EVERYONE must shoot a 500 magnum once!!!

[310Pilot]

MTKTM Posted:

"Good write-up,310Pilot! It sounds as though you have the same two guns that I have, although I realize that some 8 3/8" guns come with the 'original' integral comp, and other more recent production with the interchangeable ones like on the 4" models. Reading your description I found myself wondering which one yours is?"

Thanks for the compliments. My 8 3/8" gun has the original integral compensator setup. When shooting a load in which I can actually feel the difference in recoil between the two (heavy loads are so powerful I can't really feel a difference, except in muzzle blast), the 4" with the interchangeable compensators definitely has a lot more recoil to it (disregarding muzzle blast, only what can be felt in the hand). In fact, with the loads I really like in the 4" gun (which still give a pretty good kick, definitely well above the level of a heavy loaded .44 Mag), the long barrel gun actually transmits so much less recoil that there is a dramatic difference in felt recoil between the two. Just basic physics, the heavier gun takes more oomph to displace. With that load, the 4" is actually more fun to shoot, as it is more of a challenge to shoot accurately with the noticeably heavier recoil.

While I am not a "recoil junkie," neither have I ever been terribly recoil sensitive. I carried a 6 1/2" Model 29 for quite some time as a primary weapon many years ago ('70s and '80s), and shot it for relatively extended range periods several times a week, always with "full house" 240 grain .44 Magnums. In fact, I never shot a .44 Special or a downloaded magnum in that gun. I got to the point that I could shoot it quite accurately double action at up to, and sometimes beyond, 100 yards. The recoil never bothered me, even when I'd run several hundred rounds down range in one session (of course, I was a lot younger then). I never really thought much about technique as to recoil control, I suppose I've always found it more natural to let the gun recoil, rather than try to fight it into staying in a fixed position. Sort of like being thrown from a horse - if you know you're going to leave, it's a whole lot better to relax and get off at a point of your own choosing, rather than hanging on tightly until the horse slams you off - the landing, in my experience, has always been a lot easier on me on those occasions when I relaxed, and always hurt more (and did more damage) if I hung on until there was no staying with the horse any more, and hit the ground all tensed up. Wasn't thrown very often, but learned that pretty quickly.

 

[Kavinsky]

I just dont understand the appeal of a gun like this, the thing seems like it was built just so smith and wesson could say we have the bigest revolver ever made. almost like it was a purely matcho thing and with the price of the caliber its just unfeasible.


its like owning a 240 mph supercar, yeah it can do 240 but where and what the hell are you going to use it for and chances are a 170 mph one would actually be abit more useful and reasonabile. and the same thing applies to grainage, what the hell are you going to use a 400+ gr bullet on that a 240 could probably easily do as well (I'm talking about handguns, not rifles by the way)

plus who in there right mind would take a magnum 500 over an old Model 29, a 1950's style wannabe ray gun vs A nice blued model 29, now that aint no contest, atleast for me.


and by the way the most powerful gun I've ever shot was a freedom arms 454 casull and I have no desire to fire anything bigger than that, maybe a DE .50 just once but other than that I really have no desire for anything bigger than the .454

 

[DonD]

I just dont understand the appeal of a gun like this, the thing seems like it was built just so smith and wesson could say we have the bigest revolver ever made. almost like it was a purely matcho thing and with the price of the caliber its just unfeasible.


its like owning a 240 mph supercar, yeah it can do 240 but where and what the hell are you going to use it for and chances are a 170 mph one would actually be abit more useful and reasonabile. and the same thing applies to grainage, what the hell are you going to use a 400+ gr bullet on that a 240 could probably easily do as well (I'm talking about handguns, not rifles by the way)

plus who in there right mind would take a magnum 500 over an old Model 29, a 1950's style wannabe ray gun vs A nice blued model 29, now that aint no contest, atleast for me.


and by the way the most powerful gun I've ever shot was a freedom arms 454 casull and I have no desire to fire anything bigger than that, maybe a DE .50 just once but other than that I really have no desire for anything bigger than the .454

If you don't understand the appeal of .500 Mags, you obviously haven't taken the time to read and understand the posts. The .500 is a tremendously versatile gun. Its near minimum power loads are out of the range of a max .45ACP and feel more like a .22LR and on the top end, you have beastly loads that competently take anything on 4 legs on earth. A .44 Mag isn't remotely in the same category for large and dangerous game. That's why the 400+ gr slugs. If you also haven't noticed, they're extremely accurate as well.

