If you all remember, a gentleman going through a rough divorce was offering his big bore collection to me sometime back. I bought his 458 Interarms Alaskan for a song and found it to be very accurate and a pleasure to own. I decided not to rid him of his collection but to help him deal with his financial matter in a method that did not require him to liquidate his collection. Last night he called me and said that he would really like to sell me the 470 Capstick as he doesn't think he'll ever really shoot it again.

My question is about feeding and more importantly, extraction when the temp is 100 degrees and my a** is on the line against something that bites back. Does this cartridge have a track record for feeding and extracting reliably in the heat of Africa?

The rifle comes with dies and brass, but it also includes a bolt on the right side of the gun, which as it happens is the wrong side for me. I own several right handed guns but I would like a rifle built for the purpose of this one to be fit for a very quick series of follow up shots.

Joe

Get hold of GeorgeS. He's got a Capstick and he's been happier than a piginshit with it. I believe 500grains also had one. Since this is a straight walled cartridge with a bit of taper in it, it feeds slick as hell. Pressures are really determined by how warm you're your loads are. From what I've heard over the years, normal loads @2300 f/s or so are no problem. Of course, getting the proper bullet for the velocity is a priority as the normal bullet for the 470NE would probably fall apart. If you get the Capstick, try out some North Forks, they'll hold up to that velocity.

The Capstick is .475 correct? I ran across a bunch of Barnes bullets in .488 but I think they were for the #2 Jeffery round.

The Capstick is indeed 0.475". Make sure the dies are a 3 set piece and not a 2 set piece which I believe were CH/4D's first run of Capstick dies. The 2 piece set don't quite work as the expander ball is too large. As a result I decap in a Lee Universal decapper, FL resize with the FL die with expander ball removed, and then seat as per normal.
Mines in a lightweight Rem700 ... for the sake of my shoulder, I dont load to its capacity but rather aim for a sedate 2150fps.
Cheers...
Con

Feeding and reliability of the .470 capstick are a function of the gunsmith who built the rifle, not of the cartridge itself. Try the gun out before you buy it to be sure everything is ok. The capstick is comparable to a 458 Lott.

Joe:
If your friend decides to sell his 470 Capstick, please PM me with the particulars. I've been convincing myself I need one for quite a while. Thanks!
LJS

Joe,

My LH Model 70 .470 Capstick had no problems feeding, firing, and extracting in 100 degree heat and dust of Tanzania.

Of course, your friend's gun may have problems, but those should be checked for prior to purchase, if possible.

The buffalo below was suitably impressed by .470 Capstick.

George

the 470 Capstick appears to deliver the maximum blow from a 375-based cartridge. That said, I DO have a 475 Gibbs reamer in my shop...

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

I shot a friends 470 capstick this summer I wwas inmpressed.It made my 416 Rem mag seem little.I can shoot my 416 alot of times but I dont think I wants shoot the 470 capstick more than a few times without a muzzle break.My friends gun was a stainless model 70.He had troubleds with scopes and just went with open sites.Its an awesome caliber.It would be my choice for elephant hunting if I went.

quote:

Originally posted by dgr416:
I shot a friends 470 capstick this summer I wwas inmpressed.It made my 416 Rem mag seem little.

Yep ... the bigger bores are great at solving flinches and other recoil issues with the smaller bores. Mate had a play with my Capstick and afterwards felt totally inadequate with his 416Taylor which he handles now like a pop gun. Did good work with the Capstick too for someone never exposed to that level of recoil before.
Cheers...
Con