Chroned the Handi 500

[Walks with a gimp]

 Finally shot the 500 through the chrono today! First loads were Cast Performance 440 grain LBT solids with gas check and 50 grains (by volume) Triple 7 BP substitute. The speed was 1100 fps with 1182 foot pounds K.E. Accuracy at 50 yards was under 2 inches and they were VERY mild shooting.

  Second up was the same 440 grain bullet with 14 grains of Tite Group and clocking in at 1320 fps with 1702 ft. lbs. K.E. also with the same 2 inch accuracy at 50 yards. A tiny bit more recoil but still very soft and probably compared to  a stiff 3 inch mag .410 in a light gun.
 
 Last up was the Barnes 275 grain XPB with 42 grains of H110 for 2307 fps and 3250 ft. lbs. K.E. Recoil was large and accuracy was still around 2 inches at 50 yards.   I noticed some paralax movement in my Bushnel 1.75 X 4 power shotgun scope and that may be the reason why this gun is not shooting better. I could get about 3 inches of X hair movement on the target at 50 yards by moving my eye to the extreme edges of the view through the scope. That scope might get a ride back to Cabelas this weekend.. I'll be swapping scopes very soon to go to Texas on a hog hunt to get the gun shooting better but I think I might stick with the 440 grain lead bullet and Tite Group.

[quickdtoo]

Thanks for the report, you may be able to improve accuracy with the 275gr Barnes using Lil'gun, I get 2"-2½" groups at 100yds using it with all bullets I've tried so far, I have some XPBs, but haven't loaded them yet, also need to shoot the 385gr Remington sptizers, lots of shooting to do in a couple months when the weather gets better and the range opens during the week.

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,131576.msg1098490701.html#msg1098490701

[1 id dog]

 Thanks for the report! I look forward to hearing the rest of the story. Especially with the black powder, that might be a hoot to play with. It be interesting to see how a lighter bullet would do with it. Wish you the best of luck with your project. I hope to start on my 500 soon and I'll need all the expert guidance I can get.

[quickdtoo]

1 id dog,  if you mean the 275gr XPB, I think it work like a solid at T7 velocities, and at over $1 each, you'd be better served shooting a hard cast bullet cuz it's gonna have better terminal perfornance with a nice wide meplat. The Cor-bon 275gr XPB load tested at 2068fps in John Taffin's 500 Handi test, you can read it in the FAQs.

Tim

[1 id dog]

 naw Quick!! wouldn't be spending that kind'a $ jest to play some use the cheap stuff for that. I'd only use premium bullets for hunting. Just thinking out loud

[Walks with a gimp]

 Well I  swapped scopes around today and the 500 is now wearing a proven accurate 3 X 9 Tasco. I'm anxious to see what the little cannon will do now and hoping it will shoot into the same hole at 50 yards. Hopefully I'll have some more results by Friday.

[quickdtoo]

I have a Nikon Prostaff 2-7x32 shotgun scope on mine, a little extra eye relief is real comforting!! It has a parallax free setting of 75yds, seems to work pretty good at 100yds, I'll be shooting it at 200yds eventually with the 275gr and 385gr loads just to see what kind of actual trajectory they provide.

Tim

[Walks with a gimp]

Got the 500 finalized and packed away for the hog hunt in Texas next weekend. It's now wearing a 3 X 9 Tasco and shooting 16 grains of Tite Group and the 440 grain heat treated lead with gas checks. The target shows some sight in adjustments and the final 3 shots in a group in and above the red bulls eye. The loads averaged 1385 fps for 1875 foot pounds K.E.. Recoil is mild and I don't expect the wife to complain too much if she shoots it when we get there.  This gun still has the near 50/50 rate of misfires while shooting off the bench. Like others have stated, you need to be aggressive with the trigger pull to make it go off on every shot. My .223 however, is flawless in shooting off the bench!

[quickdtoo]

Good luck on the hunt, have fun and be safe. 

Looking forward to your hunt report!

Tim

[Walks with a gimp]

 Here's a target from my .223 Handi that shows a finalized group of 4 shots above the bar code in the lower right of the target. It measures about 3/8" center to center. All my shooting was from 50 yards today because the cedar trees I planted have grown out so much that I can't shoot the 100 yard backstop on my rifle range!  The load for the .223 was 27 grains of H4895 and a 50 grain molly coated V Max bullet. This .223 will also be making the trip to Texas for predators. The scope is a Tasco 4 X 16.

[STUMPJMPR]

I didn't have such good luck with my 500....I shot the hornady xtp....magtech 440 grn jacketed flat points....I could not get anything to group....At first i was having scope issues....I couldn't get the scope to stay put.....With the massive recoil it was sliding with every shot....added another scope ring to make it a total of 3 rings kept the scope from sliding....Still the best  group i could get at 100yards was in the 8-10" range....

[Walks with a gimp]

 The 385 grain jacketed HP Remington bullets wouldn't shoot out of my gun. I've seen good results with the 275 grain Barns XPB's in handloads. I think the lead bullets gives the best results so far in my gun..

 

[quickdtoo]

What was the load used with the 385gr Rem? jerkface11 and Krochus didn't get good accuracy with the 385gr Rem either, but they were using a red dot and mixed brass w/ 42gr H110.

Tim

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,71375.msg437759.html#msg437759

[Walks with a gimp]

Quick, I used a starting load of H110, 42 grains I think. 100 yard accuracy was about 6 inch groups which would be good for a bazooka.  I'd like to find some soft 350 grain swagged HP's with a gas check. I still have a bunch of the Hornady .44 240 grain swagged bullets and would like to find something like that with a gas check for the 500.

[quickdtoo]

Western has a PB bullet in 340gr and a 440gr GC bullet that are reasonably priced. Ranger Rick makes a 400gr WFNGC bullet that's not listed on his website, but he sent me some samples, you might check it out, he lists them as low as 370gr in .500", but they're a bit oversize at .502" which is good, email him, he'll let ya know what he has, he accepts paypal and ships priority mail.

Tim

http://www.westernbullet.com/cbip/b50-340-swc.html

http://www.westernbullet.com/cbip/501-440-rf.html

http://www.lsstuff.com/ranger-rick/