S&W 500: Shoot or Not?

The bark is worse than its bite.

They are actually not that bad to fire IMO..

JOe

Beleive it or not they test all firearms at S&W with out grips even the 500's due to it being easyier to fix a gun after test fireing with no grips then taking them off. My buddy worked doing that for 26 years or more. He had shooting gloves that he added tape upon tape to so they fit his hands and softened the blow.

I fired a ported one and it had less recoil than my non-ported .44 mag.

Did anyone see the abrasion on Gunny's forehead later in the show? I could swear there was a mark , maybe over his left eyebrow, after either the .44 Mag or .500 firing sequence. Anyone else catch this?

I'd probably have had to try it at least once if the oppurtunity were presented. I might not go for a second shot but I'd have to see how the first felt.

I'd try it out unless, like you, I had good reason to put it off for another day.

Anyone else catch this?

Click to expand...

Yep!

Sure looked like a front sight cut to me!

And then we never saw him without a cap pulled down over his eyes the rest of the show!

rc

Gotta love him waving the SA Colt at the cameraman with a full cylinder and hammer back. Couple seconds later the hammer was down, then back up again.

You can bet I'm gonna mention it next summer if he shows at Camp Perry again (he shoots the Garand match)! Ha, Ha.. ......(he is seen at Knob Creek now and then, too.)

It's all about the gun.

I'd sooner shoot some of those steel .500 S&W revolvers with long barrels and brakes, than shoot my favorite .44 Magnum loads in one of the ultralight .44s they now sell.

Factory ammo has quite a slap to it and I don't doubt that I'd find it painful. But some reloads are far more easy to stand up to and even enjoy. I've shot a friend's reload 500 that used H110. He uses this because it's a softer kick than what the factory uses. His rounds are still powerful as factory, or close to it, but the manner in how the pressure builds makes them far, far more tolerable to shoot and enjoy.

I've also got a 15 inch S&W 500 barrel on a Thompson Encore. I bought a box of factory Hornady loads. Those things REALLY shake up your fillings even when shot from a shoulder piece. Again, I've shot my buddy's H110 loads from my gun and they turn a shakey experience into a huge grin. I'm just getting set up to do my own reloads using his recipe and I should be testing the first beginning loads a bit later this week.

If you're a musician I don't blame you for not shooting it. But if you get a chance to shoot some reloads done with H110 then step up and enjoy.

I would have shot the gun !!!

The Snubbies are the most fun........less barrel to come back and hit you in the head too!

Those things are fun to shoot! You should have shot it! My friend owns one and is stingy because of ammo...Supposedly they are like $1.30 per round...Cheapo

The Hornady was $4 a round up here. That's why I only bought one box and then went shopping for reloading supplies for it. Mind you the Hornady may be a little hotter than normal and that's why I sure wouldn't want to shoot it from a handgun.

Even the reloads are going to be nearly a $1.50.

I own the 8 3/4 inch model and it's fun to shoot. I would suggest that if you have small hands think twice about shooting all 5 rounds. But if you have bigger hands you should be fine. For anyone that thinks it's not that bad to shoot, try some 440 grain Cor-bons then let me know about it. hahahaha.

ChCx2774...if your friend can find good factory loads for $1.30 per round I want those! The cheap stuff is about $40 a box of 50 but the Cor-bon will cost you almost $50 for 12 and Hornady will cost you about $60 for 20.

Reloading for it is definitely the cheaper way to go!!

I haven't shot the shorter ones, but the ported 8 3/8 and 10 inchers aren't bad too shoot at all really. I was all ready my first time to lose a wrist, but it was more of a heavy push back. I was pretty excited though so maybe that countered the recoil I would imagine that the snubbies would snap quite a bit though.

I have a 500 S&W in a Handi-Rifle. I shoot it with my gas check lead reloads and it puts bruises on my shoulder with boring regularity. Both 350 & 410gr.
Gallon milk jugs do not have a chance at 100yds.

I have a 6 1/2 inch barrel 500, the Hornady 300 & 350 grainers aren't that bad, it's more of a push than a snap, not really much worse than my 629. One handed shots aren't unpleasant either.

my M500 is 4" ported barrel. Not bad to shoot. Stout Push back but easy to get back on target.
It is very LOUD however. I wear earplugs and a clam.

I think I would have passed as well. I accepted an offer to fire a cylinder of .44 Mags from a Colt Anaconda in a small indoor range one time, and it was an extremely negative experience. Despite that, I've owned a couple of .44 Mags since then, but have always sold them in short order. I know some people really appreciate the big magnum revolvers, but that's just not for me.