I have a ph friend in the U.S. for the convention season that needs some help. He has a 505 Gibbs that he want to rebarrel and rechamber to shoot .510 bullets. Where can he get a reamer?

Thanks

Mike

Mike,
He'll needdies as well, as the neck will be .005 thicker, and i think that wont fithis dies.

Steve505 Built one, i think, and perhapsclymer makes the reamer.

the cost for changing it will be high, i believe.

jeffe

Should make up dummy rounds first with .510 bullets, take measurements, and alter the 505 Gibbs reamer drawing correctly, then send the drawing off to a reamer maker. Neck dimensions in the chamber are very important, otherwise you will have excessive chamber pressure.



If he needs help in this process, have him get in touch with me, I do this often.



Pacific Tool & Gauge is the best reamer maker. About 4 weeks delivery. Also needed is a full set of pilot bushings, in order to fit a snug pilot to the bore for a nice concentric chamber. Most gents that do a lot of big bore barrel work have a lot of pilot bushings, my collection numbers over 200. Don't even think about using a solid pilot reamer.



Order up a barrel with .510 groove size, the correct contour and twist. Again, if he needs help, have him get in touch with me. Address & phone no. on the web site, link below.



Reloading dies will need to be altered also.



Once this process is complete, be sure to engrave the bullet diameter on the barrrel!!!!



And, barrel needs a barrel mounted recoil lug, barrel band front swivel lug, and nice band type front sight ramp, plus a nice recessed crown on the muzzle.



For all the above reasons it is best to have an experienced big bore rifle smith do the work.



Depending on the barrel maker the delivery time may take from 6 weeks to 6 months to obtain a barrel. I would go with a Lothar Walther. And I recommend a special contour to obtain enough barrel weight.

Thanks John,

I will have him call you from Reno.

Mike

Jeffe,

My rifle is true 505 Gibbs, almost finished from the gunsmith. By the way, any news from our German friend. I must confess, that now i am starting to get a bit impatient. Also, hope the euro vs dollar is not a problem for Dieter.

rgds,

steve

Steve,
I have emailed him, yet again. Yes, I am frustrated with the delay as well, as I would like nothing more than this to concluded.

sorry about misrepping your true 505

jeffe

Hi Mike,
Clymer does indeed make a reamer that they call the ".50-.505 Gibbs." You can find it at:

http://www.clymertool.com/cgi-bin/reamer.cgi

I'll bet Dave Kiff at PPG has one in his drawings and can whip one out in no time.

Redding will make custom dies from a sample of three fired cases from the rifle's chamber. Just firing off the standard 505 Gibbs ammo in the chamber will produce those.

CH4D might have the dies in stock.

Should be a simple job to convert a 505 Gibbs to a .510/505 Gibbs, and anyone that can build a 505 Gibbs, can build a .510/505 Gibbs. The great .510 caliber bullet availability has much to recommend it.

So if the 510 actually shoots a .51 bullet, what does the 505 shoot? And what other guns are using the 510 bullet that make availability better? Sorry for not knowing this guys, just not as up on it as some of you.

Red

The .505 Gibbs launches 0.505" diameter bullets. Other catridges using the 0.510" bullets are:

.500NE
.500 A-Square
.500 Wells (almost same as A-Sq. vica versa)
.500 Jeffery
.50 Browning Machine Gun