(See multiple previous BFR blogs in our series first)
A few months back I picked up a custom shop BFR in 500 JRH. Like all of my BFRs I was immediately impressed with the tolerances held in manufacturing, the trigger was good, grip fit was perfect, and they added some extra finishing touches in the custom shop. More on the 500 in a bit…
Working on guns every day for a living I really like to just be able to pick up a gun and run it as it comes. I never seem to have enough time to build myself a custom. The BFR does this for me.
On all of the BFR guns the barrel cylinder gaps have been about .002, cylinder throats have been uniform, and the trigger has been decent right out of the box.
No production company is going to make a trigger as light as I want, all I have had to do is drop in a 30oz Wolff (Ruger) trigger spring. This gives me a sub 2 pound pull and makes the gun ready for me to push the distance.
The custom shop did a cleaner fit and finish job on the entire gun, added some cleaner looking engraving, and did a polished 11 degree crown vs the factory recessed target crown.
All of the BFRs have been made to tight tolerances thus they all shoot extremely well. None of mine have been fussy about a load. And all hold or just over 1 1/4”at 50 yards consistently.
The 500 JRH is simply a 1.6” 500 SW case trimmed to 1.4”. It’s as large as you can fit in a normal size handgun and uses the common .500 size bullets. This makes for a super functional big bore. Brass cutting jigs can be found online or you could use 500 SW special brass which is just slightly shorter.
I’m looking for max performance so I trimmed all of my new Starline brass. Many would opt for a lead bullet in a big bore but I’m more of a hollow point person. I like short recovery’s for game. I opted to use the super tough 350 Sierra JHP. It has a wide flat nose with a deep hollow point. The bullet is tough enough to handle slamming shoulders on the biggest game I’ll find in the west. My load is sending these out the muzzle at about 1450 fps.
To keep this gun practical for dark timber hunting and reaching out in the prairie I opted for a red dot. I went with an Aimpoint micro 2moa. The glass in the Aimpoint is second to none. It doesn’t distort the picture at all and transfers light extremely well. Plus battery life is measured in years.
Accuracy from the 500 JRH custom shop BFR has been exceptional. I have been able to slam sub vital size plates consistently to 150 yards in various field positions.
The 500 JRH BFR just needs to have some game in front of the muzzle to season it a bit. I have full confidence in it.
Now for the custom shop vs production side of the conversation. Every one of the BFR is built to tight tolerances thus they all shoot well. The custom shop comes out a step up in cosmetics, has a cleaner trigger, and you can get a ton of custom options.
Do I think the custom shop is worth it? Yes, if you want a custom gun right out of the box with custom features.
If you just want a work horse I think you will be more than happy with a factory one.
The BFRs will flat out shoot and hang with ANY production or semi custom out there.
I will be trusting my western hunts and backwoods protection to a BFR💥💥
