What happened to the .500 Special?

Last Tuesday, my "Quest for the Big" ended with the M500-4 Backpacker. The saying "A watched pot never boils" could never be so true - I had ordered it 8 days prior to the pickup date.

I was never so excited to get it out to the range, but the ammo didn't arrive until Friday. In my haste, the weekend before the pickup date, I went ahead and ordered up Starline 500 Mag brass, and Rainier 335 grain plated bullets (tapered FP's). I thought they'd make a good light loading with Unique powder to get me acclimated to the .500's heft and recoil flavor. I should say at this point, I've been loading and firing a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in .454 Casull with a 2.5" barrel for over 3 years - so this wasn't my first "Bear Gun" and I didn't go all pie-eyed and fangirl for the 500 from the get-go.

So any way, I took 50 of my handloads and the box of 20Magtech "Featherweight" SJFP loads I had ordered and off I went. Recoil, fireball, handfeel, accuracy were all fine and just about the same as my .454 firing a 470-grain hardcast. Things were looking good.

Then the girlfriend saw the .500 on my bench that evening in the queue to be cleaned along with the Alaskan and my 686-6 and my 327 Night Guard. She was enamored.

Great... she wants to shoot it. Suits me fine - but not til I get her used to it. She fires .45 Colt through my Alaskan, and she fires some pretty stout .44 mag loads from my 629 Competitor. She will not be shooting .500 magnum - not now, not for a good long while.

Then the other girlfriend saw the .500 the following morning. She too wants to shoot it. Same deal - she handles the .44 mag just fine and on occasion fires a .454 Casull lighter loading using a 230 grain round nose. Being small in stature, I don't want to take the risk.

So here's the deal - I want to load up some .500 specials - not only for them, but for me as well. Sometimes I just want to plink rather than go full-house. The 500 is a great revolver, and the Backpacker was the crème-de-la-crème of 4" 500's. Every time I go to the range, it finds it's way into the case for the trip no matter how few I shoot it (I'm conscientious about the people around me, and if they're annoyed by the blast, I put it down til they leave).

CorBon seems to no longer make or sell the Special - which as far as I can tell - was the only game in town making them at the request of S&W. Starline confirmed they made the brass for CorBon but have no plans to make or sell it as a regular stock item.

What a damn shame. They claim it feels like a .44 magnum in recoil impulse, which is exactly what I'd like to have - and yet - no support for it.

I always felt the X-frame was a bit under-utilized in development. I even sent in a suggestion for a 7-round .44 magnum or something interesting for the X-frame ... because, why not?

So the question I guess is - why not .500 Specials? Were they that poor selling? I recall there are some other wheel-guns out there specifically chambered to the .500 Special - so what are those guys doing for ammo?

Anyone out there have some brass they're not using? I'd be glad to take it off your hands

Oh... some photo porn... the 500 next to the Alaskan.

I am guessing that You would have to trim the .500 brass yourself.

05CarbonDRZ said:

I am guessing that You would have to trim the .500 brass yourself.

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Worst-case scenario, that's what I'll be relegated to. I just feel a bit strange shaving 0.33" off of fairly pricey brass and still have the wrong head-stamping on them

Two girlfriends??!! You got bigger issues than recoil!!!! Hey, just kidding. Trim away and don't worry about the headstamp.

S&W Fan said:

Two girlfriends??!! You got bigger issues than recoil!!!!

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That's usually the first reaction I get when I tell people that. Thing is I guess I got a lucky break. They're both into shooting, they're polar opposites in demeanor, and they were both informed of one another before anything went anywhere fast. Full disclosure seems to work wonders when you explain to people your intent in a civil manner.

That and... well - the second knows the first and started out as someone I've known for darn near forever.

Remember, til you marry one, you're not entitled to one - they know that and remind me that it can always work both ways.

Try Federal 500 magnum 275gr ... I'm lucky that back in 2005 I bought several boxes of 500 special.. They were on sale for $20 a box!

S&W Fan said:

Two girlfriends??!! You got bigger issues than recoil!!!! Hey, just kidding. Trim away and don't worry about the headstamp.

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That's what I thought but then thought maybe the OP's a girl. Guess I was wrong.

