Go for the Gibbs. Versatility is the key with the Gibbs. If you load it down, anyone can shoot it and still be an effective round. Load it up to 2650 fps with 600 grain Woodleigh's and it will perform above it's weight class.

Or a 600g bullet at 2150 fps will kill anything on the planet with a well placed bullet. 600g at 2650 fps ouch ouch ouch!

I will guarantee you one thing, you will have a limited clientele!! Mostly those that have to have one in the gun cabinet, I say this because every one I've seen for sale looks NEW! and the seller sez its only been shot 4 or 5 times!

I had the choice of either the 500 Jeffrey or the Gibbs.
After careful consideration, and nostalgia, I chose the 505 Gibbs.
With modern powders, and 600gr bullets, it can easily reach 2550fps with them, recoil is unpleasant, but when only one shot is required, does it matter much?
I am very pleased with my choice, the rifle and ammo feed superbly, unlike the stories I read about the Jeffrey and it's substantially rebated rim. I wouldn't want the bolt slipping over the cartridge with an angry horned or tusked critter trying to stomp me into oblivion.

Just my opinion.


Cheers.

I am building a .500 Jeffery on a Brno 602...a laminated stock and a turned down .50 cal barrel..

My aim is 12lbs....poor mans elephant stopper..

A good weight. Mine is 11.25 lbs without scope, just over 12 with Talley steel QR rings and a Leupold 1.5-5x.

I am disappointed at the weight of my 505 Gibbs rifle, even with a 1 pound mercury recoil reducer in the stock, it only weighs just over 9.5 pounds.
Recoil with a 600gr bullet above 2300fps is nasty.

Cheers.

That's far too light for a thumper like that.
It really precludes you from loading it up to the max.
Shooting it would I feel start to give you a flinch at the higher loads.

In my 500J Blaser R8 it weighs in at mid 11 and is ok to shoot at 2500 fps with 570grn projectiles.
Weight and balance is important in these big bores.

Cheers

Nick

quote:

Originally posted by 416RigbyHunter:
I am disappointed at the weight of my 505 Gibbs rifle, even with a 1 pound mercury recoil reducer in the stock, it only weighs just over 9.5 pounds.
Recoil with a 600gr bullet above 2300fps is nasty.

Cheers.

My Ruger 500AccRelNyati is about 9.75# bare, including an 8oz mercury reducer in the butt for balance.

However, I prefer to load with a 361 grain CEB tipped Safari-Lever Raptor at 2800fps
and also the 450 grain GSC-HV at 2600fps. Both of these loads are approximately the factory levels of 505 and 500Jeff.

In addition, my rifle is scoped, so in practice the rifle is 10.75# and a bit more with bullets and sling. The result is at the edge of what I can call comfortable, maybe gritting my teeth.
I try not to shoot more than a dozen rounds at a session, sometimes less, so as to keep on friendly terms with the rifle and planning to always avoid any headache.

As stated, these calibers are about at the edge of tolerable shooting for me. Testing loads of my 416s (350gn at 2825) and 500 on the same day can be tricky and need to be spaced with the 338, 270, or 243 to keep one's focus on the targets.

quote:

Originally posted by 416RigbyHunter:
I had the choice of either the 500 Jeffrey or the Gibbs.
After careful consideration, and nostalgia, I chose the 505 Gibbs.
With modern powders, and 600gr bullets, it can easily reach 2550fps with them, recoil is unpleasant, but when only one shot is required, does it matter much?
I am very pleased with my choice, the rifle and ammo feed superbly, unlike the stories I read about the Jeffrey and it's substantially rebated rim. I wouldn't want the bolt slipping over the cartridge with an angry horned or tusked critter trying to stomp me into oblivion.

Just my opinion.


Cheers.

I agree with your choice. I went with the 500 Jeffery because I was buying a CZ 550 and was concerned there wouldn't be enough bolt face left with the bigger case head of the Gibbs. I love my rifle, have no fears about it's reliability, but it took some work to get it there. I agree with you that the 505 Gibbs, if you have the action for it, should be much easier to make feed and function.

I agree with Cold Trigger Finger, I would not free float the barrel on a 505 or 500 jefferys.

I would bed it tight from stem to stern, then a thin coat of glass on top of that, add two cross bolts and a barrel lug with a screw in the forend..That way you won't end up with a taped or a rawhide fixture in Africa..

I shot the 505 Gibbs IMP. for a couple of years in Africa, and it certainly worked, but I backed off to a .470 N.E. and a 404 Jefferys or 416 Rem. as my favorites. I found that if I needed to rest on a rock or a tree, the recoil was pretty severe..just off hand I could shoot it well enough,

Something to consider, try shooting your big bores with a rest over a rock or using a tree limb as you would in the field.