Drooling over a S&W 500 rifle?

Pricey. And seeing as for defense .500S&W is unnecessary, I'd much rather spend $300 on a .500S&W Handi-rifle. Sure it wont have quick follow ups like the repeaters, but how often is that really going to be needed with careful shot placement and a good load?

350 grains .50cal at 1975FPS clocked from a 8'' barrel.(probably a revolver, where you'd lose gasses to the cylinder gap)
A 22'' single shot rifle should be well over 2000FPS with that same load. Put that in the right place and you shouldn't need a follow up.
 
I had a friend were I used to live that purchased one of those Handi Rifles in 500 S&W magnum. He said the recoil was horrendous. He mounted a scope on it and couldn't keep it in place due to the recoil. He even had a gunsmith tap it and he added a third ring. It didn't help.
 
had a friend were I used to live that purchased one of those Handi Rifles in 500 S&W magnum. He said the recoil was horrendous.
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That's sort of the nature of the .500S&W though. Lots of projectile weight, at a pretty swift pace. Pistol loads in .500S&W, are probably comparable to full powered .45-70 rifle loads.

Other .500S&W rifles would recoil similarly, unless they weighed more. Heavier rifles always soak up more recoil, but they are also heavier, and harder to lug around. Even if the recoil does suck, as long as the shooter is capable of taking shots without flinching, it's probably not a major issue, since you're probably not going to be firing off more than one or two rounds per day, and there's always recoil pads, and such.
Other than weight differences between the rifles, I see no real reason why the H&R single shot would recoil harder than a pump or lever action repeater in the same cartridge.
 
A few years back I drew a deer tag for a shotgun only area. I decided to buy an H&R single shot with a rifled barrel. The first trigger pull from the bench cleared my sinuses. You don't realize the recoil a twelve gauge slug can generate in a light gun.

They also have a single shot 10 gauge. I can only imagine how much fun that would be to shoot! :D
 
I had a friend were I used to live that purchased one of those Handi Rifles in 500 S&W magnum. He said the recoil was horrendous.
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I have one, and wouldn't call the recoil anything near horrendous. Stout maybe, kind of a very heavy push. But nothing near as punishing as my Steyr M95 with the old surplus Nazi 8X56R ammo.
My biggest problem is it is horrendous when it comes to accuracy.
So much so that it may soon qualify for an exemption to rule #1.:eek:
 
I've seen the lever gun before, but never seen the pump action rifle... any more info out on that one ???

& yes, the lever gun is very nice eye candy...
 
I doubt my post helps a whole lot, but it is my nugget of experience.

.500 S&W Magnum from the big 8 3/8" X-frame, as designed with the OEM recoil reducing grips and the fantastic porting on the muzzle end? It's a rush, and a whole heap of fun. It certainly packs a wallop on the hands, but it is not what I call a horrendous, awful experience. Felt recoil is different for each person, but I find the big X-frame .500 to be more enjoyable than most all .44 Magnum revolvers I've shot. I am being completely honest here. Part of this is because you know what's going to happen and you will typically only shoot a handful of rounds in any session simply because of the economics of it.

However, I sent 5 rounds down range through a T/C Encore Pro Hunter with the Katahdin .500 Magnum barrel and it was a horrendous and awful experience. It was a tremendous recoil wallop that was not enjoyable in any way whatsoever. The first shot sucked out loud and every shot afterward was worse. I see no earthly reason to ever put myself through that ever again and to own a long gun that shoots the round is something that I don't think I'd ever get sucked in to. Of course, I'm not a hunter of any sort and I don't chase African game, so it doesn't appear on my radar.

I can only suggest you find some way (no idea how?!) to get a couple shots out of one before you throw down a couple thousand dollars.
 
The .500 S&W NEF rifle was discontinued. I believe they couldn't handle abuse. I have one in .45-70 and it kicks more than most rifles but it's still controllable.
 
I wonder if a small, semi-auto carbine could be made for the 500 S&W magnum. Sort of like Rivers 44 magnum carbine.
 
I see no real reason why the H&R single shot would recoil harder than a pump or lever action repeater in the same cartridge
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It's due to the weight of the gun
Shooting the same loads, a cartridge generates the same amount of actual recoil in each gun, but the FELT recoil, which is what matters, is determined by the type of action and the weight of the guns, as well as the guns design and fit
 
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