Last fall (iirc), Elkcampmaster started a great thread on putting together a .500A2. I'd like to start something about a .550Express.

I'm also looking for it to be a boat/truck/beater/project/practice rifle so functionally inexpensive is the keyphrase.

For an action, I'm assuming I'll try to find a VZ24 or some other midlength Mauser, depending upon what info and advise I can gather and what's available.

For barrels, Dan Peterson and Badger are a bit over my budget so Bausksa or PacNor? Does anyone know if PacNor does a prefit? Thier website doesn't list .550 but it's been mentioned in other places. (thinking out loud, suppose I'll just have to contact the vendors). If I can't get a prefit, who has a reamer and can do that work? I'm capable of installing it on the action myself unless the price and timing is right for fitting. This will need a barrel lug?

Stock. I have an old railroad tie that I can chainsaw into a handle and fill with lead . Or, get a $75 laminated blank from ElkRidge. No problems inletting it and loading it with steel and Marine-Tex.

I'm anticipating shooting a lot of lead bullets from my own molds.

As much as I'd love a Satterlee .505, Hawaiian Hunter's .45-70 has a charm all of it's own and this project is along those lines.

Thanks for the input!

PWS

Oh ya, magazine and feeding.

There's a lot of talk about single stack mags. Are they set up like your typical .22LR mag? Who makes them? Weatherby aftermarket? What's the hangup in welding up a wider box for the stagger feed?

Again, thinking out loud...

I think the Bauska barrels are still $100 and $10 shipping. While talking to them on the phone he said that he could turn the barrel to what ever profile or even Make it octagon. They can also do the barrel shank threads.

Have you made your own .550" bullet molds? Pics?
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/
this is a great site for all cast bullet needs. They have a group buy section where guys get together to have Lee make a run of custom molds. There is a $100 setup fee from Lee and then the cost of the molds. If you order 25 molds then they waive the setup fee. The cost generally runs around $60 to cover shipping and all. I don't think you'd be able to find buyers for 25 molds. I've run a couple of the group buys before and if there was enough interest I'd be willing to handle the ordering and shipping if you want.
The process generally goes something like:
Draw up boolit and post for all to see.
Take input to modify the print...
Everybody sends money to the "Honcho".
The Honcho places the order with Lee and pays Lee with all the pre-payment money.
When the molds come in(sometimes 2-3 months) the Honcho ships the molds to the people in the group buy.

Lee can sometimes mess up on the dimensions. If that happens and it is too bad to live with, the molds are sent back and we wait until they fix them or cut new ones.

Does anybody have the case capacity for the 550 Express 2.65" and 550 Magnum?

Never mind. I dug through the old post and think I found it.

I am guessing that the 2.5" will hold ~132gr of water

The Bell/Mast cases are 2.900" and have 150 gr of water

The 460 Weatherby resized 2.870" has 148.2 gr of water

I have a 550 Magnum on a Brockman laminated stock and my only advice would be to ask Elk Ridge or whoever does the blank to cut it with the widest butt they can. With either the 550 Express or the 550 Magnum, cross-sectional area is a must. That and a bunch of weight.

Jeff's Mauser 550 Express has single-stack mag. It is a modified Weatherby unit. Also, I believe Jeff will loan the reamer to Pac-Nor if you go that route but you'll have to ask him to be sure.

My 550 Magnum is on a CZ 550 so no mag work was needed.

Wayne Doudna already has pre-cast 550 bullets in 665 (Express) and 715 grains (Magnum) if you want to get started and see which you like before you invest in moulds to make a particular weight. He'll probably sell you a sample pack of each real cheap.

The 715s take up a lot more case capacity so if you go that route, you'll have trouble getting the full 2150 fps out of the Express, FWTW.

Yes, you definitely need a barrel underlug and cross bolts. Remember that while laminates are stable and stronger in some regards than natural wood, they split easier than a properly grained stick of real wood. Don't get cheap and skip the cross bolts! They don't have to be fancy, simple threaded rod countersunk and the holes filled with dyed epoxy will work as well as the Talleys and such.

Good luck!

