The LATimes freaks out over the S&W .500 S&W:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gun14feb14,1,4386121.story?coll=la%2Dhome%2Dtodays%2Dtimes

"A hunting weapon? That's a joke," said Luis Tolley, director of state legislation for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "What we have here is a weapon that's designed to appeal to people who just want to make a bigger hole in whatever they're shooting at. And, hopefully, they're not living next door to me."

jim dodd

[ 02-14-2003, 21:29: Message edited by: HunterJim ]

It just goes to show that its time for Ruger to build a 700 Express pistol on a steroid laden Redhawk frame.

[ 02-14-2003, 21:30: Message edited by: Varmint Hunter ]

Pray, exactly what does Luis Tolley know about hunting that he can publicly designate which are hunting-suitable and which are not? Too, he's obviously clairvoyant - possessing telepathic powers that allow him to devine the intent of anyone who would buy such a gun or those of its designers.

Liberals must think mighty highly of themselves to expect to say such things in a public forum and still be considered credible or relevant.

Redial

[ 02-14-2003, 21:52: Message edited by: redial ]

Linky no worky. Copy and pasty.

I love how the LA Times stated that it would end up "in the hands of juvenile gang members." Last time I checked, one had to be 21 and not a felon to purchase a handgun? And I doubt those types will spend almost a grand on a 5 or 6 shot revolver...

Here is the complete article

"
SMITH AND WESSON

By Ralph Frammolino and Steve Berry, Times Staff Writers

Even the most ardent firearm lovers acknowledge that Smith & Wesson's new .50-caliber Magnum revolver is more gun than anyone needs.

It has double the power of most assault rifles in America. Its kick can send a grown man reeling; a single bullet can drop a grizzly.

It is so heavy and long that police say no criminal would dare try to hide it in his waistband. It will cost as much as $989.

And gun buyers across the country can't wait to get their hands on it.

"The initial reaction has been even stronger than we had anticipated, so we're ramping up production to meet the demand," Bob Scott, Smith & Wesson Corp.'s chairman, said from the 2003 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show in Orlando, Fla.

"Certainly, in our booth it's the product that has created the most buzz."

The Springfield, Mass.-based company, creator of the .44 Magnum of "Dirty Harry" fame, unveiled its new offering Thursday as the world's most powerful commercially produced revolver. Executives for the country's second-largest firearms manufacturer said they hoped the gun would help regain lost market share by generating excitement among an important, albeit niche, market of big-game hunters, collectors and recreational target shooters.

But even before the weapon's wide distribution, scheduled for next month, forces on both sides of the firearms debate are taking aim at its social effects.

Gun control groups condemned the Model 500 as an example of the industry's "deadlier-is-better" mentality, predicting that the new model would soon find its way to the streets.

"A hunting weapon? That's a joke," said Luis Tolley, director of state legislation for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "What we have here is a weapon that's designed to appeal to people who just want to make a bigger hole in whatever they're shooting at. And, hopefully, they're not living next door to me."

Said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center: "This gun is not being made for hunters in Africa. It's being made for bored white gun owners in America. Why are they putting so much firepower into people's hands?"

The real question, one gun expert says, is: Why are people demanding it?

Adam Firestone, editor of Cruffler.com, a Web site for gun collectors, said he viewed demand for Smith & Wesson's new product as more of an outgrowth of America's obsession with size and status, rather than an indicator of growing paranoia over crime or homeland security.

"How many people do you know have Lincoln Navigators or Hummer H2s?" he said.

"We are phenomenal at buying beyond our needs. And with regard to the firearm industry, if it is bigger, if it is more expensive ... we will line up around the corner to buy the darned thing, regardless of the fact that there may be six other guns that cost half as much and do the job just as well."

Not everyone is excited about the new firearm. If a Smith & Wesson dealer tried to sell one to George Ashkar, a Santa Monica financial analyst, he would say, "Thanks but no thanks."

"As a novelty gun, as something that let's you say, 'I've got a .50-caliber,' that might be OK," said Ashkar, 56, a former hunter and competition shooter who owns shotguns, rifles and handguns.

But Ashkar thinks it would be of little use for self-defense or hunting because it is too large, it has too much recoil and the ammunition probably will be much more expensive than what people are used to paying.

"Once you take it out a couple of times and feel the recoil and see how difficult it is to handle, it will not be your first choice the next time you go out."

He said the gun would be too heavy for most people to carry around while hunting.

Ashkar said he would have doubts about the accuracy of the weapon and the difficulty of firing a second shot after the recoil from the first.

