^^^^^
Sounds familiar.
I believe they made a song about the incident with that critter and the 500, by Michel Legrand, called
Pieces of Skunk .......
or was it dreams?

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I'd like to see that.

Love that movie and the sequel - watch it every chance I get. BTW, Malkovich's revolver is a 460V, not a 500, not that it really matters.

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213th FBINA

Not fond of killing a majestic animal with no food value (these taste fishy and not edible) unless there's a good reason besides a trophy, but the worn teeth tell me that bear didn't have too many seasons left. .500 didn't make him suffer, that's certain.

No such thing as overkill. .500 S&W still doesn't approach what a rifle can do.




I beg to differ with this statement. The 500 Mag will penetrate 50 inch's of wet newsprint which is double that of the 458 Magnum.

Try looking at John Linebaughs penetration testing.

Early on, Metcalf, one of the long time gun magazine writers took a cape buffalo with the 500. Broke the shoulder and penetrated the length of the animal stopping on the underside of the hide. Don

That may be true, but the ... wet newspaper... had been pushed 12 feet back from where it started when smacked by the 458.

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So, let me get this straight. Comparing apples to apples, the 458 Mag pushes a 510 grain bullet at 2100 fps. The 500 with a 500 grain bullet is 600fps slower. Explain to me how the 500 can penetrate twice as far as the 458.

I have no doubt that a 500 under the right conditions can do that and I'm not questioning the 500's power but Linebaughs tests are anecdotal at best and I think they are more designed to promote his products. A 338 magnum with a 225 grain bullet pushes it out at about 2800fps. The 338, 300 grain bullet, which is not a usual weight bullet, runs at about 2400fps and has almost twice the sectional density of the 500. A 500 pushes a 300 grain bullet at around 1700 fps. The 225 grain, 338 has about 30% more sectional density than a 300 grain, 50 caliber bullet. A bullet traveling 900fps faster with 30% more density is going to penetrate farther in the same medium. The 300 grain bullet, at 700fps faster is going to penetrate even further. You can close the gap by using heavier bullets in the 500 but it becomes a case of diminishing returns as the heavier bullets start to slow down. I'm not sure what kind of snake oil Linebaugh is using to lube his bullets.

The one and only time I've ever seen a 500 magnum used was at the Angeles Shooting Range on Little Tujunga Canyon Road outside of LA (I was just visiting in the land of the walking dead).

The skinny little guy was apparently trying to demonstrate how much of a manly-man he was.

He failed to do so.

Short of solids, hard cast revolvers seem to pentrate much farther than would seem to be reasonable.

You're way off on 500 Mag ballistics. Out of my 8.375" barreled 500 and using Accurate Arms load data and below max, my gun throws a 426gr hard cast a 1707 fps, not some lightweight 300 gr slug. Don

I'm looking at published ballistics to try and keep everything on the same plane. You can push the envelope and drive heavy bullets pretty fast in a 500. I've done it. But you can also push the envelope with a 458 mag. I don't have one of those. Even at 1700+, it's still well below a 458 magnum so I don't see how it can penetrate twice as far. I think that with a lot of those anecdotal tests, they start out with a conclusion and make the test fit it. I'm not trying to disparage Linebaugh, I know he's a respected gunsmith, but I looked at his data and it left me scratching my head.

It’s just a 1/2” caliber, 5 shooter pocket pistol with a 4” barrel, and JHP isn’t required to be effective. On the other hand, an A R 15 used in self defense will get world wide attention. Thankfully the average person nowadays is smarter than Washington, and the press.

My Ruger No.1 in 458 runs 2176fps/5256 ft lbs with Hornady steel jacketed 500 gr solids. Yes, I would prefer it to the 500 if I were hunting cape buffalos which will never happen. For me it's a gorgeous, classic gun that I enjoy shooting, heavy loads definitely in moderation. Don

Hornady says they're copper clad steel jackets.
Any issues with the rifling?

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In wet newsprint the 440-grain cast bullet at 1600fps penetrates in excess of 50 inches about twice as deep as the 458 Winchester Magnum using 500-grain soft point bullets.

A 50BMG with a stale marshmallow up front would loose to the Smith as well.

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Very true. Hard cast vs soft point is comparing apples to figs.

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

Well, they are both .50 caliber... I don't see the difference.

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I'm too windy for 30 chrctrs!

One of them holds a bit more powder.

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But a soft point bullet isn't designed for penetration and a hard cast bullet isn't designed for expansion so you're comparing apples and grapes. Put the same style bullet in both of them and the 458 is going to run away with it every time. At least in this universe with these laws of physics.

But those 50 BMG rounds are hard to load into my revolver!

Here ya go.

Attached Images

2419DA1C-471C-4C22-A023-C929D7F3B70C.jpg (34.0 KB, 29 views)

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During these types of discussions, I always find it interesting to actually compare the different cartridges, SxS...









... a for shxxs & giggles, I'll throw this one in:



I say a few pix are worth 1000 words.

(All cartridges are from Auto Mags Collection)

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I'm too windy for 30 chrctrs!

Yes, they're copper clad FMJs. I've only shot a few of them to get chronograph numbers. No T-Rexs in the neighborhood. Not trying to be snarky, just joking.

