I've been working on this thing forever and finally went out and shot it yesterday.
It sent a 560 grain at 2400 FPSin front of 104 grains of IMR 4064. I'm looking at reducing the load to something that is a little more comfortable for regular shooting. The 500 A-square shows 112 grains for a 600 grain dead tough at 2400. Obviously I've already reduced this. Has anyone had any experience with light loads in this case?

Hi I don't have a 500 Wells or 500 A2, but I do have 500 Jeffery. Be careful with reduced loads using normal powder. Hang fires can and will occur. AA 5744 is a good powder for reduced loads. My normal load for my 500 Jeffery is:

Jamison cases
Federal 215 Primers
570g Barnes TSX
103g H4895 for 2300 fps

Below is the reduced load information I got from Accurate Arms for a 500 Jeffery using a 525g Cast performance swaged lead bullet.

Hi Rip, had to dig it out. My reloading area has been swamped by one of my sons moving back in. But here's the email I got.

Finally found my reply from Accurate Arms Powder, here is the load data they sent for my 500 Jeffery shooting 525 grain Cast Performance Bullets with AA 5744. I'm buying myself a reloading notebook for Christmas lol ...

We suggest the following.
Caliber: .500 Jeffery - Rimless.
Barrel length: 24”
Primers: We recommend using only Winchester Magnum WLRM or Federal 215 magnum primers.
Reduced loads:
Powder: Accurate – 5744.
Bullet weight: 525 grains.
Low load: 55.0 grains (1600 - 1700 ft/p/sec)
Mid range Load: 65.0 grains (1825 – 1925 Ft/p/sec).
NOTES:
It’ important to note that SAFETY is our prime concern therefore we strongly recommend.
1. TO ALWAYS BEGIN LOADING AT THE RECOMMENDED MINIMUM “START” LOAD.
2. If at all possible, measure the velocity and correlate with our data.
Regards
Johan Loubser
Ballistician
Ramshot/Accurate Powders
Tel: (406) 234 04 22 email: johan@ramshot.com
Western Powders Inc -- Miles City – Montana.


I think I used 58 grains, can't confirm though. It worked fine, but I hated cleaning the lead out of the barrel, not used to shooting non-jacketed bullets. Maybe I'll start back up shooting some reduced loads using .510 pistol jacketed bullets. Should be good for jack rabbits

Regards,

Chuck

in my 510 wells 65 gn of 5744 works and it is a hoot to shoot

Thank you stradling. I had spoken to the folks from Swift and they mentioned Trailboss from IMR. I found the IMR fact sheet on that which I'll paste in for reference:

IMR®TRAILBOSS® REDUCEDLOADS FOR RIFLE AND PISTOL
As noted in the powder description section, Trail Boss was designed primarily for reduced loads using lead bullets in pistol cartridges. However, Trail Boss offers superb versatility in rifle cartridges producing reduced loads using lead or jacketed bullets. These reduced loads make firing such cartridges as the 300 Winchester Magnum or even the 458 Winchester Magnum pure fun!
Listed below we show a few examples of such loads throughout the Reloading Data Center, but the fun doesn't stop there. If you don't see Trail Boss data for your favorite cartridge we have a formula for developing loads for all cartridges and it's simple to follow. Thisformulamaybeusedinbothrifleandpistolapplications:
1) Find where the base of the bullet to be loaded is located in the case and make a mark on the outside of the case at thislocation. ThenfillthecasetothatmarkwithTrailBoss,pourintothescalepanandweigh. Thisisyour maximumload. Pressureswillbebelowthemaximumallowedforthiscartridgeandperfectlysafetouse!
2) Take 70%of this powder charge weight (multiply the maximum load from step 1 by .7), and that is your starting load.
3) Start with this beginning load and work up to your maximum charge, all the while searching for the most accurate reduced load. Once found, the fun begins!

Trailboss or 5744 will take care of the real reduced load issue but I am more interested in throttling the 510 back to 2150 - 2200 if it can be done safely.

Shooting a 600g Woodleigh out of your 500 Wells at 2100 to 2150 should be easy to do with normal powders and still be enough to anchor anything on the planet. I'll dig out my "Any Shot You Want" book, with load data in it and post the 500 A2 data.

it's my understanding --that you start with the 40% on the 5744 powder -- shoot and add more grains of powder until the case is full-- or you get the desired velocity -- so say [now this is just a guess not data]

75 grains of 5744 under a 600 grain bullet-- shoot for effect see if you get the rate you are looking for 1 see if you have additional case capacity 2

start low and slow and walk the velocity up one grain of powder per load till you top out at volume or velocity desired -- DO WATCH FOR PRESSURE ON PRIMERS AS YOU GO !!

POSTED THIS FOR CHUCK AS I HAD IT HANDY

.500 A SQUARE ---600 GRAIN--- DEAD TOUGH BULLET

Thanks!