Hi all.
I have given in to the pull of the .510 and have decided to build a 500 A2 onto a CZ 550 action (416 Rigby).
I have spoken to Pacnor and they have quoted price, But....I need some help with the barrel.
What barrel would you or have you used for a similar project?
Pacnor have quoted the sporter profile barrel, but what taper, thickness or length should I go for? I like a heavy but well balanced rifle to soak up the kick, but that is not too heavy for a long day in the veld.
Do I ask for extra lugs? Any traps for new players?
Many thanks in advance
Stu

Of course you need an extra recoil lug under the barrel .....It would be good if it was part of the barrel steel ... McGowan did my 416 barrel and they did a great job on it , it looks just like a CZ barrel .....If you start with a 1 1/2 " blank there is lots of steel for the quarter rib ,2nd recoil lug abutment , sling eye and front sight ramp ...And a nice muzzle brake if you like ..... When the cost of all these features being added on is factored in it helps relieve the sticker shock of the custom barrel ...

My 500 A-Sq. build is probably on hold for a year or so .....

Stuey:

I have spoken to the Ed Plummer at AHR about exactly the same project that you are doing. I think the simplest way to do this is to buy a CZ in .416 Rigby with two croasbolts and send it to them and have them re-barrel it and work their magic on it. They will bed and true the action for you as well. It I was doing this, I would buy the CZ with the brown laminated stock. I think they are nice looking stocks and they are hell for stout.

Dave

Cheers guys
I have the CZ in Rigby, all shooting with the new rig (500A2) will be open sights (Ghost ring) and I find that the stock on the CZ does not suit me in this respect. I guess I will be up for more $ pain with the stock too.

So I need an extra lug on the barrel.

I was thinking of 24 inch long.

Are there other profiles to consider other than the sporter style?

Any photos or comment appreciated.

Stu

Stuey:

I just bought a new peep sight for my CZ .404 Jeffery from NECG. It just slipped on the CZ perfectly but in order for it to work, I had to take out the standing island sight. I may replace the front bead as well.

The .500 A-Square burns a lot of powder. I think a 24 inch barrel should be about right. I wouldn't go any shorter than that.

If AHR does it for you, they will bed the action so you will have no worries.

Dave

Thanks for the info Dave.

Were you looking for a particular barrel thickness for your project?

Stu

Stuey:

I don't know what to say about the barrel contour. I think Ed could help you with that. I am thinking that you want it to weigh at least ten pounds, maybe a bit more.

Dave

Yes Dave, I think 11 lb unloaded would be a good start. As long as there is a bit of weight up front and I shoot loads of 600 gn at 2150 - 2200 then no problem.

My big problem is I am in Australia. So my options are limited. Buying a barrel off Pacnor is fast, 6 weeks + shipping.

Cheers

Stu

Stuey, my .500 A-Square was built for me by AHR on a CZ 550 Magnum action.

It has a 25 inch barrel, of heavy countour - 1.250" diameter at the receiver ring and 0.800" diameter at the muzzle. Not sure who made the barrel or what the actual "number" of the countour is.

It has a barrel mounted recoil lug and the stock is double cross-bolted. The rifle has an overall length of 46.75" and weighs 11.5 lbs. empty and unscoped.

Good luck with your project.

I assume mrlexma has a sporter contour 25" barrel with dense walnut and maybe some added weight to get his rifle up to 11.5 pounds bare weight with the CZ 550 Magnum action. His muzzle diameter is adequate, but on the small side for a 500A2, IMHO.

My ".510/460 Weatherby Improved Jenkins and Berry" (510JAB) rifle on a BRNO ZKK 602 should be equivalent in weight to a CZ 550 Magnum based rifle. The actions are nearly identical.

It weighs 10.75 pounds bare weight with:

McMillan stock of standard fill (same weight as average walnut stock).

23" barrel that has a 1.250" shank of parallel-sided Knoxform for 3 inch run, then a straight taper to the muzzle diameter of 0.850" at 23" length.

The 500 Mbogo still awaits its Vais Brake.
It will have a 25" barrel of sporter contour, same shape as the CZ .505 Gibbs barrel, with an integral donut machined into a recoil lug and rear sight island.

The 500 Mbogo barrel will be 0.820" diameter at the 25" muzzle. It will use the brown laminate stock that came with the .416 Rigby CZ 550 Magnum that it is based on, will have double cross bolts, banded sling swivel and NECG front sight, etc.

I'll let you know how much it weighs, soon.

BTW, all my 500A2, 510 JAB, and 500 Mbogo rifles have 1:10" TWIST.

Great stuff guys, this is exactly what I was after.
Regards
Stu

Mine weighed a schosh more than 11 lbs with the factory 21" barrel ........You might consider a brake on it if you want to shoot it alot .....If you keep your loads @ 2150 w/ 600 gr bullet its not bad in an 11 pound rifle . but if you move up to 2400 plus it looses it,s fun factor fast ....

Just something to ponder ...

So, the wells is more or less exactly the same thing. Danny pedersen told me that anything past 21" is just weight, as the expansion is so large on the wells, that a longer barrel, FOR HUNTING is not needed. If you don't know, Danny wsa Well's inhouse gunsmith and barrel maker, nearly for ever.

no more than 10#, loaded, without scope or sling, is going to be a reasonable rifle.

