I've read a few threads about shotshell's for the 500 but haven't found anyone who's either successfully "hand rolled" any or any manufacturer's that produce them... Well this morning I was adding a link for ammo to a new 500 owner when I was pleasantly surprised to see that Matt's Bullets is now producing and selling them!!!!

They look like they'd Definitely be some good snake medicine!!

Here's the link!! Enjoy!!!

500 S&W #9 Shotshells 20 Cartridges [500shotshell9-20] - $55.00 : Matts Bullets Ammunition

I have been set to do this for some time- just haven't got around to it. Am a bit unsure of powder charge, but as I do load for the 28, I have a place to start. I am quite sure I can do better than $55.00 for 20 rounds. beside everything else I just discovered a full bag of #9 shot while doing a bit of reorganizing in the shop.

It's pretty much standard that OTC rounds for the 500 cost about $60.00 per 20 round box so Matt's price ain't really that bad to me.... Besides, years ago I bought a box of 10 shotshells for my M-29, .44mag and I think I might have shot 4 total while I owned the gun....

So a box would fix me up for awhile unless, when I retire, I decide to go hunting some of those Burmese Pythons that are running amok down in the 'Glades!! I think they'll work pretty good on those and the hides make some nice boot's and jacket's!!!!

Don't rifled barrels tend to cause shot patterns to open up drastically and fast?

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Israel Has The Right To Exist.

Yep!! Which is why it's such an effective "Snake" round!

I'm guessing a .50 bore is sorta like a 20 gauge, so its more then a .410.

I do not know anything about the .500 magnum, power wise, as to what force it could throw shot, but I will say this- what works best IMHO, is a tighter pattern. at least, thats what I go for -not to extremes- but with a cylinder bore I like the tightest patterning shell I can find. I don't intentionally want the shot to spread.

This is primarily because I want the entire mass of the shot to hit what I'm aiming at, for maximum effect.

And its also why I dont use a rifled slug barrel on my HD shotgun.

Of course, YMMV.

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Israel Has The Right To Exist.

Read the info in the link and check out the pic's of the target he was shooting.. I'd guess that at least 50% of the shot was very close to center!! Matt say's this round is comparable to a 28ga so it IS potent!

As far as the pattern opening up due to the short barrel and not being a tight pattern?? Well that's what a shotshell in a pistol is supposed to do!! It gives a nice pattern of about a foot or so wide at 4-6 ft of distance so whatever yer shooting at is Toast!!

As I said.. This is some GREAT Snake medicine!!!!

Not so much a short barrel, but a rifled one. I've read that a rifled barrel will put a spin on a shot cup, thus, when exiting the barrel, courtesy of centripetal force, the shot spreads much faster.

I can see it would be devastating to snakes.

I'm more of a self-defense oriented kinda guy, so I'd want something that would launch buckshot in a tight pattern, forgive me putting my own "spin" on the issue. I don't think theres a single shell that isnt buckshot in this house.

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Israel Has The Right To Exist.

A Snake/Varmint round is what this thread is all about! However I'm all about self defense also so I'm OK with what yer posting! That said, in a non rifled barrel it's not so much about the round, it's about the distance and the choke the shotgun has!!

IMHO at short ranges, say 10ft, all buckshot charges are gonna be fairly close to the same pattern no matter what the choke is: Tight!!

However at say, 20yds using the same buckshot round, a full choke gun will have a much tighter pattern than an open choke!!!

I can't really picture using this shotshell much past about 6ft!!!!

No need to shoot a snake if it is ten feet or more from you.......... just saying.

Now if it is in your yard................

I was on the way home one Saturday and stopped at a bridge to check and see if the water was flowing at all as I was wanting to go fishing there the next day. As I started across the bridge I noticed a 5' Cottonmouth all coiled up and enjoying the sun...... I studied him fer a minute and told him that, if he'd wait right there, I'd be right back with something for him!

I jumped in the ruck and drove 5 miles back to the house, got my Browning Auto-5, made sure she was loaded #6 Remington Nitro Magnums, 3" , and drove back to the bridge.

Sure enough, my fat new friend was waiting for me!! In short order he was sunning in Snake Heaven!!

The moral of the story is that, while some people might walk a mile for a Camel, I'll drive 10 miles just for the chance to Smoke a Cottonmouth!!!!!!

Some years ago I experimented with loading my own shotshells in a 44 magnum. They worked, but the powder charge had to be kept low because the pattern would open up so badly that there would be a hole in the center; just where you want the shot to be the most dense. I attributed this to the barrel being rifled.