He will probably flinch quite harshly if he is afraid it will hurt him. That flinch can trasfer to all of his shooting. Not a good thing.

Just back from a deer spotting drive. Wifey and I saw 30 in a 50 km. run. Everything looked pretty healthy, too.

I agree, it'd be hard to squeeze the trigger when he knows that it's going to pound him. You can't shoot a gun that you're afraid of, no way.

Do a search: Utube video 500 Jeffery.

There are a bunch of videos of folks shooting the caliber. One is a video of a small framed girl shooting the rifle. Interesting and fun to watch in a way, in another way it's kind of silly. Not sure what she's trying to prove?

That is one very big gun, and it does have some impressive ballistics.

I remember the first day that we talked about the caliber, he was pulling numbers off the top of his head. It's got so many more foot-pounds of energy at 500 yards than a 30-06 does at the muzzle, velocity at so and so? Felt recoil and all.

We were just joking, I remember I told him: That ought to knock over an old doe.

But he told me that after he'd bought the rifle, he'd bought some once fired rifle brass for the thing too. Pretty sure that he already has some kind of magnum reloading press, dies will probably cost him who knows what?

But it's possible that he can go online and find some kind of loading data, where he can cut the powder charge, maybe 10% and make the recoil just a little bit more tolerant?

IT's a heavy gun to start with, but if you go screwing around and put a muzzle brake on it, you'd be messing with it's value.

Do a search; 500 Jeffery for sale. I didn't realize it before, but if you'd buy one new, the retail price is up around $20,000.

He paid a bunch of money for his rifle, but nothing like that.

You see something like that and wonder what the history of the gun would be? Did Great Granddad blast a rhino or 2 with the gun? He died off and the kids don't know what it's worth? Grandkids stole the gun and sold it to a pawn shop for a quick $5,000 ? You never know.

Next time I see the man, I'll ask if he has an idea of when it was made and all. But it's a pretty rifle.

That sounds like a very good run out counting deer.

I checked my "lured rock camera" the other day, to the best of my knowledge, I've had a grand total of one deer picture since back in November on that cam. Just one picture of a single deer.

Taking the dog for a run tomorrow, GPS collar is on charge now, I should have time to check the other 2 cameras on the mountain.

I'll tell you that GPS system is one very neat machine.

We saw 18 deer last night.

Knew a guy that won the lottery for a moose hunt in a provincial park. There is a mandatory sighting in of the rifles prior to the hunt. Guy brought a .375 HH. One of the guides told him he couldn't hunt moose with a .410! The range instructor had him take 5 or 6 shots to adjust a perfectly adjusted rifle. Instructor just wanted to seethe guys shoulder take a pounding - I guess.

I shot that 375. The kick is more like a push and nowhere nearly as sharp as the kick of a single shot Cooey 12 gauge shooting 3 inch shells.

Brian, you're seeing more deer than our local mailman. School bus drivers aren't seeing many either.

Well, that's good that they have a required sight in, before the lotto hunt. Never know, maybe the instructor was just picking on him?

I've never shot a 375 H&H Mag. That is one big powerful gun, I'd think it'd do a fine job on moose.

The guy was a good rifle shot, also. He usually won the offhand shoot off.

He dropped a small buck (35 inches or so)with one shot.

Well, I'm glad to hear that your buddy got his moose. I figured he would.

The way you're talking about him, I take it that he's no longer with us. As a rule, if a man will let you shoot his rifle, you're pretty good friends. And it always sucks when you lose one!

Well, Steve, the man that bought the 500 Jeffery, we've been talking about stopped by yesterday. Steve said his rifle weighs about 11.5 pounds, it does not have a muzzle break, and he thinks that it was made right at 1900.

If that 1900 date is correct, and if the bluing and stock finish are original, it's in remarkable condition. If all of that is true, I'd say that he bought it dirt cheap.

Said his hip is getting better, he wants to shoot it.

