Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 - Dan Shideler - Страница 21

RESURRECTION OF THE .500 JEFFERY

BY TOM TABOR

John Taylor wrote glowingly about the .500 Jeffery in his books and should get a certain amount of credit for keeping the caliber alive over the decades. But, even without Taylor’s assistance it is not difficult to see the merits of this fine old warrior. Prior to the .460 Weatherby Magnum entering the scene in 1958, the .500 Jeffery was considered the most powerful magazine rifle cartridge in the world. But even though the Jeffery is no longer considered the “biggest of the big,” I believe that when facing an animal intent on eating, stomping or goring me, I would much prefer to have a Jeffery in hands than virtually any other caliber.

There is a lot of history behind the .500 Jeffery, but unfortunately the records of its origin are blurred. We know that it is a proprietary cartridge of rebated rimless design and that it is very similar to the 12.5x70mm Schuler. We also know it was designed for use in the German Mauser bolt-action Rifles. Schuler was probably the originator of the cartridge, but that is an arguable point.

Because of the horrendous recoil of the .500 Jeffery it was decided that a second lug attached to the bottom of the barrel would provide an additional amount of support. Both lugs were glassed in and the standard two cross-bolts were added.

I had dreamed of building a custom big bore rifle for decades and within that time I had pawed over mountains of writings before finally settling on building a .500 Jeffery. Then, once I had made my mind up that the Jeffery was the rifle for me, I wondered why it took me so long to reach that conclusion. To my way of thinking the Jeffery outshines virtually any of the other historic English and European calibers and when compared to the modern rounds like the Dakotas and A-Squares, the Jeffery has nothing to be ashamed of.

Once the parts were received, Dan Coffin of Coffin Gunsmithing started putting the rifle together.

My dream came to reality shortly after being confronted by a couple of Cape buffalo bulls while hunting plains game in South Africa. Immediately upon returning to the States I stopped into Coffin Gunsmithing’s shop in Victor, Montana, where Dan Coffin and I ironed out plans for a brand new custom big-bore Rifle. Ever since 1990 Dan has been in the employment of the country and western singer, Hank Williams, as Hank’s private gunsmith. Recently, however, Dan has been taking on additional work building both bigbores and varmint rifles. He has a tremendous amount of experience constructing bigbores and soon we had the beginnings of a rifle plan on the table. I agreed to do much of the leg work in obtaining component parts, which primarily came from the mail order house of Brownells, while Dan would see to getting the CZ 550 action and the Montana Rifleman barrel ordered.

We felt the CZ stock trigger (left) needed modifying. Our newly revised trigger (right) eliminated the set trigger mechanism and moved the trigger farther back.

The CZ 550 action was going to take a consider amount of work, and Dan indicated he would get started on it as soon as it arrived. The bolt face would need to be opened, the ejection port enlarged, the magazine converted over to a single stack feed and the trigger Modified. The single stack feed was necessary to ensure proper and reliable feeding of the huge .500 cartridges and the trigger modifications would eliminate the set trigger design that CZ seems to be so proud of. Dan would also move the trigger further back, giving it a more pleasing appearance inside the trigger guard. To provide an added degree of support Dan recommended that we add a second lug that would attach to the underside of the barrel. This would provide a little more surface area and strength to guard against stock cracking as a consequence of the expected heavy recoil of the .500.

I normally prefer the appearance of black walnut, but due to the demands placed on the stock by the .500, I decided that a piece of the typically stronger, French walnut might be a better choice. Before long we had a nicely figured, solid, AA-Grade French walnut blank waiting to be roughed in, after which Dan would do the fitting and finish work.

Whenever you try to send a big 570-gr. bullet out the muzzle between 2,300 and 2,400 fps you can, as a consequence, expect a considerable amount of recoil. For this reason I wanted to leave the contour of the barrel heavy, which wound up to be close to one inch in diameter as it met the forearm of the stock. The most common barrel length for a rifle like this is probably 24 inches, but I was looking for a fast handling rifle for those tight spots on dangerous game that no one wants to be faced with, but appreciates being prepared for. A barrel of 22 inches seemed to fit that bill perfectly. In order to provide better overall balance and at the same time reduce the felt recoil, two 1-lb. mercury recoil reducers were placed in the butt stock. This resulted in a terrifically well-balanced rifle that would swing quickly. Eventually the rifle hit the target weight of just under 12 lbs. with scope.

