4" S&W 500mag vs Desert Eagle 50AE Auto?

Biggfoot44 said:

Much like self defense ammo, at a certain point hunting ammo also become a philosophical debate of really , really large diameter wound channels , vs really, really, really deep wound channels. It's been debated ever since the first campfire and the first adult beverage shared by mammoth hunters.

A .50AE , loaded with say a 325 gr Gold Dot at AE vels will make really, really wide wound channel through a the chest of a deer or black bear.

A .500, loaded with 500gr cast bullet at similar velocities would go lengthwise through an elk, and 2 or 3 deer on the other side if everthing lined up for you. But zip through a mere deer with no expansion.

Presuming for imeadate discussion "typical" handgun hunting distances of up to 100yd -ish, inherently limited by terrain, vegetation, and marksmanship skills of 90% plus of hunters.

On deer-ish sized game, extreme penetration would be superfluous on the far side. If you had to shoot through multiple grizzly bear shoulders , the AE penetration wpuld probably be too shallow. So which is more important to you.

( Yrs for Devil's advocate, you could handload against stereotype, cast 325gr -ish in AE, and light weight jhp at rifle like vels in .500, but eh .)

Meanwhile you can one handed plink with a Desert Eagle ( ok,, I can, but I'm beefy with gorrilla hands) and enjoy it.

Another perspective , factory ammo for 50AE is hard to find at a lgs, and is expensive, but is not too unpleasant to shoot. 500 ammo is all but impossable to find locally, but if you do , two boxes of 20 will set you back the price of a used shotgun. And any loading vaguely moderate will need to be handloaded


For .50 , handloaded will be quite helpful. For .500, it is essentially mandatory.

Ps,and I own a .500, but that's it own long story. From the OP's criteria, he'd be well served , and happier with a DE.

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I agree with everything you stated. And you are right a slower .50 cal especially with a good expanding bullet will do a lot more damage then a higher velocity hard cast. Kinda like when using my 7mm mag for deer the 175grn bullet passes right through leaving minimal damage where the lighter 150grn does a lot of damage. And a lot of big time hand gun Hunters use the JRH 500. Which has even slightly lower vels then the 50ae or pretty close to the same. And have taken some monster Cape Buffalo and others with that round!! I figure the 50 ae DE would actually do more damage with slighter slower velocity and the right expanding bullet like a Hornady XTP. Just too bad I cant hunt in PA with a semi Auto. It would be for hunting out of state. But I have the 454 casull for home.. Honestly I think the 50ae DE would be a cool fun gun to carry in the woods and play at the range and hunt out of state with. And I think the .500 would be more of a practical if I want another caliber to hunt at home with gun. Both definitely have my interest for sure. If I had the money id get both and probably eventually will. But right now I can only get one. And maybe your right. For my current criteria and needs vs want I think the DE might be the fun and right choice!

Why aren't we comparing a S&W 6.5 inch 500 to the 6 inch DE??

I can load the 500 "down" to levels of the 50AE or even lower for practice. Not having to worry about gun function or jamming with the lighter rounds. But I can't load the 50AE "UP" to the levels of the S&W 500.

Then figure in the questionable reliability of a semi auto DE. NO THANKS.

Don't buy the Desert eagle. I have the only one ever made that works as it is supposed to. I really don't think as many people have shot one that say they have or they don't know to . I have the 500mag also I like both.

Since you like both guns for different reasons, I see only one satisfactory outcome - buy both!

Tom S. said:

Since you like both guns for different reasons, I see only one satisfactory outcome - buy both!

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That's what I had to do. While you at it get the 460. That way you save a trip back to the lgs

Here is a trio for you T/C .45/70, 50AE DE, S&W 4" 500 mag.

625smith said:

Here is a trio for you T/C .45/70, 50AE DE, S&W 4" 500 mag.

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Nice collection.

Ended up going a slightly different route. Ordered a Smith and Wesson 629 Talo edition .44 Magnum 3" barrel. It will serve a similar purpose as the 500 S and W would have as far as close range hunting but a bit more practical and affordable ammo. Probably fit it with a mini red dot type sight.

Did you check the hunting regulations where you plan to hunt?
Most states have a minimum barrel length for hunting handguns and a few have maximum lengths also.

Good luck on your endeavors

Ruggy

ruggyh said:

Did you check the hunting regulations where you plan to hunt?
Most states have a minimum barrel length for hunting handguns and a few have maximum lengths also.

Good luck on your endeavors

Ruggy

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Yes sir. No barrel restrictions in Pennsylvania. If i go out of state i have a 6.5 inch Super Blackhawk Bisley 454 casull.

4" 500 Magnum vs Desert Eagle

I own a 4" 500 Magnum as well as the 10.5" Hunter 500 magnum. In addition I own a 50 AE 6" Desert Eagle as well as a 44 Magnum 6" Desert Eagle.
I also own 2 50 Beowulf AR15 Rifles that I built.

I know this sound silly, but I would work to own both the 4" 500 and the 6" Desert Eagle

I use the same bullets in all three weapon systems, 335 Gr HP.
I actually use the same gunpowder Lil Gun
As for Primer, the 500 Magnum uses large Rifle primer and the Desert Eagle 50 AE uses Large Magnum Pistol Primer

The 4" 500 Magnum has more recoil in that I get some trigger slap and after 200 rounds wind up with a blister on my trigger finger. It smacks your hand a bit more the the two other pistols.But not all that bad. I enjoy shooting the more than the 10.5 inches 500 magnum. Muzzle rise is nearly non existent, it pushes more back at you, than up.

The Desert Eagle 50 AE, to me, feels like my 45 ACP when it comes to recoil, but it does not have a muzzle brake and does have more muzzle rise than the 500 Magnums. I just got the Desert Eagle and ran 100 rounds thru it, I can literally shoot it all day, but only loaded 100 initially.

The 10.5" 500 magnum is the most difficult to shoot for long periods of time. The recoil is less than the 4" 500 Magnum but a fair amount more than the 50 Desert Eagle. Muzzle rise is similar to the Desert Eagle. I love to shoot this one and have run 200 rounds thru it in one outing (ran out of ammo), but it is very muzzle heavy and have shot some rounds into the ground when not really concentrating while rapid firing it.

So....each beast has its own positive and negative point. AS a reloader, I like the fact that I can use similar component for these three pistols as well as my 2 50 Beowulf rifles. I actually made sure I could do so before buying the Desert Eagle and that was the final deciding factor for buying one. I also like the fact that you can change barrel lengths and caliber to 44 Magnum within a couple seconds. (score one for the Desert Eagle)

In the end, no need to change the barrels on the 500 Magnum, they are simply the best pistol experience you will ever have, and do it now while you still can because when your old and grey, you won't be able to. The old saying, go big or go home.

Have fun with whichever one you decide to get.

Veprman9933