I'm wanting to rebarrel a Ruger #1 for one of the 2 cartridges. Mostly for black bear and feral hog but I would like to get a chance at a brown bear hunt sometime also. This is what I am thinking as far as differences.

I've heard that a 50 Alaskan can fire 500 Linebaugh safely sense the only difference is the case is shorter. So that makes it sound like the better option, but it's not something I would want to try without more information. If thats true I'll probably just go that route. I haven't really been able to google up reduced loads and don't really want to subject myself to the pounding of full power, or even starting loads, for something as small as hogs and black bears.

The .500 S&W however would be less recoil and cheaper sense it only uses about 2/3rd's or half the powder charge, and I've even found reduced loads if I want to "plink" with it. But I'm thinking it might be a little anemic for brown bear. I'm doubting I would be gaining a whole lot of velocity from pistol powders out of a rifle barrel.

If the .500 S&W has already been used succesfully on both elephant and cape buffalo in a handgun, how would it not suit any bear in a rifle barrel?

AGW

only thing i can think of is its prolly easier to find a wider variety of .510" bullets for the Alaskan where the S&W uses .500"..........i would take the Alaskan, you can always down load the Alaskan............BTW i to am interested in a 50 cal Ruger #1 though i think i would go with one of the sharps rounds as brass is easy to find and dies are cheaper

Maybe if the "pistol powders" are Bullseye or Unique, but any magnum pistol cartridge will see a sizable gain in velocity in a rifle legth barrel. All the gas that is wasted on flash and blast in a pistol barrel gets to continue accelerating the bullet in the extra barrel length.

I know a guy with a beaut in 500 Nitro. One of the long Sharps rounds would make more sense though.

I have shot cast 500 Linebaughs from my 50Ak lever gun, they needed to be single loaded, and left a lot of crud in the chamber. I also have a 4" 500 S&W and one in a 15" Encore, and neither will compare to the 50Ak for horsepower.

If I was following your route, it would either be a 50Ak or as one of the other posters mentioned, a 50-90 Sharps and down load as needed.

Here is a completely different thing to think about. To me the No 1 is a classy rifle. It seems most fitting to me for it to be chambered to cartridges with heritage ie 7x57 as opposed to 7-08. 405 Win, 9.3x74 etc. I think the Alaskan has that same kind of spirit to it. If you want a 500 S&W rifle buy a Handi Rifle. Use that No 1 for a round with nostalgia and mystique.

Now please understand I am not knocking the performance of the 500 S&W just my thoughts on the charisma of a No 1. Sean

I thought long and hard for over a year about building a 50 AK on a ruger #1 but the more I checked into the cost vs the potential results the more I felt the RUGER #1 in 458 LOTT would be the best value.
theres a good sellection of 458 dia cast and jacketed bullets , moulds and brass and dies are easily found at decent prices
you can throw a 350-600 grain weight bullet and the longer range applications favor the 45 caliber
PLUS youll have a FACTORY chambering and not need to go thru a great deal of the expence a wildcat/custom chambering involves

i agree with yah a 458 Lott is the best bang for the buck for the handloader that likes to mess with different bullets and such and wants a big bore buuuuuuuuut there is one problem......sometimes a person just has to have a 50

well I can,t say... IVE NEVER done anything in the rifle sellection and custom caliber builds arena.
that wasn,t...lets say,
less than practical,
so I hope you enjoy the results of the 50 cal, #1 ruger build.

BTW a 72 cal muzzle loader with a 1:32 twist and custom 1200 grain slugs was not the best idea I ever had either, but it sure is fun to play with(OCCASIONALLY)

Im currently looking to rebuild and re-design that project, as the orriginal rifle barrel beat itself out of the stock I built for it in short order, it seems that 150 grains of 2F under a 1200 grain bullet in a 11 lb muzzle loader recoils a bit

lol i swear this rifle stuff is a disease

The .500 bullets are every where. There is a big selection out there. Hornady, Speer, Barnes and a number of hard cast bullet makers. Range Rick makes cast bullets up to the 700 gr. for the .500. So I think the .500 is just as available and maybe a wider selection over the .510 bullets.

As far as a rifle in either, the recoil is going to be a bear itself. LOL

i stand corrected......assumed the .50 bullets were only availible in "handgun weights" didnt know you could get some that heavy

I would think that making a "50 cal" rather than a "51 cal" Alaskan would be nothing more than using a barrel with a bore of .50" rather than a bore of .510". CH4D would make you a set of dies, Dave Kiff at PT&G would make the reamer. As far as cost is concerned it is still the same thing...a chambered barrel plus the cost of the dies/reamer/gunsmith. Lots of 50 cal cast bullets available along with molds...you just have to look harder for them.

But I agree a 458 Lott would be the better choice for the many reasons already mentioned...except for the "My dog is bigger/badder/better and the only one in town" factor.

The 72 cal muskets are boss for sure. I can always tell when my friend comes over to use my range. When he gets out of his p/u he lists to the right and walks funny. I'm creeping up on him though...my 12 GA FH tosses .730"/800-1000gr slugs with predictible results on both ends.

'Njoy

If you're going to build a custom #1, there is no reason to mess around, go straight to the 500 NE. It can be downloaded to whatever you'd want from 500 Linebaugh or 50 AK loads, and can also push 600gr over 2000 fps.

You could always go with a 500 CYRUS .
It is a blown out 416 Rigby necked to .500 DIA .
I push a 700 GRAIN WFNGC at Vel 1850 , here are a couple loads

700 Grain WFNGC 70 Grains H4895 Velocity 1850
610 Grain LFNGC 73 Grains H322 Velocity 1940
420 Grain FNGC 83 Grains H322 Velocity 2280
325 Grain Barnes XPB 88 Grains H322 Velocity 2600

Being this rifle is so light all of these loads have a wallop indeed !!!
But it hurts so good !!!!!!!!!!

Here are two pictures of some loaded 700 and 610 grain bullets .

RR

I have thought about doing a 50-140 on a #1 as well as a .450NE. I already have a #1 .416 RIgby and a 45-70 #1. Using JBY 550gr bore riders in the 45-70 it will pretty much amaze you. The Rigby will shoot 400gr bullets up to 2700 with handloads. DOn't guess I need another but I WANT ONE! ;-} reflex264