50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

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50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by andym79 » 18 Feb 2019, 7:26 pm

Hi guys, I just wondered if anyone here was running a 50 Alaskan, with heavy slugs subsonic as a less expensive version of the 510 Whisper?

If so, do you have/need a fast twist. According to stability factors a 1.8" 950 grain bullet should be stable at 800f fps in a 1:15 twist is that so?

Finally if anyone is doing this, what level of accuracy do you get in the 50-200 yard range?

Thanks
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by SCJ429 » 18 Feb 2019, 8:08 pm

I am not running the Alaskan but play with the 50 B&M which is the RUM case necked up to .500. With 500 grain pills it runs out to 2200 fps but have tried throttled back to 1200 fps. The accuracy is OK at 100, about two and a bit inches but I prefer full power. I cannot get my hands on 700 grain pills but have tried 350s. I wasn't impressed and would rather shoot the lighter pills out of a 416 or 458.

What do you want to shoot at lower speeds with heavy pills?
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by andym79 » 18 Feb 2019, 8:11 pm

Nothing I couldn't shoot with smaller faster pills I guess! Like that 375 H&H I am considering. A super sonic 500 would be good for elephant size roo though!

The idea just got me real curious and the 510 Whisper based on 338 Lapua is about the hardest and most expensive way to do it!

2 1/2 MOA so workable but nothing to speak of.
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by SCJ429 » 18 Feb 2019, 8:28 pm

The 500 Nitro Express and 505 Gibbs are also pretty expensive, I am guessing there is no cheap way of shooting a 50 cal. They are all fun and put big holes in things. Good luck with your project.
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by Noisydad » 18 Feb 2019, 9:33 pm

SCJ429 wrote:... I am guessing there is no cheap way of shooting a 50 cal. They are all fun and put big holes in things. Good luck with your project.

Yeah there is. .50-70 with cast bullets and black powder. 35 cents a shot. Much the same price for any .50 cal and over black powder rifle with cast bullets (Unless you're using really big loads in muzzle loaders..)
The .50 Alaskan is nearly identical to the .50-70. I had a thread on here titled ".50-70 Rainbow"
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by SCJ429 » 18 Feb 2019, 10:19 pm

Are 50/75 cases much cheaper than a 505 Gibbs? I am not sure that he wants to muck around with black powder. But a 50/70 with Trailboss would be lots of fun.

Can you buy cast bullets with gas chacks installed for a 50 or would you have to cast your own?
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by Noisydad » 18 Feb 2019, 10:31 pm

.50-70 cases range from $3.50 to $5 each. Far easier to cast you own bullets than find them to buy. Black powder is easy. I really don’t know why people think it’s so hard. I guess there are a lot fairy tales from arm chair experts floating around.
My 1871 Husqvarna rolling block has a 1:36 twist in its 36” barrel and shoots a 2.3” group that’s 10” high at 100 yards and dead on at 200. I se Lee mold 450 gn pure lead bullets and 55 gn 2F bp at 1050 FPS Cleaning is no harder than that silly smokeless stuff.
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by SCJ429 » 19 Feb 2019, 5:54 pm

It does mater what colour the powder, as long as you are burning plenty of it.
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by bladeracer » 19 Feb 2019, 6:08 pm

Noisydad wrote:I really don’t know why people think it’s so hard. I guess there are a lot fairy tales from arm chair experts floating around...Cleaning is no harder than that silly smokeless stuff.


It's no harder than smokeless, but it is more work than smokeless. I don't clean any smokeless rifle every time I use it, but my muzzle loader gets stripped and cleaned thoroughly every time, which does make it more of a pain to play with.
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by andym79 » 19 Feb 2019, 7:09 pm

So Noisydad is only one doing anything close to what I am asking about only with smaller bullets!

I am real curious about this!
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by bladeracer » 19 Feb 2019, 7:21 pm

andym79 wrote:So Noisydad is only one doing anything close to what I am asking about only with smaller bullets!

I am real curious about this!


I don't shoot anything that big. Probably 265gn is the heaviest bullet I've shot subsonically, in .44 Magnum.
I do work up subsonic loads for everything I shoot, subsonic 180gn cast in 8x57 shoots nicely. Also 200gn JSP in .38 Special.
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Re: 50 Alaskan as a less expensive 510 Whisper

Post by Noisydad » 19 Feb 2019, 7:48 pm

The bullets from black powder .50 (plus) rifles are so big and slow that in the right light and wind you can actually see them arc to the target! It's very cool!
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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