Anyone got a good .500 A-Square load for a 570 grain bullet at approximately 2200-2250 fps?

Try- 113-118gr( start low, I think 113gr should be about right) of Rl-15 with the 570gr Woodleigh. My records say 2200fps but my gun has a 26 inch barrel and I'm at 2500ft elevation( air is thinner here and bullets go faster). Record says very accurate.-Rob

Great caliber.

Biebs- Correction- Fantastic caliber. -Rob

Thanks for the info. I might even back it down to 110 grains to see what I get to start.

I played with one some few years back and the load I liked was 108 grs. of RL 15. I can't find those records so they must have gone with the gun but the velocity was about that. It sure tamed the recoil, well for a 500 A Square it tamed the recoil..I think I use that load with a filler and without and it didn't really change anything as I recall..Sorry I didn't keep all that data as I have several loads that I tried by backing off Art Alphins book loads. I have always like 2000 to 2150 for any big bullet. Higher velocity than about that shows me no apparant difference on DG, and in fact I believe I get better penetration at the lower velocities up to a point, in other words you can go too far in either directions it seems to me..

Mike, about 100 grains 4320 or 4350 will get you around 2200 with the 570. Light load, low pressure, manageable recoil, still plenty power, fantastic round. Did you build something new?

I have an A-Square Hannibal that I have had for three or four years. I was shooting A-Square ammo in it initially (came with the rifle) but I think the ammo is (i) too hot, and (ii) too inconsistent. For example, was shooting some 700 grain ammo in it and the bolt froze after a shot and I had to get Todd Johnson to get the action open and remove the round. So I ordered some dies and thought I would start to play around with some more reasonably loaded rounds.

I have settled on RL-15, and my hunting load is 110-115 grains (it varies from lot to lot) with the 570 grain Barnes bullets for 2,500 fps.

Based on recent lots of RL-15 that I've used, I would back off to 107 or 108 to start with, if you're aiming for 2,200 fps.

Thanks for the feedback.

110 grains of RL-15 gave me about 2400 fps with most 570-grain bullets in the 23" barrel of my 500A2.
This was with powder lots from the 1999 to 2005 period when I was chronographing it.

I reckon about -30 fps per grain of powder reduction, in my rifle.
So,

I would load about 103.3 grains of RL-15 if I wanted a 2200 fps load in my rifle.

NO FILLER NEEDED!!!

I have been told that around 95gr of IMR3031 will get you there with the Barnes TSX.

Loaded up some rounds last night with 107 grains of RL15 and 570 grain Woodleigh SP's. Will give a report over the weekend on how that performs.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
I have an A-Square Hannibal that I have had for three or four years. I was shooting A-Square ammo in it initially (came with the rifle) but I think the ammo is (i) too hot, and (ii) too inconsistent. For example, was shooting some 700 grain ammo in it and the bolt froze after a shot and I had to get Todd Johnson to get the action open and remove the round. So I ordered some dies and thought I would start to play around with some more reasonably loaded rounds.

Who makes the 700 grain bullets--are they cast or jacketed?

How heavy is the barrel contour on the A-square?

Ed

The A-Square cases say that the 700 grain bullets are the Dead Tough and Lion Load, so I presume the bullets were made by A-Square. They are jacketed soft points.

The barrel contour is big. There is nothing about a Hannibal that is petite. The stock is a railroad tie, the action is a huge 1917 action and the barrel looks like a plumbing pipe.

By the way, I loaded some rounds last night. On the A-Square spent rounds, after resizing, new primers would almost fall out. The primer pockets were very loose. Confirms to me that the ammo from A-Square was way too high in pressure.

Yep I know about the Hanniable, I have one in a 416 Rigby. Not much to look at but mine is scary accurate, just wanted to know what the muzzle end was .800 or .850?? I've been trying to find heavy .458 bullets ( like 600 grain bullets) to play around with-- 700 grain .510 bullets should do the trick stem to stern on just darn near everything.

