S&W 500 - what a pleasant surprise!

[BrokenWheel]

I got to shoot my SW 500 for the first time yesterday. Instead of getting the fastest, harshest load - I decided to ease myself into the revolver by starting light and working upward. After all, why develop a flinch, thats very hard to get rid of ?

370 grain bullet/ trail boss at 8, 10 and 12 grains.

What a pussycat! Top speeds 950 fps. One handed shots, and the report was very quiet.

I'm going to start to look for faster loads, but its nice to know that most powerful handgun is so versatile!

If you handload and your on the fence about this particular gun - rest assured it can be very pleasant to shoot. I was worried after watching all the youtube videos about the insane recoil that I may have made a mistake.

Thanks.

 

[ClemY]

I shot one of my .500s yesterday. One of the loads was Trailboss with a 370 FP. Very accurate and pleasant load. .500s are really nice with milder loads. I more typically use Universal with similar bullets.

 

[BULLSI]

So are you going to let me shoot it?

Actually the 500 is the last one for my so called smith revolver collection thing I have going on. I dont know about spending that kind of cash on a gun that I wont shoot that much ammo prices and such. eehh I dont shoot anything that much but this will be one that I try before I buy it.

Glad to hear it isnt that much of an animal to shoot though.

 

[Confederate]

Instead of getting the fastest, harshest load -- I decided to ease myself into the revolver by starting light and working upward.

In this case it's like jumping out of a plane with a large parachute and then working one's way into increasingly smaller parachutes. These knucklebusting loads are not something I'm sure one can work their way into.

What a pussycat! Top speeds 950 fps. One handed shots, and the report was very quiet.

Similar ballistics can be achieved by a .44 mag. As your loads surpass those of the .44 mag, the more abusive they become to you, the shooter. Since the S&W 500 is substantially bigger and heavier, one can most likely shoot moderately heavier loads comfortably, but when does one reach the point of diminishing return? The most common full throttle loads are abusive. If one seeks to mitigate their loads to more comfortable levels by reducing their power, one may find that they aren't far removed from the heftier .44 magnum loads.

Years ago, a number of friends went out hunting wild pigs. Three had .44 magnums (29/629s and one Ruger Blackhawk), and one had a .454 Cassull with knucklebusting loads that hurt the user's hand. (We all went out shooting one day and no one could shoot it more than twice before setting it down, and it was a frickin' horse pistol!) In the field, the pigs fell to each of the guns, and damage to the bodies appeared to be about the same. So in the end, do large, heavy animals really appreciate the difference? And if one uses a Knucklebuster 500 in self defense, does the one shot the shooter most likely gets off really going to hit harder than the two .44 magnum shots someone else might otherwise get off?

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Confederate, we just aren't going to make a believer out of you, are we? I shoot med/warm loads out of my 2 3/4" 500ES, and I'm not abused. It definitely is the loudest, most powerful handgun beast in my arsenal, but I can pack it comfortably on my hip, and shoot it with one hand if necessary. 385gr JSP $ 1125fps. Probably all I'll need for moose or big bad bears, should I ever walk in the wrong place. Weights just a 1/2lb more than the TYPICAL .44 mag.

 

[bluetopper]

I got into the 500S&W the cheapest way possible with a new $300 H&R HandiRifle. Shooting cast lead gas check bullets it is an awesome round coming out of a 22" barrel.
The light rifle is quite punishing however planted against your shoulder at ignition without your arms to absorb recoil.

 

[BCRider]

The powder helps a lot as well. I'm shooting a TC Encore short barrel "carbine" chambered in .500. I'm reloading with 42 grains of H110 under a 350grain Speer JHP. The powder burns slow enough that there's more of a big push than a slap but it still sends that bullet downrange at around 1750 fps. And there's such a big and satisfying fireball!

I've shot a couple of my reloads in one of the long barrel revolvers and there's no doubt that it is strong but again it's more of a big push than the baseball bat to the head like slap that the factory Hornady ammo had. Yeah, I was desparate so I paid for one box of factory. No more though. Reloading all the way!

If you decide to try some H110 study the reloading data. Apparently it's an "all or nothing" type of powder that does not do well with a lot of airspace in the case. So the range of loadings is very narrow. Although I suppose if a wad or filler was used to take up the air space then it may work. But the whole point is to end up with a powerful round that doesn't kill your wrist. There's other powders for the slower loadings. But if you want to go higher speed and more power without hurting your wrist give a pound of H110 a try. It's effective, it's easy on the hand for the power it produces and it puts on a HECKUVA SHOW! ! ! !

