.500 S&W plinking ammo?

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envonge

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Does anyone know of some good and somewhat well priced plinking ammo for the .500 S&W magnum?

Thanks
 
How many rounds you plan on shooting this year ?

If more than 100 total, buy a reloading manual and a Dillon 550B.

You will be money ahead after just a few of range sessions.
 
I doubt you will find cheap ammo for that cannon. This may not be what you wanted to hear but reloading is the way to go.
 
Reloading is almost as fun as shooting. Nothing like trying a new bullet or powder for the .460 and then handing it to the wife, "Here, try this. I'll be back there behind the glass :uhoh: "

You will save tons of money by reloading, you can get set up with everything to start with including primers, powder and bullets for $200. I've got just a simple single stage press mounted on a Black & Decker Workmate bench and it works great for the .460.
 
NewShooter said:
This may not be what you wanted to hear but reloading is the way to go.
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Yup. Once you reload, you can buy (relatively) inexpensive plated bullets from a place like Midway, and load them up in front of about 14 grains of Titegroup.

If you've been saving your brass, you can load up 500 plinking loads for less than $120 worth of bullets. powder, and primers. This represents a savings of about $1 per round when compared to store-bought ammo. You can pay for your reloading setup in one weekend.
 
The .500 pistol is more like the 458 mag is for rifles and never was really intended to be for plinking. It basically satisfied a very small market niche that is consumed with having a HUGE caliber in a one hander weapon, and of course willing to pay the $$$ to have and use one.

So if you must then your ONLY option would be to get a reloader.
 
May be a completely different animal, but I haven't been able to use plated bullets in the .460- the plating sheds off right in front of the forcing cone and jams everything up.
 
There are 500 special loads out there which aren't anywhere near as punishing, and most of the factory loads aren't maximum grunt... Ok, Corbon, Hornady and a couple others are stout :)

I do 2nd the reloading suggestion I can reload for less than half what new rounds cost.

I have been able to get ( I'm pretty sure it was Berry's ) plated 350 grain from Grafs to shoot through w/o incident. The only issue I've ever had with the 500 was with Grizzly (allegedly) factory ammo. They were hugely inconsistent, split 3 cases, and shaved the jacket off jamming the gun.

HTH
 
NavyLT said:
May be a completely different animal, but I haven't been able to use plated bullets in the .460- the plating sheds off right in front of the forcing cone and jams everything up.
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I haven't even tried it in the .460. You're not supposed to run the plated bullets any faster than about 1250 fps. If I want a downloaded round to fire in my .460, I'll save the wear and tear on the expensive (.460) brass and just run .45 LC instead. That option doesn't really exist with the .500, and the downloaded Titegroup loads that I run are under the velocity limit.

BTW, thanks for the recommendation for Lil' Gun in the .460. I've been using it and I'm very pleased with the results.
 
plinking ammo for the .500 S&W magnum
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Isn't this kind of an oxymoron:p

Seriously though, as mentioned, reloading is the only way to go for that beast.

Out of curiousity, what was the intended use of this gun when purchased?
 
I am going to check into the reloading. I got the gun originally to use for my ccw however I ended up getting a S&W 340PD to replace it in that department.

I really do enjoy shooting Hornady 500gr. rounds at the range. Magtech also has some nice rounds in 400gr.

Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
I am going to check into the reloading. I got the gun originally to use for my ccw however I ended up getting a S&W 340PD to replace it in that department.
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:eek::eek:

I'm sure that the 6 people behind your target, whom you did hit but the bullet kept going, will appreciate it very much. Number 7 was only wounded and is expected to recover.:D
 
I have to disagree with most everyone here. I think the .500 S&W is a fantastic plinking gun. Well, not if you limit plinking to going out with your kids and shooting at balloons and animal crackers. If your definition of plinking is shooting for fun and entertainment and to practice then the .500 is great.

Start with "I wonder if I can shoot through (insert any large object that is handy)?" and go anywhere you want to from there. Large pieces of firewood that haven't made it to the splitter can be fun. Old lawn mower engines (be careful of flying debris and clean up after yourself) would be a hoot. Digging up gopher holes and shooting them when they come out to close the hole could be fun but you might get your gun dirty. Shooting at large dirt clods or the odd group of weeds 500+ yards away in a plowed field is fun with a .22, more fun with a .44mag, and even more fun with a .500 - the only problem is that the cloud of dust can make it hard to tell the near misses from the hits.

As far as ammo goes, I would avoid the Ultramax 330gr. lead bullet loads because they will lead up your bore in a hurry. Ultramax has some 325gr. JHP loads at 1400 that are about $3 more per box. The difference in cleaning time will probably make up for the difference in price. Magtech has some loads that are $4-$5 more a box that could work for you as well. Any of those loads will also work nicely for deer-size game.

That being said, reloading is the only way to go as far as feeding the beast. It still won't be cheap, but it will be cheaper.
 
+1 Bitmap. We plink with the .460. I just loaded some 370gr gas checked Cast Performance bullets and we've shot about 25 of them. When I pulled the compensator off to change it back for JHP's, I shuddered when I looked inside it. My next stop was to buy stainless steel chamber and bore brushes, I will be cleaning tonight for a while, that is for sure!

The .460 is nice 'cause if you don't want the full power you can shoot .454 Casull or 45 Colt. The hottest 45 Colts feel like .22's in the .460.
 
I usually shoot a few hundred rounds per range session two or three times per week in my .500 and save all the brass so I have several large bags full that I could use to reload with in the future.

I will look into this more.

Thanks
 
<<usually shoot a few hundred rounds per range session two or three times per week in my .500>>


If you want to be at your best shooting this revolver. This is the way of doing it. Using it once a year is not helping, to shoot it as best one can. And don’t be a sissy. Don’t be afraid of recoil from it. Remember you rule the gun. Don’t let the gun rule you.
 
It is all fun

The .500 is just great entertainment. I actually saw it as a simple way to go. Just reload to whatever power requirement you need. From featherweights to 720 grains it can do everything. The .460 is better for longer range shots but I go 50-85 yards generally and got scared off by the barrel problems with a few of the 460s.

Shooting a LOT of heavy mags I WOULD be concerned about some nerve damage in the hands. After 100 rounds of 500 grain full strength loads I had a hard time writing the next day, not good, but SO fun.
 
I know magtech makes ammo for it. I can't remember the price but it was lower than some of the hunting rounds made for it. Hope this helps:)
 
bdjansen said:
900 rounds of .500 a week! You must be the strongest/richest man in the world!
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Yeah, at $28/20, which was the best price I could find on this stuff (Ultramax 325gr JHP, reloads, at that) that would be $1260/week. (NB: most of the .500 ammo was nearly twice that price.)

Astounding.

-- Sam
 
<<The .500 is just great entertainment.>>
<<From featherweights to 720 grains it can do everything.>>

Entertainment?
Never thought of it in that way. Bought one of the hunting ones. Have to get one of those 500s’ where you put those 700grainers in it, sprout arms and legs and starts pole dancing. Always thought the one I had was something wrong with it.
 
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