For Alaska, the 500 S&W with the 4 inch package makes almost perfect sense for carry in the back country with bears. I made the decision today to own one and made the purchase today. Any other shooters out there that can share insights on their 500 S&W particulars with owning one? Things it liked, or didn't like. Thanks

Light bullets, light bullets, light bullets.

Your hands will thank you in the morning.

-Spencer

So far the 350 gr. Hornady's seem to be the load for the range. The 400 gr. Corbons get your attention!

The 350 Hornady's hit like a sledgehammer. But penetration is limited because of expansion. I shot a 225 to 250 lb hog with the 350's at about 35 to 40 yards broadside and it did'nt pass through. A 400 to 500 gr soft point or hard cast would be better for heavy game. Hornady now makes a 500 gr jsp that I've heard penetrates like crazy.

If your tendencies are slightly more masochistic, Taurus has announced an even shorter Raging Bull in 500 S&W!

If you think the 350 Gr. Hornadys are good, try the new 500 Gr. This caliber is about big heavy bullets and large charges of slow burning powder. Yes, recoil is heavy but whatever is on the recieving end is going to feel worse! Bill T.

great gun, and i don't think the recoil is nearly as bad as everyone says, although i have never fired the 4 inch.
ruger has a .480 or .454 casull 2 inch six gun for sale called the alaskan. i think thats going to be my next choice.

I've been looking at the Taurus 2.25" model.I think that'd be a fun gun with some 500gr. loads.I've always wanted to shoot a handgun that would hurt,but haven't shot one yet.The strongest thing I've shot was a 8 3/8" Raging Bull 454C w/reloads and it still felt weak.

While I have only put `25 rds thru my 4" it is FUN! Everyone worries about recoil, but its not that bad. No worse than several 44s I have shot. But I am also not planning on a large diet of heavy loads in it either, the thing has "adequate" punch from comparatively light to moderate loades.
Just loaded 24 grs H110 behind a 600 gr cast this afternoon, about like shooting a heavy 44 mag load. The factory 330 cast at ~1300fps are light enought you could shoot many in a session.

It ain't a pop gun, but its FUN. Not to mention everyone looks, and wants to try after they see you lived thru it.

if you want to fire a handgun that hurts, the S&W 329pd in .44 mag with some 300 grain corbons will thump you good. i've never shot anything that kicked like that

Hello all

I use the 8.5 inch barrel and it uses the top porting as I found it to be the best for me.
I have used about all the bullets made for this cannon and have come down to these.
1) MAGTECH 25.92g with a 400gr SJSP. Nice range load.
2) ULTRAMAX 325gr JHP. This is also a nice range load.
3) ULTRMAX 44gr CAST. This load BANGS the heck out of what it hits. It also is a bit to handle but after about one box I was able to hit a six inch circle at 100yrds.

My 2cents ( that’s about 2.40 a shot less I think ). Reload? Yupperz!

Turtle

That little Taurus is a riot! Wonder what speeds you getout of that stubby snubby. I'm jonesin' for that 10" version, seeing how much I liked the same in 454 that my dad had for a few years. Recoil was negligable with fullhouse loads.
The 500 weighs like close to 5#!
How fast would you want the 350g to go from the snubby for it to be worthwhile?1500fps?

I've shot more 385 gr. Remington's through mine than anything else, and it shoots them well. Plus, they're cheaper than anything else. The killing issue to me is not even really a question. It's a 385 gr. slug moving at nearly 1800 fps. Anything shot in the right place within reasonable range is going to end up with a large hole.

I just bought a 4" 500 a few weeks ago, and here are a few observations... Recoil? You bet, but if you can shoot a 44mag, you can easily shoot this thing. It's half the recoil I expected, and now I frequently shoot this thing one handed. Very easy to master, and these aren't reduced loads!! For what it's worth, I've found that Lil Gun gives the highest velocities, but it's EXTREMELY temperature sensitive!!! After 5 shots through the gun, I can reload, and the heat left over drives the pressure up to unacceptable levels. It took all I had to get one of the cases out of the cylinder. This has now happened more than once. I now no longer shoot Lil Gun in my 500... These loads were 1.0gr below max loads listed in Hodgdon's manual, and these are even held to 50K psi. No more Lil Gun for me. That's just toooooo sensitive. But on the other hand 43gr of H110 behind the Rem 385JHP gives me a solid 1500fps and barely flattened primers. So far, I absolutely love this new gun. I highly recommend the 500S&W to anyone. The Ruger Alaskan pales in comparison