Does anyone know if rifles have been made in these calibers, and how they worked out?

The 500 Rafki pushes a 570 grain bullet at 2420 fps, and the 700/577 pushes a 750 grain bullet at 2420 fps. Please note that they remarkable cartridges in that they get 2400 fps out of a big bore double rifle.

Info on the ammo is here (click on "metallic ammo"):

http://www.westleyrichards.com/gun/ammo_metal.php

[ 10-31-2003, 18:01: Message edited by: 500grains ]

".700/.577 Nitro-Express

900 grain Soft Nose or Solid Bullet
Muzzle Velocity 2300 ft/sec Energy 10280 ft/lbs BL 26"

It must be a long 0.585" diameter bullet they are using.

500grains,
Petersen's Rifle Shooter magazine, June 1999, by Terry Wieland, "Last Page" page 90, gave some details and opinions:

WR necked the ludicrous 700 NE down to ".500 caliber", meaning .510" bullets I guess, and lengthened the case to 3.75" from 3.5".

Instead of calling it the "700/500 NE" WR chose to call it the ".500 Rafiki."

"Rafiki" means "friend" in Swahili.

Gossip: WR "started test firing it and found the pressures were far too high for a double rifle to take." ... "By the time they'd backed it off to acceptable levels, the velocity they got with the 570-grain bullet was very little faster than the standard .500 NE (570-grain bullet, 2,150 fps, 5850 ft.lbs.)."

"Not being the type to give up, WR is working on a variation: a .700/.577."

Still pie-in-the-sky as hype for WR???

[ 11-04-2003, 23:26: Message edited by: RIP ]