The gun is close to 1 MOA off the bench. My usual routine is maybe 20 or so "plinking" loads, things like 13gr of Trail Boss behind a 321gr lead slug which goes 1090fps/847 ft lbs.

Half dozen medium heavy running around 4000 ft lbs. Don

If they ever remake Dirty Harry, the gun will be an 8-inch 500 magnum.

They'll have to change the script to read, "five shots, or only four . . . "

But who would play the Detective?

There is only 1 Dirty Harry ! !

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I'm too windy for 30 chrctrs!

You do realize that my response was to post #44 as his statement is not exactly true. Just saying.

Yes, I do but I don't agree with your answer because, as I said, in order to be valid, you need to look at what you are comparing under equal conditions. Your response compares two bullets designed to do different things. It's a bit misleading. Plus it is based on anecdotal tests, which don't always give a true picture.

I investigated a suspicious death involving a gunshot to the head of an adult woman from a 50 Desert Eagle. Different caliber but others mentioned different calibers and I thought this might be close enough to mention
.

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And then there were the two Darwin Awardees. They wanted to see if their 50 DE could penetrate a phone book. Instead of leaning the book against a berm or a tree, the guy held it on his chest and the girl friend shot the phone book. Education time, the 50 DE blew through the book and killed the guy.

How STUPID can people be? Don

At least she had a phone book so she could look up the number for 911.

Phone book hunting?
Throw some wet ones on a berm and as you walk around from 100yds to 50 yds, quickly mount/draw the firearm, and pop those phonebooks.
Fun practice at the long gone Sunrise Police range.

American Trap is from a mounted position but once you can often break 25, it's a good idea to practice mounting the gun after the pull.

Did that long ago with a No.1H/458 and should try that with my 460/3.5" with the gun already in my hand and a fly rod in the other.

Must remember to drop the rod not the gun.

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I saw a video of a feral hog being shot center mass with a 500 magnum, spraying the trees with tissue and organs, it just got up and ran off. Then another video of feral pigs getting picked off with 22LR, immediately hitting the ground motionless.

... really?

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I'm too windy for 30 chrctrs!

Ok friend I did some more research while on the throne and came up with the apples 2 apples you were asking for. 444 Marlin 300gr jacketed bullet @ max load 2082fps and the 500 Magnum 300gr jacketed bullet @ max load 2139fps. So unless I misread the info from the loading book which I don't believe to be the case then the 500 is hotter. There are other rifle calibers that are too close to call so I will leave it at this.

To the original poster grumpyvette, I apologize for those of us getting your thread off track.

Grumpy has 4 posts…. Dropped this bomb and then went away. Troll?

American Hoggers Tom Walker Florida Hog Hunting S&W 500 vs Wild Boar Hog one shot kill - YouTube

That's better! You just had to go to the right library for the info!

A .50 caliber bullet is still a HALF inch in diameter. A half inch hole completely through your body is going to do some SERIOUS damage on the way through. Kind of like being shot with a .50 Sharps rifle. In fact, I think the .500 Smith would be MORE powerful than the Sharps. I know what kind of energy MY .500 Smith puts in my hand when fired, so, whether I'm shooting at a deer, or a human, there's gonna be some SERIOUS damage done. Don't think either would be walking away from it. On the other hand, some neighbors 3 blocks down the street probably won't be walking away from it, either. As much as I like my .500, I won't be using it for self-defense while at HOME!

I guess I don't know where you're going with this.

500 Mag - Underwood 350gr Hornady XTP, 1912 fps/2841 ft lbs
Hodgdon .444 Max load, 300gr soft point, 2082 fps/2887 ft lbs, 24" bbl by the way, not a pistol barrel.

In my experience, Underwoods claims are pretty accurate. Both my 40 S&W and 10mm auto chronograph very close to published numbers. Don

This is 2021. No gun or badge, the iconic character would be replaced by a social worker trained to deescalate situations and to talk about feelings.

The new DH would be armed with gummi bears and Kleenex.

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Didn't Harry tell those rookies at the range in Magnum Force that he carried 44Special loads in his 29?

Your comment made me think of the time at a local shop when two yuppie types came in wanting big revolvers to take to Alaska for bear. Should they get 44 mags or 454s....this older gent who had lived up there for a couple decades in his youth told them, when you get those pistols take them to a gunsmith to remove the front sights. When they asked him why, he said so it won't hurt so bad when the bear shoves it up your *** ......then proceeded to explain to them why they needed a rifle....an entertaining and educational afternoon...

Not a 500 but the 460 with IIRC hornady 200g factory loads shooting a 2liter full of water.
Ground was nearly completely dry.

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Romans5:8

My statement was in response to the poster who claimed the 500 could not do what a rifle can. It can and in some instances will out perform certain rifle calibers.

Like so many other things in the "Dirty Harry" universe, people take bits and pieces and try to apply it to everything in the franchise.


Given the other evidence and implied power of the loads he uses on the street, as a competition shooter I always took the scene at the range with the rookies to be his statement about his loads used for practice and use at the range in the upcoming competition since he'd be shooting against officers equipped with 38's and 357's. No where else does he ever say or even imply that he uses less than a magnum load in any of the films.

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Where do you get phone books?

Same comment in another movie with his female partner, his comment was that it gave him better control and that he hits what he aims at.