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I met some friends at the range today (man and wife) to do a little shooting. I have known this couple for many years. The woman usually shoots a .44 magnum, but today she showed her new pistol. A 500 S&W which she shoots with great proficiency. She let me shoot it and what a hoot. I just fired two rounds as she said they cost $2.00 each. At 25 yards she don't miss and she fired a half a box. She may start to reload.
May????
The S&W 500 Magnum is quite a handgun. I find that any but the 4 1/2 incch barrel too unwieldy. Also shooting 340 to 400 grain bullits seem to be the easiest to manage.
My 500 does well with these loads
LeadHead 440 LSWC/GC Lil`Gun 30.0gr CCI-BR2 Lrg Rifle HNDY Case OAL: 2.020” ~1483fps chrono
HNDY-XTP 350 JHP WW296 43.0gr FedGM215M Lrg/MagRifle HNDY Case OAL: 1.975" ~1600fps chrono
It's strictly a hunting weapon/cross-chest carry w/ a Leupold VXIII 2.5 x 8x, …and must be rested across a log/branch/against a tree for practical field accuracy out to 150 yards point blank for muley and elk (1 each here). Accuracy is ~ 1-1/4moa w/ both loads (even the LeadHead).
These are at medium (not max) loadings, which even then are equivalent to a 50-90 Sharps -- which will take anything that walks on this continent.
Strange thing is that while YouTube has given it a really bad rep, and all the range buzzards go "ooh, wow...," its recoil is entirely manageable with Hogue Grips.
The long bbl 500 and 460 are easy to manage. 12 yr olds have shot both of mine and one big 12 yr old even shot the heavy loads in the 500. They are unbelievably powerful but even more surprising is how easy they really are to handle. I would rather shoot full power loads out of my 500 than out of my Super Blackhawk 44. The 44 hurts! THe 500 doesnt.
Accuracy is very good and yeah, you can reach out and touch something with them!
John
John, I've been reading up on these and it seems the 460 is actually a better round than the 500?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mudcat
What's your opinion seeing as you have both?
It will be awhile before/if I even buy one so I have time to learn and decide if I will even buy one,but I am really tunred on by the 460 with the 12 inch barrel.
In the FWIW column: (8" barrels)
The 460 w/ a 300gr HNDY HPXTP goes out at 1,900fps/,2,400ft-lbs and reaches 150yrds w/ 1,300ft-lbs. +/-2.5" point blank all the way
The 500 w/ a 350gr SPEER UCSP goes out at 1,950fps/3,000ft-lbs and reaches 150yrds w/ 1,500ft-lbs. +/-2.5" point blank all the way
- alternately....
The 500 w/ a 500gr HNDY FPXTP goes out at 1,600fps/2,800ft-lbs and reaches 150yrds w/ 1,425ft-lbs. +/-3.5" point blank all the way
Take your pick