OP, you could post a WTB ad in the classifieds. or get to trimming maybe after you've used the cases a couple times. (not real sure on .500 case life.)

.... my wife is 5'4 and weighs 110-115 she's had no problems shooting full 375gr. Have her use the stack lock style grip.

Better solution is just use a case full of IMR Trailboss.

Why not use the mag cases loaded how they need them??

Shorty 45 MK2 said:

That's what I thought but then thought maybe the OP's a girl. Guess I was wrong.

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You don't have to be a guy, to date and marry a girl anymore.

I would be interested in a .500 special, if it were a factory loading, I like to make big holes, but don't need to have my shoulders dislocated.

I used to shoot a .50 cal muzzle loader, and those nice big holes in the target are a beautiful thing.

500 JRH may be somewhat more available, but it pretty much has gone the same way of the 500 spl. Buffalo Bore loadings in the JRH are not exactly light loads; 440 hardcast @ 975fps.

BFR did offer a standard production model in the JRH, but have since changed it to semi-custom status.

You have two .500 Magnum revolvers and a supply of brass, and you reload...am I missing something about reduced power reloads? Kind of like having a .357 and worrying about having enough .38 Special brass.

Have you considered buying a special bullet (say a round nosed lead), and only use that bullet in special loads in magnum brass? Perhaps with Trail Boss powder? I do that for my 38 super. The 160 RNL is my major caliber load for USPSA and the 152 SWC is a light steel load, and when you rack the slide, its clear which spring is in the gun. I've done similar loading with a RNL in 357 magnum brass so I know it's an intermediate loading.

murphydog said:

You have two .500 Magnum revolvers and a supply of brass, and you reload...am I missing something about reduced power reloads? Kind of like having a .357 and worrying about having enough .38 Special brass.

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One is a .454 Casull, the other is a .500 Magnum

I'm just "thinking of others" when I want a lighter load and a "special" casing to load them in.

What I may end up doing is buying some of the Nickel plated brass for my stouter loads, and leaving the plain brass ones for lighter loads.

Was really hoping the .500 Special development wouldn't just up and drop off like the X-frame development has.

eveled said:

You don't have to be a guy, to date and marry a girl anymore.

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True that.

I would be interested in a .500 special, if it were a factory loading, I like to make big holes, but don't need to have my shoulders dislocated.

I used to shoot a .50 cal muzzle loader, and those nice big holes in the target are a beautiful thing.

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That's one of the good things about .45 Colt, Mild to Wild in one sweet package.

I'm currently using 350 Berrys plated SN with 12.0gr of TITEGROUP for target practice. It's producing right at 1100fps which is in the speed range of the 500 special loads. This has about the same kick as my M-29 had with 240gr over the counter ammo.

The ladies should love this round as it produces a nice smooth recoil and is very manageable. At first though, use the "Barney Fife" Rule: 1 Bullet at the time till they are used to the gun!!!! Good Luck and have fun!!!!!

I'm telling you the Federal 275gr for the 500magnum is a light load. It's like shooting a .44magnum in a Ruger super blackhawk. Good kick but not kickass...

I too don't understand the lack of light loads for the 500.

One solution is

500 S&W : Matts Bullets

Plus a case full of trail boss powder.

I keep hearing people talk about the massive recoil of the 500 as well as the 460. I don't get it. I own a backpack cannon, a 5" 460, and the performance center version of the 500. The heaviest round I have fired out of the 500 is a 500 grain Hornady. The lightest the Magtech "Featherweight". These are not plinking guns for sure, but my biggest complaint isn't the recoil, but the cost of the ammo. With plugs and muffs on, some good eye protection and a good double grip, I would think a girl could shoot this gun without hurting herself. Never had a girl tell me she WANTS to shoot my 500, but if she has some experience with something like a 45 or 454 round, and a good grip, I would load up one round of featherweight and let her give it a try. The one round is to prevent an inadvertent double tap. Also, I would check her grip and stance with an empty gun and tell her if the is going to fire the gun she needs to be able to lift and hold the empty gun on target for at least 20 seconds. If she can't hold the gun steady, she would probably decide on her own to stick to something lighter.