I decided to take a quick ride to the family place in the Catskills and brought the newly lightened 600OK, the 585AHR and my Merkel double 500NE.

First, the Merkel kicks a heck of a lot less than I expected.

Second, an 11 1/2 lb unbraked 600 OK firing 900gr projectiles at 2350fps kicks more than when it weighed 13lbs - but not too much more.

Third, whether RGB's Copper Bore Riders or Macifej's Brass hammers, a .620 bullet driven at over 2,300fps outpenetrates a .510 Hornady factory loaded solid out of a Merkel in 500 NE.

Front of target tree:



Side with BlackBerry Curve for size comparison:



Back of Target:



Fourth, the 585AHR is less filling yet tastes great. In other words, an unbraked 12 lb AHR-built rifle spitting out .585 solids at 2300 fps kicks less than the 600OK and penetrates better than the aforementioned 500NE loads.



Finally, I think all would do fine against a Cape Buffalo and looking forward to proving just that in September.

Just my humble opinion!

Paul- Good report! I've been doing some shooting with those copper bore riders and they perform very well indeed. I think your ready for Africa! I would much rather shoot my .600Ok without a break than by Merkel .500NE. You must have had a good pad installed. Yes the .600OK will way out penetrate a .500NE.-Rob

Hey Rob,

Love those copper bore riders - they are the cat's meow. Sliced right through that tree and a few other smalle ones behind it before burying themselves in the hill behind. If I had brought a spade, I would have tried digging a few out. Accurate too - three within 3" as fast as I could crank the bolt offhand at 50 yards.

Oh and the Merkel had a pretty good pad from the factory - also much better than I expected - must be a new run from the factory - it is one of the ejector models so probably of pretty recent manufacture. they must have listened to you and the others who threw a new pad on as soon as they got the double.

Paul,

Great report! I am heading up to our family property in far Northern NY tomorrow and will have my Merkel .500NE with me. I will be testing a variety of cast bullets loads... of course will have a good supply of full-power loads with 570 Woodies also. My Dad told me no more shooting at trees. The one that I shot last year with my .458 Lott fell down across the access road... oops.

Regards,
LLR

Ahhh yes ... the Summer Logging Season is in full swing ...

quote:

Originally posted by 500straight:
Paul,

The one that I shot last year with my .458 Lott fell down across the access road... oops.

Regards,
LLR

That's great!!! This particular tree is well within a 50 acre spread so no roads will be blocked. THis particular tree is noted for bad behavior and unpredictable charging of passers-by so it needed a lesson on good behavior!

Safe trip - I hit some amazing squalls on the way up.

quote:

Originally posted by Macifej:
Ahhh yes ... the Summer Logging Season is in full swing ...

Yes as noted, his tree was a "bad apple". I should mention tha your Brass Hammers of Thor were like hot knives through butter - I think they might still be flying!. Like Rob's, they were damn accurate and proved themselves on the renegade trees of Warwarsing.

Paul - any chance we could get some photos of your various loaded rounds ...??

Cool stuff!

quote:

Originally posted by Macifej:
Paul - any chance we could get some photos of your various loaded rounds ...??

Sure

Will try to upload them tonight

Kodiak 900gr Soft-RGB750gr-RGB900grCopper Bore Rider-Macifej Brass Hammer-Barnes BS-GSC Copper

Should be a dandy combo for Old Mbogo.

Paul- What load did you use with the Cup point copper borerider? They have been exceedingly accurate in my rifle and expand reasonably at the velocities you mentioned. Mine feed quite well also.Did you notice any minimization of recoil too? Good shooting three rounds as fast as you can. Hate to be the Buff or ELE you go after. Out of curiosity, how did you lighten it? -Rob

Thanks for posting the photos Paul ... looks like you'll have a load for every possibility ...

Nice stuff guys!

quote:

Second, an 11 1/2 lb unbraked 600 OK firing 900gr projectiles at 2350fps kicks more than when it weighed 13lbs - but not too much more.

Paul,

Are you planning on hunting with your X-Brake?

I'm going to use mine...

Just wondering what other Overkillers are doing...

Great report by the way...

looks like you had some fun...

Matt V.

