The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Handgun Hunting Hunting with the S&W 500?Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| One of Us |
Does anyone hunt with a 500 S&W? I handled them when they first came out, and felt they were much too big and heavy to be a "real" handgun, at least compared to the Freedom Arms and S&W 629 revolvers I was hunting with. I recently took another look at the 500; a Performance Center model with a 7 1/2" barrel.Any thoughts? | ||
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| one of us |
They are big and heavy they have lots of recoil and muzzle blast with factory loads. If you reload for it you can turn it into what you want. Except for the size and weight. | |||
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| Moderator |
I have always been of the opinion the X frames were the answer to a question that had not been asked. Lots of muzzle blast, recoil, and lacks a V8 and drive train. If ignorance is bliss; there are some blissful sonofaguns around here. We know who you are, so no reason to point yourselves out. | |||
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| One of Us |
It’s an accurate revolver and fun to shoot with hand loads. The only factory I’ll shoot is Hornady 500 grain. Most of my loads are 400 to 450 grain bullets at 1100 or a little more. Mine is the four inch and I use it a lot. | |||
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| One of Us |
I think I'm over it. I looked at it side-by-side with my FA, and it looks like they pushed the envelope too far on this one. If there's an animal I can't take with my 454 with heavy loads, I'll use my 500 Jeffery rifle :-) | |||
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| One of Us |
I've taken mine to South Africa twice. It accounted for an old stink bulll giraffe and a lion. I used Hornady 500-grain loads on the giraffe. The second shot hit its neck from 71 paces away. The lion went down to a 440-gr. hard cast. Hit where the neck joins the shoulder, the bullet travelled all the way to the opposing hind leg - DRT in both cases. Right now, I've got a TC encore rifle in this caliber. | |||
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| One of Us |
A Lion with a handgun....awesome! :-) | |||
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| One of Us |
Biebs, When the S&W was first introduced, I took a six inch model to Zimbabwe. Article appeared in SAFARI Magazine. I took a cape buffalo and elephant with Cor-Bon's 440 gr. hardcast bullet. It was a handful - stout recoil to say the least. | |||
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| Moderator |
I recall the story about the hunt, something about getting chased around a tree also, if memory serves me. If ignorance is bliss; there are some blissful sonofaguns around here. We know who you are, so no reason to point yourselves out. | |||
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one of us |
I have a 6.5 inch and hunt with it regularly. I used a 6.5 inch 29 for 35 years and now use the 500 for giggles. I carry it just like I did the 29, it is a bit heavier, but not enough to make any difference. It has less recoil that the 'Elmer Keith" load I have been using for many years. I use the 275 or 325 grain Barnes XPB at a bit over 1800 fps and it kills well. The best thing about it is that it shoots much flatter than the 44 magnum. | |||
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| One of Us |
Good info, thanks. | |||
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| One of Us |
I cannot speak to the hunting aspect of it. But, undeniably it is a cartridge with lots of ballistic potential. I have a 4" model, including the compensator. It is fun to plink with. For me not a companion carry revolver. It is more the bulk to me than weight. A BFR in 475 Linebaugh size,is as big as I carry to carry. Preferably a Ruger Bisley or Freedom Arms sized revolver. If I were actually hunting with a single revolver as the firearm, I do not see the X-frame being out of the question. I believe I would do some sort of sling system for carry. I have a chest holster for the 4", but I personally still find it anything but handy. I agree with your initial assessment. The same that I had when first seeing an X-frame. And for me, confirmed with owning one. It is still a fun revolver though. | |||
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| One of Us |
I have a S&W 6" and Taurus Raging Bull 10". Have killed 50+ groundhogs and 15+ deer with both in WV. Took both to AK and killed a 8' brown bear at 129 yds. -1 shot, 375 gr. X with the Bull. Both of these are accurate, but heavy and a little unhandy to carry, but they are cool guns that hit with authority. I carry both in custom made belt holsters. The 350 gr. Sierra HP is unbelievably devastating on deer as well as the 275 gr. X. I have a Bushnell Elite 2-6X scope on the Bull. It's held up for a long time and makes this monster gun an easy 150 yd. deer gun. Larry Rogers | |||
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| one of us |
Im pushing my luck with a mod. 29 6" 44 magnum..I doubt I could handle a 500 at all..and don't like a muzzle brake or any sort on a handgun..albeit I don't mind a brake on a big bore rifle, a lot of that is age and a rope injured hand of a couple of years ago...My ideal choice is a .41 magnum or 45 Long colt. If I could handle the 500 then I would of course shoot it for big game hunting.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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One of Us |
I agree with you 110% Biebs. My first handgun ever was a Ruger Super Redhawk in .44Mag. When I got the to point where killing whitetails with that was no fun anymore and I was shooting it one handed with any load, the .454 Casull came out. .454 had me sold due to the WAY better ballistics at a distance vs even .44 hand loads. FA had my $$$. Then, years later when .500S&W came out, I looked at the long range ballistics of that round and said "why?". In my opinion, the .460S&W round is also a much better cartridge in many ways over the .500. If I didn't own a FA .454 that I'm comfortable shooting at 200 yards, I'd have a big revolver in .460S&W. No offense meant to any .500 shooters here, but all the .500S&W does is give you bragging rights. There are no Cape Buffalo in MI. either. LoL... Oh, I also have a 1892 pattern lever gun in .454 w/a 20" barrel that kicks butt. Every cowboy should have a rifle in his pistol caliber.  | |||
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| one of us |
Never shot a .460, however, my friends Raging Bull in 454 recoils much sharper than my 500 SW. I prefer the 500 not because of performance but lower recoil and a better fitting gun to my hand. Perhaps the SW framed gun would be better? There is a lever gun available in 500SW too if you want one. I have a marlin in 50 alaskan that I prefer. | |||
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| One of Us |
I killed three cape buffalo with a .500 cal 410 gr CEB Raptor bullet at 500 S&W rifle muzzle velocity, 1940 fps. Shoulder shots. All dead right there. IHMSA BC Provincial Champion and Perfect 40 Score, Unlimited Category, AAA Class. | |||
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| One of Us |
buckeyeshooter: The pressures of a full-house .454 load are @10,000psi higher than .500S&W, so coupling that with the Taurus' much thinner and less massive frame, is probably why the .454 might have kicked more for you (I'm assuming both guns were not ported?). I personally have not fired a .460S&W yet but "generally" it delivers a similar weight projectile @100FPS faster than the .454 will. I have fired a shorter barrel .500S&W (ported) and it kicked pretty well, as it also seemed to "twist" a bit more in recoil that my unported 7.5" barreled FA gun does. For me, anything I need to kill can easily be done with the .454 or .460 and being flatter shooting, I can stretch the distance to the target easier with them. As previously mentioned, there ain't no Cape Buffalo in MI. Buckeye, are you an OGCA member? I am. | |||
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| one of us |
That is good information. His gun is indeed much lighter, but is ported. The increased pressures probably makes the difference. I am positive the 460 would work fine. It is more flexible too. I was an OGCA member until they quit having shows at Vets Memorial. I did not like the drive to Cincinnati or Cleveland. I became a member about 1980, the shows were interesting. | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting Handgun Hunting Hunting with the S&W 500?
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