hunting world if not the best choice for full tilt, all American get down Boogie el smashlamadre all out heavy duty smackarooney horse power.
I have watched 400 grain and up rounds go thru unspeakable meat and trudge off across the country side till it was clean out of site. It is a devastating round for big critters.
I love it. Still my fave. I will never forget the first time i fired old Bessie. Christmas eve of 1986. 29.5 of W296 and a WLP behind a .450 GC. WOW, Holy guacamole man. Woooohoo KABLAM. And the biggest poof of dirt i had ever seen at the end of a BlackHawk Barrel. And i had over 40 of them at that time. Poor old 44s and 45s went on to the back burner. Hahaha.
It is as was built originally. Old Bessie. Not the prettiest i ever built but still my absolute favorite. Not to mention how many times it fed me.
R
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