Sightly off topic but Rob, have you ever made an unrebated 600 OK from swaging a belt on the 577 Trex brass? The casehead and belt diameter are almost the same .690" for the Trex and yours measures about .684" and both 3" long.
With the GMA and soon to be PH that can handle a .690" rim I thought that might be interesting although we know feeding is more the work of a competant gunsmith.

Boomstick- I have scupulusly avoided anything to do with the .577Trex and its brass at all costs. I also feel swaging belts on cases is way too much work and have avoided it also. I'd much rather turn a case because you can automate that than swage anytime. -Rob

If its not too much trouble could you post some pics of the 585 AHR loaded ammo. And perhaps explain the ctg briefly. Rim, belt, rebate,length, OAL?

curious,

quote:

Originally posted by fourbore:
If its not too much trouble could you post some pics of the 585 AHR loaded ammo. And perhaps explain the ctg briefly. Rim, belt, rebate,length, OAL?

curious,

600OK (a great round in and of itself) that has been necked to .585

[Paul,

Are you planning on hunting with your X-Brake?

I'm going to use mine...

Just wondering what other Overkillers are doing...

Matt V.[/QUOTE]

Matt,

I popped an eardrum with a full load of 7828 while hunting. It was my left ear and it has subsequently closed back up but I don't want to repeat the experience! Faster powders might make all the difference but I'm hesitant to try it. Perhaps others will report on their findings as the X-Brake certainly works when it comes to attenuating recoil!!

Mike

Pretty good round to use electronic hearing protection with ..

Great Pictures Some powerful shells. I'm going to stick with my 458 Lott. It will push a 500gr solid at 2355 fps. Thats fast enought for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Robgunbuilder:
Paul- What load did you use with the Cup point copper borerider? They have been exceedingly accurate in my rifle and expand reasonably at the velocities you mentioned. Mine feed quite well also.Did you notice any minimization of recoil too? Good shooting three rounds as fast as you can. Hate to be the Buff or ELE you go after. Out of curiosity, how did you lighten it? -Rob

Hi Rob,

I'll take a look in my load book tonight for the specific dose but I have been playing with W760 and W748 a lot.
I shot your bore rider back to back with some other more standard configurations and I think there was, in fact, a slight decrease in felt recoil.

As far as lightening the rifle - I had the master at AHR (Wayne) do that.

Thanks again and I may be asking for a few more of your wonderful CBR for the upcoming trip.

quote:

Originally posted by trophyhunter5000:

quote:

Second, an 11 1/2 lb unbraked 600 OK firing 900gr projectiles at 2350fps kicks more than when it weighed 13lbs - but not too much more.

Paul,

Are you planning on hunting with your X-Brake?

I'm going to use mine...

Just wondering what other Overkillers are doing...

Great report by the way...

looks like you had some fun...

Matt V.

Hi Matt,

I'll probably not use mine but will likely leave it on my dad's 585AHR. As you know it makes a huge difference not only in felt recoil but recovery for a second shot.

quote:

Originally posted by fourbore:
If its not too much trouble could you post some pics of the 585 AHR loaded ammo. And perhaps explain the ctg briefly. Rim, belt, rebate,length, OAL?

curious,

As you probably know, the 600 Overkill is the brainchild of Rob Garnick - Robgunbuilder. I think it was back in 2001. I ordered my first from Ed Plummer - founder of American Hunting Rifles (AHR) back in the beginning of 2004 and my second from Ed and Wayne of AHR last year.

I was so happy with the quality of work, price and timely delivery of my 600OK I had them build a 585AHR for my dad. The 585AHR is simply a 600OK necked down to .585 and uses the same bullets as any of the .577NE loads plus a whole load of proprietary bullets from AHR, Macifej and others. If you do a search under my sig name (CCMDoc) in the Big Bore forum, you will find some posts I made with pictures of both the 600OK and the 585AHR rifles and cartridges.

quote:

Originally posted by Robgunbuilder:
Paul- What load did you use with the Cup point copper borerider? They have been exceedingly accurate in my rifle and expand reasonably at the velocities you mentioned. Mine feed quite well also.Did you notice any minimization of recoil too? Good shooting three rounds as fast as you can. Hate to be the Buff or ELE you go after. Out of curiosity, how did you lighten it? -Rob

Rob - 176gr of W760, once fired Jamison brass, Fed 215, OAL 3.72".