How imortant of a consideration is availability of quality brass for making a decision on which chambering to buy a double in? For example, I think the .500 Nitro would be a good choice but not sure about the brass situation. Norma makes .470 Nito brass so it gives me the feeling of having a secure source of quality brass. Is there any merit to this criteria?

Thank you.

Buliwyf

There is enough brass floating around to make either choice possible.

I perfer not the reload the thin rimmed 500 N.E. I also don't like to shoot the 500, but that's another story.

Places like Old Western Scrounger probably have plenty of brass for each. Truth of the matter is that unless you shoot it a bunch 100 rounds of brass will keep ya going.

The simple solution is to get a lifetime sypply of bras when you get your double.
How much depends on how many firings it will last and how much shooting you do.

I would start with 200 rounds of brass. Take 40 for load development, plinking, and local hunting. Use those 40 till you start to have failures, then you can make a plan on how many you need. I would take new cases to Africa the first time I took the double, and baised on yor experience with the rifle how many loadings you trust the brass for DG use.

Also bullets can me seasonal as well. I would have a minimum of 3 years supply, reordering when that supply is half gone.

Good advice from those above. I will add that the 500 should never present a concern with brass availability. Assuming you're buying a new gun with a CIP chamber, the rim dia, rim thickness, and body diameter are practically identical. Worst-case-scenario, you will always be able to make 500 3" cases from 470.

Rusty,

Does your view of not wanting to reload for the .500 NE because of thin rim also pertain to the .470 NE?

B

All I can say is that you better have that 500 case lubed. I've had to pound one out! That rim will peal right off and out of the shell holder!

I highly recommend Imperial Sizing Die Wax.

Sounds like Rusty learned to lube cases the hard way. If you haven't had a stuck case before, then you just haven't been reloading long enough.

Buliwyf - there have historically been a few cartridges that were made in "thin" and "thick" rim variations, but that doesn't apply to a modern 470 or 500 - especially one with correct chamber dimensions. Both cartridges have the same thickness of rim.

Is there anything wrong with the 470/500 rim?

No.
But, comparatively speaking, there isn't much "rim" when compared proportionally to the surface area of one of these big cases. In other words, there's more surface area on the cartridge to get stuck if and when one does.

In short, there’s no need to give rim thickness of modern 470s or 500s anther thought; you’ll be just fine with either one.

Stuck case remover from RCBS $12.00. Mine is well used.

Watching a guy try to get a stuck case removed without this $12.00 so easy a cave man could use it tool.

PRICELESS!!

Reloaders if you don't have a stuck case remover, get one. It's one of those things that's so cheap and so easy to use that you are an idiot not to have one on the reloading bench. When you need it you need it real bad.