One thing I fear possibly as much as being mauled by a hungry lion or stomped by an angry elephant is the idea of getting hit in the eye with the scope from a caliber like the .500 Jeffery. I have been the recipient of such a blow but from a much smaller caliber and I do not want to repeat that experience, especially if it is the consequence of sending the equivalent of a 1-1/3-oz. fish-ing sinker speeding to its destination. For this reason I took the advice of a close friend and retired South African professional hunter and got the scope away from my eye. We mounted the long eye relief Leupold scope 10 inches out on the barrel and anchored it with a Modified set of Leupold quick detachable QRW mounts.

The wrap-around fleur de lis checkering pattern, complete with ribbons, is a work of art and adds a significant bit of elegance to the overall appearance of the rifle.

A critical point in constructing any custom firearm in either a wildcat caliber, or in this case what some people might consider an obsolete caliber, is ammunition. And in the case of the .500 Jeffery, if you’re going to shoot it, you’re going to load for it. Working with the chamber reamer manufacturer Pacific Tool and Gauge and the custom reloading die shop of Hornady I was able to get the two parties together in order to ensure that the chamber dimensions would match precisely the reloading dies.

Once the metal work was well underway I was able to turn my mind to the finish work. Who would do the stock checkering, a much needed part of any beautiful custom rifle? And did I want any metal engraving done? Eventually it was decided that Pam Wheeler would do the checkering. Pam was well known in the business and over the years has checkered for companies such as Kimber, Cooper, Weatherby, Ljutic and even the famous late custom shotgun maker Tommy Sietz. Pam is exceptionally flexible and has the ability to provide you with virtually any pattern and style you prefer. Before long we had agreed to a moderately fancy ribbon fleur de lis pattern similar to one she had done recently on a friend’s custom .416 Rigby rifle.

Gouse Freelance Firearms Engraving completed the metal engraving project by adding a Cape buffalo on the magazine floor plate.

The .500 Jeffery/

.500 Schuler Controversy

BY JAMES TUCKER

Sifting through the sands of time is a daunting task! In this case, and I do mean case, I’m referring to an eighty-year-old controversy over the cartridges we know today as the .500 Jeffery and the 12.7X70mm (.500 Schuler).

In books and articles that I have read over the last thirty years, most of the controversy seems to be over who originally developed the cartridge. The year 1927 is when Schuler and Jeffery introduced their cartridges to the public. The first mention of August Schuler Waffenfabrik’s new cartridge appeared in a German gun magazine that year. They named and promoted it as the .500 Schuler. It wasn’t until 1940 that RWS renamed it the 12.7x70mm. The records of the firm W. J. Jeffery show that they sold their first .500 in 1927.

While this is of interest to many with a historical outlook, those who build and shoot the Schuler/Jeffery cartridges need to know that they are NOT the same cartridge. They are two separate cartridges although nearly everything in print says they are the same. Having worked on six rifles chambered for the “.500 Jeffery” and been involved with two others, I can tell you that the two cartridges are definitely different.

The important difference between the two cases is the shoulder angle. This is very important because for rimless cartridges, as both of these are, the headspace length is determined by the distance between a point on the shoulder and the base of the cartridge. When the angle of the shoulder is changed, the length of the headspace is also changed. If you put a cartridge with a shorter headspace length into a longer barrel chamber, you instantly create a condition known as “excessive headspace.” This may result in a case rupture and can cause serious damage to the rifle and shooter.

The Jeffery has a longer shoulder angle of roughly 12.5 degrees. The Schuler utilizes a shorter, steeper angle of a bit over 19.5 degrees. The consequence of putting a .500 Jeffery cartridge in a .500 Schuler chamber is that you create excessive headspace. And, conversely, putting a .500 Schuler cartridge in a .500 Jeffery barrel makes it difficult or impossible to close the bolt.

C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l’Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives, the European equivalent to SAAMI) standardized the dimensions for the “12.7x70mm (.500 Schuler),” its official name, in 1998. The “500 Jeffery” received C.I.P. approval the following year. Both were slightly revised in 2002. A quick look at the dimensions shows that while similar, they are different in nearly every dimension. With C.I.P. standardization of the two cartridges coming ten years ago you would think, “What’s the problem?”

