Hey all,

Would anybody here know where I can find .510 caliber bullets suitable for thin-skinned/whitetail-sized game animals?

I surely would like to eventually make up some .500 Linebaugh loads optimized for expansion on smaller animals. I was able to find some Barnes .510 XPBs on a closeout deal, but of course those are no longer available.

If I cant find much, I may have to consider using a .500 JRH, but Id rather not.

All input is highly appreciated

SwitchMan,
I shoot a SSK Encore in 50 Alaskan which is .510 caliber. Woodleigh makes a bullet that is suitable for thin-skinned game and they are available from MidwayUSA. Cost is around $30 for 50 I believe(that was my last purchase cost going on memory). Also you need to remember that you will be starting out with a bullet diameter that alot of "regular" calibers would like to achieve, so a good cast bullet will deliver excellent results on deer or any other game for that matter. Remember its all in where you hit them and with cast bullets that are made properly bones are your "friend" as they produce additonal projectiles. Hope this helps.

Yes that helps.

I forgot about those woodleighs, I'll have to take a nother look at those.

True that the .510 is still about what most bullets expand out to, however I do like to try and go above and beyond sometimes. Therefore it seems to me that expansion past .510 is all gravy.

Hawk bullets makes a couple versions for handguns and the bullets subscriber is referring too are rifle bullets so if your planning on using them at handgun velocities you'd be better off with a hardcast with a wide meplat. The lightest bullet woodleigh offers is a 450gr round nose soft point for the 500 Nitro Express and at slower velocities it will act like a full metal jacket.

I continue to be astounded by the number of people who feel they need an expanding bullet in .510 caliber. There is absolutely no need for any further increases in the diameter of these bullets. Just get a 425 to 450 grain cast bullet and find a load the revolver likes. Why make this thing any harder than it actually needs to be?

Anything over 45 cal is already pre-expanded you just need to find a good bullet(cast) and hit the right spot.

Toby

Ditto x2! My exact sentiments.......

This is a product of the brainwashing of the majority by the gun press. The general shooting public is so engrained with the "need" for an expanding bullet, that regardless of caliber; it is the first and usually only type of bullet considered. This makes almost as much sense as pushing an extremely light for caliber bullet as fast as possible from any particular cartridge.

Yup, I couldn't agree more. But, advertisers drive editorial. Not all expanding bullets are bad IMHO, but when I am starting with a rather large diameter, I don't feel a need for expansion -- penetration trumps expansion for me.

I shot this Fallow with the 500 JRH (which is .500) with a wide flat point hard cast and it left a 3 to 4 inch diameter wound channel through the lungs. Why would one need more frontal area




This picture shows the exit in the rib cage of a Mature 6X7 bull Elk that was made by a 440 Grain Wide flat point hard cast at a sedate velocity of 950 FPS. This damage is without an expanding bullet

Ok Gentlemen, allow me clarify,

Im not looking for these bullets because I "need" them. Nor am I brainwashed by the popular gun media into thinking by some subliminal means, that I do in fact "need" them. That without them, my hunting effectiveness has now become magically insufficient.

In retrospect, I am looking for bullets of this type, simply because I "want" them. I am "intrigued" with them, in this particular diameter, and I "want" to "try" them, with the essence of perhaps "improving" on an already effective rig.


I am not interested in anyone's opinion of what I "need." That is not what I asked. What I am interested in is for somebody to simply show where I can find them.

Simple as that. May we please stay on track here.

Thanks in advance

Switchman here is what I'm finding from Hawk and as I posted earlier as far as I know they are the only ones making jacketed bullets for the 510 handguns but I also included the link to the site and a listing of all the 510 bullets both rifle and handgun
http://www.hawkbullets.com/Pricelist.htm

.50 cal. (.510 dia.)

Round Nose
350 grains x .035 RN...........$45.00
400 grains x .035 RN...........$48.50
425 grains x .050 RN...........$64.00 c4
500 grains x .035 RN...........$52.00
500 grains x .050 RN...........$68.00
535 grains x .065 RN...........$93.50 c2
550 grains x .050 RN..........$70.50 c3
570 grains x .035 RN..........$57.00 c3
570 grains x .050 RN..........$75.00 c3
570 grains x .065 RN..........$96.00 c3
600 grains x .035 RN..........$59.50
600 grains x .055 RN..........$74.00 c2

Flat Points
350 grains x .025 FP...........$43.00
350 grains x .035 FP...........$44.00
425 grains x .025 FP..........$45.00 c4
450 grains x .025 FP..........$46.00 c4
450 grains x .035 FP...........$42.00

Hollow Points
300 grains x .025 HP...........$42.00
450 grains x .025 HP...........$45.50 c4


Spitzers
500 grains x .035 SPZ.........$70.00

50 BMG (.510 dia.)

Spitzers
700 grains x .035 SPZ.........$83.50
700 grains x .050 SPZ.........$92.00

500 Jeffery (.510 dia.)

Special Schuler Design
535 grains x .035 SCH........$63.00 c3
535 grains x .065 SCH........$95.50 c2

50-110 Winchester (.510)

Flat Points
300 grains x .025 FP..........$46.00
350 grains x .025 FP..........$48.00
450 grains x .035 FP..........$54.50
(Hollow Points and .035" jackets by Special Request)

I've actually cosidered getting some of the 350 and 450gr flat points to try in my 500 Linebaughs, if you decide to try them out let me know what you think. Hope that helps a little more.

Thanks Rod,

Yeah that does help out. Esecially the figures given on jacket thickness, that will help me better select the right bullet for the right situation.

Like I said, I was able to stumble on to a batch of Barnes .510 XPBs several months ago. I want put a caliper to them to make sure they are in fact the right size. Cause these are not a catalog option and I was kinda surprised that they even existed at all.

It will be interesting to see how those turn out.

Switchman,

Take my comment only if it applies to you.

As I stated peviously, the vast majority of people getting into the actual big bores, .475 and larger, start by asking for expanding bullets. This is a different ball game from the .44s and smaller.

Yes the .510 Barnes will run in the .500 Linebaugh and don't expect tremendous amounts of expansion. We didn't get much when shooting them from an Encore chambered in .50 Alaskan.

Hope this helps with your "improvement" project.

See thats very interesting, and thats definitely an issue I wanted to examine. I actually encountered the same thing from a barnes 20ga slug, fired into soaked newspaper. No expansin at all.

Upon examining these .510 XPBs I couldnt help but notice how thick the cavity walls were. Makes me wonder that if Barnes keeps all of the proportions the same as the bullet increases with size....that it may actually require higher velocity just to even function properly.

I dont know...again, thats something Id like to test out. I kinda wish there were other types available in .510, like maybe Gold-dots and XTPs. JUst to test out.