And yes, I'm sure many would take a Model 500 over a Model 29, I'm one of them. Model 29s, particularly early ones, are fragile in terms of durability with heavy loads when compared to the Model 500.

Your car analogy doesn't work for me either. My car will probably do close to 160 but I haven't been over 100 in it (that doesn't take long at all). It's just a very smooth, comfortable and enjoyable car that always has plenty of reserve power for passing safely.

People tend to be critical of things that don't appeal to them personally. Don

 

[ohiococonut]

I just dont understand the appeal of a gun like this, the thing seems like it was built just so smith and wesson could say we have the bigest revolver ever made. almost like it was a purely matcho thing and with the price of the caliber its just unfeasible.


its like owning a 240 mph supercar, yeah it can do 240 but where and what the hell are you going to use it for and chances are a 170 mph one would actually be abit more useful and reasonabile. and the same thing applies to grainage, what the hell are you going to use a 400+ gr bullet on that a 240 could probably easily do as well (I'm talking about handguns, not rifles by the way)

plus who in there right mind would take a magnum 500 over an old Model 29, a 1950's style wannabe ray gun vs A nice blued model 29, now that aint no contest, atleast for me.


and by the way the most powerful gun I've ever shot was a freedom arms 454 casull and I have no desire to fire anything bigger than that, maybe a DE .50 just once but other than that I really have no desire for anything bigger than the .454

If you don't understand, that' fine, there's still hope for you unless you continue to view it from only your prespective with a closed mind. If you simply don't like it, that's fine too, you're entitled to your opinion.

And as Don pointed out, people tend to be critical of things that don't appeal to them personally OR don't understand.

I live 1hr east of Columbus and my offer still stands for anyone wanting to shoot a 500. They can even shoot my 50AE Desert Eagle as well

 

[TDC]

After reading this thread and others like it about the 500 a favorite quote always comes to mind....

"There are none so blind as they who will not see."
"There are none so deaf as they who will not hear."

These simple facts remain for the nay-sayers:

Don't shoot or buy a 500 if it scares you...
Don't shoot or buy a 500 if you find no purpose for it.
Don't shoot or buy a 500 if you're content with the status quot.
Never consider any firearm like a 500, not only deemed not useful, but found unworthy or excessive by any friend, relative, or board member. They know what's best for you....
Never underestimate your capacity to disregard an item based totally on your desired perception rather than your actual experience. That method of decision making always serves so well....

So nay-sayers, leave these exceptional and uniquely powerful guns to those of us who can recognize and appreciate their usefulness, adaptability and versatility. I, for one, promise not to try to "sell" you on a gun you chose to so actively oppose.....

 

[Kavinsky]

What I mean with the 240 mph car thing is that some people who buy those kinda cars just buy them because of that one thing, the fact that it can do 240, they dont care about the power, they dont care about the ride, the handling they only care about how much faster it is than everyone elses car

basically Macho BS and you have to admit theres probably been quite a few people who have bought a magnum 500 for that very reason and then quickly sold it after shooting it once



and I do know that the model 29 cant really take the hotter loads of 44 magnum, CNC in particular gave mine a little trouble ejecting the cartridges, (fired just fine though)

But it takes the remington 180's and Magtech 240's just fine and there pretty much the loads the gun was intended for so I'm just going to use those in it Plus the M29 actually feels tailor made to my hand and I've got a ruger to finish off the CNC stuff, while the ruger is okay, along with the trigger, the M29 is my favorite for its looks, feel and trigger hands down and if need be it would be my one guy just like Old Elmer intended.

and I'm not the hunting type, I shoot primarily revolvers double action, all the time, at the range, at clay pigeons (so I can see where my shots are going) save for the odd auto and an old mil spec 1942 remington 1903A3 I shoot once in a blue moon.

and FYI those revolvers are a beat to hell bought as is 1950's K22, a Pre Dash 49 with PSG grips, a high standard sentinel, a dan wesson 357 Mag and a M29 - 2 6 inch


anyways back on topic I dont know its the looks of the magnum 500 that are my main gripe with it, NOT the cartridge itself, if it looked like this I would have probably shot one by now:
JTL-E .500 S&W Magnum 12" - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plus I really dislike the stanless look of the latter smith and wessons like them, basically if the magnum 500 looked like a sized up M29 with a nice polished finish to it, preferabily blued I would probably have one in my collection by now

and didnt have that damn trigger lock that kinda underminds the whole point of using a revolver, the less **** that can go wrong the better.

 

[TommyW]

AT LEAST ONCE!!!!!!!!!!

