The John Ross 500 S&W

[ruggyh]

Known to many as the JR or John Ross 500, it is special order run of 500 guns to specification of Mr. Ross.

The revolver came in 2 finishes, glass bead finish, producing a a matte gray and a black two tone, 250 of each produced.

SKU 170303, 5" Two Tone, Fast Twist
SKU 170304, 5" Glass Bead, Fast Twist

They have 5" barrel, no compensator, and half lug. The twist rate was 14:1 allowing for the use longest bullet the cylinder could accommodate.

The serial numbers are
JRA0001 thru JRA0250 - two tone
JRC0001 thru JRC0250 - glass bead

John produced a paper which was included with gun and signed. It contained two sections; 1) The Development of the Most Powerful Big-Bore Revolver in General the .500 S&W Magnum in Particular and 2) The Development of the John Ross/Performance Center 5" .500 S&W Magnum with Suggestions and Recommendations for Owners of these Guns.

The paper is a good read for 500 S&W owners especially those that reload.

John will be missed.

Pictured are JRA0112 and JRC0112

 

[kamloops67]

Nice looking revolvers , the barrel length suits the frame size
Many of these X frames just look disproportionate to me
That glass bead model looks amazing but I bet it’s a pain to keep clean
Love to own one

 

[taseal]

Amazing.

Recently been interested in largest calibers and bought a desert eagle. Of course now i want a 500 because 50 ain't the largest lol.

Saw a 3.5 inch and the 8 incher at lgs. I wish they had a 5 inch version so it looks more proportional.

This would have been perfect size.

I will most likely end up w the 3.5 incher

 

[colt_saa]

ruggyh,
I also have one of the JR 500s. I would have both finishes, but I wanted my birthday as the serial number and the two tone had already been sold

The JR 500 does not have a comp. That is something to think about if you are chasing MAX Power out of the revolver. Another thing JR has Smith & Wesson do is make the barrel nut external so that the user could tighten it with a standard wrench.

I brought my JR 500 to the range 3 or 4 weeks ago with some 510 grain wadcutters, some of the Remington 385s (wish I had bought more of those) and some 440 grain PC coated plinkers.

The day was an eye opener for the guys that think a 40 Smith & Wesson is Thor's Hammer

I met John at the SHOT Show in Atlanta at least 25 years ago. He always was willing to talk ballistics

For those folks not familiar with John Ross, he liked BIG projectiles.

This image is his 725 grain Wadcutter, the puny cartridge it is pictured next to is a Factory Remington 250 grain 41 Magnum Cast Core round. That 725 grain slug leaves the 8 3/8" barrel at just over 1200 FPS.

The second generational design of the big wadcutter dropped the weight to a more reasonable 700 grains and added the option to hollow point the projectile. I want you to think about this . . . firing five of the big 700 grain wadcutters throws Half a Pound of lead downrange

I have three or four molds that cast projectiles that JR designed along with some other molds. The 500 Smith & Wesson Magnum is an interesting cartridge. It is easy to load for as long as you have lots of powder and lots of lead

The 500 is loads of fun and while it does recoil, it is not as bad as you think it is going to be. . .

 

[boatswainsmate]

Sorry to hear of his passing. JRA0163

 

[Weiny686]

Is that a Warne 1 PC stainless mount on top of your silver JR 500? If so, did you ever try it out with the rear site re-installed on top of the mount base? Do you feel it is a relatively solid mount option for an ultradot 30?
Thanks,
Eric

Known to many as the JR or John Ross 500, it is special order run of 500 guns to specification of Mr. Ross.

The revolver came in 2 finishes, glass bead finish, producing a a matte gray and a black two tone, 250 of each produced.

SKU 170303, 5" Two Tone, Fast Twist
SKU 170304, 5" Glass Bead, Fast Twist

They have 5" barrel, no compensator, and half lug. The twist rate was 14:1 allowing for the use longest bullet the cylinder could accommodate.

The serial numbers are
JRA0001 thru JRA0250 -glass bead
JRC0001 thru JRC0250 - two tone

John produced a paper which was included with gun and signed. It contained two sections; 1) The Development of the Most Powerful Big-Bore Revolver in General the .500 S&W Magnum in Particular and 2) The Development of the John Ross/Performance Center 5" .500 S&W Magnum with Suggestions and Recommendations for Owners of these Guns.

The paper is a good read for 500 S&W owners especially those that reload.

John will be missed.

Pictured are JRA0112 and JRC0112

 

[ruggyh]

Is that a Warne 1 PC stainless mount on top of your silver JR 500? ....

Yes

...,
If so, did you ever try it out with the rear site re-installed on top of the mount base?....

No

...
Do you feel it is a relatively solid mount option for an ultradot 30?
Thanks,
Eric

The Leupold pictured above is longer and heavier than an Ultradot 30 so I see not reason why it would not work.

 

[jack the toad]

I recently saw one of both varieties at auction. Non-matching numbers and appeared somewhat used (fired/handled).

 

[Weiny686]

Great, thanks. I came across one in stock and decided to order it. From what I’ve seen Warne isn’t making these anymore so they are tough to find.

Yes



No



The Leupold pictured above is longer and heavier than an Ultradot 30 so I see not reason why it would not work.

 

[Rdavis61]

John Ross 500 Serial numbers

Realize this is an old thread, but with respect to serial numbers I have seen these on GB with numbers below and above 250, in both the two tone and stainless. (though prior post indicates serial numbers of only 001-250 for each configuration. Has Smith and Wesson produced more than the original 250 of each? Thought I would ask the experts. Thanks.

 

[ruggyh]

Realize this is an old thread, but with respect to serial numbers I have seen these on GB with numbers below and above 250, in both the two tone and stainless. (though prior post indicates serial numbers of only 001-250 for each configuration. Has Smith and Wesson produced more than the original 250 of each? Thought I would ask the experts. Thanks.

There are 250 of each variation.
No other fast twist version have been produced to date

The GB dealer that says one verison is 251 to 500 is not correct.

The serial numbers are
JRA0001 thru JRA0250 - two tone
JRC0001 thru JRC0250 - glass bead

I watch GB and have never seen a sn above 0250

Please send me the auction number.

You can contact S&W service center and provide a SN and the can provide the SKU #

The John Ross are :
SKU 170303, 5" Two Tone, Fast Twist
SKU 170304, 5" Glass Bead, Fast Twist

This information can verified in the S&W Standard Catalog (4th addition.

 

[jack the toad]

Not to hijack or drift but I have a pair of the JR 500's in the glass bead finish that are close to consecutive, # 129 and 131. I'm thinking about posting a WTT ad to swap for a 2-tone that matches either one, if anyone knows where it's at.

 

[kend]

I had a JR500 several years ago and let buddy talk me out of it, I know he passed away but I'm pretty sure he had a bunch of these left when he passed. Any idea where they all went? I wouldn't mind having another one.

 

[Eddietruett]

I had a copy of his loading data for the 720gr bullet but can’t put my hands on it. If anyone has this info I would love to have another copy

 

[4K2022]

Realize this is an old thread, but with respect to serial numbers I have seen these on GB with numbers below and above 250, in both the two tone and stainless. (though prior post indicates serial numbers of only 001-250 for each configuration. Has Smith and Wesson produced more than the original 250 of each? Thought I would ask the experts. Thanks.

I also recently (2-3 weeks) saw a/the GB listing with serial numbers quoted ABOVE JR 0250. I wondered if S&W was turning out more of these too. It bugged me for a couple days afterwords but I wasn’t able to find the listing again. I figured it was a (horrible) typo and let it go at that.

 

[4K2022]

I had a copy of his loading data for the 720gr bullet but can’t put my hands on it. If anyone has this info I would love to have another copy

Not sure I’m computer savvy enough to post this link.
https://lsstuff.com/misc/JR500.pdf

 

[colt_saa]

I had a copy of his loading data for the 720gr bullet but can’t put my hands on it. If anyone has this info I would love to have another copy

I spent lots of time chatting with JR over the years

These projectile are all JR designed

The little guy on the left is 450 grains, the BIG wadcutter on the right tips the scales at 725 grains

I had a cramer style mold made for the BIG wadcutter but dropped the weight to 700 grains when cast as a solid. It has pins for standard hollow-points and penta-points which makes it a svelte 630 grain projectile

I think that it is awesome if you empty your revolver at a target you are sending One Half Pound og Lead Downrange

When I get home tonight I will grab my load data for the 725s and post it to this thread for you

As stated in the write up that's already in this thread 680 is the best powder for these heavyweight projectiles.

 

[4K2022]

Known to many as the JR or John Ross 500, it is special order run of 500 guns to specification of Mr. Ross.

The revolver came in 2 finishes, glass bead finish, producing a a matte gray and a black two tone, 250 of each produced.

SKU 170303, 5" Two Tone, Fast Twist
SKU 170304, 5" Glass Bead, Fast Twist

They have 5" barrel, no compensator, and half lug. The twist rate was 14:1 allowing for the use longest bullet the cylinder could accommodate.

The serial numbers are
JRA0001 thru JRA0250 -glass bead
JRC0001 thru JRC0250 - two tone

John produced a paper which was included with gun and signed. It contained two sections; 1) The Development of the Most Powerful Big-Bore Revolver in General the .500 S&W Magnum in Particular and 2) The Development of the John Ross/Performance Center 5" .500 S&W Magnum with Suggestions and Recommendations for Owners of these Guns.

The paper is a good read for 500 S&W owners especially those that reload.

John will be missed.

Pictured are JRA0112 and JRC0112

The John Ross 500 Magnum
This opening post has a serious flaw, especially to newcomers. The “JRA and JRC” prefix are reversed.
In a previous post I mentioned a GB listing advertising a John Ross with a serial number Above 0250. With box and papers. The listings are active (2 of them) But, big BUT what else can we learn from the pictures (box label) or other evidence of higher numbers?
Lastly, can we assume ser #0001 is a verified starting point in both JRA & JRC?

 

[4K2022]

Realize this is an old thread, but with respect to serial numbers I have seen these on GB with numbers below and above 250, in both the two tone and stainless. (though prior post indicates serial numbers of only 001-250 for each configuration. Has Smith and Wesson produced more than the original 250 of each? Thought I would ask the experts. Thanks.

I’m beginning to believe in the notion that John Ross was required to “order 500 revolvers in each finish. A mystery,, someone knows how many were made. And where they’ve been,, for almost 20 years.
I’m eager to learn more

 

[ruggyh]

The John Ross 500 Magnum
This opening post has a serious flaw, especially to newcomers. The “JRA and JRC” prefix are reversed.
In a previous post I mentioned a GB listing advertising a John Ross with a serial number Above 0250. With box and papers. The listings are active (2 of them) But, big BUT what else can we learn from the pictures (box label) or other evidence of higher numbers?
Lastly, can we assume ser #0001 is a verified starting point in both JRA & JRC?

Not sure this is a fatal flaw- it was a cut and paste error which has been corrected now

Box label data is important because it provides a bases for validation of the presented information with S&W.

I have seen found the two listing and contacted my contact at S&W.
He finally got back with me and says he seems to recall John returned 9 or 11 revolver which did not meet his specifications and were replaced with new guns. AS he recollected most of them were two tone but also a couple of glass beaded (remember this was about 15 years ago.

AS S&W does not restamp SNs (due to ATF rules) the replaced new guns received the next SN in Johns specified format.

The returned guns were destroyed per S&W policy.

He was not able to tell me what SNs were replaced.
Total of produced guns delivered to John was 250 each version.

Johns paper explains the reasons for his choices and even discusses the SN prefix- everyone interested in 500 S&W should read it.

Since Johns passing his website is no longer up but a link to the paper was posted by 4K2022 in an above post in this thread.