Any S&W 500 Owners Out There?

[harold63]

You are correct which is why the 460 will be my next revolver purchase.

I own a 460 and a 500 and I honestly wish I had not bought them. I hardly use them, anymore. They are very expensive to shoot and they do annoy some shooters at the range, if you are into being courteous to those around you. They both will print less than 2" at fifty yards off of a forearm rest, but still, too expensive for me, now. If anyone is considering buying one, remember the relationship may be a long one. I have had both of these for sale for some time, now, and am not getting a lot of bites. I stand to lose more on them in trade, percentage wise, than I lost on my OSS DS Taurus 9 mm's. Ported, they are very manageable, but super loud. I wear double hearing protection when I do shoot one, but as I said, it is pretty much a thing of the past. I bought them to be hunting side arms and because of an itch and wish now I would have borrowed one from a friend of mine to scratch it. I usually carry a G21 or a Taurus Tracker .44, now, when hunting. Both of these pistols will put down anything in FL without worrying about putting on ear muffs or welding goggles before firing one. Black bears and alligators won't wait for you to put this stuff on, anyway. The Glock and Taurus are loud enough as it is. I only say these things to tell of some of the downsides to owning one. If you can afford either, or both, then go for it. They are fun to shoot, but as I say, can be annoying to others around you, and you need a pocketful of Donald Trump lotto to buy the ammo. To take one twenty round box to shoot is impossible (for me, anyways).

[herplover]

but what does the actual box read in your link?

I have two boxes upstairs that read long colt.Is it really worth argueing about something so stupid?

[herplover]

I have a taurus raging bull in 480 ruger magnum and i cant get enough of it.Just something for you to look into.

Does the 480 ruger actually have the felt recoil of a 44 mag?Ive heard from some magazines that they do

[crazywolf]

if you hand load you can make the 500 an easy and not to $$$ a gun to shoot.I'm pushing a 400 gr at about 1,500 fps which I find comfortable to shoot and not to loud.think of this way in a 4in pistol I'm getting about the same power as a factory 45/70 load with a 405gr bullet.good enough for any thing in pa.I will say the 500 is not for everyone but that can be said about almost any firearm.if you have the $$$ and want one go for it.I did and I'm glad I have one.crazywolf

[gallerygun4u]

if you hand load you can make the 500 an easy and not to $$$ a gun to shoot.I'm pushing a 400 gr at about 1,500 fps which I find comfortable to shoot and not to loud.think of this way in a 4in pistol I'm getting about the same power as a factory 45/70 load with a 405gr bullet.good enough for any thing in pa.I will say the 500 is not for everyone but that can be said about almost any firearm.if you have the $$$ and want one go for it.I did and I'm glad I have one.crazywolf

I think i'm going to break down and buy the 4" model, i don't see anything really negative against either model. The 4" just appeals to me more then the 8 3/8", I don't mind spending a few bucks here and there to fund the brass for it, being that it won't be shot more then a few times a month.

[Pete D.]

I picked up a barrel for my Encore pistol. Fifteen inches.

..700grain bullets.

Yep. I picked up a selection of heavy bullets from Rick Gibson who used to make and sell them (Ranger Rick from Homer, AK and the 700 grain "Tyrannosaur Thumper"). Of the bunch, my favorite was and is a 600 grain WFNGC.
The issue with using these big bullets - and I am not recoil shy at all - is that they are thoroughly unpleasant to shoot out of the Encore. Every shot hurt from first to last.
Pete

[bripro]

it won't be shot more then a few times a month.

Then you must decide if its worth even buying. I bought one when it first came out for no other reason than to be the guy at the range with the really big revolver. After realizing what a stupid reason that was I sold it and took one hell of a financial beating. If you are taking it to Africa to hunt go for it. If you are looking for a cool range gun I advise you to get a good 44. Brian

[pennlineman]

I have one with the 8 3/8" BBL and fixed brake. It's a really cool range gun. Vaporizing honeydew melons with it is a real blast. Everyone who has ever fired it had a big smile on their face afterwards. I hunt with my Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt. The 500 is cool, just too much gun for anything I'll be hunting in Pa.

[harold63]

Then you must decide if its worth even buying. I bought one when it first came out for no other reason than to be the guy at the range with the really big revolver. After realizing what a stupid reason that was I sold it and took one hell of a financial beating. If you are taking it to Africa to hunt go for it. If you are looking for a cool range gun I advise you to get a good 44. Brian

I finally parted ways with my two big bores. I feel you in the financial part, though I did not get killed, only slightly wounded. They were fun, but not practical around here. Someone else posted how much fun it is vaporizing watermelons with one of these monsters, but a .44 mag with some Hornadays in it will vaporize one just about as good. Got two .44's left in the house as far as big bore guns. I'm good to go.

[IronButt]

All these big bore handguns are too much gun for me. If they're fun for you, my hat's off to you.

I used to be on the magnum rifle bandwagon. I sold them all, except for two 7mm Rem Mags when I discovered that no game animal in the US had evolved with body armor.