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Current African Cartridges the .505 Gibbs Current ... - HuntNetwork

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Feature<br />

Feature<br />

Introduced<br />

I<br />

in 1910 by George <strong>Gibbs</strong>,<br />

in rifles based on <strong>the</strong> Magnum<br />

Mauser action, it was always <strong>the</strong> more<br />

popular of <strong>the</strong> two .500 bore cartridges<br />

for magazine rifles, despite being less<br />

powerful than <strong>the</strong> .500 Jeffery. The big<br />

round worked, phenomenally well on<br />

buffalo and more than adequately on<br />

elephant. It was designed for <strong>African</strong><br />

Hunting, with a big bullet, good velocity,<br />

and very low breech pressures (around<br />

37 to 40,000 psi). No great numbers of<br />

this rifle were made, a few hundred were<br />

exported to America and perhaps as<br />

many as a thousand for <strong>the</strong> <strong>African</strong> and<br />

Indian markets, but it was enough to<br />

ensure that Kynoch continued to load<br />

ammunition up until <strong>the</strong> late ’60’s when<br />

<strong>the</strong>y ceased all ammo manufacture.<br />

Owners of <strong>the</strong> rifles made a plan and<br />

custom bullets and reloads became <strong>the</strong><br />

order of <strong>the</strong> day. You don’t stop using a<br />

favourite rifle simply because of a few<br />

technical difficulties.<br />

What made <strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong> so great? Simply<br />

that it duplicated <strong>the</strong> knock down effect<br />

of <strong>the</strong> .500NE on elephant, and was<br />

possibly even superior to <strong>the</strong> .500NE<br />

on buffalo and lion, for although it<br />

threw a lighter bullet (525grn as<br />

opposed to <strong>the</strong> .500NE’s 570grn) it did<br />

so at a significantly higher velocity of<br />

2300fps (<strong>the</strong> old Kynoch cartridges<br />

I’ve chronographed actually deliver<br />

Page 6<br />

<strong>Current</strong> <strong>African</strong> <strong>Cartridges</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong> <strong>Gibbs</strong><br />

By - Ganyana<br />

This is one of those “classic” British cartridges that has stuck around and always<br />

seemed to hang in <strong>the</strong>re, with a small following in America and a steady group of <strong>African</strong><br />

professionals who swore by it. ‘Pondoro’ Taylor praises it as a “magnificent weapon, if<br />

you prefer a magazine rifle”, and too many o<strong>the</strong>r good hunters have used it with too<br />

much success for it to fade away.<br />

this advertised performance from a 24"<br />

barrel). For <strong>the</strong> professional hunter<br />

working in areas dominated by jesse<br />

vegetation or jungle, <strong>the</strong> .450-.470 class<br />

of cartridges represent a realistic<br />

minimum safe choice, and many men<br />

preferred something more than <strong>the</strong><br />

minimum. The well built <strong>Gibbs</strong> rifles<br />

were noted for <strong>the</strong>ir extremely moderate<br />

recoil relative to <strong>the</strong> power of <strong>the</strong><br />

cartridge, and I for one, found firing an<br />

original <strong>.505</strong> <strong>Gibbs</strong> considerably less<br />

earth shattering than firing a .458 Lott<br />

(an extra 2½lbs weight combined with<br />

exceptional fit and balance made a<br />

world of difference). For your game<br />

control officers or farmer who often had<br />

to shoot elephant and lion at night, <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>.505</strong> provided that extra bit of<br />

reinsurance toge<strong>the</strong>r with four rounds<br />

in <strong>the</strong> magazine. Simply put, it was a far<br />

Simply put, it was a far safer<br />

rifle to carry than most, and a<br />

much more practical choice<br />

for many than an expensive<br />

double.<br />

safer rifle to carry than most, and a<br />

much more practical choice for many<br />

than an expensive double.<br />

Today <strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong> is seeing quite a<br />

renaissance. I have seen more <strong>.505</strong>’s in<br />

<strong>the</strong> field in <strong>the</strong> last two years than I’ve<br />

seen .460 Wea<strong>the</strong>rby’s. The reason is<br />

simple. Like <strong>the</strong> English worked out a<br />

century ago, provided that <strong>the</strong> bullet<br />

gives adequate penetration, if you want<br />

to increase stopping power, you have<br />

to increase bullet diameter. End of story.<br />

As regular users of <strong>the</strong> .460 Wea<strong>the</strong>rby<br />

will tell you, it makes no difference to<br />

<strong>the</strong> knock down effect whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong><br />

bullet is launched at 2700fps or at<br />

2400fps, and a 600 grain .458 bullet at<br />

2400fps is no better than <strong>the</strong> standard<br />

500 grain one at <strong>the</strong> same velocity. The<br />

reason is plain. The hydrostatic shock<br />

effect of <strong>the</strong> bullet on heart/lung shots<br />

comes into play at impact velocities<br />

above 2250fps and does not increase<br />

in effect until bullet impact velocities<br />

exceed 3300fps. The 500 grain bullets<br />

give more than adequate penetration,<br />

inevitably right through an elephant,<br />

so increasing <strong>the</strong> bullet weight merely<br />

increases <strong>the</strong> already ample<br />

penetration. If you want to move up in<br />

stopping power over <strong>the</strong> .460, you have<br />

to go to a bigger diameter bullet. Very<br />

few men today get to shoot enough big<br />

game to become as proficient as <strong>the</strong><br />

pro’s of old, and if a big tusker or a<br />

tuskless cow are on quota, you’re<br />

going to be hunting in <strong>the</strong> jesse. Rifles<br />

<strong>African</strong> Hunter Vol. 6 No. 5


L - R: Against a backdrop of <strong>the</strong> honey combed Elephant skull and<br />

