Good friend came over to show me his S&W 500 revolver. Definitely not my cup of tea. Biggest caliber revolver I've ever shot was a Ruger in 454 Casul. I was looking at the forcing cone and it seemed to me that it was just odd looking as it was very short in length. Barely 3/16ths and maybe a bit longer. Only reason I could come up with was that it was done that way as to have less metal removed from the barrel to prevent cracks in the forcing cone. Wish I could post pics but am electronically and computer challenged. So if anyone could shed some light on this I would appreciate it. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Frank

I've put over 400 rounds through 5 or 6 S&W M500 Magnums over the years - none of which were mine - I do not own one. A few of my friends own them and I was a VIP guest up at the S&W plant about 12 years ago and shot both a 4" and 6" model at that time on their Range.

My experience was that the recoil was not all that terrible (yes it was stout but manageable with the large ribber grips) but the noise was deafening even with both plugs and muffs worn on S&W's indoor Range. the concussion was also pretty bad on an indoor Range!

Personally, other than for a collector who just likes them and must have one in his collection, or a big game hunter who wants a handgun for back up, I see little purpose to own one. Not judging anyone who does but it is certainly not a pleasurable gun to shoot, ammo is ridiculously expensive and hard to find (not just because of Covid 19) and carrying one through the woods is a huge chore!

YMMV and to each his own.

I’ve always been somewhat enamored with the 460/500. I’m a huge fan of the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge so I don’t mind a little recoil. Whenever I went to a gun store I always noticed the slightly used 500s and 460s on the shelf, I would smile to myself and wonder if they came with a box of ammo with one round missing.

Then one day I decided to get serious. I got online and priced all the equipment and components I would need to load 1000 rounds of .500 magnum. After realizing the cost per round was about 3 times the cost of my .44 loads, I decided I wouldn’t be purchasing a 500 anytime soon. Ridiculously expensive to shoot, even if you reload.

Of course factory ammo is stupid expensive. If you want to enjoy a 500 Mag, you must reload. Reloading opens up great avenues to exploit the 500s huge range of power from Trail Boss powder rounds that are nothing recoil wise but far more powerful than any 45ACP and not far behind some lame 44 Mag factory wimp stuff.

For chief38, I have no noise issues, I never have shot it indoors and never want to. High NRR ear muffs and plugs and even the most beastly loads are not bothersome.

More accurate than 99.9% of shooters can exploit and that certainly includes me. Don

I have an 8 3/8" 500 with the original grips. I don't find the recoil bad at all compared to a 44 mag with wood grips. Way less than a snub 325 with titanium cylinder and wood stocks. The X frame guns are heavy. From about 3.5 to 5lbs depending on the barrel and stuff and the grips do soak up recoil. Some of it is mental, if your brain thinks it is going to be bad it may well be, add up the recoil with the noise and the muzzle blast and it can be a bit of a mental shock for those not into big bores

Weeeeeeeeeeee

When my friend Dick Metcalf went to Africa and shot a Cape Buffalo with one when they first came out, I decided there was no practical reason for me to own one. I have shot the 460 and if I was into deer hunting I would have thought about getting one. I didn't think the 460 was excessive.

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SWCA1967 SWHF244

I have had 2 S&W 500s in the past. An 8", and a 4" but sold them off to finance other more Practical Revolvers. I Currently Do own a 460V. I found a deal on GB and purchased a set of Dies, and 350 pieces of new Starline 460 Brass. I also bought a Jug of H110, so ammo is not a Problem for me. I like the 460 because of it's versatility. I can shoot 45 Schofield, 45 Colt, 454, and 460.
I was having a problem with light primer strikes using CCI LR Primers. I switched to Federals and the problem went away. I love looks of "Shock.and Awe" from other shooters at the Range when I touch her Off.

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As far as the cost of reloading, it isn't bad at all.

Lately, I've been buying polymer coated 330gr 500 Mag slugs from Badman Bullets out of Oregon, a veteran owned business. The polymer coating reduces leading although I haven't had an issue with that as when I shoot conventional lead slugs, I use hard cast, gas checked slugs with heavy loads.

