I did not see that caliber listedon the freedom arms website.

500,
At this time, it is a strictly custom option. John Linebaugh, Hamilton Bowen, Gary Reeder, Dave Clements are a few of the better known 'smiths that routinely build them. I'm sure there are others, but these are the guys I would trust to do it right. Bowen and Clements make them on Redhawk frames as well as the Bisley and Blackhawk frames.

The 500 Linebaugh won't fit into the Freedom Arms frame. I saw that jack Belk make a different 500 conversion beacuse of that.

Hcliff

I just do not like the idea of a rimless cartridge in a revolver (.50 action), so a 500 Linebaugh would be preferable.

500grains,

So contact Freedom Arms, they are waiting for lots of order of a short .500 S&W 1,4" to produce extra cylinder to fit with the .50 AE FA.

I prefer the .50 AE even in a revolver. just my opinion.

I think that's Jack Huntington, not Jack Belk who's doing the new 50 conversion on FA's. He's using a shortened 500 S&W case, so it is rimmed. Huntington also does 500 Linebaugh conversions on Rugers. When you get to the point of trying to pick your gunsmith, I would suggest you ask for recommendations at Sixgunner.com. Lots of guys over there with these conversions from all of the above-mentioned gunsmiths who won't be shy about telling you who they like and who they don't. My only personal experience is with Dave Clements' work, and I'm quite pleased so far. Jim Stroh is another name to add to the list, and possibly John Gallagher.

Cannon

HI,

500 GRAINS, I got my ss Bisley, which is what he used for the 500L, back from Dave Clements he did a great job. Thanks,Kev

What I've read from Seyfried and others is that the .475 has better penetration then the 500. the 500 needs the long 1.6" case to get equal or more performance in the penetration department. .475 cases are easy to make from winchester 45-70 cases. After I get through engineering school, I plan on haveing a .475 long made. I have the Ruger Maximum already. I'm thinking to load for normal velocities and lower pressure to extend the life of the gun.

lots of good smiths will build them I can recomend Johns work and Daves work as I have guns from both. John Gallagher is suppose to be good and I have a gun comming from him so Ill know soon. Also you may want to consider Rob Applegate. He is getting back into the gun building bussiness and his work is supposidly top shelf hes building me a marlin 94 in .475 right now. All 4 of these guys are good old boys that are easy to talk with. Down to earth just plain good folk.

Sorry Cannon you are right. It is Jack Huntington. My confusion. Sorry if I goofed anybody up.

Hcliff

I would like a 500 linebaugh to shoot a 440 grain lead bullet at 1100 fps.

Without porting in a 6 inch revolver, what will the recoil be like?

For awhile I shot some 405's in a 45colt Ruger 4 5/8" Blackhawk and got above 1200fps, recoil was not bad, more like a large push then a sharp slap on the hand and wrist.

I'm not saying that was a safe load, but I only ran into problems when I tried to go above 1300fps with a faster powder. The Blackhawk in Question now has a Bisley cylinder fit to it and I've toned down some.

While the 500 doesn't penetrate as deeply as the 475 with same weight bullets, the 500 can penetrate plenty deep with heavy bullets, ie 500-520 gr bullets. The advantage the 500 has is larger wound channels. Once you get a heavy enough 475 bullet to get consistant exits, the only way to get a bigger wound channel is to go up in bore dia.

I shoot a 460 gr @ 1050 fps from my 480, and that level of recoil isn't bad at all, so a 500 launching 440's @ 1100 fps would be quite enjoyable to shoot.

You don't need to build a 475 long to get good performance on game, the std 475 loaded down to 480 levels will be mild enough on the gun, and you.

A 440 @ 1100 aint bad at all.... all things considerd. It all depends on what your shooting now. If you can and do comfortably shoot heavy/hot 300gr or more 44mag/45colt loads you should have no problems with working to and learning 440 @1100.
To be honest, many people who've played with my gun have seen what I'm talking about when I tell them a 440 (or 465's that I shoot) at 900-1000 are easier to shoot then hot 300grain 44/45's. Sure... there's a whole lot more going on with the big gun, much more push, much more muzzle rise.. but it's less snappy and easier on your body.
The 465's @ 800-1000 are fun (though they're still big boomers). 465's @ 1100-1200 are serious loads but not painfull. When I push them into the 1300-1350fps range it's real serious stuff and I don't shoot too many in a row.
(I don't try and go any faster, cuz at 1300-1350 it stops being "fun" for me.)

As an example... I've a friend who had a ball shooting some 465gr bullets @ 900fps or so. Before then the largest gun he'd ever fired was a 357mag, and only a handfull or rounds at that. He had no problems with the 500 at that level.

[ 06-17-2003, 07:25: Message edited by: cas ]

Jack Huntington is the only person that I know of who is converting the Freedom Arms to the 500 JRH. The case is a modified 500 SW that uses the .500 diameter bullet while the 500 Linebaugh uses the .510 diameter bullet. As of 6-17-03, the 500 JRH launched 440gr bullets at 1300fps in a 5 1/2" barrel Freedom Arms revolver with the cases easily sliding out. This is good news for us Freedom Arms owners who want a little more power than the 50ae. I still like the 50ae as a fun cartridge though.