As with most things, the recoil of the M500 Smith is highly "over-reported." The gun kicks, but not nearly as violently as some would have you believe.
I own the 6.5" model and absolutely LOVE the kick of the "mild" 300 grain loads producing "only" 1100 lb-ft of KE. I find the 350 grain Hornady bullet at 1550 fps/1867lb-ft KE to be stout but not at all difficult to handle. The big gun pushes "back" more than it flips up so you feel it in the palm of the hand and a cylinderfull of 350 grain Hornadies will make you shake your hand.
I've shot all manner of light-weight revolvers and pistols with hot hand-loads and none have ever given the same, or similar sensation as the M500 Smith. About the closest sensation I can remember is firing the M629 Mountain Gun (29oz.) with top, .44 mag loads. The short barrel .44 kicks straight back into the palm like the M500 does and you KNOW you've just touched off something powerful.
Bear in mind that barrel length and actual chronographed - not advertised velocity and kinetic energy is where "truth" lies. One reason the super-short barrels of ANY caliber are "shootable" is because the bore-time is so short and muzzle velocity is much lower than the longer barrels.
For example, the HSN ammo I chrono'd at 1550 was advertised to go 1700-ish which is a BIG difference in KE, however, most .500 loads are probably being chrono'd from longer barrels to create more impressive numbers...so figure any chronographed loads you see are from 8.375" to 10" barrels unless they specifically state otherwise.
Don't let anyone kid you...a 275 grain solid copper bullet from a 4" barrel M500 loaded to the top will cancel the ticket of ANY creature on the North American continent if the shooter has the stones to "Stand and Deliver." That is to say, short barreled revolvers are more efficient with lighter bullets. The ideal handload for the 4" models is something in the 275 or 325 grain Barnes X bullet with high ballistic coefficient and the potential for deep pentration at close range.
Ideally, the 6.5" barrel is only marginally heavier than the 4" meaning similar balance, yet added speed, and in fact is probably the ideal "field" revolver of the model line.
IF one is handloading then a host of options opens up, but it must be remembered that lead bulelts are going to shave metal as they pass the barrel ports on the 6.5" and this cannot be disassembled for cleaning. I would advise using only jacketed or copper plated bullets for the 6.5".