You know they make these bolt action rifles chambered in .50 BMG. Browning Machine Gun. Steve and I talked about them, I shot one years ago and Steve has also. But the rifle that I shot weighed 20 some pounds, it had a scope mounted and had a muzzle break. The recoil from it was more like a push, a powerful shove. Nothing at all like a sharp kick.

If you'd take that same rifle, take off the muzzle break and cut the weight down to say, 12 pounds. That thing would pound you hard!

Steve has another big gun, forget what caliber it is, but he told me that after the 2nd shot it makes his eyes go "squiggly".

I checked my #2 camera on the mountain Sunday. Not many deer, but I do have a picture of a 4, maybe 5 point buck, dated April 5, 2022. Those are last years antlers, bleached out white as paper, but it still had both sides. And a picture of a very nice bobcat, no coyotes or fox or coon. No bear either. In years past I've had bear pictures in January, February and March and April, none so far this spring.

I still have one camera to check.

Talking about the condition of our deer, I've got some that you can see their shoulder, hip and rib bones, they look pretty scruffy. Most look ok.

If you remember, a few years ago "blue tounge disease" hit our deer herd hard. We talked about it at the time, if I'm not mistaken, our deer harvest that next season was down something like 40 percent, compared to the previous year.

Here's a link to the 500 Jeffery.

https://revivaler.com/w-j-jeffery-company-rifle-500-jeffery/

W.J. JEFFERY & COMPANY RIFLE IN .500 JEFFERY
Bolt Action Rifles, Main, Rifles Permalink

The W.J. Jeffery & Company was formed back in 1890 when Jeffery was in partnership with a man named Davies so it was called Jeffery & Davies but that partnership had ended a year later so W.J. Jeffery & Company formed in 1891 and having passed through various premises over the years is still in operation with an outlet in the United States. Jeffery was famous for his heavy caliber rifles for African and Asian big game hunting and he built affordable rifles and guns for practical and professional hunters. The emphasis on his arms has long been one of excellence in build and reliability.


Engraving on the barrel of the Jeffery rifle coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction.

Despite being a relatively small workshop Jeffery not only produced the sort of rifles that professional hunters appreciated the value of but he was also instrumental in either creating a number of big game calibers such as the .404 Jeffery, and the .333 Jeffery which not only proved its worth in the sporting fields but also during the First World War when its high sectional density bullets proved highly effective against the protective steel screens used by German snipers.


This .500 Jeffery magazine rifle is coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction on September 10th, 2017.

The largest of the calibers to wear the Jeffery name, the .500 Jeffery, was actually not designed by them however but by famous German designer August Schuler, whose most famous cartridge is the 6.5×68 Schuler which is still in production by RWS (Note: for the Revivaler post on the 6.5×68 click here). The .500 Jeffery began as the German 12.7×70 Schuler which Jeffery recognised as a brilliant answer to the problem of providing a sufficiently powerful caliber for dangerous African and Asian game but in affordable magazine rifles. August Schuler had originally created his 12.7x70mm cartridge as a way of providing an elephant and hippo stopper in a conventional Mauser 98 action with a minimum of need to open up the action.


Three iconic African cartridges that can fit into a modified Mauser 98 action or an M17 Enfield action; from left to right the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, the .404 Jeffery and the .500 Jeffery (aka the 12.7×70 Schuler). (Original picture courtesy huntforever.org).

In a modified Mauser 98 action the rifle could normally hold two .500 Jeffery cartridges and the surplus M17 Enfield action also provided both a basis for creating an affordable stopping rifle for use against animals that were “B.A.D.” (i.e. Big Angry and Determined) with the advantage of having a slightly larger magazine capacity. The early Mauser 98 based .500 Jeffery rifles were sometimes made too light weighing around 9lb and recoil of those early rifles was described in typical understated British style as “hideous“. But if they were made a tad heavier up around 11lb then recoil is better managed and they are more like a .500 Nitro Express double to shoot.


W.J. Jeffery Mauser action magazine rifle in .500 Jeffery coming up for sale by Rock Island Auction on September 10th, 2017.

