Here is a copy of an article originally published in African Hunter Magazine (http://www.africanhuntermagazines.com) that covers the big bore cartridges (used for hunting) from .500 Jeffery up through .600 Overkill and .700 NE.

Big Bore Article

Many thanks to Nickudu for dealing with the images and image hosting.

So the Brno CZ550 in .600 Overkill will take 2 cartridges in the magazine and one up in the spot??
How many does an .585 Nyati take?
//OK

Dan,
excellent work...
couple fact updates

... the 550 express is a 3.35"oal, not 3.30...

... Mike S is not making them.. but Jim Brockman does... as well as CZ custom shop

weatherby brass can make perfect 550 express, and is a little short (but works perfect) 550 mag

alaska bullet works is making bonded softs..

and jamison international is also making "bell" headstamped brass

and Jeffeosso is the only smith that's made a 550 express, as far as we know.

jeffe

Very nice work. Thank you.

Just a super job, Dan!

I appreciate the effort! It pulls a wide spectrum of ultra big bore related material into one, easy read.
A great service for all levels of experience.

Many Thanks! ... Nick

good basic overview of all the bubba carts...thanks

it seems the 550 magnum might get some more attention off this

jeffe,

Thanks for the update.


Overkill,

.585 nyati will get you 2 in a cz550 mag box unless you modify the box.

question...the 510 wells is a straight neck up job?

The .510 Wells and .500 A-Square are both based on necking up the 460 wby to .510 diameter. The A2 has an improved case design while the Wells does not. Case capacity is very similar.

thanks grains...from my understanding the wells is a neck up and length trim if necessary, a verrrrrry practical bubba cart (brass and bullet wise) does the wells need fire forming too?

Technically speaking, the A2 does not need fire forming, although the case does fill out a bit after firing. I have not shot a Wells, but I suspect the same is true. The A2 has a bit better resale appeal because it is a SAAMI cartridge, and there is published reloading data for it.

I make my Wells cases by fireforming Weatherby brass in the Wells chamber then loading. Have never had to trim. I suppose A2 could be made the same way.

Nice. Thanks for posting it here.

Damn fine work Dan. Thanks for posting.

Thanks, Dan!
Well written, and cleared up a few questions of mine. Nice pic's of the cartridges lined up - have been looking for that for a long time.

Sincerely,

Clear, concise, and informative. Bravo!

George

Nice work! Thanks to 500 and Nickudu for getting the word out!!

500 Grains,

Nice article. Is the 600 AHR Dak 40506's rifle? I saw it at Lodi and it is magnificent.

Mehulkamdar,

The 600 OK is the same, built by AHR.
Send me your address by private post and I will send you some pictures from Lodi.

Dak

Dan,

Excellent article.

Thank you,
Roland

Great article Dan. Just like your other articles in African Hunter.

Dan,
Yes indeed, very good!

Good coverage of realistic .500 A2 loads ... but let us not get into the rebate debate right now.

Your photographic technique of cartridge line-ups may be of help to us here at HA!/DOA for the next photo layout. Thanks for the examples.

Dan,
Excellent article.

Jeffeosso,
Mike Scherz is, indeed, making 550s and has been since the beginning.

Just excellent !!
Thank you very much indeed to both of you, Nick and 500grains !

Thanks for than, 500. Nice read.

quote:

Originally posted by interboat:
Dan,
Excellent article.

Jeffeosso,
Mike Scherz is, indeed, making 550s and has been since the beginning.

Interboat,
You have a pm

Dan- Very fine work. Well written and probably the best article on Big Bores in existance. You should write for G&A! Thanks for the nice comments on the .600OK! The GMA actioned .600OK will take three down and one up the spout!-Rob

Rob-
What is a GMA action?
I was discussing about to build a .600 OK in a swedish reloading forum. And they said that the brno 602 is a better action to build it on.. what do you think?
And i remeber that you talked about OK 1 OK 2 and a overkill 3.?? The 3 is the biggest OK right? Is it poissible to build on the brno actions??
Just a thought..
//OK

quote:

Originally posted by Overkill from What is a GMA action?
I was discussing about to build a .600 OK in a swedish reloading forum. And they said that the brno 602 is a better action to build it on..

Absolutely not. The GMA is wider and has a 0.750" bolt body so it can more easily accomodate the huge 600 OK cartridge. Also, the GMA is easily made to hold 3 down, but the BRNO 602 is not.

Overkill- You get run over by a ELGE or wacked to hard by your .460 Weatherby?. Don't you remember all those threads about the GMA action versus the CZ550? Are you sure your our old Overkill buddy?-Rob

Yes I am the same guy.
But I cant remeber anything about the a GMA action.. what does it stand for?
Sorry..

Oh.. I have done a search.
Granite mountain action.. now i remeber that I have heard it. But i cant still remeber does threads about it =(

Overkill,

All you have to remember is to build you gun on a GMA action, NOT a BRNO 602 and NOT a CZ550. It will cost more but in the long run it will be worth it.

I have brass for the OK1 and OK2 but have not built that version as I frankly can barely handle the OK1 at max. The OK 2 is a 3.4 inch Case length. The GMA action will handle it with some work but I never actually tried it. There is a limit to shoulder fired DGR's. The .600OK is my limit!-Rob

I certainly enjoyed the article, but a statement regarding the relative penetration ability of the 577 and 600 Nitro Express rounds compared to the 500 Nitro raises a question. Having read John Hunter's book many years ago I have no doubts that the 500 is a great round and am debating about a 500 versus a 470 in a Searcy double (I think that I will go with the 500 due to some recent "safety statistics" reported from South Africa in terms of stopping charges, but that can be the subject of another post.) I have also read in several articles over the years that the 600 was prone to less penetration versus the 577. However, I have also read that the 577 typically had outstanding penetration results. I think it was Elmer Keith that mentioned that a 577 penetrated lengthwise through an elephant when shot from behind. As I recall a hunter got excited and blasted a large bull in the butt at 10 yards, the bull started to run but quickly collapsed. They found that the bullet had exited the chest and damaged a tusk. I also recall another article where a 577 bullet fired into the chest exited the elephant's hip. Just a matter of a few months ago a posting herein commented that the 577 had penetration exceeding even the 458 Lott and typically shot through hippos.

I look forward to other's thoughts on this matter.

.

Another correction then: The article says that the .500 A-Square is not rebated.

Just measured mine cases: the belt is 0.600" and the rim is 0.575" in real life. Most spec labeled drawings of the cartridge show it to have max dimensions of 0.604" at the belt and 0.583" at the rim. That is a rebate. A-Square's own specs show 0.603" and 0.579" for the .500 A-Square rebate.

All the .378 or .460 Wby based cartridges, such as the .500 A2, are indeed rebated, and really ought to be used only in a vertical stack instead of staggered.

The spec labeled drawings of the .416 Rigby and .338 Lapua show 0.589" at case head forward of the extractor groove, and 0.590" for the rim. In real life they both measure 0.585". No rebate at all.

500, A very interesting article thank you.

It's my understanding that Geo. Gibbs is not as you state a London gun maker. It may well be that he had a London premises too, but he is usualy called George Gibbs of Bristol.
Sorry, it's a small point, I think one worth mentioning, you may dissagree.

500, Many thanks for the effort on this most informative acticle.

Dakota45056,

You have a PM.

Thanks and best wishes,