I've recently had the itch to break into a .50+ class rifle. Got a lead on a seemingly well priced CZ550 in .505 Gibbs, reportedly NIB with a removeable brake on it. I'm currently reloading for a few of my larger caliber rifles (.375H&H,.458 Lott, .470NE) and handguns (.41 mag, .460 S&W) and am interested in whether or not the Gibbs is easy to download for plinking with and not detatching my retinas.

My other thought was having my .458 Lott CZ550 rebarrelled. Chuck375's .500 Jeffrey has had my attention for quite some time now. Would it be attainable without a large (>$1000) investment? I'd probably be looking to AHR to do the work if I go this route.

All input greatly appreciated.

Hi Brandon, PM me if you wish, I went through the same tradeoffs your thinking about and I can tell you what I spent, the issues that I had and how I got them all resolved. My path was just one of many ...

My personal favorite in the .50 class ( non BMG) is the 500a2. The 500A2 is Easy to build from a .416 Rigby CZ550 and more than most can handle. It is extremely easy to convert a CZ to this caliber reliably. I have a 500 AHR which is essentially a 500 Jeffery with some minor case mods and a 505 Gibbs. The Gibbs gets the least use of all because I like to shoot 635 Gr military .50BMG pulls out of these guns. Yes you can down-load all of them with XMP5744 usually about 40-50 grs and a 535 gr or bigger bullet without the need for fillers. To me, the 500 Jeffery guns and 505 Gibbs guns I built myself were a Royal pain to get to feed reliably and I've heard of many of these same issues with the CZ550 Gibbs with feeding. Jeffe's 500 Ar and RIP's 500 MBOGO should also be considered as they also get the job done and are cool in their own right. -Rob

I have always felt like the 470 Capstick was the best in design of the big bores as it has a parrell neck to hold the bullets and it out perfroms the 470 N.E. and I can't imagine any caliber being better than the old 470 N.E. It just works. I have never owned a Capstick, but I have played with one a bit and was impressed but if I owned one I would surely load it down to about 2100 FPS.

I was thinking a 470 Capstick myself before I went "big". Probably would've been smarter lol .. Rob's advice is spot on as well, another cartridge to consider the 495 A2, lots of virtues of the 470 Capstick, a true 50 caliber, less recoil the the 500 A2 or 505 Gibbs (less powder capacity). Another piece of advice, go shoot a 505 Gibbs or 500 Jeffery with some full power loads before you decide to have one built. I recently shot a friends 458 Win Mag, shooting 500g bullets at 2100 fps (chrono'd). It had a hard rubber recoil pad on it and weighed about 9 lbs. It's recoil was neglible compared to my 11.25 lb 500 Jeffery which as both a 1" thick Decelerator recoil Pad and a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad.

Thank you all for the comments so far.

Rob: I've been reading a good bit about Jeffe's AR rounds. He really did some great work developing them and they're quite impressive. I'm looking to go a more traditional route. I LOVE collecting firearms and having a more "classic" cartridge is my desire at this time. I'm a huge Hemmingway fan and the Gibbs holds a bit of romance in it for me. It being readily available and chambered in a rifle I've already come to love (the CZ550) is another plus. What did you run into for feeding issues and how were they worked out? I'm probably going to head up and handle the CZ Gibbs Wednesday. I'm having a tough time finding info on whether or not it's a center feed magazine or a staggered feed. I'm guessing (with it not being a detachable magazine) that it's not a center feed.

Ray: My .470 NE Merkel is my second favorite rifle that I own. I can shoot it all day, every day, rather comfortably. The Capstick's ballistics are quite stout, and probably more than I'll ever feasibly need. With that said, I'm still looking to break into the >/= .50" realm.

Chuck: PM is incoming, and thank you for the offer for the further information. I love AHR's work and plan to send my CZ .375 H&H to them as soon as I stop "rationalizing" that +/- $1500 in work on my already smooth running .375 can buy me yet another firearm. I'd love to get my hands on both to touch a few off with full house rounds to test my own recoil tolerance (which I consider myself "fairly" tolerant), just unsure of anyone in my area who has one.

Thank you all again. Half the fun in buying a new rifle is doing the research ahead of time for it!

Brandon, PM sent.

Hi Brandon, if the 505 Gibbs functions flawlessly and shoots well it's a steal at $2000. If you don't like the brake any competent gunsmith can shorten and recrown the barrel.

As is the norm for me, I'll probably end up with both.

Heading up to look at the Gibbs Wednesday afternoon probably.