Which 500 ammo for white tail deer

[uhittheuglytree]

I plan on trying out handgun hunting for white tail this year. I am unsure of which ammo would give me the best results though. I am undecided between the 500 magnum or the 500 special bullets. Also am undecided between the hollow point or the flat nosed. Does anyone have any experience hunting whitetail with this gun?

 

[Andy Griffith]

Well really, any of the .500 factory loads will do- even if they don't expand. Whatever gives you the best groups with the amount of recoil that is tolerable.

However, going to the .500 Specials will significantly limit your range, if you are going to attempt to use it the same way you would a rifle, simply because they don't have the velocity to keep a straighter trajectory. Also, because of less recoil the sights may have to be adjusted significantly- at least that's been my experience.

I prefer some 400gr. cast bullets I've been buying. I haven't shot it in nearly a year though since I got that load up.

 

[scooter123]

That's a lot of gun for a puny Whitetail. Anything you choose will do the job, the question is which choice will best limit any damage to the meeat. I would suggest choosing a round that best imitates the ballistics of a black powder 50 and limiting your range to 30 to 50 yards for a well placed hit.

 

[uhittheuglytree]

Yeah I hadn't been planning to try shots more than 50 yards or so. The gun is capable of more i'm sure but i'm not. At 50 yards i'm thinking that the special will still have plenty of power and is a whole lot easier to control. I never thought about the .50 muzzle loader comparison. Thanks!

 

[Mule88]

It doesnt take alot to kill a whitetail. Anything that groups good (regardless of bullet weight) will work for whitetail in the .500

 

[7P's]

It doesnt take alot to kill a whitetail. Anything that groups good (regardless of bullet weight) will work for whitetail in the .500

Good advice - the 500 with 440 grain flat nosed bullets at 950fps will give you 2 holes at any angle. Hardcast bullets don't ruin much meat compared to expanding jacketed type. Have a great hunt.

 

[kritter]

On the.50 muzzle loader comparison..

As an intresting side note, the 500 S&W , 425jsp is from magtech lists at 1608 fps. in a 10 inch vented barrel...

strangely enough, lyman lists a 426 grain load for the ruger #1 in .45/70 at 1692fps. from a 28 inch barrel...

kinda puts the power of these "hand-cannons" into some kind of perspective...

Now, if I could just find a buffalo or two....

but really, just about any .500 load you use is going to go right through a whitetail.. your pushing a BIG heavy slug at speed..

best thing to do is find the load that your most comfortable and accurate with at the distances your shooting.....and empty out a spot in the freezer,, your gonna need it.....

 

[MTKTM]

I shot a nice whitetail buck with an early-production 500 in the fall of '03 using the CorBon 440gr. flat-nose SWC lead bullet load. Nowadays I handload for the gun and use a 'factory duplication' of that load for virtually all of my 500 shooting. As others have stated, it's more than enough. My deer was, quite literally, smacked down by the shot and didn't move, just expired where he fell, DRT. Meat damage was non-existent.

 

[DonD]

Nowadays I handload for the gun and use a 'factory duplication' of that load for virtually all of my 500 shooting. As others have stated, it's more than enough.

I'll bet it was!! Don