I recently shot 20 rds of Hornady 350g xtp with my new gun.
Custom Ammo 500 S&W Mag 350 Grain XTP Jacketed Hollow Point Box of 20
It is 1900fps , 2805 ft lbs, and it really pushed me around. Is this a higher powered round than most?
WTH

Nope, pretty light.

Hornady, in my experience, posts rather optimistic velocity figures. They may be taking readings off of a pressure test barrel w/o barrel/cylinder gap.

2805 ft lbs if it were accurate, is on the high end of standard length commercial 500 Mag ammo. Don

If you want some loads to really enjoy you're .500 with, order a box of 50 500gr and a box of 50 700gr from Ballistic Supply !
These loads are way too fun to shoot ------- (-;



Ernie

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S&W .500 Magnums RULE !

Welcome to the club!!! I hope that you enjoy the S&W 500 as much as I have. What an incredible tool!

This was after sending 25 1-oz. slugs down range, I'm pretty sure I was the only one left at the range...standing there with a huge smile on my face.

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grit

Regarding carry, I got one of the leather S&W brand belt holsters for the 4" back in '05, shortly after I bought the gun. While it is definitely a load on one's hip, it's not all that much worse than a steel N-frame S&W carried the same way. I've carried mine that way a lot of times. While never forgetting it is there, it's reasonably comfortable......and comforting when picking huckleberries in griz country!

My largest and smallest S&W wheelguns.



The 500 is a peach to shoot, no kidding. Performance Center action is sublime. I want to scope it for deer hunting.

Yes, that is a very powerful round. Not even close to the power you will get if you raise the weight of the bullet, but still a Lot of Power. The recoil generated by the 1900fps is quite a handful (as you discovered). I does not have the huge power push that you will feel if you shoot 450-700 grain bullets, but the fast moving 350gr, has a faster recoil impulse. The heavy copper jacket adds even more.

I like to use cast boolits and slow them down to around 1000fps-1200fps if I am just shooting paper and steel, or if I'm using them for protection( the slower velocity with a 450gr.cast still give plenty of penitration but allows me to keep control for faster follow-up shots). The fast movers are a lot of fun if you ever want to shoot 200-1000yards with the 500. This is great fun!! And you will really get peoples attention when the big 500 flips the ram off of its stand and 500 meters.!!

I also prefur to mount a nice set of rosewood wood grips to my 500 and the real hot rounds aren't any fun with the woody's (or the rubbers for that matter)

I ended up selling my 500magnum, it was just too much recoil for me. The upward recoil was manageable, but the rearward recoil pushed me around too much. Question: Do all models of the 500 magnum recoil the same as my 8 3/8" fixed compensator, or do some recoil less?
thanks, tom

I can only comment on the 8 3/8th" and 6.5" half lug models. The 6.5 is noticeably rougher recoil wise with the same load than the longer barreled model.

Can't comment on the 4" version, I've never shot it or the 2 3/4" ES models. Don

The 10-1/2" model recoils slightly less because of the added weight. As the barrel length gets shorter, the recoil goes up and considerably so with the ES model. But......they are ALL fun to shoot

I have an 8 3/8" and a 4" 500. Sorry you felt the recoil was too much. To be honest, if the only loads you fired were the 350 grain/1900 fps versions, I can agree that they pack a wallop on both ends! I wish you would have posted asking some questions regarding recoil management with the 500 - most factory loads can be somewhat punishing; however, if you handload, you can tailor your ammo to suit both you and your gun. Personally, I find the fast 350 grain loads to be no problem from my long tube gun, but hate them in the 4" gun, not so much due to recoil, but the muzzle blast they produce with that short barrel and "all around" compensator - I find it quite annoying. In fact, the first rounds I fired in the 4" gun (I had the 8 3/8" gun for about a year first) were those, and I nearly decided to sell it. Fortunately, I decided to give it another go, using some 420 grain cast lead HP bullets I load to around 1500-1600 fps, and found it to be a completely different animal. Yes, you know you fired it, but it was actually fun, without the nasty muzzle blast it was producing with the rocket loads. I only fired about 20 rounds from the long tube gun that day, but about 120 or so from the 4", it was so much fun! I found I can load them down to around 1200 fps and the gun is just a pussy cat to fire (well, almost). The 500 practically demands hand loading, as you can tailor loads to the gun and your use, with a wide variety available. Honestly, if you decide to try the 500 again, I highly recommend starting off with some relatively light loads, not the high pressure "rocket" loads you were using, and work up in the recoil department. Remember, the muzzle energy (2805 ft lb in this case) is not only what something would feel if the bullet impacted it, but is also what you feel in your hand when you touch it off (every action has an equal and opposite reaction, one of the basic laws of Newtonian physics). Oh yes, the shorter barrel guns do recoil more heavily, again due to physics (equal energy working on lighter mass equals a bigger push). It is hard to tell that, until you shoot a load in both guns which is light enough to feel the difference - I have done quite a bit of experimentation, and, with very light loads, the long tube gun seemingly barely recoils, whereas the 4" hits the hand a whole lot harder with the same load. Those that say the compensator on the 4" makes the felt recoil less than the 8 3/8" gun with an original style compensator are, I believe, reporting on their expectations, rather than actual measurement, as most do not get the loads light enough in this caliber so they can actually feel a difference. The compensators on the 4" guns just look like they would be so much more effective, it is, IMHO, a psychological difference. Still dealing with basic physics, the heavier gun is going to have less felt recoil. Anyway, the 500 isn't for everyone, just hope you gave it a good try.

I own one of John Ross's custom 500 and am very pleased with it.
Steve

I still like the fact EVERYONE who's shot mine get's a case of the "giggles" afterwards..
here's mine with a "light" 375 grain load it seems to like.

kritter, at what distance were these shot at?
Steve

Double up on hearing protection and keep any body parts away from the b/c gap or you will be finding them on the ground. Be careful!

Steve if I remember right they were 50 yards .off a rest

OK, thanx
Steve

Are you positive it's stainless and not aluminum? I thought Weigand mounts were made only aluminum?
Steve

YES!!!! the X frame mount is stainless steel
According to the web sight and the YouTube video on installing
The mount

Vic3620