Who owns a .500 magnum?

What gun you looking at.

I have an S&W .500 with a four inch barrel. It is out of character for me. I generally am quiet and unassuming, and I like my revolvers the same way. If you ask me which gun I want on a deserted island, I will tell you it is the .44 Special.

The .500 is just so damn much fun, though.

I can scarcely manage the full power loads. Until the .500, I would have told you that I can handle one cylinder full of any cartridge. That still is true, but...

With custom wood grips, I can accurately fire two or three factory rounds from my .500. These maximum loads, though, will have me trembling and squinting before the gun is empty.

The good news is that there is nothing in North America which requires the full loads. Slightly downloaded, the gun is easily capable of taking anything in the lower 48 without abusing the shooter. If a fellow doesn't mind carrying the damn thing, "starting" loads will do very nicely for just about anything the owner would like to accomplish.

Finally, the bottom tier revolves around gigantic lead bullets waddling along at 800 fps or thereabouts. These are utterly silly and completely useless, except that they are so much fun that any sixgunner out of his right mind will fall right in love with them.

Short version: it's a silly, pointless handgun that I like a whole bunch. If I didn't have one I would go get one.

You can't go wrong with a 500 magnum. It will put a smile on your face with every shot. I call it the wow gun because that is what most people say after shooting it the first time.

Its unlike most any caliber out there. The 350gr bullets are pretty manageable, I just ran 60 thru it on my last range trip and 20 440 grain. After 60 350gr bullets you can really feel the 440 grain bullets lol.

I had the 8 inch model and sold it to help put a new roof on my house and missed it dearly. I recently just picked up the 10.5 inch model with some stimulus money and I use it for hunting. As long as your not afraid of it you wont flinch, just let the gun come up like it wants. I shot a whole cylinder one handed the last tine I took it out so don't worry about the kick, its not that bad.

The wide range of bullets you can shoot with this caliber keeps it fun, going all the way up to 700 grains from 350 is pretty interesting. The 500 is worth every penny. A lot of people say the cost of ammo is a reason not to get it but most people buying the 500 already know it will cost money to feed. Reloading is obviously a lot cheaper if you ever wanna go that route. The 500 S&W is truly an amazing gun to say the least.

I have a 7.5-inch BFR in this caliber. I have it not for the cool factor but for the terminal goodness it delivers on big game. There are much smaller and manageable revolvers available if one feels the need to load down, otherwise there is no reason not to run it to spec. JMHO.

With the right bullets, there is nothing that walks, crawls, swims or flies that it cannot take cleanly if you do your part.

A few years back I was in Vegas and I went to one of my favorite shooting ranges, where I rented a S&W 500. The first round was unpleasant, the second was almost painful. I returned the gun with only those 2 shots fired, and got something else (I think I tried and FN 57).

Not my kind of fun.

I was considering it, but in the end I "downgraded" to the 460S&W because I determined that reloading options for me were more plentiful and less spendy!

I don’t own one but have shot my friend’s. He also has a 460 and of the two I would get a 460. But if money is no concern then by all means get the 500.

I have been able to fire a 8 in (I think) and a snubbie in S&W 500. The 8 in was scoped and a lot of fun. The snubbie was fun for just a couple shots. I never wanted one till I got to shoot one. Now I want one, it is quite a revolver. I would look for the 6.5 inch for myself if I could afford it. It would be used occasionally at the range as a stress reliever.

1. You're going to carry it in a cross-chest holster -- not many other practical options.
2. It is not overly obnoxious on recoil at all -- but don't tell anyone.
3. It is extremely accurate -- beer cans at 100 no problemmo.
4. It's real utility/flex comes if you are into cast[ing].

I agree the recoil isn’t that bad. I have “lesser” calibers that kick harder.

While I do not own a .500, or plan to acquire one, I did shoot a SW 500 a few years ago. Not knowing what weight bullet or loading it was, the recoil was manageable. For those who are not used heavy recoiling revolvers, it could intimidate.
For a bit of context I’ve been shooting a .44 SBH and Vaquero with full-house loads for a long time.
Certainly the .500 is a bit of a beast.

