Tried my 500SW today, first impression

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Doug242ti

New member
Well... I think my first impression was "did I shoot it or did I light it on fire?" :cool: LOL

I was pretty concerned about shooting it before hand. I have a SW 686, SW model 19 and a SW 629 and I actually thought the 629 was a bit unpleasant to shoot... so the 500 made me really nervous. BTW, its the 4" model.

Started with 275 gr Corbon's and the first round went like this:

Crap this is goign to hurt
squeeze

BAAAANG

followed by uncontrolable laughter... kind of man giggles only things like this can create.

AND what Im sure everyone wants to hear, its not bad at all to shoot. Id say probably easier to shoot on the hands than my 629... its more mental. It seriously looks like a howizter going off and its the first gun I've ever shot that makes my (short) hair actually move... almost felt cartoonish.

So I shot a couple of those then went back to the HK... then decided to go buy a box of Magtech 400gr bullets. Loaded up a few of these and while it was more noticable... still not nearly as bad as I thought.

I think the difference is mainly in the muzzlebrake and the weight. Its a good solid push and bang on the hand but its not a sharp recoil (if this makes any sense).

I think after some handloads (just to be able to afford to shoot it more) I wouldn't mind shooting a box of 20-50 through it in a day.

So anyone who's thinking about one.. get it. Its just to damn fun to shoot and when you get stuck at the range next to a guy shooting a 44mag... pull the 500 out, give him a taste of his own medicine :eek: :D
 
Sounds like fun im thinking of getting one myself. Deff a cailber ya have to relaod for kind of like the 454 shooting factory loads will cost ya a fortune
 
I've posted this here before, but I'll do it again. Using lead that I aquired for free and casting my own bullets, my cost for a full house 440 grain reload is a 18¢ or less. That's $2.16, or less, per dozen rounds against the exact same load from CorBon for $38 and change for the same dozen rounds.
 
Damn Jbar, thats a hell of a good deal in reloading.

I'll have to look around.. I wrote down what was the cheapest combo I had come up with for reloading.
 
I guess I got to get a 500S&W now. Has the price gone down a bit? Whats a good price?

I would have liked a 5-6" barrel because I really want to carry it on my hip in deer season. The 4" is really cool looking and would work well for what I want but is the sight radius long enough for 50yard deer kills?
 
Off sandbags, I consistently get five shot groups at 50 yards that measure 1 3/4" center to center using 20.0 grains of HS-6, CCI-350 (I haven't tried standard pistol or rifle primers with this load yet), and a cast 450 grain WFN GC. It chronos just exactly 1100 fps.
 
Damn. Interesting that the recoil is not that brutal. Now I've got to decide, when s&w finally repudiates the agreement, whether to get the .500, a Performance Ctr. 945, or 610 first! Tough one. Who else, if anyone, is going to make a gun in .500 S&W? I'd like to see a turnbolt or single-shot carbine chambered in this round, for the ultimate handgun-and-carbine-shooting-same-ammo combination. Don't think a levergun would be do-able. But an 18" turnbolt rifle holding 2 or 3, with a matching 4" x-frame would take care of any outdoorsman hunting or defensive need on the planet, up to elephant, with just 2 guns and good reloading press & various powders & bullets, cept for very small game. Kind of an appealing thought.
 
500 S &W

New Member..first post...have really enjoyed reading for a while though!

FirstFreedom,

I believe that NEF is coming out with a handi rifle in the 500 S&W so that could be an option for a combo. Also someone else asked about other manufacturers...BFR also has the 500 S&W.
 
Marlin conversions are available from...? Damn, I read about it, but can't remember who is doing it. Pricey from what I've heard.

It may be awhile (never?) til Ruger or somebody else chambers this in their own revolvers because it's going to require a new frame design. Magnum Research was able to do it right away because they already had the BFR on the market. Actually, I've heard that MR actually beat S&W to market with a production model. Kind of embarassing if it's true. The BFR, being unported and lighter than the 8 3/8" X-frame, has notably more ouch to it than the S&W. Personally, I don't like the extra freebore in the BFR's loooong cylinder.

(edit) Century Arms, if they're still in business, would already have a suitable revolver frame too.
 
Shot it again today. A couple lessons learned

1. Do not shoot it on the range if you dont feel like talking to anyone else. It draws a crowd

2. Said crowd is sometimes an angry mob

3. Its really surprizingly accurate and f-ing fun to shoot. Still have the giggles though lol
 
2. Said crowd is sometimes an angry mob
Click to expand...

let me guess some middle age crisis stricken Varmint hunter? I tend to have deal with a lot of BS from gents such as I described. I enjoy shooting my Armalite M15A2 Carbine and DSA STG58 carbine and both incidentally have muzzle breaks.....which makes LOTS AND LOTS of noise and muzzle blast for the surrounding tables. With my AR I had a guy at the table next to me bending down between them to pick up some brass while the range was hot. His hat got blown off from the blast and it flew several feet out into the range... I tried not to laugh hysterically but I couldn't help myself. After the session he grabbed his stuff and moved 3 table down from me.
 
LOL. I dont think everyone on the range cares for being next to me w/ the 500 but I figure its payback for when Im stuck next to a guy shooting 12ga slugs.
 
Yep but it happens.

And in all fairness... I was fairly light hearted about the "mob"... most people just want to know WTF it is ;) :cool:
 
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