So, once you have brass and in 17 yrs of reloading 500s I haven't lost a case to splitting or anything else other than operator error, my costs are as follows:
40 gr H4227 powder, Badman = 43 cents per round
13 gr of Trail Boss, Badman = 33 cents per round or $16/box of 50

It's fun to shoot DA rapid fire with the Trail Boss and I can also do that with the H4227 ammo but not quite as fast. Don

Edited to add that the prices I mention are pre Panic prices. I have a good number of rounds loaded up and a decent supply of slugs/powder/primers. Thank you Democrats.....NOT. Don

I enjoy shooting friend's Model 500s when invited. Not having time to mess with reloading yet or any realistic need for that big of a round, the ammunition costs are prohibitive. If I win the lottery, I may get one, a Vintage 29 and a 460. Until then, 357 will have to do.

Don't know much about forcing cones so I can't give an opinion on why the 500's protrudes less than others. However, I found that making the rounds seem more friendly really helps the timid shooters get over their recoil fears, at least once anyway. The round smiling up at you in the center of the box had a muzzle energy of 2527 pounds and quickly put a smile on my face.

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Respectfully, I must differ with you on the cost! Sure, OTC cost ranges from about $2.70 to over $4.00 for 500 ammo and, Yes, that's a bit Rich for the average shooter! So I researched reloading for the Beastie and wound up spending about $400.00 for the RCBS Rockchucker setup I've got now including initial casings, primers, powder, and Bullet's: 350gr Berry's Plated Bullets, and the 350gr Hornady XTP JHP's.

I had a specific load in mind from shooting what I could find in the LGS and Bass Pro which ranged from the 270gr Federal Vital Shok's up to the 500gr Hornady XTP's.. The one I settled on was the 350gr JHP Winchester Reduced Recoil round! At about 1250fps the pistol has a relatively soft, definitely smooth kick that is entirely controllable, even one handed with R. Arthritis in my wrist's!!!

I figured after I loaded about 200 rounds the setup has paid for it's self and my cost is about $.35 for target/$.87 for hunting ammo per round.

And that's cheap enough even for a Po'boy like me to shoot that Thang all day long!!!!!

I own a 4" and I am looking for another PC 500 in a short barrel. I have owned a 6.5" in the past and wish I never sold it. I have a PC 460XVR 3" and many 44 magnums. A Ruger in 454 Casull 2.5". The are just fun guns to own and to shoot. Not nearly as expensive as some hobbies so I don't think much about ammo cost. Look at the cost of a golf Membership and a year of playing golf 3 to 4 times a week or a Ski resort membership and a season of skiing. Owning and shooting hand guns even with factory ammo pales in comparison to these.

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

Maybe the forcing cone just appears short because of the relative barrel diameter and thickness.

Do you have any velocity data for your 330 poly loads under 40gr H4227?

Regarding ammo, that was one of the things he mentioned. Said he would like to shoot it a lot more. Said he went to the local Academy picked up a box and checked the price then put it back on the shelf. Frank

No, but I'm planning on taking the children to the range Tuesday and will plan on some chrono data on the poly bullets. Don

Yeah, the 500 and the 460 Magnums are nice guns and they do have their place. But unless you plan on reloading for them, any appreciable amount of shooting will be cost prohibitive. To be honest, even 44 Magnum is cost prohibitive if you aren't reloading.

I thought about buying a Lamborghini but gas is way too expensive and it goes too fast!

I think that a short forcing cone is part of the design. Mine looks to be about the same length as the one you are describing. I have about a 1000 rounds through mine with no issue whatsoever so I guess it's OK. I think shooting the gun is not so bad and like Steelshaver says, I find my 360 way harder to control than my 500. I put a 2x scope on mine and it is crazy accurate at 100 yards especially with 300g, Hornady FTX bullets. The majority of my shooting is done with a 325g bullet that I cast from a custom mold made by Mountain Molds. I find that the gun is very easy to control but I haven't gone crazy loading 700 grain elephant loads. If I go to Africa, I plan to bring a rifle.

Handled one at the range one day and shot a cylinder full- SHOCK AND AWE describes it. I think the revovoler is better served mounted on a wheeled carriage and possobly used crew served like a mountain howitzer.
Not my cup of tea and certainly over kill for anything I'll encounter here in Fl.
Perfect for hunting lightly armored vehicles?

It would probably work great on armored alligators.

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