Can anyone tell me what,if any,the difference is bettween .500 S&W and .50 AE bullets? Iam pretty sure they are both .500 diameter. But some bullets at MidwayUSA are listed such as Speers "50 Action Express". Are these bullets made specificly for the AE? or can they also be used for the new S&W? I know this caliber is still a little new, and it has been a little pain trying to find load data for the bullets that are out there. I wanted to see if Speer's gold dots would be an option, but wasnt sure if the AE bullets would work.

Besides the label on the box, nothing that matters. You can use .50 AE bullets in .500 S&W. Yes they are made specifically for the AE so that they function well in the autoloader and have no crimping groove or cannelure so in a revolver that _may_ be an issue.

I'm waiting on a custom Encore rifle barrel and have some of the Speer 325 grain AE bullets I plan to use for lighter loads and some Leadheads 440 grain cast slugs for the heavier loads. Hodgons web site has some .500 loads listed.

Only difference are for auto loader feeding idiosycracies.



That said, if the 500 S&W is anything like the 50 Beowulf (the S&W is identical except for being 0.025" shorter and having a full rim) you will get best accuracy with heavy bullets (400 grains and heavier) and IMR4227 or H4227. These powders do not necessarily provide maximum velocity, but THEY provide the MOST CONSISTENT velocity, hence the best accuracy.



I have considerable load data for the 50 Beowulf, which should work for the 500 S&W.



Scott

Love my 500 Smith and Wesson. Purchased it about 5 weeks ago. I knew I would be getting one so I purchased the dies,shell holder, and a box of 440 Hard Cast factory rounds. I knew it would expensive to shoot so the only way to go was to reload. Have about 85 rounds loaded now. I loaded Sierra 400 JSP's, Hornady 350 XTP's, and have ordered some Cast Performance 440's from Midway.
I'm not really sure about shooting 50 Action Express Bullets in the 500. They are shorter. Wouldn't try it myself. I've been loading in the mid-range with the data I've printed off the Hodgdon website. H110 seems to be the smoothest. Lil Gun seems to be more accurate. I've had some success with H4227 also. Those are the only 3 powders I have tried so far. Does anyone have any other data so far? Does anyone know the starting grains and maximum grains for the Sierra 350 JHP's? Just purchased them a couple of days ago and they aren't listed on the Hodgdon website. The data for the Sierra 400 JSP's is listed.