I have a couple S&W 500 magnums, a 6.5 inch model with an unfluted cylinder that originally left the factory in 2003 with an 8” barrel and a 4” model I purchased in 2005 that I had Robar plate the cylinder with NP3 and coat the frame with black Roguard.


My experience with them is considerable and I have handloaded ammo for them with bullet weights that range from 275 grains - 500 grains.

I fired the 8” model so much with heavy loads I had to send it back to S&W for an overhaul and while it was there I had them swap the barrel and cylinder out for the ones you see in the pic.

They are extremely accurate and durable guns that most probably would last the average person an entire lifetime.

I’ve never killed anything with mine but I did carry the 4” model on a hunting trip once and without thinking I fired a finishing shot into a downed pig without hearing protection (42 grains of H110 and a 350 grain bullet) and I honestly thought I burst both my eardrums.

The muzzle blast in that 4” 500 using that load changes the atmosphere around your head and yor can feel it in your sinuses.

Who put the barrel on you 500 I love the 6inch barrel. What does the difference feel like between the two barrels?

Smith & Wesson replaced the barrel on my 8” with the 6.5” as seen in my above post.

Replacing the 8” barrel with full shroud with the 6.5” barrel with half underlug results in a handgun that handles more like an N frame.

Now you got me thinking let me email S&W Thank you

Heres my ELK gun- yet to locate the ELK

Best purchase I have made this year. It came with a carry strap you can put on it but its uncomfortable to shoot with the lug in the bottom of the grip

I owned a short-barrel Smith .500 for precisely one range trip and half a box of ammo.... And a bud was shooting it with me. The gun and remaining ammo went immediately back to the store. Obviously, I am not a fan

Now my BFR in 45/70, that is a sweet-shooting big bore!

BOARHUNTER

I have 2. A 5" smith from the performance center with a half under lug and no compensator, its the custom John Ross version with the barrel sleeve and nut at the end. Its astoundingly accurate and packable to boot, but its a beast with full power loads.

I also have a scoped 12" BFR with the bisley grip. It's probably a function of the weight and grip style but it's really quite comfortable to shoot even with full house loads. Easiest of the 4 I have had.

I used to have 2 other 500's, one 12" BFR with the plow handle grip, no scope, which i also liked but I sold to help fund the down payment on my house, it was accurate and not too bad in the recoil department.

I also had the version the OP is looking at, and it too was alright in the recoil department and very accurate. I shouldn't have sold it.

Brother owned one when they first came out, but did not keep it long. He is a cheapskate and does not reload and when he realized how expensive ammo was for it he sold. I was surprised as how easy it was to shoot, but on the other hand I had been used to shooting a 45/70 in a contender. Not nearly as painful as my 686 with a 3" barrel, but when it comes to recoil we all know it is purely perceptive.

I have a S&W 500 Bone Collector which I bought as a hunting pistol and for protection while hiking in bear country.
I can just about control it safely - I'm not a small guy 6' 1" 195 lb but this is at my limit.
What happens is the revolver barrel flies upward when fired - it acts like a strong wrench requiring a very strong hold.
I can probably fire 5 rounds before I say enough.
It's very accurate - with a scope and on a rest I can get 4 inch groups at 100 yards.
I had a cross chest holster custom made by Shamrock holsters (https://www.shamrockholsters.com) because the strap it comes with obviously doesn't protect the pistol.

L: S&W 500 Bone collector, R:Hornady 500 S&W 300gr ammo next to 45 ACP 230gr ball


Holster by Shamrock.

I have the 4" S&W 500 model and I enjoy shooting it. For me ammo in the 300 Gr size and lower are easy to shoot and the recoil in manageable for a good range day. I found though that once I got into the 450-500 gr sizes the range trip was decidedly NOT very enjoyable and actually hurt a little. For me I developed a flinch when shooting rounds that big. Not something I had when shooting the lower GR sized rounds.