Best round for the S&W 500 Mag..

[roscoepc]

I'm gonna be the Proud Owner of a S&W 500 Mag as of Monday and have a few questions about the ammo for the Beastie..

After reading up a bit I've bought 2 boxes of Winchester 350 grain jacketed hollow points to try the gun out with.. These are the reduced recoil rounds.. Also the dealer gave me some rounds from "busted" boxes.. These were 10 Winchester 400grain Platinum Tip rounds and 6 Federal 270 grain, (I think), Vital-Shok rounds so as you can see I've got a variety to try out to see how the weapon performs!

My question is this: As most of my shot's will be 100 yards or less, what is gonna be the best round for accuracy, kick, and gun control in this weapon?? What will I be shooting? Deer, paper target's maybe black bear, wild hog and most definitely, Coyote's!!

From my previous experience with the S&W Model 29, .44 mag I had, I know the gun is GONNA have a favorite weight round!! That pistol loved any 240 grain shell I ran through her but was absolutely wild with a 170 grain Federal round!!

Any help/advise is Greatly Appreciated!!

Don

 

[Chrisj357]

I have shot a few hundred 350grn full power rounds through my .500

I use (for hunting) a 375 grn double bonded hollow point because its the best balance between weight and speed and the double bonded bullet is not supposed to separate so all the impact is going into the target. This is the Winchester Supreme Elite rated at just over 1,700 fps.

The 350 grn bullets are not quite as hot but are still very lethal for anything you may have to shoot, I use them for practice

If you are going for larger animals than hogs or deer.....like a bear or maybe a moose or big elk, well....you probably should be looking into bullets in the 500 grn range. 700grn is the max, that is a heavy bullet. You shouldn't need that unless you are on African safari for an elephant or similar.

 

[roscoepc]

Cool Beans and Thanks for the info! I'll be posting a mini report on my initial firing of the weapon tomorrow after I get her, using all three size rounds I've got.

Heh... I might just video this so I can see my own reaction to this Beast!!

 

[colt_saa]

My 500s have not yet seen a round of factory ammunition in roughly 12 years. This is probably the most versatile handgun cartridge I have ever worked with.

I have run everything from 275 grain JHPs to 725 grain wadcutters in 500s ranging from 2 3/4" to 12" in barrel length. Loaded from mild to wild

I have molds for perhaps 10 different cast projectiles right now

The cartridge/gun is a tack driver with almost any of them. The exception is the 725WC or 700HP out of the 2 3/4" 500ES. They start tumbling after perhaps 35-40 yards.

These are the first cast projectiles I ever worked with. The starting with the little guy on the left weights are 450, 510, 550, 640, 650 and 725 grains.

A piece of advice, if you choose to load or try just one or two rounds out of your open box ammunition, place empty cases in the remaining charge holes for proper support of the cylinder during firing.

 

[vipermd]

The above info really covers it all. What length barrel? I just my snubby last week. Enjoy. Be Safe,

 

[roscoepc]

Sorry vipermd, she's got the 8, 3/8" barrel!!

@ colt saa: Thanks for the info on the reloads! I'm most likely gonna be using factory ammo as I'm not gonna be hitting the range every week, ( Not yet at least!!), but I do have a question about the reloads you're showing.. From what I've read using a lead cast bullet in this gun is not a good idea as the lead fouling in the rifling grooves is too severe due to the pressure and speed that the bullet has when travelling the barrel and could lead to catastrophic failure.. Have you noticed any excessive lead fouling??

 

[colt_saa]

Sorry vipermd, she's got the 8, 3/8" barrel!!

@ colt saa: Thanks for the info on the reloads! I'm most likely gonna be using factory ammo as I'm not gonna be hitting the range every week, ( Not yet at least!!), but I do have a question about the reloads you're showing.. From what I've read using a lead cast bullet in this gun is not a good idea as the lead fouling in the rifling grooves is too severe due to the pressure and speed that the bullet has when travelling the barrel and could lead to catastrophic failure.. Have you noticed any excessive lead fouling??

Internet BS. Probably from people that don't own 500s and don't cast their own projectiles.

Choice of alloy, choice of lube and how you cast a projectile determines how fast it can be pushed.

Rifle shooters have been using properly produced lead bullets for centuries.

The 450 grain on the left over a large charge of WC820 will clock at slightly under 1800FPS from the 8 3/8" S&W 500. I do not experience any excessive leading at that velocity

I won't push lead much faster than that.

Additionally, I do not believe that a S&W 500 can have a catastrophic failure from a bit of over pressure. When Jamison Brass designed the cartridge, S&W was trying to decide if it should be submitted to SAAMI at 50,000PSI or 60,000PSI. They chose the former. S&W 500s are proofed at 90,000PSI. This is probably one of the most overbuilt firearms in S&W history.

Achieving catastrophic pressure with any of the powders one would normally use in this cartridge may not be possible. You can't get enough powder in the case. You would probably need a projectile lodged in the bore to create enough pressure and even then I am not sure. I seriously doubt that any 500 shooter will overlook the fact that he had a squib so that should not be an issue.

 

[roscoepc]

Many Thanks and I appreciate the info!!!