I know that there is an Encore 50 Alaskan and 500 Whisper that use a BMG bullet, but I have not seen a 500 A2 / 500 A square barrel for the Encore. Can the Encore frame handle the 500 A2 / ASquare round with the bmg bullet (750 Amax)?

The Encore can handle cartridges with base diameter (0.532") and pressure of the typical belted magnums. As I think the 500 A-square uses the 460Wby case, base dia is 0.603", so if loaded to similar pressure, it would be too hot.

Bill

The encore has been chambered for the 416 Rigby which has a .590 base, thus,I'm sure, it could be chambered for the 500 A2 as the additional belt dimension will make an insignificant difference.
I would pay big money to see someone stupid enough to shoot this.! WE ARE TALKING A DARWIN AWARD for sure. This is what, about 150 ft-lbs or recoil in a 6-7 lb gun! I suppose you could load it down to a 50 Alaskan /whisper level, but then what would the purpose be? lighting off 120 grs of Rl-15 behind a 650gr or 750 gr bullet aught to land the shooter in the next town!-Rob

Rob,

Are you paying? If the price was right I might consider it. Heck, it will only hurt for a little while! (time being a relative thing). Actually, we could create a new game show, kinda a shooters "Fear Factor".

Todd E

RE: 500 A2 Encore.
The bottom line is you're not going to burn all that powder in a short Encore barrel. So from a ballistics standpoint, it?s a novelty item at best. And good luck finding a gunsmith willing to take the risk (legal) of you blowing your self up, if something goes wrong!

One legitimate reason to build a 500 A2 Encore is to backup a rifle in the same chambering. You have the ammo strapped on, but the rifle is by a tree, and you get yourself in trouble. If the Encore is close by, say a 13? or 15? with iron sights and thus relatively portable, you?ve got a chance to defend yourself with the same ammo as your rifle.

But can the frame handle it, yes. I have seen it done.

As to the ASquare round with the bmg bullet (750 Amax), I have not seen that load attempted.

M.R.CLEAN,

Could you tell me what are the advantages to shoot these bigbore cartridges out a single shot pistol with a barrel lenght of 14" max.

You'll have lots of unburnt powder.

If you want a bigbore, have a barrel in .500 Linebaugh Long very powerful and use handgun powder so no unburnt powder. But final choice is yours.

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BER007
Keep the faith in any circumstances
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BBER007@HOTMAIL.COM

While it may be physically possible to machine an encore barrel for a 460 Weahterby based round, I would personally feel uncomfortable having so little metal surrounding the chamber of such a gun. If I were after more capacity then a 50 Alaskan, I'd use a stretched 50 Alaskan, ie use a 50 basic case 3" or 3 1/2" in length.

As far as what can be done in a 14" tube, one of our posters has a 470 NE encore, and has been pushing 500 gr bullets 1800 fps. I have yet to shoot it, but recoil is reported to be tollerable. The short barrel doesn't burn all the powder, so you do not get the full recoil pulse as a rifle that burns the powder would produce.

If it turns your crank, get it chambered.

Though the Rigby has a .590" base, it operates at significantly less pressure than the belted mags. Please note that I said "loaded to similar pressure" above when referring to the .603" rim diamter on the 460Wby. If you loaded to lesser pressures you would be OK, but at 460Wby pressures I think that you would be in trouble.

Using my 375H&H Encore barrel, I chronographed a 260 Nosler Ballistic Tip load at 2500 fps average (3600 ft-lbs muzzle energy). This from a 16 1/4" braked barrel (about 15" effective length), and yes, it stings the hand a little. Same load (76.0 gr RL15) in 24" Model 70 chronographed 2750 fps.

Bill

I'm sorry, but pressure is not the issue here. It's purely bolt face thrust and the ability to handle the recoil. The encore is chambered for cartridges such as the 300 and 338 ultramags as well as the 458 Lott which generate pressures in the area of 65,000 psi. The 500A2 operates at these same pressures. However, the pressure is working against a larger bolt face in the Rigby and 460 wby inducing much greater forces on the action.There is no question that the locking system of the encore can take the gaff( at least a few times anyway. I believe that the safety factor of this action considerably exceeds the levels we are talking about here.
The issue is the recoil. As Todd E. says this would hit close to tilt in my personal Recoil Fear-factor equation. In a 14 inch pistol given that half the powder would exit unburned, it would be enticing to watch! In a encore rifle with a 24 inch tube it would be a definate trip to the hospital for someone stupid enough to fire it!-Rob

"Bolt face thrust" is definitely influenced by the pressure of the cartridge, and that is why the combination of head size and cartridge pressure defines the limit (According to SSK Industries' website). Theoretically, area (square inches) times pressure (pounds per square inch) should equal the force (in pounds).

For an example, let's use a 300 win mag (.532" rim diameter) assuming a peak pressure of 64 ksi. Peak bolt/face thrust calculates to 14,226 pounds. Working backwards, a 460Wby size rim (.603") would require only 48.9 ksi to develop the same level of thrust/force. 460Wby at 64 ksi has a calculated bolt/face thrust of 18,276 pounds.

I don't know what pressure the 500A2 is typically loaded to, but if it is less than 48 ksi peak pressure, it might be just fine in an Encore. But, if it's around 65 ksi, the barrel might follow/join the bullet downrange. And, as Paul H indicated, you won't have as much barrel containing the "hoop" stress, so barrel wall strength will eventually join thrust as a limiting factor.

Bill

Bill M- Thank you for providing the calculations to make my point. In fact as I remember the Encore action was demonstrated to be capable of handling over 40K-lbs of bolt thrust before self destructing. Thus, the Encore action can physically easily handle the 65,00 PSI level of the 500A2 and the concomitant bolt thrust of 18k-lbs. The barrel diameter is also sufficient. The difference in the 460 WBY case and the .416 Rigby case (besides neck diameter and shoulder design)lies only in the belt dimension which is only .010 or so and arguably is not the weak point. I have seen more than one 460 WBY encore conversion floating around and it apparantly has been fired and refused to blow up!. This is not a design or safety argument as this can be done. It's one of common sense and the ability to handle recoil levels that are physically dangerous. My 500 A2 weighs about 13lbs and when fired with 750 gr A-maxs at 2400 fps will definately get your attention!-Rob

Rob,

Thank You for the information, it certainly provides something to think about. I had never heard the 40K thrust capability of the frame, that is a lot more than I would have expected!

Bill