500 s&w loading and muzzle flip

mmc205 · August 16, 2012, 08:39 AM

Alright,
i had some questions when trying to lightly load a 500 s&w cartridge with a plated bullet and h110. Since then i was instructed only to used h110 between between the listed min and max loads or have bad efficiency and/or hang fires or squibs.

I loaded some 500 grain XTP's with 31 grains of h110 (min listed load) and they worked wonderfully. Compared to factory hornady 300 grain FTX loads, they recoil was roughly the same, if not a bit less, and felt like more of a "push" than a sharp snap. Penetration through about a 8-9" hardcover book was no problem. The 300 grain factory loads made it about 3/4 of the way through before running out of steam. The expansion was amazing, roughly a full inch diameter on the 500's with the base completely intact.

So here comes the question.

when shooting the 300 grain FTX factory loads at 25 yards, i'm consistently shooting a 2-3 inch group with POI coinciding with POA.

When i shoot my 500 grain XTP loads, i shoot roughly the same 2-3" group, but POI is about 10 inches higher, and 2 inches left than POA. As i said, the groups are consistent, just high and left. I've never seen this with any of my small caliber auto's. Usually if there is a difference between loads, its under an inch at 25 yards.

My only two theories are:

-the larger bullet takes more time to get out of the barrel, and there is some muzzle flip before it does, making the impact higher. Perhaps my grip has something to do with it, but as i said, the groups are consistent.

or

-It just shoots that different, these new guns are bigger than i'm used to and have some strange effects with different loadings.

All in all, i shot about 40 rounds yesterday, and felt fine. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about with some folks saying that these 500's have unmanageable recoil. Its definitely a bit rough, but i shot that many and felt fine. I'd almost say i'm starting to like it!

Brian Pfleuger · August 16, 2012, 09:53 AM

Quote:

My only two theories are:

-the larger bullet takes more time to get out of the barrel, and there is some muzzle flip before it does, making the impact higher. Perhaps my grip has something to do with it, but as i said, the groups are consistent.

or

-It just shoots that different, these new guns are bigger than i'm used to and have some strange effects with different loadings.

Mostly the first part is correct but there are also variations between bullets/powders/loads that change POI.

I'm not sure how evident the affect is with handguns as I've never tried but with rifles the POI will shift if you switch powders as the new residue gets laid down and if you switch back to the first powder, the POI will shift back to the original point.

Mostly though, it's a speed/recoil issue in your case.

mmc205 · August 16, 2012, 11:29 AM

Brian,

I did some internet research, and it seems this is indeed the case. The POI change i had at 25 yards is typical. Some folks even had to change the front sight blade as they ran out of adjustment on the rear. Most right handers indeed shot high and to the left with heavier bullets coming from lighter ones, inverse for heavy to light.

It seems that things that make it worse are

-Heavy loads, large bullets.
-Lighter guns
-Short barreled guns (this also effects the CG, the closer it is to the center of rotation which is generally your wrist, the worse the roll will be)
-Weak grip
-Low hold

Very interesting.

August 16, 2012, 08:39 AM	#1
mmc205 Member Join Date: March 8, 2012 Posts: 36	500 s&w loading and muzzle flip Alright, i had some questions when trying to lightly load a 500 s&w cartridge with a plated bullet and h110. Since then i was instructed only to used h110 between between the listed min and max loads or have bad efficiency and/or hang fires or squibs. I loaded some 500 grain XTP's with 31 grains of h110 (min listed load) and they worked wonderfully. Compared to factory hornady 300 grain FTX loads, they recoil was roughly the same, if not a bit less, and felt like more of a "push" than a sharp snap. Penetration through about a 8-9" hardcover book was no problem. The 300 grain factory loads made it about 3/4 of the way through before running out of steam. The expansion was amazing, roughly a full inch diameter on the 500's with the base completely intact. So here comes the question. when shooting the 300 grain FTX factory loads at 25 yards, i'm consistently shooting a 2-3 inch group with POI coinciding with POA. When i shoot my 500 grain XTP loads, i shoot roughly the same 2-3" group, but POI is about 10 inches higher, and 2 inches left than POA. As i said, the groups are consistent, just high and left. I've never seen this with any of my small caliber auto's. Usually if there is a difference between loads, its under an inch at 25 yards. My only two theories are: -the larger bullet takes more time to get out of the barrel, and there is some muzzle flip before it does, making the impact higher. Perhaps my grip has something to do with it, but as i said, the groups are consistent. or -It just shoots that different, these new guns are bigger than i'm used to and have some strange effects with different loadings. All in all, i shot about 40 rounds yesterday, and felt fine. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about with some folks saying that these 500's have unmanageable recoil. Its definitely a bit rough, but i shot that many and felt fine. I'd almost say i'm starting to like it!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

August 16, 2012, 11:29 AM	#3
mmc205 Member Join Date: March 8, 2012 Posts: 36	Brian, I did some internet research, and it seems this is indeed the case. The POI change i had at 25 yards is typical. Some folks even had to change the front sight blade as they ran out of adjustment on the rear. Most right handers indeed shot high and to the left with heavier bullets coming from lighter ones, inverse for heavy to light. It seems that things that make it worse are -Heavy loads, large bullets. -Lighter guns -Short barreled guns (this also effects the CG, the closer it is to the center of rotation which is generally your wrist, the worse the roll will be) -Weak grip -Low hold Very interesting.