This is a "family show" so I can't truly tell tell you how I felt when I shot it

 

[kennyb]

What I mean with the 240 mph car thing is that some people who buy those kinda cars just buy them because of that one thing, the fact that it can do 240, they dont care about the power, they dont care about the ride, the handling they only care about how much faster it is than everyone elses car

basically Macho BS and you have to admit theres probably been quite a few people who have bought a magnum 500 for that very reason and then quickly sold it after shooting it once



and I do know that the model 29 cant really take the hotter loads of 44 magnum, CNC in particular gave mine a little trouble ejecting the cartridges, (fired just fine though)

But it takes the remington 180's and Magtech 240's just fine and there pretty much the loads the gun was intended for so I'm just going to use those in it Plus the M29 actually feels tailor made to my hand and I've got a ruger to finish off the CNC stuff, while the ruger is okay, along with the trigger, the M29 is my favorite for its looks, feel and trigger hands down and if need be it would be my one guy just like Old Elmer intended.

and I'm not the hunting type, I shoot primarily revolvers double action, all the time, at the range, at clay pigeons (so I can see where my shots are going) save for the odd auto and an old mil spec 1942 remington 1903A3 I shoot once in a blue moon.

and FYI those revolvers are a beat to hell bought as is 1950's K22, a Pre Dash 49 with PSG grips, a high standard sentinel, a dan wesson 357 Mag and a M29 - 2 6 inch


anyways back on topic I dont know its the looks of the magnum 500 that are my main gripe with it, NOT the cartridge itself, if it looked like this I would have probably shot one by now:
JTL-E .500 S&W Magnum 12" - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plus I really dislike the stanless look of the latter smith and wessons like them, basically if the magnum 500 looked like a sized up M29 with a nice polished finish to it, preferabily blued I would probably have one in my collection by now

and didnt have that damn trigger lock that kinda underminds the whole point of using a revolver, the less **** that can go wrong the better.

so if the S&W 500 had a gold trigger and hammer with magnets to help secure things....you would buy it?

 

[Kavinsky]

Your looking at the wrong bits of it, the grip seem longer so it doesnt seem as stubby, the barrels incased in some sort of a shroud and thus seems thicker and more reinforced than the Magnum 500 and the cylinder not fluted

the finish looks better on it so it doesnt look like an oversized 686, it doesnt have those cuts on the end that look like there attached to something that might fall out (and arent the cuts in the WRONG direction to begin with? shoudnt they be on the top of the gun?)

basically it looks like its the buisness and can handle that power
http://airbornecombatengineer.typepad.com/photos/weapons_fireams/janz500sw.jpg

and it doesnt seem like someone accidentally supersized a 686 and then stuck a flash hider on it
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/363598434_477e3ce040.jpg

and concerning the gold bits hey if your going to be a bear might as well be a grizzly

 

[Bendutro]

I shoot a 500 because my 44's start to drop off after 200 yards.
...because instead of splatting lead on the rock, the rock frags.
because instead of hotrodding an N-frame until it shakes loose, the mighty X-frame is barely stressed.
Because it makes holes in both ends of almost anything I shoot.

People scoff at racing as unnecessary too, forgetting that almost all advances that they enjoy at lower power levels were researched by people pushing the limits and asking how far and how fast things could go.

Delmar, we're close!

 

[goldenlight]

Everyone ALSO need to shoot a 50cal BMG handgun, with a 4 inch barrel, too.

Because *I* said so.

Herp Derp

 

[Kavinsky]

I shoot a 500 because my 44's start to drop off after 200 yards.
...because instead of splatting lead on the rock, the rock frags.
because instead of hotrodding an N-frame until it shakes loose, the mighty X-frame is barely stressed.
Because it makes holes in both ends of almost anything I shoot.

People scoff at racing as unnecessary too, forgetting that almost all advances that they enjoy at lower power levels were researched by people pushing the limits and asking how far and how fast things could go.

Delmar, we're close!

I understand what your saying and I can see why your shooting the Magnum 500 vs the M29 but its just not for me plan and simple.

Plus after X distance every cartidge starts to fall off and it seems like the heavier the bullet the more likely thats going to happen like with the .45-70

but now I wish I had taken up my rangemaster up on that offer to fire his magnum 500, actually I forgot to ask about the most important thing about it, hows the double action trigger on the Magnum 500?

I should atleast give the thing a fair shot even if I dont care for the looks of the thing and that stupid lock, I did buy a glock 17L for that very reason and the fact that I thought they were going to attempt to ban normal capacity 17 round mags again when HE got elected.

