To all,

I was talking with a fellow handgunners the other day and the topic of the 500 S&W came up. The young guy that wanted one the worst had shot a 44 Mag a little but nothing larger.

The others in the group were very sceptivcal of the new round as am I.

Any of you that I have talked with know that I love a big bore as much as the next guy and I will say that I will probably have one of these new monsters but would much prefer a single action revolver over a double action.

If this new round actually reaches its performacne specs, who will S&W actually be targeting to buy this revolver. At the performace that I have read, I would say that about 2% of the handgun shooters in the US could handle its power which will be more then the mighty 500 Linebaugh.

Did S&W do themselves a favor with this new round or will the ne monster turn and bite them in the rear with more recoil then the majority of shooters can handle.

What do you think of this new round?

Do not get me wrong, it is great that a fine company like S&W is taking a chance on this type of a round. I wish Ruger had seen fit to release a 5 shot Blackhawk and SRH in the 480 so that it would truely be a poor mans 475 Linebaugh.

Anyway, will the 500 S&W go BANK or BUST?

Good Shooting!!!

50

from post on other forums the demand seems to be big,the weight and muzzle break should tame some of the recoil at least with the lighter bullets,handloading will be a different story, imo.i still plan on buying one.everybody takes recoil differently,some will run after firing one round others will laugh.

fiftydriver;

I think I will have to have one.But have not ordered one because I want to see the quality of it,and the ammo.Some of the new 629 I have seen looked a little rough.Nothing major and might have been from the shipping.

I think a lot of people will buy it because it will replace their 44mag and they still want to be the big kid on ther block(so they think).But then they will buy a box of ammo and shoot it and sell it or put it up until they go back to the range to impress the pistol shooters(unless they come across one of us shooting a XP in some ungodly cailber) and that will be that it will stay in the safe because they can't handle it and when they bring it out they won't shoot it because it hurts.But they want to say that they have one so they look like a bad ***.
So that will keep the prices up.

Wade (sent you a p.m.)

What pressures is this round loaded to?

I've shot several 454's, 475's and 500's. I own a 480, because it is shootable, and reasonably priced.

S&W has created a tremendous buzz with the new gun and round, but I personally just don't see what it provides, other then braggin rights. It is too damn big and heavy for a hip gun, heck the SRH is pusing it as it is. Muzzle brake or no, I don't think many folks will be able to handle the recoil.

Since the round is so long, there are very few handguns that will fit the round. Corbon makes ammo, and I doubt any of the major ammo makers ever will, because the market is so specialized.

I'm sure initial sales will be brisk, but they will taper off when the hype dies down.

The round will be outstanding out of a lever gun, and I'd love to see Marlin offer one. In a handgun however, I just see it as a novelty.

If you want one wait a year. Then they will be showing up used in shops with a box of 45 rounds and 5 empties.

seems the Dan Wesson 445 has been around pretty long now, the 8 inch version weighs the same as the smith....72oz....I wonder what the pressure levels for the corbon ammo is? to achieve the velocity they do with the big slugs?....the 445 loads go to around 44,000psi....and push the 300 grainers to the high 1600's....how long is the case on the s&w 500?... does the intro of the new smith say that the taurus 454 is selling good?..wonder...bob

Of course, it will sell and like hotcakes! You guys are looking at it through the eyes of shooters and hunters. How many s&w 29's were bought when Eastwood toted one on the bigscreen? Who do think bought all those .44 mags..target shooters and deer hunters? The general public..the same ones who buy Escalades and Hummers..don't really have a purpose for them..but hey! Arnold has one!It will be the biggest and baddest out there..and in the eyes of the buying public that is all that really matters. Most will never squeeze off a round,but they will have possesion of one and they will tell everybody who will listen!Sorta like the high capacity nines that were so big in the eighties. No body really needed fifteen rounds or more,but when someone offered it..it became a necessity;HAD TO HAVE IT. MINE holds fifteen..Yours only holds five or maybe six (.38 and .357s were the darlings before the wonder nines). They will not be able to build them fast enough..they were even mentioned on Paul Harvey's radio broadcast as being three times more powerful that a .44 mag.

I think it will sell. After all, there is a "representative" in Congress who wants to ban them! That alone will bring out the buyers.

S&W shot themself (and maybe everyone else also) in the foot with their 50 S&W. The ad boys got so full of themself that they did stupid things in announcing it. Instead of just keeping it inide the industry they gave it to the wire services as well. Now all the media attention has started the cries for legislation and bans on 50 handguns to go with the pending bills to ban any 50 cal weapon.
Thanks S&W! Seems like there's always some jackass runnning S&W no matter what country they're from.

I think it will sell BIG TIME.
All this baloney about it being too big and too heavy.
It weighs what a Encore handgun weighs.
Not sure it is much heavier than my Raging Bull
Is 4.5 lbs guys.
All the contender guys wanting bigger rounds..........MORE power.
It is the AMERICAN WAY.
S&W says they had to UP production just to fill the dealers orders.
I will take one.
How long before Ruger and Taurus have one is the Question?

Fireball

To all,

Thanks for the replies, very interesting to here the thoughts of fellow big bore shooters that are educated in the lessons of the big bores.

My greatest concern is ammo, let me rephrase that, available brass.

Another worry of mine is how S&W has been pushing the fact that this round is so very powerful. To the non shooting citizen, most of the U.S.A. unfortunately, they only ask why there is a need for this type of handgun.

Those media outlets talking about this new 500 magnum are not doing so to boost sales for S&W, instead they are trying to scare the public that these things are out there to get them.

I am also not one for muzzle breaks on revolvers. I do not feel they are effective enough to be worth the extra money. For a brake to be really effective, we need a muzzle pressure of at least 10,000 to 15,000 psi. In a revolver, even if chamber pressure is in the 50,000 psi range, muzzle pressure will be very low because of the vented gas at the cylinder gap.

For those saying that all of us single shot handgunners always wanting more power and here is a round to give us what we want. Let me say that a .500" caliber round developing 2600 ft/lbs of energy is impressive at the muzzle or even 100 yards, but it will not hold a candle to what even an Encore handgun will do, not to mention the XP-100 and other turn bolt single shots.

Accuracy wise there is not even a comparison.

I can see a use for this 500 Magnum for a dedicated hunting handgun with a scope mounted and used for close range big game hunting. There is no question it will serve this purpose very well indeed. But my 338 WSM in my XP-100 will do even batter at close range as well as 400 yards out.

Plus out to 100 yards my heavy loaded 45 Colt and 480 Ruger provide plenty of power and better shootablity.

This isn;t a handgun that could be used for protection against big mean critters because it is to large to get into action quickly, not to mention, the damn thing would pull your pants down in a hip holster.

I can see a good use for this round and probably will have one soon but there are many other rounds out already that may serve the public better for their specific uses.

As for Ruger and Tauras, there will not be a 500 S&W from either of them, I would bet money on that. If Ruger will not spend the money on a five shot 480 Blackhawk or Bisley which we all wanted, theres no way they will spend the green for a stretched frame five shot 500 S&W handgun.

Good shooting!!

50