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Author Topic: First firing of Handi 500 S&W  (Read 997 times)

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Offline jlkehoe3

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First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« on: August 12, 2012, 10:34:19 AM »
Got a chance to load and fire my recently acquired 500 S&W barrel.  Also my first use of the Magnetospeed chrony.
Loaded only 3 rounds  with 9 gr. Unique and 440 gr. gs bullet.  Mgnetospeed performed perfectly.  First round from clean, dry barrel 900 fps, second 885 fps and third 880 fps.  Powder position was random in cases.  I bought this barrel used and it fit right up to my newest SB2 frame.  All in all I'm happy with this setup and really impressed with the Magnetospeed.  Very easy to set up.  When the weather cools down a bit I''l start some serious load development for the Nov. Whitetail season.

Larry In Dexter, MO
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James L. Kehoe (Larry)

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Offline muznut 54

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #1 on: August 12, 2012, 11:01:27 AM »
I use titegroup in mine and when I want to get the speed up I use Ac5744.
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Offline cwlongshot

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #2 on: August 12, 2012, 11:47:26 AM »
Quote from: jlkehoe3 on August 12, 2012, 10:34:19 AM
Got a chance to load and fire my recently acquired 500 S&W barrel.  Also my first use of the Magnetospeed chrony.
Loaded only 3 rounds  with 9 gr. Unique and 440 gr. gs bullet.  Mgnetospeed performed perfectly.  First round from clean, dry barrel 900 fps, second 885 fps and third 880 fps.  Powder position was random in cases.  I bought this barrel used and it fit right up to my newest SB2 frame.  All in all I'm happy with this setup and really impressed with the Magnetospeed.  Very easy to set up.  When the weather cools down a bit I''l start some serious load development for the Nov. Whitetail season.

Larry In Dexter, MO

WELCOME LArry!

Your are on to something here!! The big 500 and a good cast slug are a marriage made in heaven!

I never used Unique with the 500, (A very good lead bullet powder) I prefered both 5744 and Trail Boss. Simply because, I like a bulky powder for light lead bullet loads in big cases like the 500 has. Velocity is right at 1000 fps and it produce's a good shooting and preforming load for sure!

I shot two with the 440WFNGC bullet and Trail Boss (IIRC) One took a step, put her head down and fell over!

Good luck,
 CW
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Offline bikerbeans

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #3 on: August 12, 2012, 12:11:43 PM »
I am shooting cast PB lead bullets over unique out of my 500 S&W with open sights.  14.5 grains of unique with a 350 grain bullet and a Win LR primer gave me a 3" group at a 100 yards last range trip.  I was shooting from a bench with my elbows for a "rest".  I like cast lead and unique in this gun.  Also, recoil is mild enough that I have a PW stock set on this gun that only as a buttplate, no recoil pad and most importantly, no bruising. ;D
 
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Offline michael30.06

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #4 on: August 12, 2012, 01:36:23 PM »
Well done larry, I am lagging behind you by quite a while. I haven't got my 500 yet.
Do keep up the reloading reports. good job.
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Offline twoshooter

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #5 on: August 12, 2012, 05:19:49 PM »
Welcome Larry, as a fellow 500 lover and also a fellow Missourian. I live near Rolla. I went by the conservation area this afternoon, the drought has concentrated the deer along the river in the bottoms, we saw over100, and only about a dozen were bucks. That means they are still in the uplands, as there should have been at least a 60/40 ratio. Just FYI ::) ;) Now, I use 14 gr of Unique with great results, and went finally with 20gr of Blue Dot. I get about a 1.4" group @ 75 yards with that load in mine, using std Large Rifle primers,and the Lee 440 .I use a Mag pistol primer with the Unique. It shoots just a little tighter, but not quite the oomph. I do not have a crony, so I do not know the velocity on the Blue Dot, but I am guessing 1250 or more. It burns very clean and will go through a foot and a half of wet phone books. I took a 10 pointer last year @ 92 yards, went through both shoulders and 16" into the ground beyond. The recovered bullet had the rifling fully engraved and looked like it could have been resized and used again. Unless I go for something really big, I dont think I will be looking any further. I will watch for further reports with great interest, best of luck, Timothy.
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Offline parisite

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #6 on: August 12, 2012, 05:37:20 PM »
I've been shooting my 500 Handirifle for a few years now. I shoot hard cast lead gas check bullets exclusively from Montana Bullet Works or Matt's Bullets with great results. Max charges are all I shoot with either Accurate 4100, H110, or IMR 4227......all great powders for the 500 that group in a 12oz can at 100yds. Great fun!
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Offline jlkehoe3

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2012, 05:07:05 AM »
Timothy,

Interesting post.  I'm originally from Moberly and still hunt in that area with my nephew.  I'm loading today and will try your Blue Dot load.  I usually shoot 45-70.  Have many rifles in this cal.  Sharps, RB, Trapdoor, and Handy both the 22" version and a BC.
Taken several deer with the Handi with 350 gr. interlock over 35 gr. 3031.