 

[DonD]

Plus after X distance every cartidge starts to fall off and it seems like the heavier the bullet the more likely thats going to happen like with the .45-70.

Just for curiosity, I ran the ballistics for Barnes' 375 gr XPB bullet in the JBM calculators. The Barnes slug has a very high BC for a pistol slug (.261) and the .500 has 445 ft lbs of energy remaining at 1000 yds. For sure, it doesn't have a laser like trajectory but very good for a big bore revolver. Don

 

[MTKTM]

I consider my two 500s to be quite possibly the most practical and useful guns that I own. The 8 3/8" has proven to be a very effective hunting handgun, accurate and very very effective on the terminal end. The 4" is my "CCW" gun in the backcountry. I live and recreate in griz country. I have had only one truly scary close encounter with a griz, and that was a very long time ago in the late 1960s when I was a teenager and deer-hunting with a friend. We were both armed with rifles and were able to back away from the situation with no physical harm done to us or the bear. But nowadays there are times where it just isn't convenient or practical to carry a high-power rifle or a tactical shotgun filled with slugs into the backcountry. The 4" 500 carried in a belt holster (on a heavy belt!) is an excellent option, and one that I use with considerable frequency during my outings.

 

[John Ross]

Delmar, we're close!

LOL! I wonder how many people will get that...

 

[somebizarredude]

but now I wish I had taken up my rangemaster up on that offer to fire his magnum 500, actually I forgot to ask about the most important thing about it, hows the double action trigger on the Magnum 500?
.

The trigger is really smooth all the way through and isn't to stiff. it also it has a nice crisp release. but mine isn't new so i have no idea if it has had trigger work done to it

I do wish the trigger was a bit like my friends Ruger red hawk. his has this slight pressure release and click when the hammer is fully cocked. sometimes i cant quite judge when it will fire so it startles me

 

[Bendutro]

I went out today and put most of a 50 round box through my gun just to make sure I wasn't overstating anything here.

Nope. It's that awesome. Did I mention accurate too? That 2-piece barrel is fantastic. I'd call it a 2 moa gun as long as I'm not dipping the muzzle in anticipation of all that awesome.

 

[6pack]

So much is contingent on the gun design.

I'll shoot 50 fullhouse loads in my .500 before I'll shoot a single shot from this .460 my buddy had.

With double hearing protection this gun still was stupid. The blast had me tasting blood after one cylinder full. I hated this little beast and saw zero use for it. Recoil was fine, but the blast was something that only a fool or an already deaf person could accept.


Zero real world use, IMHO.

He bought it to pack when he was deer & elk hunting in bear country. In such an encounter, I could draw and put 3 shots into a bear before he recovered from shooting his first. I'll bet the blast delivered downrange in the bear's direction would be as great from my 629 as from this ported .460, but my ears would make it through the 3 629 rounds with way less damage. The single unprotected shot from the .460 would, without doubt in my mind, create instant damage that I couldn't live with.




Zero practical purpose, IMHO. That being said, I'd love to own a 8 3/8" version for hunting. The extra length would help with both the recoil and the blast. Just not a fan of the short barreled monsters.

I do highly applaud Smith & Wesson for bringing the X-frame to market. Sweet guns that appeal to many. I'm in that camp.

It's a buyer's market.....someone loves these short barrel ported guns...not me. I do love my .500.

 

[cmercer62]

I see the light friend. I was wondering what a practical reason was to own a .500 and you gave it. Griz eat people with small guns. In Ga hiking I carry a .357 or .44 mag. Before I read this thread I thought the .500 was to launch small satellites in orbit or kill elephants on the edge of the horizon.

Just a thought: How did the mountain men survive in griz country without a .500? They lived in the outdoors 24/7 with bears and Indians. One mountain man outfitted with a .500 could have rewritten history. He could have waved it in the air and chased the buffalo, bears, and Indians into Canada.

 

[iLikeOldGunsIlikeNewGuns]

There's a technique to shooting the big thumper. A sort of "ride the wave" shoulder, arm and wrist action that allows you to dissipate the energy. It's not a bench gun IMO, the recoil dumps right into your wrists that way. If you can master that weapon, shooting anything else feels easier.
Nothing else short of a hot-loaded Sharps puts that much energy on target.

I agree! I only shot a SW .500 once, but I shot it with the same technique I use with .44 mag, and due to the weight of the 8" bbl It was just like shooting a .44magnum. I LOVED it! Can't wait to own one when I have 'extra' money, and really can't wait to shoot one again hopefully soon!