Smith & Wesson executives hope that the revolver, one of nine models introduced at the Florida gun show Thursday, will put it back in the good graces of a gun-buying constituency that remains sore over the company's decision in 2000 to sign agreements with the federal government that promised to put locks on all firearms it sold.

That backlash served as a double whammy, taking away sales from Smith & Wesson even as the entire industry was in decline.

"We're in the process ofwinning back market share or business that was lost as a result of negative reaction by consumers to the decisions by the previous ownership," said Scott, the company chairman.

Smith & Wesson has built its reputation by building bigger guns.

The .357 Magnum, introduced in 1935, was considered a breakthrough because of its muzzle energy that delivered impact at 535 foot-pounds, said Roy G. Jinks, the company's historian.

The weapon, developed at the behest of hunters, gained favor with police during the mobster era because it could shoot through a car's engine block, he said.

In 1956, Smith & Wesson introduced the even more powerful .44 Magnum, the gun madefamous years later by Clint Eastwood in his crime-fighting movies as "Dirty" Harry Callahan, a San Francisco cop.

With Thursday's unveiling, the company leapfrogs ahead of its competitors, which had surpassed the .44 Magnum with more potent weapons.

The Model 500 uses a bigger frame, takes a new .50-caliber Magnum Smith & Wesson cartridge and packs a muzzle force of 2,600 foot-pounds.

Though there are single-shot, custom pistols that use larger ammunition, the new gun is the largest production revolver or semiautomatic pistol.

At .50-caliber, the cartridge is about half an inch wide but is more powerful than other such ammunition because it is longer and can pack more powder, said Garen Wintemute, a gun expert and director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis.

He said the gun's cartridge has about twice the muzzle energy of most rounds for common semiautomatic assault weapons used in America, such as the AR-15, a civilian version of the military's M-16.

Wintemute predicted that it would be a smash with gun enthusiasts, who can order one with a barrel as long as 10 inches.

One such enthusiast is Marc Halcon, owner of American Shooting Center in San Diego.

He said the allure of the weapon "has something to do with the artistry of creating a mechanism that will do something that no other will do. It's another step in science and engineering."

Speaking for himself, Halcon said, "I already own the most powerful handgun on the market, and if they build a more powerful one, then I want to buy it."

Sam Paredes, executive director of the Gun Owners of California, feels much the same.

"I can't wait to shoot one of these things," he said.

Paredes acknowledged that the Model 500 could be portrayed as the "boogeyman of all guns."

He said its recoil would pack such a wallop that it would be virtually impossible for criminals to rely on it � a sentiment shared by Lt. Bruce Harris, the firing range master for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"It's a little tough to have one of those under your shirt," Harris said, adding that he didn't believe it would become a street weapon, because "gangbangers don't have $900 to spend on a Smith & Wesson revolver."

Legislation regulating the sale of .50-caliber rifles is scheduled for consideration in the state Assembly and the L.A. City Council, said Tolley of the Brady Campaign. But government officials said Thursday that they had no plans to include the new gun in the restrictions.

Still, Tolley said, his group will work to bring the Model 500 under some kind of control because, despite Smith & Wesson's intentions, the weapon is bound to end up in the wrong hands.

"They're marketing this weapon to people who get off on the idea that they have the biggest, baddest gun on the block," Tolley said.

"Unfortunately, a number of them are going to juvenile gang members and people who have an unhealthy fascination with firearms."

Times researcher John Jackson contributed to this report.

Copyright 2003 Los Angeles Times
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HunterJim,

I tend to agree with one little part of article. The .500 S&W gun wil be huge, heavy and not comfortable to shoot. And will be a gun for collector in most of cases.

But I don't think this gun is a joke for silouette shooters and african games hunters. For sure it isn't a varmint's gun

I think before writing speculation like the LA Times, we must wait the reaction of buyers of this gun. If the gun is crappy, all shooters will know that very quickly.

This gun will bring about lots of molds and jacketed bullets caliber .500/.501 on the market. That will be great for .50 AE owners. for the rest wait and see.

I dont understand their problem with this gun. Tey say its too big to be concealed, and too powerful to be shot, right? Then is this not exactly the gun you want your gang-bangers to have!?

Maybe they are worried about emergency rooms full of guys with their forehead split open?

Kristofer

There problem isn't with this gun, their problem is with all guns. Just read there silly little arguments. They are simpletons that fear what they do not understand, and what they cannot control.

Paul H is right they don't like 25 autos because they are to small. They don't like this one because it is to big. The fact is they don't like any gun. Gun control is never about crime it is about control people.