Taylor's classic book, .458 Win, .458 Lott, .450 Ackley, .500 Jeffery,<br />

<strong>.505</strong> <strong>Gibbs</strong>.<br />

with real stopping power are making a<br />

comeback simply because its healthy,<br />

and with <strong>the</strong> price of a good .500 or 577<br />

double out of most people’s reach, <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>.505</strong> is off to a head start.<br />

There has also been renewed<br />

interest in <strong>the</strong> magnum Mauser action<br />

and several firms from South Africa to<br />

Belgium are making ei<strong>the</strong>r faithful<br />

copies or slightly improved versions of<br />

Rifles with real stopping<br />

power are making a<br />

comeback simply because its<br />

healthy, and with <strong>the</strong> price of<br />

a good .500 or 577 double<br />

out of most people’s reach,<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong> is off to a head start.<br />

<strong>the</strong> big action. Vector in South Africa<br />

even offer <strong>the</strong>ir version of <strong>the</strong> magnum<br />

Mauser action with a bolt of increased<br />

diameter specifically to cater for <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>.505</strong> and <strong>the</strong> odd fellow who wants a<br />

.585 Nyati (a Ross Seyfried creation<br />

when he discovered that .450 calibre<br />

didn’t make <strong>the</strong> grade as <strong>the</strong> ultimate in<br />

dangerous game stopping power) since<br />

<strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong> rim is at <strong>the</strong> upper limit of what<br />

a standard Mauser bolt<br />

can handle. The<br />

excellent CZ actions<br />

from <strong>the</strong> Czech. republic<br />

can also be built into a<br />

<strong>.505</strong> with little effort. I<br />

haven’t heard of<br />

anyone offering <strong>the</strong><br />

<strong>.505</strong> as a standard<br />

production item, but if<br />

Vector have tooled up<br />

specifically to make<br />

actions for <strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong>, .585<br />

and Harald Wolfs full<br />

rim version of <strong>the</strong> .500<br />

Jeffery’ <strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>re is<br />

obviously reasonable<br />

demand from <strong>the</strong><br />

custom or semi custom<br />

rifle makers.<br />

As for bullets,<br />

Woodleigh make <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

incomparable solid in<br />

<strong>.505</strong>" and <strong>the</strong>re are<br />

enough custom bullet<br />

makers out <strong>the</strong>re to<br />

satisfy any o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

demand. Bertram and<br />

Stewart’s make brass<br />

and loaded factory<br />

ammo is available even<br />

in Zimbabwe. There<br />

have been a few<br />

<strong>the</strong>oretical comments<br />

that <strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong>’s 525 grain<br />

bullet lacks sectional density (.294) and<br />

<strong>the</strong>refor penetration. This is pure<br />

<strong>the</strong>ory. Bullets from <strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong> have<br />

sufficient penetration to reach <strong>the</strong> brain<br />

on an elephant from any angle and<br />

while <strong>the</strong>y may not boil out <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

side of <strong>the</strong> elephant’s head like a 500<br />

grain bullet from a 460 Wea<strong>the</strong>rby or a<br />

.375 it offers penetration at least<br />

comparable to a properly loaded .458<br />

Win (500grn bullet at 2150fps). If you<br />

are used to a .458 Win <strong>the</strong> increase in<br />

stopping power on elephant and knock<br />

down power on lion or buffalo is quite<br />

dramatic.<br />

The <strong>.505</strong> <strong>Gibbs</strong> is a large case, about<br />

as big as can be possibly fitted into a<br />

bolt action rifle. The case is a .10" longer<br />

than <strong>the</strong> .460 Wea<strong>the</strong>rby and a .10"<br />

fatter. One could <strong>the</strong>refore load <strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong><br />

right up with modern powders, but one<br />

of its primary attractions is its low<br />

pressure. Even on <strong>the</strong> hottest day, after<br />

you’ve fired a couple of rounds and<br />

<strong>the</strong> third is left cooking in <strong>the</strong> chamber<br />

for a while, <strong>the</strong>re will be no problems<br />

(The .460 Wea<strong>the</strong>rby is notorious for<br />

sticky extraction under such conditions<br />

with full power loads). A generous<br />

dollop of S365 gives 2400fps without<br />

enough pressure to even square <strong>the</strong><br />

edges off <strong>the</strong> primer: who could want<br />

more?<br />

The <strong>.505</strong> is a great cartridge, and its<br />

rapid return to <strong>the</strong> hunting fields is only<br />

to be welcomed. There is nothing in <strong>the</strong><br />

.450 class that can compare with its<br />

effectiveness and for <strong>the</strong> pro, needing<br />

to back up clients in sticky situations,<br />

<strong>the</strong> professional guide with<br />

photographic clients who never shoots<br />

until <strong>the</strong> situation is critical, or <strong>the</strong> local<br />

citizen hunter or farmer who<br />

occasionally shoots a buffalo or<br />

elephant, <strong>the</strong> <strong>.505</strong> provides that bit of<br />

extra security that makes <strong>the</strong> difference<br />

when things go wrong between<br />

success and failure and occasionally,<br />

life and death.<br />

<strong>.505</strong> <strong>Gibbs</strong> cartridges with <strong>the</strong>ir original sealed tin packing boxes, each holding 10 rounds. These<br />

sealed tin boxes ensured that <strong>the</strong> ammo within remained fresh for years.<br />

<strong>African</strong> Hunter Vol. 6 No. 5<br />

Page 7

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