I shot my 50 alaskan revolver today

B

bigdoggy700

New member
I finally got out saturday morning and shot a couple of handguns. I got a 50 alaskan (BFR revolver converted by Jack Huntington), it has a 9" barrel and a 1 1/4" muzzle brake on the end. The gun weighs 70 oz. which is 2 oz. less than a 8 3/8" S&W 500 mag. I shot a box of buffalo bore 525 grain bullets, 20 rounds, and got 1709 ft/sec. for right at 3400 ft.lbs. Then I shot a 20 round box of the buffalo bore 450 grain bullets. I got 1926 ft/sec for 3702 ft.lbs. The recoil was heavy but manageable. Recoil came out to a little over 90 ft. lbs which is alot, but the gun shot well. A typical single action, by letting the gun roll up during recoil, it was not too bad. I then shot 20 rounds each of hornady 350 grainers, and corbon 440 grainers through my 4" s&w 500. I got 2332 ft.lbs with the hornady rounds. 80 rounds total was it for me for the day. I will admit that by sunday evening, my hands were a little sore. While the 50 alaskan is generally thought of as a rifle round, it does fine in the big revolver. It is an option for anyone that wants a little more UMPH than a 500 mag can deliver. Probably not the most practical gun in the world, but fun to shoot as long as you hold on real tight.
 
Kudos for shooting all those heavy hitters. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif I got rid of my .44s because I didn't care for the recoil. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Can I intrest you in a three time shot 375.JDJ barrel for a contender? I bought one last year and after pulling the trigger 3 times I decided I dont really want to hunt cape buffalo with a pistol.

50 Alaskan. GEEEZ
 
Bigdog,
You are the man. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif I have a Browning Mod 71 in a 50 Alaskan and it smacks pretty good. It even has a muzzle brake!

Chickenman
 
Pretty beastly. The most I've gotten out of my Model 500 while staying withing Hodgdon's parameters is some 2700 ft lbs. The numbers you got are even beyond what John Ross gets when he seats the slugs out to near full chamber length. I'm too conservative, want a full ballistics lab like Hodgdon's to provide data.

Since the .500 S&W is fully adequate for anything that walks, you have an additional edge. Don
 
Zona,
We do have a 2 or 3 day handgun season after shotgun season is over. Yes this is legal to hunt deer with. In Illinois, no auto pistols and power has to be 357 mag or above to hunt deer.
 
Grunter,
I had a 375 JDJ contender about 20 years ago, and moved up to a 475 SSK handcannon. Now with the encore, the 475 contender at 2650 ft. lbs isn't a big deal. Encores are alot stronger and can handle some real power. I posted my encore story a while back. I have a 12" 4 1/2 lb encore chambered in factory 460 weatherby. The first time I shot it , it blew the barrel off, = a broken wrist and a severed finger ligiment. I got it fixed and shot it twice more, it stayed together and pushed a 500 grain bullet to 2098 ft./sec. = 4800 ft. lbs. Recoil kicked twice as much as this 50 alaskan revolver and hurt like hell. To say it was brutal is a giant under statement. I figured I would not push my luck any further. The gun is in my safe, but I don't shoot it anymore. Even the encore can't handle that kind of pressure. The 50 revolver is completely safe to shoot.
 
Pollohombre,

I have a 510 kodiak express being made by Mic McPhearson. He has had some family health issues so it has been delayed a little. It is a modified Marlin 1895. It is capable of getting 2350 ft/sec with 450 grain bullets. This is out of a 22" barrel. It is a 50 alaskan, but about 23/100ths of an inch longer. It pushes 5500 ft. lbs, not too shabby for a lever action. It does weigh in the 9 lb. range to help tame the recoil. I don't really expect it in untill late November. It should be a blast.
 
I suppose these stores make my S&W 329 look like a pea shooter huh. Man, and most people say the 329 has the worst recoil out of any pistol they have fired
 
Don D.

I have not hand loaded the 50 alaskan. The loads I used are buffalo bore factory loads, so I think they are safe. Jack Huntington's guys shoot them at his shop before he lets them out the door. Buffalo bore does load some pretty hot stuff though.
 
Water,

The 329 does snap your wrist back ALOT. The 50 revolver rolls up and back, which helps handle recoil. That 329 compares more with the 12 oz s&w model 340 in 357 mag. They are both so darn light and their recoil speed is what smarts, because it is a very sharp fast recoil at the wrist.
 
BigDoggy,

Sorry man but when recoil=blown up guns a broken bones its time to trade it in. I remember watching all the grass flatten out in front of me when touching off the JDJ and in a knealing position. 3 shots and my wrist hurt for two days. You guys must be built like Brick S#*T houses to be pulling out one of those cannons. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif The safe sounds like a great place for that 460. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Dave
 
Grunter,

Without boring you to death on this, I only broke my wrist because more than 1/2 of the weight of the gun (the barrel) got ripped off and flew about 30 feet forward. When the gun was made, I was told that this encore would safely handle the 460 round. It only handled the round after the gun maker fixed it with heavier welds. It still kicked so much that I would be afraid to hunt with it. The barrel came off after 4 test rounds at the gun makers and on my first shot. After they fixed it they test fired it only once. So after I shot it twice, I figured it would not last many more shots so I retired it. I don't mind big recoil, but I am not into being physicaly hurt either. Hell, I could just go pound my hand with a hammer if that was the case.
 
As much as I love hand canons, I think I rather juggle 12 pound hammers than try some of what's been mentioned here.

And I havent a clue how to juggle.
 
BigDoggy. Maybe there was some misunderstanding. My post was in no way intended to be critical, just impressed with the power levels.
I wasn't inferring that your loads were unsafe, just that even maxed out, you've gone beyond the very powerful .500 S&W Mag. Quite a beast.
I wouldn't fire your .460 on a bet and it doesn't hurt my ego a bit to admit it. Don
 
DON D,
No sweat bid guy, heck I don't really want to shoot it again either. I just posted this story about the 50 alaskan because its not a real common caliber to shoot in a revolver. It is manageable and gives some real power if you like a real blaster. The 460 weatherby story just shows that we all need to be careful when pushing the power limit on handguns. I don't want anyone to think that I am trying to be a macho man at all. I am just your average overweight 44 year old shooter, nothing special. I just like big bore rifles and handguns. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif
 
Big bores are great. Why many people ask? Because, generally speaking, they can do more things than small bores. In addition to the power, I've had fun making round ball/shot loads for my .458 and the .500 Smith. Two vegetable wads over the powder, shot and then a round ball. Makes a respectable shotgun at close range.

The .458 even does well trajectory wise with Barnes X bullets and they penetrate exceptionally well.

Both the .458 and the .500 are incredibly versatile, everything from powderpuff to nastly loads are available at the reloading bench! Don
 
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