examined a BHA 500 S&W

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mickbr
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examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by mickbr »

impressive guns, but have to admit they got about $1000 of fanciness I just dont need , nor can afford. To be honest I'd even be worried putting one down gently in the truck or boat.

For Six, I wish Rossi made one :wink: :D
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CowboyTutt
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by CowboyTutt »

Were you able to cycle the action by chance? What did you think? I have heard mixed reports but some of my friends say the action is very stiff and the LOP is too long because Frank designed it for someone his size. -Tutt
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AJMD429
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by AJMD429 »

I divide my firearms into three classes as far as 'use'....

1. Most of them are 'working guns' - guns I don't plan on selling, but rather using, so they will get the occasional 'ding' or whatever. They are typically the kind of guns that will hold their value because of their usefulness, with ordinary wear not a problem. The vehicle equivalent of these would be a Ford F-250 or something.

2. A very few of them are 'collectibles' or 'investments' - guns I don't plan on using, but rather selling, so they get put up properly and are not going to suffer wear and tear or 'dings'. I've really only about three or four in this category, and the ones I can think of were actually ones I got as prizes in 4-H or NRA fundraisers; limited editions or commemoratives in chamberings I don't use, or that duplicate my 'working guns'.

3. A few of them become 'truck guns' - guns I might leave in a toolbox or vehicle for extended time, knowing they are likely to get dings or even some rust, but these would be firearms I'm willing to risk damage or loss/theft of, in exchange for having them always available in whatever setting they are placed.

I think that for me, I decided my BHA would be in category #1, even though I could have bought it as a 'collectible'. Life is too short for me to accumulate collectibles, and the way things are going politically and economically, even my 'working guns' will likely bring a decent price when my estate is settled. The nitride-on-stainless metal finish of the BHA seems about as hard to damage as a Glock's finish (I think it is essentially the same thing), and the expoxied-wood is beautiful (even their 'standard' grade), but if it gets a scratch, so be it. Will someone someday want to buy my BHA-89 for the $2,300 or whatever I put into it...? Maybe, maybe not. Even if the sale price were zero, if I get 20 years of joy owning and shooting it, that's about $10 a month for owing one of the most powerful, well-made, and beautiful leverguns in my collection.

My three nicest-looking leverguns are the BHA-89 in 500 S&W, a fancy-wood brass-receiver Rossi-92 in 45 Colt, and a Winchester Big Bore in 375 Winchester. I wouldn't suffer any gun the indignity of being a 'safe queen' unless I thought the investment justified it, or I already owned a superior 'working gun', so the Rossi is in fact a 'safe queen' even though it is "only a Rossi", because I've got several other more practical 45 Colt leverguns already nice and dinged and scratched from years of use, and my daughter really likes the fancy brass and wood, so she'll get that one and can ding and scratch it herself someday. The Winchester Big Bore is not really a 'safe queen' but I do baby it a bit, plus I need to load up ammo again before I can shoot it anyway. I do want to get a deer with it next year though. As for the BHA, it is the most expensive, but on the other hand, it isn't like the Winchester (no more will be made like the Big Bores of past decades), and it isn't all fancy-schmancy like the Rossi, and I don't really have anything to compete with it in terms of bore size and power. The closest I'd have would be my 444 Marlin, and I put the 45-70 I have down there with the 444, in the sense that the 336 action was not intended for the 'modern' loads we think of when we compare 45-70 to the 500 S&W. So my BHA-89 will get dinged and scratched, and potentially go from being a pricey $2,300 new gun to someday maybe being worth less than that. I won't care because likely by the time someone is putting a price tag on it I'll be long gone.

Now I could have spent the same dough and got a really nice 1895 in 405 Winchester or something, but I think odds are I'd treat that like the Big Bore I have, as 'part-investment, part-working gun', so it wouldn't be much different. However the deciding factor was the (silly I know) desire to have something with a TKO over 60 in a package the size of a Marlin 1894. Not many other leverguns can do that.

As to the action being 'stiff' - it seems about like the couple of new-production out-of-the-box 1886's I've handled at gun shows, and way-stiffer than the vintage/used 1886's I've handled - so I think it is just a matter of 'wearing-in'. The action as I understand it is an 1886, only slightly shorter, so that would make sense. I thought about putting some abrasive in the proper places and cycling it 500 times or so, but was afraid I'd goof up and wear the wrong parts down, so I just worked it 500 or maybe even 1,000 times while watching movies or listening to medical podcasts or whatever, and it seems smoother. It still isn't an 1873 for sure, but it suffices.
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JimT
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by JimT »

I hunted with a friend who has one. It was smooth but he said he sent it to someone to have it smoothed up. It is a nice running levergun now and he uses it all the time. While I was there he hammered a big hog with it and it worked quite well.
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CowboyTutt
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by CowboyTutt »

I personally think they need a significant amount of smoothing out based upon what I am hearing. Just guide me to the right person, and I would consider it as a rifle but I think they are over-priced for what they are. -Tutt
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
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"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
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Sixgun
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by Sixgun »

I can't comment because I've never handled one but if I did want one, Doc's word is gold to me. After all, it is made here by knowledable gun cranks......it's just that the 500 cartridge does nothing for me and I see no reason to deviate from the common and proven 45-70.

Throughout my lifetime it was a rare for me to buy a gun I could not resell the next day for more than I paid for it and the BHA does not fit that criteria.

It would be in violation of the law for Rossi to make one in 500 S&W as Rossi would have to have a Class 3 license for manufacturing machine guns and explosives and the same would go for the purchaser. You figure, I would consider a Rossi manufactured gun in 500 S&W (or any cartridge) a very poor cost effective decision......it would be the same as purchasing a Claymore mine....only good for one explosion. :D ------006----- :D
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CowboyTutt
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by CowboyTutt »

I would consider one in 460 but the stock twist rate didn't seem right and its a hefty cost to get a custom twist rate. Then you need to pay someone to slick it up. It just becomes a little too much. Maybe if I called Frank, he might work with me a little bit. He might remember me. -Tutt
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
-Monte Walsh (Selleck version)

"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
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CowboyTutt
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by CowboyTutt »

I just looked again at the stats on the Model 90 in 460. The LOP is 13 5/8ths, most common LOP I see is 13 1/2 so that is not really much different. I have never had trouble with such a LOP and I'm only 5'6.5". The 1:32 twist is acceptable for the 454 Casull version, but the 460 can handle heavier bullets and that's why I think I would need a faster twist rate for my "heavy for caliber" mentality (I blame Grizz! :lol: ) -Tutt
"It ain't dead! As long as there's ONE COWBOY taking care of ONE COW, it ain't dead!!!" (the Cowboy Way)
-Monte Walsh (Selleck version)

"These battered wings still kick up dust." -Peter Gabriel
.45colt
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by .45colt »

One of the members over on Cast Boolets reported last year that He had one , and after around 1000 full power loads His BHA was as smooth as glass. just gotta shoot them.! :lol:
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Scott Tschirhart
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Re: examined a BHA 500 S&W

Post by Scott Tschirhart »

.45colt wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 8:11 am One of the members over on Cast Boolets reported last year that He had one , and after around 1000 full power loads His BHA was as smooth as glass. just gotta shoot them.! :lol:
As with most things. Use takes the rough edges off.
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