A few days ago I was looking at my P-17 and invented a new wildcat for it - an 11.2x72 Schuler necked up to .50, with the overall length adjusted to fit the P-17 magwell.

The Schuler's rebated rim fits the P-17's bolt. The case taper might need a tiny adjustment to firmly grip a .500" bullet with the case blown out straight.

I was quite pleased with myself, until I realized someone has surely done this one, or something indistinguishably similar, before.

So, the questions are, "who has done this before, what was it called, and how did it perform?"

michael458's 500 on a rum is pretty close.

Your sick, just sick I tell you far worse then my thoughts of building an 11.2x60 shuler!!

Of course, 11.2x72 brass runs over $3 each... though realistically, I'm not likely to go through more than one box of 20 per shooting session anyway.

Make your Schuler cases from basic and you can save a little. Although, it is not "that" high a pressure round and you should get plenty of use from it. I have the same 50 original headstamp brass I started with and around 100 pieces made from the basic.
I am also swagging heavy jacket rounds @400 and 420 grains. We are trying to get some 425 grain bullets made but have not quite got that one figured. I am thinking I will need to go to a finer powder and test for pressure to see if it will work.
Frank

I bet you guys were laughing up your sleeves...

What do you get when you open up an 11.2x72 Schuler to .50?

Obviously, a 12.7x70 Schuler.

And what is a 12.7 Schuler when the lights are on?

A .500 Jeffery.

[rimshot]

I *knew* someone had to have done this one before... I just didn't think it was so long ago.

"We now return you to your regularly scheduled program."

Sorry, TRX. Not laughing. The only similarity between the 11.2x72 and the 12.7x70 Schuler rounds is that they were both Schuler rounds!

The 11.2 is based on the .404 Jeffery case (head diameter of ~0.54"), blown out and with the rim rebated to fit the standard 12mm Mauser boltface (i.e., 8x57, 30-06, etc.). By the way, the two Schuler factory rounds in my collection - a FN FMC and a semi-ptd SP - have the bullets seated deeply enough that they are short enough to fit a 30-06 length magazine box. Longest is the SP, at 3.313" oal. No magnum action required!

On the other hand, the 12.7 Schuler / 500 Jeffery has a head diameter of ~0.62", about the same as the interwar 11.35x63 Madsen medium aircraft machine gun cartridge. However, whether it was influenced by the Madsen round, or vice versa, is unknown to me. The Madsen case is of conventional rimless design; the Schuler is rebated to fit a .416 Rigby boltface. I don't have a 12.7mm round, but my references indicate it has an oal of 3.50" (the Madsen's oal was about the same as the 30-06).

FWIW, your proposed .500/11.2 would be an interesting round. I remember reading several decades ago about .444-08 and .444-06 wildcats that were straight cases headspacing on the case mouth. Your wildcat would make them look puny

Cheers, Al

Rats! I got distracted and didn't do my homework there...

Is there some other cartridge that's so close to my idea that there's no reason to do it?

Or would the problem be a lack of suitable .500" bullets would make it unattractive?

Why not leave the 11,2x72 Schüler as it is?. It is rare and interesting cartridge and powerful enough with it´t 400grain @2300 ft/sec.

Sometimes one can innovate from here to kingdom come, a cartridge that is soo special, the goal seems to be abandon any commen practical sense as much as possible.