Grizzly Cartridge Company .500 Wyoming Express Factory Ammunition

 

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

December 5th, 2005

 

 

 

With the very recent introduction of Freedom Arms’ new .500 Wyoming Express cartridge, it did not take Grizzly Cartridge Company very long to get factory hunting ammunition into production. Grizzly is a relatively new company as far as ammunition manufacturers are concerned., being in business since 2003.  They are located in Rainier, Oregon. I met Mike Rintoul, Grizzly’s founder and head honcho, about a year and a half ago at the NRA’s Whittington Center in New Mexico. Mike is one those guys that you just take to right off. He seemed to be a genuine, honest, and likeable gentleman, and after talking with him for awhile, it was obvious that he knew how to make ammunition. Mike specializes in premium quality hunting ammunition, and he loads ammo for most of the serious handgun and a few heavy rifle cartridges. Mike is picky about his components. He uses only the best available bullets from makers such as Cast Performance, Belt Mountain, and Hawk. All of Grizzly’s ammo is carefully packaged for the best protection of the product, and his prices are reasonable.

A few months ago when I first learned of the .500 Wyoming Express project, after getting the okay from Bob Baker at Freedom Arms, I told Mike of the new cartridge, and he was immediately on board and willing to load ammo. When I did my recent review of the .500 WE, Grizzly was not hardly ready with the big 500 at that time, but they now have the cartridge in full production, ready to ship.  This is good news. Many shooters, for whatever reason, do not handload, and just prefer to buy factory ammo.

Mike recently sent to me samples of three of his current loadings for the .500 Wyoming Express; a 370 grain cast lead wide flat nose gas check (WFNGC), a 400 grain bonded core jacketed flat point (BCFP), and a 440 grain WFNGC. In addition to these three, Grizzly also offers a 400 grain WFNGC bullet loaded to the same velocity as the 400 grain jacketed bullet. I chronographed these from the seven and one-half inch barreled Freedom Model 83 to determine the velocity and consistency of the ammunition. The chronograph was set at ten feet from the muzzle. Air temperature was thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit and elevation was about 600 feet above sea level. Chronograph readings are listed in feet-per-second, with the results listed in the chart below.

Ammunition Velocity Average Deviation
Grizzly 370 grain WFNGC 1372 8.6
Grizzly 400 grain BCFP 1307 7.5
Grizzly 440 grain WFNGC 1259 6.5

As can be seen from the velocity readings, the Grizzly ammunition has some pretty impressive power. Also, from the average deviation readings, the ammo is very consistent from shot to shot, which exhibits extraordinary quality control. This Grizzly ammunition is good stuff. Accuracy was also very good. While I did not try to shoot this big-bore stuff off of a machine rest, I was able to hit everything that I shot at from an offhand position, and was again impressed with the quality and performance of the ammunition.

For shooters and hunters who have been contemplating the new .500 Wyoming Express from Freedom Arms, but who were waiting for factory ammunition to become available, it is available. It is also powerful, clean-shooting, reliable, and accurate. It is Grizzly.

Check out the entire line of Grizzly Cartridge products and services on line at:  www.grizzlycartridge.com.

For your own Freedom Arms .500 WE revolver, check out:  www.freedomarms.com.

You never regret buying the best.

Jeff Quinn

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Grizzly Cartridge Company is making premium-quality factory ammunition for the new Freedom Arms .500 Wyoming Express.

 

 

Grizzly's offerings for the .500 WE include (left to right): 370-grain WFNGC, 400-grain BCFP, and 440-grain WNFGC.