Lar45,

Thanks for the lead on the LEE molds and info on Bauska. I bought a 475Linebaugh before they were popular and had to limp along with my own molds for a while. My internet connection is acting up so give me a few days to respond more fully.

Tiggertate,

Excellent info. Thanks! I thought I'd get ahold of Neal Shirley and figured Jeffe would chime in at some point. I'll PM him if he doesn't.

Thanks again and I'll keep checking in!

PWS

FYI - Les Bauska is no longer making barrels. I spoke with his daughter this morning for an update on the .550 tube I'd ordered and she and Steve (his helper) are sending out the last finished orders and refunding incomplete ones.

Looks like time to send my action to PacNor.

Got a lot done in the meantime.

Pac-Nor has the barrels and reamer to make a 550 Magnum.

I have the 550 express reamer, in my gunsafe.

http://www.weaponsmith.com/550-exp.html

Bauska closed down shop a coupel weeks ago - Ed and I are trying to get the tooling to McGowen, as well

Wayne makes 665 and 715gr casts...

haryr is right, 2130-2150 is pretty easy with the express, 23" barrel.

Singlestack is THE way to go with this, unless you have a sunnyhill.. lots of ways get that built.

jeffe

Finally got this rifle into action. It still needs a recoil pad but I plinked 20 600grainers over 25grains of Universal Clays yesterday. They went about 1250 and even at that slow speed, recoil was noticable. Definately not what I'd call "fun" levels yet!



I just ordered dies from CH4D. They had them on the shelf so it should be a few days. In the meantime, an RCBS .45-70 expander die without the mandrel is working for a seater.

I'll post some more results as I get them.

Cheers!

I hit 2600fps with Macifej's 615gr solids in my 550 Gibbs, and got over 2300with the 780gr NEI version of the 715 Doudna sells. The OAL is 3.8" on both laods, and they feed from my P17.

You DO have a very purposeful looking rifle there!

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

Why, that's EXCELLENT news...
There's some reference data on my website, about what *I* did with the 550 express, but start low, seriously.

I've had 715gr bulelts over 2200fps in mine, but those are teeth rattling top loads...

The baseline is 700gr at 2130fps, and use H335 to get there.

do you have a pin inside and down along/through/axially the wrist?

i VERY MUCH suggest a limbsaver grind to fit....

BTW, Neal www.customcastbullets.com has some 600, 700, and 800gr jacketed bullets!


Hey Rich,
You are still at 550 magnum levels, man!! Just teasing you about that, but seriousy, Neal had the 715s at 2400, and even barnes solids at 2300+ that are pressure tested... I want to see 2500FPS with a 700GR bullet... !!!!!

jeffe

Rich's custom .550's that went 2600FPS.

I have 5 boxes of 50 each ready to ship if someone want's to join Rich in the Big Leagues!

Mac,
I had 665gr at 2320+ in the 550 express. Neal has had the lighter bullets WAY faster ...615gr at 2600 is probably right at the top of the 550 magnum level... I KNOW the express will send them 2400, and the magnum tends to be 2000fps faster than the express.

700gr at 2600, now THATS a monster....

Switching the material to the copper alloy we use will increase the weight to 650 with no other changes. Making them a tad longer in copper would easily yield 700 Grains. If someone wants to shoot them I'll make them. Express. Magnum, and the ISS 550 are three different animals - yes??

mac...dont forget about the 2" version...550 GARGOYLE?

quote:

Originally posted by Macifej:
Rich's custom .550's that went 2600FPS.

I have 5 boxes of 50 each ready to ship if someone want's to join Rich in the Big Leagues!

SD = .290 for .550"/615-gr: That thing at 2600 fps will certainly do the job, any job, but sorry, .510 is as big as I go. I don't want to go blind!

send a few samples my way and when I get back from the SHOT Show I can give them the wet newspaper test. 700 grains sounds about right in a 550.

Jeffe,

I'm at an impasse testing, too dang cold to keep the media from freezing outdoors.

Rich
DRSS
Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost...

Rich,
sorry to hear that.. we have only been as low as 20 something once this winter

Gentlemen,

I'm wanting a Mignight Laminate for my 500AR rebuild at the momment from Elk Ridge, much the same style as the stock above

BUT

Are Elk Ridge still selling gunstocks ?

