Woohoo!
And your sinus's are probably clear, as well.
Doing some load development for the new pachyderm annihilator?
I doubt I could even afford to reload that caliber. The gentleman who brought it (and graciously provided ammo for all to freely shoot, if you were brave/dumb enough to try) had a 10-round box of ammo that cost more than a full 1000rd case of 7.62x39. I believe he said the load used something like 120 grains of powder with a 900gr bullet. It was an experience to shoot, for sure. The gun weighing 14.5lbs helped a little, as did push-pull, but geez, it still felt like touching off an artillery piece.
It costs about $12 to hand load each round with new components (about $7.50 of it is for the brass alone). Those are fun to shoot. The biggest one I shot was a .500 NE. It was a thumper.
A buddy has a .470 Nitro double rifle.
I shot it--once.
He had loaded both barrels but after one round I'd enjoyed about as much of that as I could stand.
The .50 BMG rifles I've shot were less brutal.
Yeah, but what are his split times?
Taking a break from social media.
I shot a falling block .577 NE once that was "light loaded" with a 650gr bullet at 2000fps. I didn't take up the offer to fire any additional rounds. (An H&R topper with a 3" Lightfield slug isn't nearly as bad as the 577, not that the shooting the topper with 3"slugs is anything that I plan on doing ever again)
I couldn't imagine a 900gr bullet at the same velocity. That's a great job just hanging onto the rifle and not getting knocked on your butt.
Rifles like that are why you should never go on safari without someone that is much slower and fatter than you are.
I got to fire a .470NE double that day as well. It wasn't nearly as bad as the .600NE. I shot a .450/.400 NE double as well, it was positively pleasant by comparison. After that, the .375 H&H was a pussycat, and my 9.3x62mm didn't even register. The .505 Gibbs was pretty hairy, though.
Had a Heym .470 double it was pleasant to shoot. Ruger .416 Rigby, .375 H&H are not bad.
The .500 A Square I had was abusive to run the plate rack with. 600 grain bullet, 2450 fps, 22'' barrel, 12.25 lbs, no muzzle brake. I got tired of getting a headache.
If I won the lottery, my dream double would be a Westley Richards Drop Lock .577 NE. Hand detachable locks, spare set of locks. I shot and handled one in .375 H&H in the 1970s, very impressive work.
I'd really like to try a .404 Jeffrey one day. I have a thing for classic African calibers, and I think between a 9.3x62mm and a .404 Jeffrey, I'd have it pretty well covered. In doubles, I think the .450/.400 has a lot going for it, as it's pretty slim and trim and still has acceptable recoil and performance. I doubt I'd want to every use/carry anything bigger than a .470NE. I shot a .500NE a few years back, and it was pretty intense, but still manageable. I was able to do a rapid pair with it and maintain pretty decent accuracy at pachyderm bad-breath range. It wasn't in the same punishment league as the .600NE (which from everything I've read, isn't all that useful as it has poor sectional density and lackluster penetration) or the .505 Gibbs (which apparently has a sterling reputation for killing large irritated things at close range), but it was still more than I'd care to touch off in regular practice. I also got to shoot a .450 Black Powder Express rifle this match, and it was fun as heck. It was an 1870s-vintage exposed hammer double, loaded up with some good ol' BP and lead bullets.
At the last match in December, I got to shoot a 9.3x74mmR double that was downright pleasant, but if I get a double I want a big bore, but not too big.
The fellow who owned the .470, .505 and .600 also had a .500 Jeffrey rifle (actually made by Jeffrey's of London), but it was about 2-1/2lbs lighter than his .505 Gibbs rifle, and I let discretion be the better part of valor with that one.