I have lurked here for a little while and thought I would sign up.

A double might/will be in the near future if all keeps going according to plan. (Which one never knows!!)

Since I don't have a press big enough to reload .470 (YET), I was thinking about picking up a couple of boxes of the A-Square 470 Nitro Express loaded with a 500 Grain Dead Tough Round, just to Plink with. At around $10 a piece they didn't seem that bad of a price compared to some. Would they be ok to use in a new double? Has anyone had any problems with this ammo or has anyone shot it?? Any suggestions about it? I know regulation will be a key factor, but I was really just wanting to shoot the gun (if I got it), then buy the press and dies and work from there. (I would not be using this ammo for hunting.) Should one just buy a box of the Federal instead?

Thanks in Advance.

Welcome to AR SouthFork.

Do you know what make of rifle you are going to buy?

You might want to buy the rifle first then find out which preloaded ammo best matched its regulation.

I am currently looking at a Merkel 140.

SouthFork, You can call HK & Merkle and see what Merkel is using for regulation. Unless it was specified by the original buyer to regulate it with some other ammo, they regulated it with Federal ammo and most likely the Woodleigh softs.

Yes, I've had problems with A-Square ammunition and it's owner, Art Alphin. Long story...but Art has either an integrity defecit or he's an incompetent businessman -- he broke his word to me on more than one occasion.

I use my standard RCBS RockChucker press to reload and, though it just barely clears the .470 cartridges (with the die backed out), it gets the job done for now.

BTW - I have a Merkel and really enjoy it. If you're within a few hours of Allentown, PA you ought to come to the 21 April double rifle shoot and try a few out...

The paperwork with my Merkel says it was regulated with the Federal.

I also use a Rockchucker to load .470s and back the dies out, but something longer would definitely be better.

You might want to add your location to your profile so folks can figure out if you're close enough to invite to shoot.....

Buy an RCBS Ammo Master press as it has a large enough throat to handle the long, nitro express cartridges. I would avoid A-Square like the plague. Alpin has screwed some friends of mine and although he is no longer at the helm om of A-Square, his bad business practices live on. Federal ammo with Woodleigh bullets will serve you well. I would feel very comfortable using their ammo in any of the double rifles you may purchase. Good luck and welcome to the site!

Actually, the Rockchucker does work quite well that way.

I've had my own horror stories with A-Square ammo and lightweight Arty. I won't pull the trigger on a round of their ammo. With one batch of their DR brass, I got a couple of complete head separations on the first reload. The best use of A-Square brass is to crush it with a hammer before discarding, so that nobody else makes the mistake.
-----------------------------------------------
"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

The new RockChucker (Supreme) is plenty big enough for the nitroexpress rounds. I load both the .470 and the .500 NE with mine and you don't have to back the dies out with this model. Good luck.

Geronimo

FYI, Art IS back at the helm. The interim owners are out and Art is in charge again. Don't have any direct experience so can't say about the ammo but I've seen better bullets. Of course, that is a given . I shouldn't say too much; his new digs will be within rifle range of mine.

RCBS Rockchucker Supreme is a great choice....and you wil be reloading at some point just you you can screw around with loads/bullets, etc. Merkels are regulated with Federal ammo....I've not seen any in the last 5-6 years that use anything else...at least those stateside.
The Merkel is a very fine working double...mine is quite a solid piece and very accurate.
Best of luck in your choice and endeavor....doubles are like being pregnant...you either are (like them) or aren't (go back to bolts).

Gary
DRSS
NRA Lifer
SCI

The A Square ammo is cheap for a reason.

One can certainly find much better bullets and better brass.

The comment that follows is from Midway's site posting a review of the A Square 470 NE rounds:

"Date Posted: 7/15/2006

Review:
I purchased several boxes of this ammunition; six boxes m(approximately $600 worth of ammunition) would not chamber in my new .470 Nitro Express double rifle. Federal ammunition chambered and fired without a problem. Since I am leaving for Zimbabwe in a few weeks, this situation has caused a great deal of problems. Repeated calls to A-Square for technical advice or a refund went unanswered.

Was this review helpful? Yes | No
61 found it helpful | 0 did not"

I personally had a nightmare experience with them years ago when I tried to order bullets directly from them. They charged my credit card (it was a large order of over $500) but never delivered the bullets. Call after call went unanswered. When I did get someone to pick up the line I got the old "it will go out shortly" routine. No bullets and no refund. I knew and I believe they did as well that no one was going to incur the expense of a lawsuit for that amount of money.

You will find many similar experiences on this board.

Jim,

I had a very similar experience with A2. I ordered some .458 bullets for a buff hunt back 2002 as I was out and needed more as they were what I was sighted in with. This was one month prior to my departure.

The bullets never showed I finally called them after two weeks and they told me that they just got the order yesterday why was I in such a hurry?

Long story short I finally got my money back and used Woodleighs on the hunt.

I won't use A2 products.

quote:

Originally posted by SouthFork:
...I know regulation will be a key factor, but I was really just wanting to shoot the gun (if I got it)...Should one just buy a box of the Federal instead?

Your idea of just buying ammo to "plink" with would be fine if you were buying for a bolt action or some other common hunting rifle, but that could be a bad idea with a double rifle. As you know, a double was regulated with a specific ammo or load. Some randomly chosen ammo would be highly unlikely to match the ammo used to regulate by the gun's manufacturer.
Save the $10/bullet you could be wasting on a complete unknown, and until you're ready to reload, spend just a bit more and get the bullets the gun was made to shoot with.

Thank You all for your insight into the ammo. I have an RCBS Press now, but I will upgrade I think to the larger one just for the big stuff.

SouthFork

Look at it this way - a good press for the big stuff will cost you less than ONE box of Federal 470NE!

And the cost per round of Federal is about $15. You can reload with high quality bullets, brass and primers for under $4.00 per round (probably closer to $3).

Guys IMHO THE press for big Nitro rounds is the RCBS Ammo Master.

Even if A-Square was well made ammo, I'd hesitate to shoot monometal rounds (unless they were the driving band type) in a Merkel without checking with Merkel first. If you do a search, you'll find several threads on the problems, alleged or experienced.

I bought a Redding Ultramag press when I got my 470 a couple of years ago. I've been extremely pleased.
I bought one box of Federals just for some basis of comparison, but yikes! That box of shells cost more than the press!
Get a little factory ammo if you must, but consider that loading Woodleighs into new brass is less than half the cost of factory rounds, and maybe a fifth when you use the brass again.
You can make light practice loads with 5477 and plink all day, easy on you, your brass, and pocketbook.
Enjoy.

All you have to do to load 470's on a Rockchucker is modify the shellholder slightly. With a Dremel or flexshaft grinder and stone grind the shellholder lip back till it is only a half circle on the rim. This still gives you max strength and you can slip a round in to seat bullet which is only place a problem appears. Cheap quick solution and since I have nothing LONGER than a 470NE worked perfectly for me.