I've just been to their web site and in Big Bold LETTERS iT says

"NOT ACCEPTING NEW GUNSTOCK ORDERS AT THIS TIME"

Does that mean they are on holidays or closed up ?

regards
S&F

S&F, I bought the stock as a laminated blank from Boyds. There's probably a better supplier out there as they want $75 for a blank (which is the same as thier pre-inlet stocks) and they dinged me $35 for shipping when the postage label on the box was only $15. Too late now...

As it is, I mostly hogged out the insides and bedded everything with Marine-Tex. I didn't install a pin down through the wrist but made it slighlty over 5 1/2" circumference. I hope that's enough. The exterior is a crude knock off of a late edition Winchester Safari Classic (what I understand is a David Miller design).

I did end up making my own bottom metal by cutting the trigger guard and front screw off a Mauser issue, welding up 1/8" plates to match the cosine rule, and building a crude pushbutton release. It's four down with stagger feed but... I'll get to that later. The stock is definately is FAT around the middle because of it though. The rest is just blended together like a club - because I know that's what it's going to do to me!

I did solder a D&T underlug to the barrel and epoxed an escutcheon through the forend to tie the metal into the stock in one more place.

In all, it's a crude ba$tard but continues to be fun and educational!

I have 5 boxes of 50 each ready to ship if someone want's to join Rich in the Big Leagues!

I am a newbe with you boys. I hope I qualify with a 475 of my design. It is about the same as the 475 A & M. I want to step up to the 550 Mag but first need a supply of head stamped brass and bullets. I have visited several web sites and find the bullets but no where to buy them. The same with the brass. All the other accessories I have located. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

srg@hughes.net

I have the bullets and the brass is available in several places.

PM if you would like more information.

Howdy,
Click on www.weaponsmith.com for information about the 550 Express .
Brass, Bullets, dies and barrels are available via
www.custombrassandbullets.com

Pacnor currently makes barrels, and mcgowen will before long!

jeffe

Here's some more data for this mean little bitch. They all appear pretty mild so far but, naturally, use at your own risk!!!

I didn't bother to weight the stock yet so she only tips the scales at nine pounds. Guddum trigger guard is pounding my middle finger pretty hard but other than that, it doesn't bite. That's not to say it doesn't kick though!!!

All bullets plain base lead.

600 90 H4895 CCI250 2047
600 90 IMR4064 CCI250 1906.5
600 80 IMR4064 CCI250 1620
600 30 Universal Clays CCI250 1418.5
600 70 Pyrodex RS CCI250 1292.5

725 90 H4895 CCI250 2004.5
725 95 IMR4064 CCI250 1945
725 90 IMR4064 CCI250 1871.5
725 80 IMR4064 CCI250 1668
725 30 Universal Clays CCI250 1301
725 70 Pyrodex RS CCI250 1185

750 85 H4895 CCI250 1941.2
750 90 IMR4064 CCI250 1849.6
750 25 Universal Clays CCI200 1172



BTW that's a 600grainer, 725, loaded, and a .458WM brass

WOW!!!
Thanks for the loads and pics... and man, 9# is a light express!! then again, mine is only 1.5# heavier

I am always impressed with the express, when I haen't shot or handled the rounds in awhile .. and I built the first one!

jeffe

I agree. Somebody called it a "Texas Win Mag" and that's a great description - a LOT of bang for it's size. I'm surprised there isn't more interest in it.

Jeff, you'd mentioned wanting to build one on a Ruger77. Were you thinking you'd try to make a stagger feed or single stack? Where do you get the parts for single stack? Does it feed like a .22lr with notches in the rails or are the rounds held down with spring clips? I just can't visualize how it works. If I had to do it again, I would NOT have made my mag box match the cosine rule. That's just too fat and the rounds are pretty stubborn coming up out of the mag even with a lot of rail relief. I'll make the next one with proper mag well taper but not as wide. I built my rifle crude and cheap, thinking I'd learn the quirks on a beater, and might put together another one some day.

Steven

Glad to see you here. I have talked to Steven several times about the 550 Magnum and his wildcat.

Steven you are going to have to share some more info about it.