Gents,
I brought home my 500A2 today,It is still in the white,the feeding is still an issue from the right side,the express sights are not contoured to match the barrel contour yet and they are too low....And there is not a scope base installed.
The gunsmith simply lost all interest in finishing the project as commisioned to completion. It seems it would not have mattered if he had six more months or six more years to finish it. But it does shoot ! I ran three rounds about halfway through on the 100 mile trip home. His muzzle brake works superbly,recoil was in the range of a 3 1/2" 12ga. It is threaded and quickly removeable for the moment I feel the need to torture myself. It weighs just under ten pounds. There is a recoil lug fitted to the barrel in the forend that is very substantial.approx 1"wide x 1 1/2" long bedded securely in glass. The fit,finish, and blueing are not inconsequential to me, I will be able to do 60-80% myself and will have to send out the rifle for the rest. Happy to have the rifle home and disapointed in the details left undone in the same breath. After a year of waiting I needed to shoot the dragon just to feel a few hundred bucks spent over the trail. The load was 110grs of H870 under a Woodleigh 535grSN. My first unwitting target was a 6x18 Glu-lam remnant that was sitting approx. 50' from the muzzle. Split in half and sent in opposite directions landing 15-20' apart. Impressive. I will get pics tommorrow. 45nut

Glad you got your rifle. Seems like the basics are all there. Don't despair on the feeding. It's usually not hard to get working properly. What action is it built on? I built my 500 A2 on a CZ550 and it was the easiest gun to get to feed I can remember. No offense, but that load sounds wimpy! Go for the 113 grs of Rl-15 and the 570gr woodleigh! That will give you a real good idea of a 500 A2 on steroids!-Rob

I opted for IMR4350 in my 500A2. With this powder I can get 110% compression and 2300+ fps with a 570gr pill! You will want to compress the powder if you are hunting, as this is the ONLY way to keep the bullets in the magazine from sliding too deep into the case during firing. I recommend you start around 116 gr of IMR4350 and work your way up. 122 - 123 grains of IMR4350 will give you the 110% compressed charge with the 570 Woodleigh.

I found that load data for the 460 Weatherby magnum was a good starting place.

Lucs

Sorry to hear that the gunsmith is a flake. Have fun with the rifle.

Gents,
My 500A2 is built on a P-14 Enfield,The 'smith that built this is the same one that built my 458,my 35Whelen,my 375-338,my 30-378 and my 416Rem ..All on Enfields, All previous work has been top notch. He has also built me a 300Whisper on a Xp100 as well as a 357Max bull Barreled Rolling Block. I was not trying to call him a flake at all. He is just weary of working on Enfields. He has suggested I order a Weatherby box and follower to relieve some of the trouble with the feeding issue. I will fix the "low" rear sight situation by building a base for the Greener Express sight to resemble a mini-quarter rib. I have been up to Williams Firearms Co here in town and they have offered to blue the rifle in their tanks when ready.
My reason for the "light" load was pure and simple fear ;-)
I feel ready to finish the 20 rounds I have loaded and then reload with 570gr Woodleighs that have arrived. I will be stepping up to the plate in increments so as not to develop a trigger flinch. I do not want to fear the rifle,I want whatever is in front of the muzzle to fear me
I have pics available for posting if someone cares to do the honors. 45nut

Gents,
Just to add a little bit more to defend my 'smith, He GAVE me two actions,one Eddystone 1917,One Remington 1917 both already ground and polished to Rem 30 Express dimensions and a box full of misc. Enfield parts. I still have a Winchester P-14 untouched waiting for the right inspiration in the choice of caliber...I am leaning to the 8mm Rem mag so far with one of these and really am leaning to the 470Mbogo for another. 45nut

500A2,
Your load sounds good for the the stubby 570 grain Woodleigh. I used 115 grains of RL-12 with them and got about 2450 fps, with no/minimal compression.

RL-12 is no more.

RL-15 is a good one for the 570 grainers, and would do well with no compression with the Woodleighs, but the Barnes 570 grain XLC is soooo long that I resorted to a similar degree of compression with RL-15 (110 grains) compacted by about 10%.

Great results, shown on the other thread: Look Ma No Filler! 2405 fps from a 23" barrel.

A drop tube could be used to lessen the compaction by press. And/Or I could cut my velocity with less powder to gentle the load a bit. Works great the way it is however.

45nut,
Congratulations
on the 500 A2, great cartridge. I have to get my wife to help me post pictures, but she is not here right now. Hopefully someone more computer literate will offer to post. Love those 500 A2's!
Cheers!

Gentlemen,

Here is 45nut firing that dragon: