Found a custom rifle in 505 Gibbs. Weighs 9 lbs. 13 oz. 21" barrel 14" LOP. Will this rifle be manageable to shoot.
Thanks

Assuming a scope and loaded ammo, you're probably at 11 lbs +. You don't have to load a Gibbs to the max, either. Use a 600gr bullet at 2,200 fps or so and it will be no problem.

Or you can duplicate the real world velocities of the original Kynoch ammo of a 525gr bullet @ a bit over 2100fps and it will be a managable as any 458 Lott.

My. 500 Jeffrey weighs less.

To tell you the truth, the barrel length is the biggest downfall. Do any of you see problems with the short length?

Hi all,

OP told us the lop was 14", weight and length of barrel(s?). Seems to me there is a bit more information needed prior to a recommendation as to suitability. Is the lop correct? Stock style? Intended use? How much punishment is the OP willing to accept?, and the list goes on. Not wanting to be a naysayer, just a cautionary.

Luck,

Stephen

Caution is what makes me ask those of you that have shot this caliber. LOP is perfect, elephant in a couple of years. Stock is straight with a nice cant for rh shooter. The rifle is on my son's wish list. He has shot 375's since he was 13 and is not shy with recoil, however, the short barrel makes me wonder what kind of muzzle blast there will be??? The gun does not have a brake nor will I or my son ever buy another rifle with a brake!
Anyone know how this might compare with a bolt .470 Capstick caliber in 11 lb. rifle.?

danny pederson told me anything over 19" wasn't needed in a 510 wells...

mine is 23...

but, if you are anywhere near houston, bring him, and he can shoot mine

i am north of houston, so if you like... i've got plenty of big bores to play with

Check out the results Michael458 has gotten with his short barrel bigbores. He has shot thousands of rounds with short barrels and found little to no loss of bullett speed from them. He swears by short guns and has the research to back it up. He's always willing to share his experience on this forum if you ask him and posts his results for everyone to see.

I doubt that the barrel length will make a lot of difference. The muzzle blast on the Gibbs is more of a boom than a sharp crack. It is loud but I found my 416 rigby worse to shoot without hearing protection. Velocity loss will not be a problem because you will never be shooting near maximum (unless you want to drive 600gn at 2500fps), so you can always work up a load to get a desired velocity. The rifle described is 1 lb lighter than mine, so you will get about 10% more recoil than mine. It all depends where your tolerance level is, but if it were me then it would be fine for any 600gn load under 2250fps and any 525gn load under 2480fps. The most important thing is stock design, as someone already pointed out.

The barrel is too short and it's too light. The Gibbs is a real kicker, much more so than the 500 Jeffery because it burns so much powder. Leave it alone.

Ditto for Michael458's excellent work...there is tons of information on many forums concerning velocity loss when shortening barrels. Check out the difference between "long" barrels and "short" barrels in the 375 Ruger, that data is scattered all over.

I shortened my 375 H&H from 26" to 23" AND did an integrated internal MB 2" long which means the actual rifling ends at 21". I did loose ~15-25fs/inch velocity...~75 to 125fs from the same load shot in the 26"...and it depends on the bullet and powder used so the velocity loss is variable and highly dependent on many parameters.

One thing for certain with ANY cartridge, as Biebs said, you can always down load it a bit...or jack it to the max, which you CAN'T do with a smaller case.

Relatively low velocity large caliber, heavy bullets have been proven highly workable for the past century or longer and whether or not this rifle is manageable for you or ANYONE to shoot can only be found out by YOURSELF...what I can handle or Jeffe, or 458Win or Michael458 can handle has no bearing on what YOU can handle so take Jeffe up on his offer and find out for certain BEFORE you buy...or buy it then learn how to handle it.

Luck

Barrel is too long and it's too heavy

Thanks everyone for the positive and negative feedback with BS thrown in for good measure.LOL!! I'm trying to convince my son that bigger is not always better and the time required for a followup shot can be critical. I would like for him to get Wayne at AHR to build him a nice .404 for half of what they're asking for this rifle at Cabelas.
Thanks again!

The 505 isn't a race horse to start with and it does not get its awesome killing power from velocity..I would confident with a 21 inch barrel, in fact its an inch too long..

folks on AR are surely too causual about the 505s recoil, it friggen horrendous!!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
folks on AR are surely too causual about the 505s recoil, it friggen horrendous!!

Oh, have a seat gramma nellie.. its NO WORSE than a 10ga single shot.

You will be fine with that gun. The recoil of the .505 Gibbs is overrated. Like Jeffe says no worse than a single shot 10ga. -Rob

Sevenmagltd,
I relaise they are horses of a different colour, but I am currently expecting a .500 M.D.M Ultra (of Michael458's stable).

I spec'd a 20" barrel with total finished dry weight at around 8.5 to 8.75lbs (no scope).

I cannot compare expected recoil to that of a Gibbs chambered rifle as stock design contributes greatly, as does individuals perceived recoil and tolerance levels, but can tell you after having fired Mike's personal 500 M.D.M, scoped in a 8.75lb rifle that not only is it reasonable but entirely practicle weapon to use in feild conditions.
(this cartridge is firing a 500gn .50 cal projectile at 2400fps).

Stocked in Accurate Innovations stocks (bedded in aluminium chassis) makes for light-weight and extremely portable, and fast handling, big bores.

As in any big bore if the original stock is not entirely suitable you would be best in having it adapted to suit as you would need to with any .40+cal rifle.

I'm sure I'm in the minority when I say this but I like my big bores relativley light (much lighter than most factory issues) short, and fast handling, recoil be damned.

Well, there you go! Recoil of the 505 Gibbs is anywhere from "overrated" to "friggen horrendous", so bear in mind it is a personal thing. People watch me shoot mine at the range, and I will sometimes offer them a shot. Some graciously decline. And some have a go. So far they have all survived, and some even came back for a second or third. If you use the right technique it is not that bad. But that is only my opinion. You should really try and shoot one a couple of times before you decide, as recoil is a very personal thing.

If the price is twice more than having a 404 Jeffrey built, then you might want to consider building one of Jeffeoso's 500 AccRel. It can be loaded up to the 'book' 505 and then some, but at very reasonable prices.

I wouldn't worry about recoil but would intersperse occasional dryfiring to keep you honest. And don't plan to shoot 20-30 rounds at a time.

My first Gibbs was about like that-- was not that bad with 525 at 2200-- it would rattle your eye teeth with 600 woodleighs at 2200.

My Gibbs now weighs 11.5 lbs

Ed

here's a vote for having it built. I think that stock fit is more important than any of the other factors with the big guns. I have a non-typical "design" I guess, and factory stocks are invariably too high in the comb for me and I take a beating without modification. Even my 375 was a bitch on my cheekbone until I got high rings and the highest irons Williams/Racknagel had (front back different brands, go figure). I had a 458 Winchester with standard height irons and common straight stock, five shots felt like I was in a boxing ring, loosing.

I would prefer to have something big like that fitted to me, I think if he did that then it'd be a cinch to shoot.

take it for what it's worth though, many of the posters above have tons more big bore experience than me, and are probably better looking too.

Red

quote:

Originally posted by Robgunbuilder:
You will be fine with that gun. The recoil of the .505 Gibbs is overrated. Like Jeffe says no worse than a single shot 10ga. -Rob

Some of the guys here (Rob?) are recoil sponges. I think a 9 lb 13 oz 505 Gibbs will smack you pretty good, particularly if you shoot 600g bullets. My 500 Jeffery is a pound and a half heavier than that and it still demands some respect. If it's built on a true magnum mauser action and it's a deal I would still jump on it. You can always put a longer / heavier contour barrel on it and put a recoil reducer in the stock. At 11 lbs it should be sweet, or just stick to 525g bullets at 2400 fps or so.

As the Maharaja said: "Recoil is insignificamt when the Tiger is on the head of your Elephant"!

Recoil- Much too do about Nothing! The Gibbs is fine even if your shooting technique isn't great! With good technique its not an issue! Don't make it out to be more than it really is! -Rob

quote:

Originally posted by sevenmagltd.:
Found a custom rifle in 505 Gibbs. Weighs 9 lbs. 13 oz. 21" barrel 14" LOP. Will this rifle be manageable to shoot.
Thanks

That is almost exactly what my CZ .505 weighed when I first got it. Too light for me but shootable/managable...yes, more comfortable weighted to 11-11.5lbs. The .505 is a really cool caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave Bush:
The barrel is too short and it's too light. The Gibbs is a real kicker, much more so than the 500 Jeffery because it burns so much powder. Leave it alone.