This year I will be hunting at Deer Ridge is Lewis county and my farm in Ste. Genevieve.  The farm has a all year creek and 5 live springs that have not dried up this year.  My brother-in-law runs cattle there and has put out a couple of food plots.  I may skip Moberly  because of the quarantine in effect.

One question.  How deep do you seat your bullets and crimp or not?  I'm currently loading with 440 gr. Lead Head bullets.  When I bought the barrel it came with a 100+ bullets, dies and 100 R-P nickel cases.  I do have the Lee 440gr. mold but haven't used it yet. The powders I'm going to play with are 4227, 2400, WC872 and SPP210 (4198 clone), and of course Blue Dot and Red dot universal load of 13 gr.

Larry
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Offline 45-70.gov

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2012, 05:17:24 AM »
i too have the LEE  440 mold


who uses the gas check  and who shoots them nekked??


they just seem to slow to waste money on the gas check


nut then with all the lead and powder they consume.....why skimp on the  gas check??
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Offline twoshooter

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2012, 02:19:44 PM »
Hey Larry. I have a son that lives down that way in Jackson.  I may try the 2400 also, it is so close to the Blue Dot and I use it in all my 44 , 444, and 357 loads. I do crimp but not hard, just enough to make sure the flare is taken off the case mouth. I size them to .500 because I have a Lyman 450 lube/sizer, I use the black moly lube from Midway. I do NOT use a gas check on the lee 440. I load to 2.100 OAL. This is the cleanest load with Blue Dot I think I have shot, there is zero sign of leading. I am using wheel weight metal that is dropped into a cooling barrel from the mold. I do have a .501 Lee sizer but it was actually a bit big, the 500 Lyman is just tight enough to let me force the lube into the grooves.
At first I could not find anything but hot handload data for handguns, and was extrapolating from 50/70 load data. There was one500 load that showed the Blue Dot load as producing 1195 fps with a 490 gr bullet from an 8 3/8 Smith barrel and showed a spread from 17 to 21 gr. I would love to know just what you come up with velocity wise. It shoots like a 20 ga skeet load as far as I can tell. I get 350 to the pound, and I figure that my cost per shot over time should be about 12 cents since I have my own lead and cast my own. Gotta love it!!
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Offline jlkehoe3

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2012, 06:27:18 PM »
Well I can't find my Blue Dot.  It has vanished, evaporated, deceased.  May have been displaced in one of the moves from Ste. Genevieve.  I'll make a trip over to Poplar Bluff tomorrow and pick up a can.  It is supposed to be cooler tomorrow so I might cast up some Lee 440. Got lots of wheel weight lead and several hundred pounds of reclaimed range lead. I size and lube in a Lyman 450.  I'm using the .501 die as I shoot only in the Handi.  I'm seating the bullet about .050" off the rifling, and just removing the bell with the crimp. I've got some aluminum gas checks that I got on Ebay I want to try.  I might even try a black powder load.
60-70 grs. FF with the Lee cast in soft lead, just for grins. I'll send you the chrony results by PM when I get 'er done.

Larry
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Offline jlkehoe3

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #11 on: August 14, 2012, 12:38:15 PM »
Loaded 5 rounds today.  Blue Dot 20 gr., 440 gr. Ranger Rick bullet (mistakenly identified as a Leadhead earlier).
Used the Magnetospeed chrony .  Only fired 3 rounds as the readings were 1319,1319,1319 SD 0.  COL 2.085

With those readings I decided to stop.  Why mess up such a string?
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Offline twoshooter

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Re: First firing of Handi 500 S&W
« Reply #12 on: August 14, 2012, 01:39:30 PM »
I got the PM and all I can say is WOW! I thought it was good, but I had no idea. For my purposes it just don't get much better than that. Thanks so much for running that, I have just been guessing. That is just a tad over the energy of factory 405 gr 45/70, same speed and 35 gr heavier. Like I said, I figure they run me about 12 cents each, about like 22 mag ammo. I know lots of people like to really crank them up, but I think I will just buy a 5 pound cannister of Blue Dot, they are running about $73-75 now, and I should be set for deer season until that big tree stand in the sky!
I will watch for all the rest of your posts, and thanks again.
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