 

[Confederate]

Weighs just a 1/2lb more than the TYPICAL .44 mag.

"Just" a half-pound more?? And what do you get out of your 500 that you wouldn't get out of a Model 29? When you're dealing with big bore loads, velocity counts for a great deal, and a .44 magnum will dump very heavy bullets very deep into muscle and bone. The .44 mag has never shown any deficiency that would call for a more powerful, brutal gun. Just as the .41 failed to produce any substantial nitch over the .44 or .357 magnums (being not quite as good as either for their designed purposes), so the 500 gives us what?

For self defense against griz, the .44 mag is more than capable of drilling into the bear's brain and other vitals. Do you think a S&W 500 is going to lift the bear into the air and throw it back against a tree? It just isn't going to happen, and the bullet size and weight difference isn't going to make that much of an advantage. Shoot an enraged griz in a non-vital area with either caliber and you're going to be hurting. Hit it in a vital area with either and it's the bear that will be hurting. All in all, I'd rather have a second shot option than to put my money into a one-shot cannon that is 8-10 ounces heavier. (Getting a second shot with the 29 will be problematic, but not impossible.)

If the extra weight and velocity of the S&W 500's rounds would be welcome if they could be delivered without the extra weight of the gun or the additional recoil. But these prices are too high for what the gun actually delivers.

From Guns Magazine:

The gun [snubby S&W 500] fairly leaped into the air and tried to take me with it when fired off-hand with heavy 450-grain loadings. Worse still, once out of nearly every cylinder load fired, I got a misfire, which I believe occurred not because the gun malfunctioned but because my trigger finger bounced around in the triggerguard in recoil and hit the trigger hard enough to drop the cylinder bolt and allow the cylinder to run backwards, aligning the fired chamber for the next shot. Not a real morale builder.

 

[atlanticfire]

And what do you get out of your 500 that you wouldn't get out of a Model 29?

A half inch hole.

 

[Merc41]

LOL

 

[Walkalong]

Sounds like you are having fun reloading and shooting with your new .500. Chunking big slow pieces of lead downrange can be fun. Not every load has to blow down barn doors.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

In my gun, with my load, this is what I get: 50% greater raw energy than the .44 Mag from the standard loading, .501 vs. .431 dia going in, and 375gr. vs. 320gr. (about the max a .44 Mag will handle) of geater mass that will penetrate deeper, and getting in is the tough part on the tough animals. To me there is no real comparison. For my 1/2 pound of weight over the average .44 mag, I get a gun and load that clearly outclasses the .44 Magnum in any configuration. There is no such thing as too much penetration on dangerous animals. Haven't sprained my wrist yet, and I'm 57. The only reason to stay with the .44 Mag is if one has a very real physical problem shooting the .500.

 

[Confederate]

That half-inch hole is what we're talking about. Velocity tops mass in kinetic energy, and loads that have been down-loaded to comfortable levels just aren't going to significantly hamstring a bear significantly better than an aggressive .44 mag, IMO.

Now if you choose a load that will rip your hand to pieces, and if you can hit the bear in a vital area, you may very well see a difference; but would you choose that load over two shots from an aggressessively-loaded .44? I wouldn't. If shooting a very nasty, mean pork-barrelled human who had it in for me, I'd take two shots with a .45 ACP over one with a more powerful .357/125gr JHP.

You're also giving up much of your power by reducing so much of the barrel length.

 

[atlanticfire]

I’m just the opposite I'd rather the .357 for your scenario. My whole shooting life I've had magnum rounds and always shot them well. So for someone who feel comfortable with those" rip you hand to peaces" loads I would go for that.

 

[rogertc1]

 

[W.E.G.]

Speaking of "rip your hand to pieces..."

Don't get your weak hand near the cylinder gap.

At least one fella already found out the hard way what happens if you do that.

 

[Magnumite]

Question for the hand loaders of the 500: have you tried IMR 4227 powder?

 

[oldfool]

"loudest, most powerful handgun"
500 S&W out of 2 3/4" barrel, hmmmm

no wonder we been hearing so many reports of deaf grizzlies lately !

but methinks we will wait for the S&W 50BMG snubby, preferably in scandium
(with night sights, of course)
no extra weight penalty, kinetic energy to spare, penetration guaranteed

PS
do dazed and confused deaf Grizzlies with singed eyebrows still have a hearty appetite ?
inquiring minds want to know !