+1 We have some recoil sponges here, I'm not one. I'd want a 24" barrel and it to weigh a minimum of 11 lbs without ammo, sling or scope. My 500 Jeffery weighs 11.25 lbs naked and I won't shoot it off of the bench anymore without a lead sled. The Gibbs will kick more. We have a 6 1/2 lb 375 Weatherby and a 9 lb 416 Rem, both are pussycats compared to my 11.25 lbs 500 Jeffery. If the rifle is a steal, you can shoot it as is, and if it's too much recoil for you, rebarrel it to 24" and put a recoil reducer in it to keep the balance right.

quote:

a nice .404

6 month later, same advice.
Either get a 416 Rigby and handload some real horsepower and velocity, or else, build Jeffeoso's 500 AccRel if you want 50 cal.

So...6 months later..."What did you do?"

Don't get me wrong, I love my 500 Jeff! You have to treat the big bores with respect, not fear. Offhand, I'm as comfortable shooting it as I am our 270 which I've had for 40 years. I just won't shoot quite as many rounds ...

quote:

Originally posted by sevenmagltd.:
Found a custom rifle in 505 Gibbs. Weighs 9 lbs. 13 oz. 21" barrel 14" LOP. Will this rifle be manageable to shoot.
Thanks

That all depends on how you load it. You can't escape the fact that launching a 500+ gr bullet 2100+ fps and burning over 100 gr of powder generates significant recoil. If the gun has a properly shaped stock and fits you, it should be managable.

If you insist on launching 600 gr bullets as fast as you can push them, expect recoil to be in the levels that will require you to be on your a-game.

Ended up buying a 416 Rigby CZ for my son. At 155lbs soaking wet he has no problem shooting the rigby. The 505 is still at Cabelas, looked at it this weekend and I swear it gave me the "stink eye".

quote:

Originally posted by sevenmagltd.:
Ended up buying a 416 Rigby CZ for my son. At 155lbs soaking wet he has no problem shooting the rigby. The 505 is still at Cabelas, looked at it this weekend and I swear it gave me the "stink eye".

You'll love the Rigby. CEB should have a Raptor bullet available any day now with devastating terminal effects and relatively fast and good BC. Also try out the 350 TTSX and see how they shoot in the CZ. With a BC of .444 you can shoot long distance plains game as well as a buffalo if the CEB isn't ready for some reason.

And you can load down the 416 Rigby to 404 Jeffery velocities which will really take the edge off of it, and it's still plenty for anything on the planet.

7magltd,

Are you talking about the 505 at the Buda, TX Cabelas? If so, I've been looking at that rifle for a few months now. It disappeared from the rack for awhile and I noticed it was back when I was there yesterday.

I forget the make on that rifle if it's the same one, but is appears to have been a custom built rifle with excellent wood and nice engraving. $9,900? It does however, appear to have seen a lot of field use.

Of course, we may be speaking of different guns.

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
And you can load down the 416 Rigby to 404 Jeffery velocities which will really take the edge off of it, and it's still plenty for anything on the planet.

Personally, I think that a person should use the potential.
Yes, we can load 7mmRemMags down to 7mm-08, or a 338 WinMag down to the Federal.
But for hunting, if you're going to burn 100+ grains of powder you might as well get some velocity. 2750-2850 fps with 350 grains is a cool, heavy hunting load in most CZ's. (OK, I've only had three, but that was three out of three.) That is plenty for anything on the planet AND it reaches out touches HARD.

just one shot of a heavy recoilling rifle will most people handle. Ask them to hit anything like a matchbox at 80meters and one can see that if he want to try out the last 39 shots if he missed the first!. That generally tells if person can handle the recoil and is able to control the recoil.

Some where I have a picture of Rich with his 505 hanging in the air at one of our Hoot & Shoots.
I'll pull up the rocking chair next to Granny! Too Mas for me!

39 shots way too much for me. The most I'll shoot out of my 500 Jeff offhand in a morning shooting is 15 rounds. Then I switch off to the pussycat 375 Bee.

I have a .505 Gibbs that weighs just shy of 12 lbs. naked. With the sling, scope, and fully loaded, it weighs over 14 lbs. I have never shot more than 10 rounds at a session, (offhand). I always shoot 600 grain Woodleighs either from Norma factory ammo or my own handloads, (135 grains of H4831). I am not a fan of giant recoil, and this seems to be bearable.