1:18, or 1:15 twist will be fine... but, in this case, an overtwist will effectively be a longer barrel...

oh, yeah, don't try to load this thing to 2500fps with a 600gr bullet...

jeffe

I'm assuming most of this advice is the same for a 500 Jeffery? I was thinking of a 12 lb rifle, 24" barrel. Would you advise 22" instead? I like my rifle's balance point to be in the middle of the magazine, so I don't like them muzzle heavy. My rifle is at AHR right now so I'm likely to be making a decision no later than tomorrow.

Thanks in advance,

Chuck

If it is for hunting heavy and dangerous game at the normal close range they are hunted at , carry the extra length ..Especially if you arn,t trying for max velocity ....mine balanced on the front action screw with the 4x Leupold pistol scope on it ..And about 1 " behind without......

I am going to have to dissent here. I would go NO SHORTER than a 24 incb barrel. .500 Jeffery, .500 A2, these cartridges burn a lot of powder. They have ample power with the shorter barrel but you need the extra barrel to take advantage of the cavernous case capacity and to burn all that powder. In my .500 Jeffery, my MODEST load takes 110 grains of RL15 and the stock CZ has a 25 inch barrel. In addion, for these cartridges, the weight of the extra barrel lenght is NOT a consideration.

Dave

My 500a2 has a 1.2 inch straight shank for 6 inches then tapers down to 1 inch at the muzzel for 24 inches total length. I too wanted mine a little muzzel heavy. I machined in a integral brake and counterbored the muzzel back 1.5 inches with a internal crown. The actual barrel length is 22.5 inches to the crown. The brake has eight .1 inch holes in a row with 6 rows. Yes you will need a barrel mounted recoil lug and NECG front and rear sigths plus a custom barrel band. Made mine myself. I used a Mcmillan CZ stock and steel bedded both recoil lugs. REMEMBER TO DO THE BARREL LUG FIRST.
Finally the extractor will need some minor tweeking if your starting with a .416 Rigby action. This is basically the most bang for the buck conversion that you can do. Remember to throat the 500a2 for a .50BMG bullet also.-Rob

Rob, what does your .500 A2 weigh?

Dave

Mine weighs 11lbs with a leupold 2.5X compact on it.probably 10 lbs without tyhe scope and warne rings. BTW the barrel can also be fluted if you want to save more weight.Just keep the flutes no deeper than .125 so you have adequate muzzel thickness.-Rob

Many thanks gents, this is very interesting. All this is much appreciated.

Has anyone got any photos of their pride and joy?

Stu

Here's mine. Sorry for the mediocre photo, but you get the idea.

Yep.. the advice is the same. The difference between the 500 jeffe and the 500a2/510wells is largely in the loading technique... as well as the various other 50's, including my 500AR.

Danny pedersen has built more 510 wells than ANYONE else, and probably more than all-the-bodyelse, and suggests 21" ..

Rob has built a bunch of guns,, and I have shot a bunch of his...and built my own bigins...

trust me, if you can shoot a CZ in a lott or 416 rigby, you can easily adjust to shooting a 10# (with ammo in it) 500a2.... and it's pretty easy to add a merc tube to learn how to shot a bigin.

make it slightly nose heavy, and your felt recoil +offhand shooting ability, will be better.

What Rob mean's, on doing the front barrel lug first, he means bed that ALONE, and when that sets, bed the action lugs as a seperate action

a heavy 23" barrel in a CZ will be very handy. One of the most common things to do with a factory CZ is to trim the barrel to 23"...

Mike D is the one that really made me pay attention to 23 vs 24" barrels. he insisted on a 23", and it made a HUGE difference in handling and speed of shooting...

Have fun, but remember, it's wAY easier to install a merc tube to learn how to shoot than to ruin you stock by having a CLUB for a too heavy rifle.

My 550 express "only" weighs 10.75 empty, just about 11 full, and it makes my 500 jeffe seem like a pussycat

You will only lose about 20 to 25 fps per inch that you cut the barrel below 26", down to 20", in the 500 A-Square.

My 27" is about 100 fps faster than my 23".

Your call. Even a 20" 500A2 will be more powerful than standard 500 Nitro Express, a lot more powerful.

The Ruger No.1 is 27"-BARRELED, 29" with brake.
The BRNO ZKK 602 is 23"-BARRELED, 25" with brake.







They both have the same overall length and bare-naked-unloaded weight (10.75 pounds).

The Ruger No.1 muzzle diameter is 1.000", 6 inches of parallel-sided Knoxform and straight taper to muzzle at 27".

BRNO muzzle diameter is 0.850", 3 inches of parallel-sided Knoxform and straight taper to muzzle at 23".

The 500 Mbogo barrel blank here is 28" long.
It should be 0.820" at the 25" muzzle. Yes, it has been installed on a CZ 550 Magnum, still waiting for the Vais Brake:



BTW, all barrels above are 1:10" TWIST, the original creators' choice for all of these:
500 A-Square
510 JAB
50 Peacekeeper
500 Mbogo

Gents, the depth of knowledge and the selfless sharing of it is really appreciated. For a novice your advice has educated me. It enables me to do it the right way the first time. Thank you.
Stu