 

[BrokenWheel]

Magnumite-

H4227 seems from my searching on the web to consistently produce a very fast bullet with pressures usually around 50K. SO I would assume the recoil and report on this one would be significant. I wish someone would post some velocities using this powder @ different loads

 

[Magnumite]

I was curious about that powder in the 500 class cartridges. It is a good powder in 44 Mag, but produces velocities less than the Allian Blue Dot and 2400 through H110 and Win296 favorites catagories. Seems as slow as it is, it would be a good one in that cartridge.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Probably depends on the barrel length. Different powders are gonna need different barrels to perform at optimum, and that may be why IMR4227 is not at its best. I use H110, but may move to some faster burning powder, as I am using a short barrel. By the way, it appears the 2 3/4" barrel has the same length of rifling as the 4", with the rest of the 4" being compensator. Dampens recoil, but doesn't add to velocity over the shorter barrel.

 

[Action_Can_Do]

Confederate
My 500 will launch a 350grn bullet at 1500fps far more comfortably than my 44 will launch a 240grn bullet at 1400fps. The heavy 44 magnum loads you're talking about are just as hard on the hand as the truly nasty 500 loads. The 500 S&W isn't for everyone, but to say it isn't worth the price is not giving a good cartridge it's due.

 

[Sam1911]

For self defense against griz, the .44 mag is more than capable of drilling into the bear's brain and other vitals.

This is some crazy talk. It falls right into the same camp as those folks who say "a .22 LR will kill a deer plenty dead!" Yes, the round can do that job. Barely. Under perfect conditions. Sometimes. No one who knows what they're talking about goes into grizzly country and says, "my .44 Mag will protect me from an enraged Grizz -- no worries." When a 12 ga. with slugs is seen as just ok for the job, a .44 Mag is, literally, "better than nothing."

Do you think a S&W 500 is going to lift the bear into the air and throw it back against a tree? It just isn't going to happen, and the bullet size and weight difference isn't going to make that much of an advantage.

Again, craziness! More weight, faster, does more damage, penetrates farther, fights through more tissue and bone, gives you just that much more advantage. Of course it won't toss the bear aside like a rag doll. Firearms cartridges all lie somewhere on a power spectrum. The farther up that spectrum you can go -- and still control the gun and make effective hits -- the better off you are. This is not debatable.

Shoot an enraged griz in a non-vital area with either caliber and you're going to be hurting. Hit it in a vital area with either and it's the bear that will be hurting. All in all, I'd rather have a second shot option than to put my money into a one-shot cannon that is 8-10 ounces heavier. (Getting a second shot with the 29 will be problematic, but not impossible.)

You don't shoot large revolvers much, do you? Getting off a second shot with a heavy .44 Mag is not any kind of a big deal for a practiced large-bore shooter. I can draw and empty the cylinder of my 4" 629 -- into the scoring zone of a silhouette target, in about 2.5 sec. with .44 Spec. loads. With 300 gr. loads at 1,200 fps (the hottest rounds I put through mine) my time for that drill jumps up by about 1-1.5 sec. So 6 heavy rounds in 3-3.5 sec. Gonna be slower with a .500 Mag, sure. But to say it will be a "single shot" 'cause you just can't get off one more? Get outta here! That's silly. If you're facing down a mad grizzly or brown bear you'll have fired all 5 before you even realize it.

If the extra weight and velocity of the S&W 500's rounds would be welcome if they could be delivered without the extra weight of the gun or the additional recoil. But these prices are too high for what the gun actually delivers.

Yeah? For you. You've explored the platform and it isn't for you. Ok. But there are a lot of folks who feel the same way about .357s in a 642. Heck, there's folks who don't like the "heavy recoil" of a .45ACP. Everybody's got to know their limitations -- but don't preach that YOURS are universal and must apply to others.

Especially when lots of folks have explained that they shoot their .500s FOR FUN with heavy loads. If someone puts 700 gr. slugs through their .500 regularly, just because they enjoy it, chances are they'll do o.k. with the gun for defensive purposes.

-Sam

 

[Magnumite]

Go to a bowling pin shoot. Shooters there can clean five pins off the table in under four seconds with full bore loads using uncomped, no optics revolvers. That's five separate targets, about 16" apart, hit center of mass at 8-9 yards.

Its really not about fighting recoil as much as it is managing recoil. And alot of practice.