The rifle pictured above is a fine example of an original W.J. Jeffery Mauser action .500 Jeffery which was made to order in the nineties when Jeffery still had their London shop open. The rifle was made for a customer from Zimbabwe who was not able to export it from Britain to Zimbabwe due to British export restrictions at the time and it is pretty much in as new condition having only been sighted in and taken to the range a few times. The rifle has otherwise resided in the maker’s vault in the UK for about fifteen years. This rifle is to be offered for sale by Rock Island Auction in the US on September 10th, 2017.

You will find the sale page for the above rifle with more comprehensive details if you click here.


Three examples of W.J. Jeffery rifles that are still in production. From top to bottom: Classic square bridge Mauser in .300 Winchester Magnum, Magnum square Bridge in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, and Square Bridge Magnum Mauser in .416 Rigby. (Original Pictures courtesy customsportingarms.com).

W.J. Jeffery rifles are still being made and are available in .243 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum, .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, .416 Rigby and .500 Jeffery. The two larger caliber models are fitted with a quarter rib with folding leaf Express sights. These are also available as a five rifle set to form a superb battery for world wide hunting.


Current model W.J. Jeffery rifle in .500 Jeffery complete with fitted case. (Picture courtesy customsportingarms.com).

Well, the bear are back on the move. Within the last month or so, I've had 3 people show me pictures of bear that they'd taken with their cell phones. All just single bear. Don't know of anyone seeing a sow with cubs yet.

I haven't checked my 3 mountain cameras for a while, very good chance that I'll have bear on them the next check. Never know?

Wanted to say that I spent the night up at the King's house, Tuesday night of this week. Moe and I just turned the water back on, hmmm, 2 weeks ago or so. Mowed the yard and all.

Spring Turkey season is in now, I made a couple of calls before good daylight, didn't hear anything. So I came back home, before work.

I remember that I fixed one of those (somewhat cheap) frozen pizzas in the oven that night, ate the whole thing. I had some other stuff too.

Anyway, Moe and I were out turkey hunting Thursday of this week, didn't amount to much. But we went up to the King's place for supper and spent the night. There was a big pile of bear crap in the yard. I'm positive that it wasn't there Tuesday evening, it's only 20 feet from the kitchen door. Not sure if it took a dump in the yard Tuesday night? Or when? It wasn't good daylight when I left Wednesday, so I may have missed it?

Yesterday, Friday morning, I checked the camera watching Wardney's salt lick, I had a bear picture on it April 23rd and April 25th. There is nothing at that camera other than the salt block.

I'll tell you this too. Coming down the road Wednesday morning, it was that point of the day, when you really can't tell if your headlights are on or off. Unless you go past another vehicle or a sign. Anyway, I was running the speed limit, came around a little turn and there was a bunch of junk in my lane. I could see down the road 100 yards or so, nothing coming, so I was in the left lane. I first thought that it was tree bark, then I realized it was the grill out of someone's car, then a pile of glass, on down another 40 or 50 feet there was a last year's fawn carcass in the road. Tiny little deer.

On down the road another 1/2 mile or so, there was some kind of little SUV pulled off at the next wide spot. Some guy was out with his cellphone taking pictures of his car. He seemed fine, both of his headlights were working. It still wasn't good daylight, and I didn't recognize the man. Not sure where the glass came from, maybe one of the mirrors? Or, or it might have been part of his windshield?

Knock on wood, I'm long overdue.

Reading my comment above, I forgot to tell you something.

I said that I'd baked the pizza in the oven and all. You see there are 4 or 5 cast iron skillets in the oven, I didn't take them out, just moved them around where I'd have room. All of the skillets are seasoned with bacon grease or lard.

The oven was on for 45 minutes or so. I walked outside for a minute, going back inside the house smelled like I was cooking bacon. I had one window open upstairs, and the wind was really calm that night. I about halfway think that the bacon smell lingered in the air. Very possible that that's what caused the bear visit.

There isn't anything in the woods for a bear to eat now, I'll bet they would really take a bait now.