I would welcome practical experience from anyone who has scoped the 500 mag. My purpose would be whitetail hunting, probably at 50-75 yards. Would use 400 gr Win Platinum and some 350 gr reloads at close to max charge of Titegroup. My thoughts are a Weaver 2x classic scope and a Weigand Weaver-style base. What type, height, and how many rings would I need? I'm thinking 3 or 4 rings, probably Burris, and I would order everything from Midway. Any tips on how to install would be appreciated also.

I would welcome practical experience from anyone who has scoped the 500 mag. My purpose would be whitetail hunting, probably at 50-75 yards. Would use 400 gr Win Platinum and some 350 gr reloads at close to max charge of Titegroup. My thoughts are a Weaver 2x classic scope and a Weigand Weaver-style base. What type, height, and how many rings would I need? I'm thinking 3 or 4 rings, probably Burris, and I would order everything from Midway. Any tips on how to install would be appreciated also.

I had the exact same set up on my 8 3/8's M500. I took it off when I sent the gun in to correct a "Push Off condition and as of yet haven't put it back on.

The Wiegand mount is strong and never shifted on me in several hundred rounds of heavy handloads. I highly recommend it as I have thried other mounts that have failed on the 500.

The Scope is where I feel I made a mistake.

Being ignorant of handgun scopes I felt that a scope with a higher magnification would "Magnify" the wobble associated with handgun shooting and reduce my ability to place shots a moderate ranges.

I also felt that a variable power handgun scope would afford more oppurtunities for failure (more parts the shake loose) under recoil.

What I found out(after spending $180.00 on the scope)is that the lack of magnification on the 2X keeps me from Shooting as tight of groups (on paper) that I would like.

If I were to do this again, I would get a Weaver variable that allowed for more magnification for sighting in and back it off for hunting. And if it broke under recoil (which I highly doubt would happen) I would just send it back to Weaver and have them fix it.

Just my 2 cents. The weaver 2x is a good scope, never shifted zero and never broke under recoil. If you go witht his model just understand it's limitations and keep you shots at a range you are comfortable with and I think you find it a serviceable set up.

Thanks ATCDoc. Your comments are well taken. How many rings did you use and what height were they and were they steel or aluminum?

Have you tried the iron sights for that range? A scope is sometimes more problems than they are worth.

I'm assuming you're talking about scoping the 8 3/8" model. Here's mine when I first bought it in '03 and scoped it.

I was using a Weigand mount and 4 Weigand Magnum High rings because of the 4x Simmons. Yes I said Simmons. That old scope has held up to over 1k rounds of heavy recoiling rounds just fine, but it's also over 20yrs old. I don't know if the newer models would hold up as well.
Anyway, I had nothing but problems with shifting because the mount was made of aluminum. He now makes them in stainless and as I understand it the shifting/peening problem is gone. I've since removed the scope because of the base problem but I still use 3 of the rings on one of my other 500's. I also have another 500 and a 460S&W using Burris rings with no problems. I would advise you to use as many rings as possible not only for the potential shifting but to help with the flexing of the scope tube under recoil. I've found that bowling rosin works best for keeping the scope from shifting in the rings too. Sorry, I can't tell you about the Weavers since I'm using Leupold's now.

Don, my set up is like the first picure in Ohiococonuts post but I used the three ring set up vice the 4 rings on his.

The rings are Aluminum and the mount is stainless steel. I found it to be a very strong set up as the scope never moved after several hundred rounds.

Don't discount coconuts experience with the aluminum mount. The same thing happened to me. I would steer clear of all aluminum mounts as they will loosen up under steady use.

I would highly recommend the wiegand stainless mount and aluminum ring set up. It's well worth the money especially when you factor in a couple of other set ups I had that failed.

Dr.

I have never shot a 500 but on my T/C 357 Maximum I use a T/C 2.5-7 power lighted reticle pistol scope. The light is great in low-light shooting. T/C has a lifetime guarantee. A friend had the same scope on his 44 Mag and the reticle became loose. He called T/C and they had a brand new scope sent to him no questions asked before he returned the old one! Can't beat that!

I have a 6 ½” 500 PC Hunter which has a short Weaver rail on the barrel shroud, and a longer Weaver rail that screws on. I mount a Weaver 2x scope in fairly high Warne QD mounts to clear the front sight. Works well for me. I like being able to quickly remove the scope to use iron sights.

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Tom

Thanks guys for all the good advice. I have plenty of time to experiment until deer season. First I'm going to try a Hi-viz green fiber optic front sight. In my part of Ohio it's pretty dense woodland and since the range won't be very far, that might do the trick and I wouldn't need a new holster. Even if it does work well, I still plan to get the steel mount, four rings, use the rozin, and go with a variable power scope.

Short ranges in woods suggest a red dot sight. Put your variable scope in QD mounts and you can switch back and forth depending on conditions.

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Tom

OhioDon, a word of caution on the Hi Viz Sights.

The one I have was made by SDM and under recoil, the fiber portion flexed to the point that it broke.

It broke in half (the fiber optic part) after about 200 rounds.

I sent them an e mail and the sent out another fiber optic (I think they charged me a couple of bucks for the replacement) and instructions on how to remove the old fiber and install the new one.

This was a huge pain in the *** and as of yet I haven't got the front sight sorted out.

They (SDM) state that all you need to do is heat up a needle and stick it in the front portion of the sight where the fiber is secured to remove it (the portion that is stuck in the sight) but they have staked it too tight for that to be a viable solution. I tried heating the whole sight up with a torch to melt out the part thats stuck in there and still nothing.

I'll end up sending the whole front sight in to SDM to get it sorted out.

If you can find a Fiber Optic front sight that has the optic portion secured at the mid point of the sight (like the ones made for shotguns)you will be better off.

I've been lookng for one that secures the optic in the middle and haven't found one yet.

I will say that mine worked fine until it broke, it was exactly what I was looking for and for what you are going to use it for it will be perfect.

It took a little fitting to get it to work as the tenon on the bottom that fits into the slot in the S&W's barrel was a little long.