500 S&W vs 50AE??

M

MPanova

New member
After the first of the year I am going to get a check for around $2000 and I’m looking at either getting a Desert Eagle 50AE or the Taurus Raging Bull 500

I'm just wondering what the main differences are between the 2 calibers. Does anyone happen to have a pic of the rounds side by side for comparison?

I know I can pick up the Raging Bull a lot cheaper however the ammo is twice the price. I'm torn between which way I should go.
 
The 500SW can be packed a lot hotter then the AE which means more velocity. The 50AE (action express) has smaller casings which allow it to be cycled through semi auto pistols. Kinda like the deal with a .357sig (smaller case, ment for semi autos) and the .357mag (larger case, lot hotter rounds). I have a raging bull in .454casull and love it dont get me wrong. But your comparing a plus $1000 gun and a sub $1000 gun. Why not the S&W 500 pretty much identical to the raging bull except the ones from their performance center are pretty cool.
 
If you buy your ammo from Ballistic-Supply.com it is not that much more than the .50AE. Also keep in mind....no lower-cost cast bullets in the .50AE DE. Lead and bullet lube will foul the gas port. And no reduced loads in the DE, it takes full power loads to properly cycle the action. Factory loads for the .500 S&W range from mild (Cor-Bons .500 Specials) to wild (Double Taps 3000+ FPE monster) And if you handload, now or later, the revolver options are almost unlimited. I like the DE .50AE, but it's a very narrow use tool. A good hunting handgun, but not a good plinker, and shooting full power loads all the time, may be outside of your comfort zone. Handloading the .50AE does require lubing the cases, a step most folks don't care for. Carbide dies are available for the .50AE, but they are very expensive. It is a tapered case, not a straight-walled case like the .500 S&W. I have read that some DEs will throw the empties right back at your head. I don't own one, so I can't verify that, but I have read it more than once from users of the gun. Anyway....there are pros and cons for each firearm, so you pays your money, and you takes your chances...
 
I'd have to say the Desert Eagle looks a heck of a lot cooler but neither gun is all that practical unless you live near the wilderness or plan on hunting with them. The .500 S&W is more powerful of the 2 and more versitile since operating pressures are not as critical in wheel guns. A weaker load in the Desert Eagle may not properly cycle it and a hotter load will beat up on the gun.
 
.50AE carbide dies?

mbartel, who is offering carbide dies for the .50AE? I have wanted those for a long time and was told it couldn't be done in the regular 7/8" series of loading dies (not enough room for the carbide insert). I would appreciate knowing where to buy those carbide dies. Price is not an object.

Thanks. flashguy
 
I agree with the .500S&W over the .50AE. You can download the .500 to duplicate the .50AE but not the opposite. I recently saw an article where they were pushing lower powered rounds for the .500 using lead bullets and shorter cases which you can't do with the Desert Eagle.

I currently have a Desert Eagle in .50AE but am planning on getting a .500S&W.
 
The die description says it is a 1x14 thread, but standard dies are 7/8x14 and all normal presses are set up to use that thread, which is too small for the .50AE die. The only way that could be set up would be to modify the press to use 1x14 attachments and then get some kind of reduction adapters to put on all the other dies to be used in that press. That sounds like a lot of work to me.

flashguy
 
500 S&W

I shot one of those, 15 rounds at a show at a range, and that thing was awesome. Very very impressive. One I guess had a 6" barrel and the other was a 4" (I believe they were Smith & Wesson's) I giggled like a school girl when those things went off!
 
Thanks for all the info so far guys!

Looks like I'll end up with the Raging Bull. Thats kinda where I was leaning in the first place. I just wanted to way my options ;)

Not only that it will be my first wheel gun too :D
 
And probably your last

revolver too.

I mean, after that, why would you buy any puny little .357 or .44 or, heaven forbid - a .22? :D
 
MPanova-

There is one other thing to consider....good aftermarket grips are few and far between for the RB, so handle it first, and ideally shoot it before you buy, to determine if the factory grips feel good to you. With the kind of recoil this beast can generate, excellent hand to grip fit is very important.
 
+1

I've fired a Raging Bull in 454, and an X-Frame in 460. The grips on the RB were horrible for me, but the 460 was damn near perfect.

EDIT: Both were factory.
 
Try to imagine what kind of AR you could get with that kind of money. You could probably get a Bushmaster flattop m4 with larue mounts/railed forend with an aimpoint on that sucker. Cheaper to shoot and cooler than a Deagle ever could be. May not be what you were looking for but my .02 nonetheless...
 
my .02

I'd go with the Desert Eagle, just for the cool factor. Either that for pick up a few different revos. Maybe a .22 and a .357 I dont think that the 500 S&W is the best entry into wheelgun-dom. Hows the resale value on the 500's?
 
Sorry, I've been spending too much time at AR-15.com, it does things to you after seeing too many pictures of black rifles dressed to high heaven.
 
Ok I got ya now lol I'm not into rifles or long guns at all so a powerfull hand gun like the 2 mentioned is the bug thats biteing me right now :D
 
"It will come. The evil black rifle bug is merciless..."



panic.gif




I hope I can avoid it

:D
 
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