Personally I can't wait for the next "Dirty Harry" Movie now! Wonder what Clint will shoot with this one?

At .50-caliber, the cartridge is about half an inch wide ...

Wow! This guy is SMART!

Its kick can send a grown man reeling;

which makes it a darn good thing us gunny types never really grow up!

Doesn't look too bad to me.

Shooters would really grab them up if S&W made
a revolving rifle with 18+ inch barrel.Ed.

I don't know about you, but I'm not about to put my wrist in from the of the side flash from a really big revolver. Not that I would deny anyone the right to buy one if they wished, but it seems reeaaallllyyyyy silly to me.

[ 02-15-2003, 09:11: Message edited by: Oldsarge ]

I'm sorry, but fuck the LA Times.

They have a right to fear gangs, and they should, since they have one of the biggest, and best organized running the drug trade, and God knows what else, in LA, and, that group has 4 million members, and support of the mexican mafia.

However, their stupid fucking solutions are really incredible, and their short term memory about what happens in a riot when all the bad guys have guns, and the police and fire pull out, because they are afraid of getting shot, is just mind boggling(Rodney King riot).

I'm sorry about the language but the idiocy of these people REALLY offends me, and the Second Amendment, not to mention the truly great men that wrote that document.

Please, all, don't BUY the LA Times.

DR S

THAT JERK IS MOST LIKELY DRIVING A NAVIGATOR AND TRYING TO KILL ME IN MY NISSAN SENTRA!

MAYBE WE SHOULD BAN NAVIGATORS!

[ 02-15-2003, 19:54: Message edited by: 1badassmagnum ]

You can't do anything with the liberal media, but the PDF they made is kind of a nice sales flyer that S&W could use .

Best,
QD

this time, a great article

http://www.gunweek.com/0201issue/feature0201.html

Lets see... 1) it is an expensive handgun,

2) It is bulky and cant be easily hidden if at all,

3) It will be a difficult firearm to master

Those three items alone tell me the gang bangers wont exactly be wanting them. This guy obviously has no sense of what is available already let alone needed for either steel shoots or dangerous game hunting with a handun. I do see he had to get his blurb about assault weapons in the article. I guess that is obligatory in all antigun articles for some reason. This just once again shows a general lack of understanding on this "experts" part.

Gentlemen

Another first class dumb ass is trying sling mudd at guns, gun owners etc. This jerk must have his head up his rear end

I hate all these "investigating hippy journalists" that are spreading when lies and twisted facts. I hope LA times goes bankrupt

NO gangbanger would start using this new S&W revolver. It would not be much bang bang, ammo costs to much and is to hard to find
/ JOHAN

Looks good to me. Who will be loading the ammo and what are the ballistics?

Maybe Judy, {AKA RMK after the sex change and entering the witness protection program at the behest of his F-troop handler} could ship a bunch of these new .50's to her ululating bretheren to take out the "infidel" white devils!!!!!
"TED KENNEDY'S CAR HAS KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN ALL MY GUNS"

I would just love to own one of those.

I indeed have a "an unhealthy fascination of firearms"

what an awsome piece of equipement for whopping roo's of the back of a moving landcruiser ute

I love it. Just seems like it should be a belted cartridge.

I always said 50 was big enough. I want one too.
heh, heh, heh

The LA Times....

Home of the most left-leaning liberal gibberish ever printed.

I don't buy it, I don't read it, and regret the fact that some of the stores where my family shops run ads in the Times.

GMAFB!

The .50 is not for me, but if I did want one I'd run right out and buy it.

What an insult to the Constitution...

Best

Hi all
You lucky 'b****rds! We will never be able to buy anything thing that resembles a pistol quite soon they are considering banning immitation firearms mainly because they are offensive to the minority that shout the loudest!
Here in the U.K all handguns are banned and it won't be long before more legislation is upon us!!
The sat times ran the same story over here, just the anti-gun lobby scaremongering again!!!

Griff

I don't know if I'd want one of those big ass double action revolvers but nice little lever action sure would be great!

Griff what else do you expect from the englis? Remember once upon a time they banned bagpipes too. Weapons of war they were.

I just hope all of the hype about something big and new like the new S&W round and gun doesn't backfire like Black Talon did a few years ago. True- the Black Talon's weren't banned but from what I remember, there was a whole lot of bogus malarky stirred up by the press to have it banned or restricted since it was so "evil". I can see it now- new legislation to ban handguns over XX caliber. Oh well... Guess I'll stick with what I have.

Irony is now only police have black talons...