Ed Hubel is the one that got me going on the 24ga. From Hell. (A .577NE that is good for early slug-gun season.)

He has done a lot of experimenting and innovative work with unique big bores. He built my first H&R stub barrel set up and I have had some great adventures with it in Africa. My H&R stub barrelled big bores are now my go-to rifles for Africa. I have several bolt actions that I could take instead but I am hooked on these exciting, short, single shots for cape buffalo.

Old Ed is always there to help with my big bore load development and I have learned a lot from him.

This is not a plug for him, it is just a note of gratitude for making my DG hunting even more interesting. Ed is an important part of my hunting story. Brian Gallup

It was fun to watch your video,how fast were your loads?

Thanks bill73, I think those loads were 1700+ fps for a 700 grain hard cast bullet.

How was the penetration? those speeds are about ideal for cast bullets.

Bill73, Thanks for your interest. Penetration is about half of what a 375HH is, with good solids, I would say from my limited experience.
Crossways through the shoulders of a buff the .577 bullet would stop under the hide on the other side. Performance wise my cast bullets work the same as a good solid with little or no deformation.(CEB or Northfork) I made them with about a BHN of 22 with no brittleness. with a wide flat meplat. I got help from others on the Cast Boollits forum in making a good alloy.

Ed Hubel educated me on powders. The H&R Handi Rifle will not stand high pressures so I needed a slow powder with a "flat" pressure curve. Ed suggested VV H550.

This August I will take two barrels with me, 577NE in 26.5 inch and 50-110 Winchester in 22 inch. I will test CEB Solids and Raptors, and Peregrine Bush Busters. My velocities will still be under 2000 fps. Most experienced DG hunter like 2200 fps but I, who have only killed 5 cape buffalo, think that with these big bores that high velocity is not needed if I get close. The powders will be N550 and N540. I will shoot 4-5 cape buffalo this trip.
A story of the hunt will be published in The African Hunting Gazette and I will make a You Tube video as well. The Story of the hunt that you see on the video is called "Never Mind The Bull". Apology for the self promotion. Cheers, Brian

Please post when the video is ready to watch

I will, thanks for the encouragement. brian

I recently received my 50-110 (true .500 cal bullet) Custom dies from Hornady and have been testing loads with 450 grain CEB solids and 410 CEB Raptors.

Compared to my 577 NE barrel this 50-110 is a delight to shoot!

As heavy loads for these old cartridges with modern bullets and powders are hard to find, I have sought guidance on load development from my guru Ed Hubel.

He has helped me get up to nearly 2000 fps with both bullets using N550 and N540. These seem to be good but not max loads.
That's good enough for the girls I go with. I will be hunting cape buffalo in Africa a month.

Both of my switch-barrels for my Ed Hubel Handy Rifle are sighted in and good to go. The 50-110 custom is actually quite nice to shoot, even off the bench. ( 450 grain CEB solid at 1950 fps.)
The .577NE (24 ga. From Hell) is nasty off the bench. But you can still get three 700 grain Peregrine Bush Busters into a big ragged hole at 50 yds. Same with CEB 600 grain Raptors. All it takes is a lead sled and two aspirins. Brian

My new toy is here. 585 HE made by Wayne in Pendleton.

Really first and second shot from rifle. Loaded with 155 gr RL-17 under 750gr weldcore bullet.

http://www.585he.cz/VID_20180726_115508.mp4
http://www.585he.cz/VID_20180726_115740.mp4


Jiri

Jiri, Very nice. Brian

Brian: Thank you.

Will do some pictures and post them later.

BTW I feel today I shot it yesterday
Jiri

Jiri, Photos would be very nice. Is it the belted case or the "Short" HE?

It is the big case. Built on Montana PH action, Pac-Nor barrel, kevlar stock. All stainless steel construction, cerakote finish.

It is dark here, so pictures tomorrow.

Jiri

Jiri,

Kicks a bit more than my .416, huh?

I think that with heavy loads it's recoil energy is about twice that of a 458 Win Mag. ( 700- 750 grain bullet at 2000fps)
My .577 NE loaded down (700 grain bullet at 1700-1800fps) has a recoil that one can make friends with. It really hurt as cape buffalo.

I have a 585 that Ed made the barreled action for. I ordered an A-Square synthetic stock and had it bedded into it. Still have all the brass, dies, etc as well. I'm done with Africa and too old for big bores, if anyone is interested in one.

Jiri, For my taste that is a perfect working rifle. Perfect shape of stock. Very good looking too!

That is light for the cartridge but I can tell that you have no trouble handling it. ( If it ever feels like it kicks too muck you can add a half pound of epoxy lead shot mix in the for end.

Thanks for the photos.
- What will you be hunting with it?
- How long is the barrel?

Thank you Brian. "Working rifle" was the goal from the beginning of the project. All stainless, low maintenance, all continent rifle. In the stock, there is mercury recoil reducer already. Light enough to carry, heavy enough I can shoot it.

Jiri

quote:

Light enough to carry, heavy enough I can shoot it.

That is what we want.
I am still very interested in how long the barrel is. Thanks, Brian

Sorry, the barrel is 26", from muzzle to bolt face. I want to hunt wild boars etc, of course with highly reduced loads.

Looks awesome
I would go for a 20" barrel myself but I'm sure you love it as is.
You may lose about 50 FPS over 26" but it makes for a more lively gun.

Jiri, 26" is perfect. There is a lot of powder to burn with that case.

Brian. I like it longer too. Have 25" 375 H&H, so I am used to longer ones.

Please: Where to get cleaning kit for that (brushes and patch driver)? Where to order 24 gauge wads for reduced loads?

Jiri

For wads I order from buffaloarms.com .
for brushes etc. I order from Brownells, I think.

Also, for big cases and heavy recoil, long barrels are my choice too.

Thank you my friend!

Whatever length works for you.
Where is the balance on the rifle?

boom stick,
The long barrels appeal to me for the following reason:
-steady to hold with weight forward feel.
-Helps with recoil and muzzle blast.

I like short barrels because they are handy to carry and have nice feel.

I use both long and short.
On my .577NE Handi Rifle single shot, I have a 26.5 inch barrel. I wish it was an inch longer, at least.

My 50-110 Win the barrel is 22 inches, giving the single shot break open rifle an overall length of 1/2 inch less that a 30-30 win Mod. 94 carbine. Pretty nifty for a cape buffalo rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
Whatever length works for you.
Where is the balance on the rifle?

It is here cca:

I will add that I like heavy barrels for the weight forward handling. I am a reformed shotgunner. Both switch barrels above are bull barrels. Helps a lot with the recoil too. When I get to old to carry my 12 pound rifles I will pay some young guy $50 a day to carry it. Brian

Jiri, you've got a hell of a rifle there for anything that walks. Congratulations -- and it was built in Oregon!

Glad you have subs a great gun in a fantastic clambering exactly the way you like it

585 HE and Woodleigh Weldcore 750 gr

It was just for fun/test purpose. Woodleigh fired at much higher velocity it is constructed for.

Explosion from first jug made big hole in a desk. Weight retention ~93 %, bullet overexpanded, but hold together nice.






Video
http://www.585he.cz/wood_585.mp4
http://www.585he.cz/wood_585_slow.mp4
Jiri

Nice rainbow at the end of that first video.

Rip ...

Few screenshots from video:

Shoot now my 505 looks small and inferior....585 Eh???? Dang it!

where is Ed these days anyhow, he had posts on his projects running on forums for about 10 years.

Ed used to hang around Calguns.net often.

It seems Ed's handle here is now Grampahubel