.500 Jeffery

Big-game rifle cartridge September 2014 September 2014 .500 Jeffery England Rifle August Schuler ~1920 Rebated, bottleneck .510 .538 .607 .619 .575 .052 2.75 3.46 158 1 in 17.7 in (450 mm) Large rifle magnum 570 Soft nose (BC: .368) 2200 6127 570 Barnes TSX 2507 7957 535 SP 2549 7721 600 PP 2468 8117 465 Lehigh solid 2551 6721 24 in Norma Ammunition RealGuns reloading data The .500 Jeffery (12.7×70mmRB) is a big-game rifle cartridge that first appeared around 1920, and was originally introduced by the August Schuler Company, a German firm, under the European designation "12.7×70mm Schuler" or ".500 Schuler". When offered by the famed British outfitter W. J. Jeffery & Co., it was renamed the .500 Jeffery so as to be more palatable to British hunters and sportsmen following World War One.http://www.realguns.com/archives/156.htm The .500 Jeffery Project 2009-02-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20080720012640/http://www.realguns.com/archives/156.htm 2008-07-20 dead History The .500 Jeffery was introduced to bring firepower comparable to the .505 Gibbs into a standard-sized 1898 Mauser action as used with the 8x57mm and 7x57mm cartridges. The Gibbs and .416 Rigby cartridges required oversized magnum Mauser actions. To shoehorn a large round into the 98 action required a rebated rim. When introduced, the .500 Jeffery was technically rated as the most powerful rifle cartridge although in reality not quite up to .505 Gibbs' performance. The .505 Gibbs, with greater capacity, can be loaded far in excess of the .500 Jeffery today. Ammunition availability Like the .505 Gibbs, the .500 Jeffery is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance among American shooters and African big game hunters in the early 21st century, almost 100 years after its introduction.http://www.africanconservation.org/dcforum/DCForumID5/286.html African Conservation Foundation 2009-02-22 2006-09-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20060902061617/http://www.africanconservation.org/dcforum/DCForumID5/286.html dead As of 2009, Norma, Kynoch, Mauser, Corbon, and Westley Richards were offering loaded ammunition in .500 Jeffery with ammunition costing $150 for a box of 20 or more. Rifles There have been a few rifles chambered in the .500 Jeffery including Jeffery, Heym, CZ-USA, and a few single shots including the Ruger No. 1, and the Butch Searcy & Co. Mauser offers its Model 98 magnum in the caliber. Its "elephant" model is offered in .500 Jeffery exclusively. In 2011, Sako began offering the caliber in its Model 85 "safari" rifle using a new XL size action, and since 2014 the XL action has been available in the more affordable Model 85 brown bear rifle. Blaser also offers rifles chambered in the caliber. Many of the modern rifles have feeding issues due to the rebated rim. The original Jeffery uses a single-column two-shot magazine to get around the potential reliability problems resulting from a rebated rim. Criticism The .500 Jeffery has had a few issues since its introduction. It has a rather short neck length that can make it difficult to seat bullets with a relatively high sectional density. Also it has a small shoulder. This is not usually an issue but as the .500 Jeffery also has a rebated rim it makes it rather difficult to extract in extreme conditions. Ballistics When the .500 Jeffery was first introduced it was loaded to a velocity of 2350 ft/s m/s with a 535-grain bullet generating 6560 ft.lbf J on of muzzle energy. Since then, reloading capabilities have changed to be able to launch heavier bullets at higher velocities. With modern reloads, the .500 Jeffery can launch a 600-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity ranging from 2450 to 2500 ft/s m/s on, generating 7995 ft.lbf J on to 8100 ft.lbf J on. See also .50 BMG .500 A-Square .500 Nitro Express .577 Nitro Express .577 Tyrannosaur .600 Nitro Express .700 Nitro Express List of rebated rim cartridges References External links African Conservation Foundation on .505 Gibbs and .500 Jeffrey https://web.archive.org/web/20060902061617/http://www.africanconservation.org/dcforum/DCForumID5/286.html 2006-09-02 AccurateReloading.Com on the .500 Jeffery Norma Ammunition .500 Jeffery pageJune 2026 InternetArchiveBot RealGuns.com page on .500 Jeffery reloading data RealGuns: The 500 Jeffery Project (Part I) RealGuns: The 500 Jeffery Project (Part II) Kynoch Ammunition Category:Pistol and rifle cartridges Category:Rebated rim cartridges Category:British firearm cartridges Category:W. J. Jeffery & Co. cartridges