I was reading an article in the Fall 2004 issue of Handgun Hunter Magazine (I ordered this back issue recently). The piece was about the Smith & Wesson Performance Center .500 Magnum. The revolver came from the Performance Center with a 7.5-inch barrel (barrel assembly as the author referred to it), and a rail where a red dot was mounted. Where am I going with this post? The gun, unloaded, weighed 7-lbs 15 oz!! Is this possible? I am flabbergasted! I have rifles that are lighter! It weighs more than 8-lbs loaded! Holy smoke!

Just thought you might find this interesting......and heavy....

At 8 pounds that should lower its price per pound..

I have never seen a X frame that was 127 oz. Was that with the red-dot on it? Because my S&W 460 Mag is a 7.5 inch barrel from the performance center and my gun weighs I think 84 oz and my Match dot weighs 4.8 oz. Now when I switched it to a Bushnell 2 x 6 x 32 I may be closer to the 120 oz mark. But I still do not find it uncomfortable to shoot off hand.

Yeah, that is with an Aimpoint red dot installed. I've gone back over that paragraph several times because I find it shocking to say the least.

Your post took me by surprise because I didn't think mine weighed that much. So......for the heck of it I weighed it.

Empty it tips the scales at 5lbs 12oz. Fully loaded with 700grainers it weighs 6lbs 8ozs.

It's hard for me to imagine that red dot weighing 2lbs 3ozs more than my Leupold with rings.

My 10 1/2" 460S&W with a Burris 3x-12x and four steel rings might weigh that much.

DEC, I too find it hard to believe, that is why I posted about it. Looking at the magazine photo of the gun and the photo you posted, there is one real difference that maybe separated the early versions from later versions, but I'm juts guessing. The underlug of your revolver tapers to the front of the barrel. The one in the magazine article is a full, solid lug all the way to the compensator. I don't know if that is what could be accounting for all of that weight....... Am I on to something?

Are you sure it's a 7 1/2" model? I don't ever recall seeing a full lug 7 1/2" from the PC center and I've been watching these guns very closely since they first came out.

Here's my collection.


The one I don't have is the 4" model, it just didn't interest me. But now that I've got these I might just get it too

I'm not doubting you but if it's a rare variation........
Only 500 of the 6 1/2" model were made and I've only seen one other 10 1/2" with the black frame since I bought mine. I know it's a new gun but I may just have to have it lettered.

DEC -- I guess you like X-frames!

In the article, he claims that Smith told him that it was a 10.5-inch model, but the author measured it from the tip of the forcing cone to where the compensator attached and he said it was closer to 7.5-inches. Looking at your impressive arsenal, it looks dimensionally almost exactly like your 6.5-inch model -- there really is no taper of the underlug.

Whitworth....you could say that

The S&W 500 cartridge really is versatile and I've literally loaded everything I could find. The bullet weights range from 223gr to 700gr. Some are mouse farts with Trail Boss and others, well.......they're just painful to shoot, again.
The 700grainers out of the little snubby were a hard lesson learned and a one time thing for me. Never again.

It's turned out to be my favorite cartridge since I bought my first standard model in 2003.

I assume that your orthopedic doctor has patched you up well enough to keep shooting!

I'm surprised I didn't need one. It really was foolish on my part

I've been shooting big bores for over 25yrs and I was really disappointed when I fired my first S&W 500. I was at the range alone and I had two boxes of ammo, some Hornadys and Corbons. I decided to set up my camera and take a short vid of myself shooting it single handed so I could review it. I proceeded to load some Corbon 440gr slugs and fired two shots expecting it to knock the dog snot out of me.... nothing I figured most of it was hype anyway.

Fast forward to when I got the snubby.
I had shot the 700gr slugs out of my 6 1/2" model and they didn't seem too bad so I thought what the heck, it's only 4" shorter. BIG mistake!
I loaded five of them up in that little gun, put my shooting gloves on and held on tight for it's maiden voyage (with two hands). When the first shot went off it felt like someone slammed my fingers in a car door. WHOA! I think somewhere around the third shot I busted a blood vessel in my trigger finger but I managed to finish off all five of them. Hell, I was alread in pain. It was all I could do to fire 10 rounds of standard 350gr bullets to sight it in and I called it a day. It took about three days for the pain to go away. I'm glad I didn't try it single handed.

If anyone's so inclined to try it, I'd suggest you just set your hand down on a table and let someone whack it with a 2x4 It's an experience I'll never forget.

LOL! Great description! I've bounced the red dot of my custom Super Redhawk in .475 Linebaugh off of my forehead a few times, so I know what you're talking about, but that 700 grain load doesn't sound like much fun!

Glad I am not the only X-frame nut on this site..

DEC makes an addict look like a casual user......