The problem is that with the longtime misrepresentation, many people have the mistaken idea that they are the same cartridge! This translates into rifles being marked .500 Jeffery that have the Schuler chamber. Chamber reamers have been marked .500 Jeffery/Schuler. Brass has been headstamped .500 Jeffery that won’t fit into the chamber of a .500 Jeffery rifle. This can be very frustrating, costly, and potentially dangerous.

If you have a .500 Jeffery rifle and are experiencing difficulty opening the bolt after firing and/or the primers are flattened, STOP. Do not continue to fire your rifle. These are signs of excessive pressure. Take your rifle and ammo to a knowledgeable gunsmith and have it thoroughly inspected. You are probably firing .500 Jeffery ammo in a .500 Schuler chamber.

David Little of Kynamco Ltd., makers of Kynoch ammo, pushed for and got the CIP standardization of the .500 Jeffery cartridge. He provided the best explanation as to the design of the .500 Jeffery and backed it up with physical evidence. To paraphrase:

While both gunmakers built rifles using Mauser actions, Schuler’s design incorporated a straight stack magazine to accommodate their cartridge while Jeffery stayed with the Mauser double stack design. Also, the German bullets of the time came apart and failed to penetrate deeply on thick skinned game. W. J. Jeffery used a longer shoulder angle for feeding, a thicker jacketed bullet for better penetration, and cordite powder to create the .500 Jeffery. Jeffery was not an ammunition manufacturer and probably had Kynoch do all or most of this on his behalf. It is likely they got Schuler “basic brass” cases from the German manufacturer and then formed and loaded it to Jeffery’s specifications. It seems obvious that Schuler came up with his cartridge first. It is equally obvious that Jeffery did not “steal” Schuler’s cartridge and put his name on it, as some have said.

The .500 Jeffery is an excellent cartridge for dangerous game. It is not a 12.7x70 mm (.500 Schuler). Treating them as the same can be dangerous to humans and fine rifles.

.500 Jeffrey (left) and .12.7X70mm/.500 Schuler (right). Note the difference in shoulder angle.

Big bores are notorious for not being accurate. Two-inch groups at 100 yards are often considered adequate, but when author shot this three-shot group using 570-grain Barnes Banded Solids he was elated.

To add a little more flare I decided to have some metal engraving as well. Michael Gouse of Gouse Freelance Firearms Engraving was contacted and a decision was made to have him do a modest amount of scroll engraving, and seeing how a couple of Cape buffalo brought me to this point, he would appropriately include an engraved Cape buffalo head on the floor plate.

In cases like the .500, finding reloading data can sometimes be a problem, but I was fortunate to find data on a couple of websites as well as in a reloading manual put out by A-Square. This provided a good point to start from and eventually I compiled my own data. (See table below.)

.500 Jeffery Rimless Reloading Data

Note: All of these loads shot to the same point the in the author’s test Rifle at 100 yards. No signs of excessive pressure were noted and all rounds functioned flawlessly. Starting point references: 1) http://www.accuratereloading.com/500jef.html;A-Square Reloading Manual. Warning: Even though these loads were felt to be safe in the author’s current Rifle, ALWAYS start 5-10% below listed charge and work yourself up to a safe maximum level in your firearm. The author or this publication takes no responsibility for any result using these loads.

Quite astonishing to me was the fact that virtually all of the tested loads impacted at the same point on paper at 100 yards; even the Barnes Banded Solids cut paper at the same point as the Triple Shock bullets. This is an important consideration when contemplating going after dangerous game. The rifle consistently held all of its rounds within 1-1/2 inches and on several occasions they cut a single 3-shot ragged hole. This is considered exceptional by any big bore standard. Extreme accuracy and beauty, all in one firearm – what more could a shooter ask for?

CONTACTS

Coffin Gunsmithing, LLC (Gunsmithing) 375 Sweathouse Creek Rd. Victor, Montana 59875 E-Mail: coffingunsmithing@yahoo.com

Pam Wheeler (Checkering) P.O. Box 827 Stevensville, Montana 59870 Telephone: (406) 381-1484

Gouse Freelance Firearms Engraving (Engraving) 708 Adirondac Hamilton, Montana 59840 Telephone: (406) 363-0254 E-mail: create@mtart.com Web: http://www.mtart.com

Pacific Tool & Gauge (Chamber reamers) 598 Avenue C Medford, Oregon 97503 Telephone: (541) 826-5304