Medium game with a 505 gibbs or 500 jeff

[mickb]

Wondered if anyone using these big bangers has ever taken medium game with them? Im thinking while not exactly the calibre you select for an antelope hunt if you did find yourself with an opportunistic shot they are going to do the job. I was thinking meat damage may also be less than a 300 win mag etc? or are those 50 cal slugs still expanding and making an unholy mess on medium game?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Yes, It's possible. Not ideal, but very much possible.

My white hunter Devon has hunted more than a few eland, Kudu, topi, wildebeest & sable with his .505 Gibbs & hand loaded 600Gr DZOMBO MARK 6 monolithic flat nosed brass solids. The lack of expansion was compensated for by the caliber's massive bullet diameter.

I also shot an Australian sambar stag with a .505 Gibbs & Norma 600Gr Woodleigh soft point factory loads. No amount of disconcerting meat damage.

More than 50 years of big game hunting I'm the field has taught me that stories about meat damage with bigger calibers is largely exaggerated.

 

[Saul]

With the amount of shooting I like to do, I would be more considered about brain damage than meat damage.

 

[colorado]

I got a cow elk at 225 yards two years ago. Hit it once behind the shoulder, it didn't get up. 570g TSX passed clean through left a desert plate sized exit wound. I'm guessing the bullet expanded well.

 

[matt85]

Before smokeless powder, 50 caliber guns were considered tools for medium game. Simply down load the cartridge and go for it.

 

[radname]

I shot a gopher with my .505 the other day. Barely hit it. Just took the hide off the back of it and broke it's back. Some people might say .505 Gibbs is excessive for gophers, but had I been shooting a .470 I would have missed entirely.

 

[matt85]

For extra fun yould could use cast bullets and black powder. This would save precious smokeless powder for full power loads. It would be an absolute hoot to shoot!

 

[radname]

Wondered if anyone using these big bangers has ever taken medium game with them? Im thinking while not exactly the calibre you select for an antelope hunt if you did find yourself with an opportunistic shot they are going to do the job. I was thinking meat damage may also be less than a 300 win mag etc? or are those 50 cal slugs still expanding and making an unholy mess on medium game?

I am very interested in this topic. I just got my .505 Gibbs and my plan in the short term is to hunt deer, elk, bear, and anything else that I get an opportunity at with it. My goal is to become really familiar with my rifle and be very proficient at shooting it. I'll post updates on this thread and let you know how things go.

 

[hoytcanon]

I've shot many deer and bears with 500 grainers from .458 WM & Lott... no fuss, no excessive damage, very effective... I would expect the same from the Gibbs & Jeff.

 

[hoytcanon]

P.S... how you load them matters too, not just the weight and construction of the bullet and the size of the bore.

 

[radname]

P.S... how you load them matters too, not just the weight and construction of the bullet and the size of the bore.

What sort of bullet/load do you recommend?

 

[grand veneur]

I am a bit surprised that this question about the use of these calibers to shoot medium game was asked.

All big game hunters in Africa who hunt with rifles of this caliber certainly shoot medium game with these on a regular basis. At least that's how I do it, even with the rifle caliber 500 Schüler und that with the big game loads.

Maybe there are not that many of us who hunt nowadays big game with big bore rifles. That would then explain the question.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Radname, please show your new .505

 

[Luvthunt]

I shot a gopher with my .505 the other day. Barely hit it. Just took the hide off the back of it and broke it's back. Some people might say .505 Gibbs is excessive for gophers, but had I been shooting a .470 I would have missed entirely.

Good sense of humor

 

[Bandera]

The 505 Gibbs should be about right for Armadillo. Those up armored possums are pretty tough.

 

[hoytcanon]

What sort of bullet/load do you recommend?

Generally there are two ways to go, softer bullets at slower speeds or harder (solid) bullets at higher speeds... of course you can also do the converse, but soft bullets at high speeds can be messy and hard bullets at slow speeds can be ineffective... or at least, "less" effective. Personally, when dealing with 300+ grain slugs on soft medium game, I prefer softer bullets at slower speeds, it is an effective recipe for clean harvest and a clean carcass. As an example, my black bear over bait load of 500 grain cup and core RN @ 1750 fps has 3400 ft/lb energy, has always completely passed through, kills very cleanly, but does very little meat/hide damage. That same bullet at 2100 fps is a good stopping load, but it is not "clean."

 

[radname]

Generally there are two ways to go, softer bullets at slower speeds or harder (solid) bullets at higher speeds... of course you can also do the converse, but soft bullets at high speeds can be messy and hard bullets at slow speeds can be ineffective... or at least, "less" effective. Personally, when dealing with 300+ grain slugs on soft medium game, I prefer softer bullets at slower speeds, it is an effective recipe for clean harvest and a clean carcass. As an example, my black bear over bait load of 500 grain cup and core RN @ 1750 fps has 3400 ft/lb energy, has always completely passed through, kills very cleanly, but does very little meat/hide damage. That same bullet at 2100 fps is a good stopping load, but it is not "clean."

Excellent information thank you sir!

 

[radname]

Radname, please show your new .505

 

[radname]

Radname, please show your new .505

Not the best picture of the Rifle but it's all I've got right now. Oh and that's the gopher.

 

[hoytcanon]

View attachment 601830

I think you could have taken that gopher in "hand to paw" combat...