Art Alphin had to be the worst business man ever. I have seen folks run into problems, he keeps running into them--that tells me the problem might be him!

Good luck with your reloading Mike.

Ed

Ed, the muzzle measures .915. It is big. The stock is actually a pretty piece of wood, just bulky.

Loaded up some rounds with 107 grains of RL15. Average velocity was 2190 fps. That was with F215M primers and 570 Woodleigh Soft Points. No pressure signs, easy bolt lift, primers look fine. Recoil was quite manageable.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Loaded up some rounds with 107 grains of RL15. Average velocity was 2190 fps. That was with F215M primers and 570 Woodleigh Soft Points. No pressure signs, easy bolt lift, primers look fine. Recoil was quite manageable.

Mighty slow for that charge.

You have a loose bore, or a very short barrel, or a slow lot of RL-15, or undersized bullets.
Woodleighs are not undersized are they?

Barrel is 22". Woodleighs are .510, so that is not an issue. I think the lot of RL15 is slow. I am using 2 to 3 more grains in my NE loads to keep the same velocity as older lots. For example, I was shooting 88.5 grains in my .470, and was getting the same velocity that I used to get with 87.5 grains. I love RL15, but the lot-to-lot variation is a pain in the butt.

Sorry, Mike. I appear to have been off by 10 fps.

Depending on the lot, the charge of RL-15 that I need to get to 2,500 fps with 570 or 600 grain bullets can vary by four or five grains.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Sorry, Mike. I appear to have been off by 10 fps.

I noticed that. That is pretty darn good reloading "Kentucky windage" if you ask me. As ugly as the Hannibal is, I have to say that in terms of feeding, function, accuracy and shootability, they are not bad rifles . . . but svelte would never be a word that comes to mind holding one.

MJines, if you are after 2200 to 2250 fps with the Woodleigh 570gr bullet I would try 102gr of IMR4064. That load should put you right in there.

MJ,
OK, MR is psychic about your barrel length and the slowness of your lot of RL-15.
Varget Extreme used to be a a tiny bit slower than RL-15 in my 404 Jeffery, had to use one grain more Varget to equal RL-15 velocity.

I think I shall use up my old fast lot of RL-15 and go strictly with Varget henceforth.

Varget Extreme has the best temperature insensitivity of any powder.
I have not heard anything about lot-to-lot variability with Varget Extreme, though RL-15 sems to be Extremely Variable.

Member lb404 had great results with Varget in his 500 Jeffery.

I shot this 50 yard target with the two different beads on his rifle, in 107 F heat, in Oklahoma, a while back.
This was the start of getting his iron sights adjusted.
Dang that Sterling Davenport for not getting them perfect by eyeball when he built it,
though it might have been right-on with a heavier and slower bullet, at 50 yards.
Maybe 104 grains of Varget for the 500A2 and 570-grain Woodleighs => 2200 fps?.
NO FILLER NEEDED.

This was a "fine bead" or "target bead" hold with 12 O'Clock edge of the bead at the center of target where X of POA is above.
Rifle may have been meant to shoot to center of bead, i.e., "coarse bead" or "combat bead" hold:

Varget is a great powder. I, however, have many pounds of RL15 that I need to shoot up. Fortunately it is all the same lot.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Anyone got a good .500 A-Square load for a 570 grain bullet at approximately 2200-2250 fps?

Yes: 1 to 2 ibuprofren every four hours but not to exceed recommended daily dosage. Start low and work your way up watching for pressure signs along the way.

(Hey, just funning with ya, you're a better man than me.)

With the size and weight of the Hannibal, honestly, it is not all that bad. That said, the suggestion of ibuprofren before and after a trip to the range with the rifle is generally sound advice.

I suspect my lot of RL-15 which is probably 10+ years old by now must be really slow. I doubt it got faster with age. Good to know about the variablity. I always had good luck with it in the "little" .50's.-Rob