Did you see the out door channel the other night
They shot all the big boar handguns thru a conagraph to see witch one had the biggest power factor { to get the power factor: velocity x bullet weight divided by 1000 }
The S&W 500 had the biggest power factor. S&W says the 500 can kill any animal in the world. I guess its because of the high power factor and careful bullet placing.

I was on a hunt in 03 where a buddy of mine took a huge hog with an Encore chambered in 500 S&W. The custom SSK barrel marked "Experimental Barrel 1". The hunt took place at Show-Me-Safaris in Missouri. If I remember right there were 3 hogs taken with that barrel that weekend. The 500 is an awesome cartridge.

I want to take mine[S&W 500] bear hunting. In March going to W.Virgina, Aug. going to Canada Bear hunting. I'll have to get my 500gr bullets zeroed pretty soon. I know Canada is no handguns tho.

Hey JRO, glad to see you're still enjoying the pistola! I still haven't had a chance to slub the barrel on mine (been too busy hunting). That's really the only thing left to do after all of this mess but I have kind of given up. I got the 385 gr. Remington CLSP's to shoot pretty well at 1600 fps. which should pretty much do the job on anything anyway, so I guess I'll live with it... for now.

Hey Kingfisher, Good to hear from you! Yea me and my hunting partner and another guy are going to W. Virgina Black Bear Hunting in March, Then we got invited to go to canada in Aug. with this other guy Black Bear hunting Again. Love it!

It'll certainly do the job on a bear, so long as you do yours.

You might want to look into bringing a handgun into Canada, last time I heard, it was a big no-no.

My advise is don't even try to bring your handgun into Canada for hunting! If you get caught with it you are going to be arrested, and everything that you have brought with you will be confiscated. Not worth it!

I'm one of the very few civilian (non-enforcement) Canadian's that is licensed to carry a handgun in the bush and pack a SRH 454 Casull 360gr WFNGC Cast Performance bullets @ 1520fps for bears.

Moki I don't plan on bring my S&W 500 that shoots a 400gr bullet at 1620 but I will bring it to W. Virgina. Thanks for the info but I stated earlyer that I would not take it to Canada. I've been in Canada bear hunting before. No handguns then either.

I am going to Maine in October for my bear hunt. I am going to use my BFR in 500MAG with Sierra 400 gr. bullets. I will have my 4 inch S&W500 as my back up. I also loaded up some more 575 gr. Cast gas check bullets. I have not shot them in my S&W500 but I did run 50 through my BFR 500MAG. Talk about a heavy kicker.

Redhawk1 you live in Magnolia, I live in Dover. I belong to the rifle range in Sudlersville MD.
Where do you shoot?

jro45, I belong to the rifle range in Sudlersville MD also. I also shoot at Shooters Choice in Dover. I don't know to many Delaware people that have 500 MAG's. I also am the only one shooting it at the range.

I did not see the show , Was a encore included ? While the 500 S&W is a powerful cartridge it is NOT the most powerfull thing availible in a "handgun", maybe in a prodution revolver . SSk offers a 416JDJ that shoots a 400 grain bullet at 2200fps .

http://www.sskindustries.com/cartridges.htm

There are lesser cartridges fully capable of handling any game that walks the earth but how many of us will be hunting such game ? I most likely will never get to Africa , In the Americas my 454 is enough .
Dont get me wrong it is ok to really like the the 500 but keep it real

quicksdraw45, the Encore pistol was used on the show. If I remember correctly the 30-06, 45-70, and some other rounds I can't remember at this time. Not one other round came close in the power factor rating on the show.
{ to get the power factor: velocity x bullet weight divided by 1000 }
According to the power factor formula the 416JDJ has more than a 440 gr. from the 500 MAG with the bullet weight and velocity you gave. Also the 416JDJ is not a production handgun it is a custom barrel.

Hey guys,I had a couple of questions about the 500 S&W.My local gunsmith,dealer has done sold 12 of these bad boys!He got one back as a trade in but then sold it again 2 days later.How does this caliber compare to the 475 linebaugh?Also all the 500 s&w my gunsmith has sold had the long barrels on them,Now he has a 4 inch comped model that looks like a beast!Would`nt you lose too much velocity out of a 4 inch barrel?Why doesn`t S&W offer this caliber in a 6,6 1/2,inch barrel?How bad is the kick in the long and short barrels in this caliber?I guess I`m getting a itch to get one of these>

The 475 is very powerful,but the 500 has a great advantage in that the cylinder allows you to load bullets farther out thereby increasing the case capacity.I have a 4"-SW 500 that will shoot a 515gr WFNGC at 1350+ fps.My FA 83-475 Linebaugh will shoot a 425 gr WFNGC at 1450 with a 7-1/2" bll.
SW does make a PC 500-6.5" from Lew Horton Dist shoots great and balances very nicely.

Sean

My S&W 500 doesn't kick bad at all. I also have a lepole scope on it adds to the weight. I shoot 500 gr bullets at 1420 fps and the recoil isn't bad I thought it was less than the 400 gr bullets. My barrel is 8 3/8 long. I have heard about the 4" 500 but I would think the recoil would not be like my 8 3/8 barrel 500.

Redhawk1 I used to belong to the shooters choice. A couple years ago when they tried to raise my fee by wanting $5.00 every time I shot which was about 3 times a week. So I quit and kept my membership up at the range in Suddlersvill I've beem a member there for 17 years. I also shoot in the USPSA matches.

jro45, well I hope to see you there some time. E-mail me if you ever want to meet there and do some shooting. Surfish7@aol.com

Redhawk1 Do you go to the meetings? I usually make them. The 1st this year is the 27th. If not
I shoot every week end Sat. morning,I usually meet this guy that works for the Sheriff in New Castle. weather permiting.

I like single actions. These are my 2 Magnum Research BFR's in .500 S&W and .45-70. Both are excellent shooters. Bill T.

Nice BFRs! Does the 45/70 kick more then the 500? I know my 500 doesn't kick bad at all.

If I shoot the Lyman 552 gr. gas check slugs in the .45-70, (pictured with the gun), it does have more recoil than the .500. However I haven't had the .500 long enough to really work with it as of yet. I'm sure handloaded hot with heavy bullets, it will have the same, or more recoil than the .45-70. Bill T.

I shoot my 400gr bullets at 1620fps with a scope on the S&W 500 the recoil isn't bad at all
and I have some 500gr bullets loaded at 1419 fps. I don't mean it doesn't recoil cause it does. but to me it isn't bad.