"Smith & Wesson 500: The Gun That Has As Much" Topic

… Firepower As a Rifle.

"In the world of firearms, there are plenty of boutique guns and calibers out there. Many are very powerful, but may have a very small market audience. Among the unique class of very, very big handguns, the Smith & Wesson 500 packs both popularity and power in a ridiculously lethal package, with a killing power equal to high-powered rifles . . . and a recoil described as "beastly."…."
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Amicalement
Armand

"What is such a difficult handgun good for? The Model 500 is not for home defense: not only is the round overkill, it is too heavy and deafening when shooting indoors. (Many indoor gun ranges in the United States ban .50 caliber pistols as a source of irritation to neighboring shooters.) Some gun owners buy it simply for the challenge of managing the gun's recoil and having the most dangerous revolver. It has no value as a military weapon."

It seems to me that what it is especially good for, and presumably was designed for, is compensating for a certain lack of size.

Agree.

Amicalement
Armand

As the article notes, people hunt with them. And that was its intended primary market.

And were one facing a bear while in the wilds of Alaska that might not be a bad pistol to have.

I carry a pistol as well while hunting as an alternative to using my rifle to deliver the coup de grace to a downed animal – using a scoped rifle at close range is a bit awkward.

As to the recoil, my 16 year old niece (a bit large for her age) found my brother's .44 mag tolerable. I imagine the recoil of the .50 would not be unacceptable for an average sized man.

The .500S&W is very much a hunting (or maybe silhouette shooting) weapon, not a military firearm.

It takes far too much skill to hit anything with it.

Though personally, I'm planning on getting the 460S&W instead. Lets me download all the way to .45 Long Colt, have an intermediate stop at .454 Casull (which is basically 1/8" longer than the .45LC), or go full-power with the .460. That way I can afford to practice!

Some people enjoy collecting and shooting. Ironic for a group of people know to have huge collections of unpainted and never used toy soldiers to be judgemental Of other people's frivolous spending on hobbies that have very little practical use. Why did I buy an semi-auto 12 gauge? For the same reason I bought my third 28mm German army: because I got a good deal on it and I wanted a new toy…

My .500 Smith & Wesson has an extended barrel, 8-3/8". The recoil is manageable. I can put all 5 rounds in a 3" circle at 25 yards.

The .500 S&W weighs a ton (60-80oz depending on the model)

It has a big gel pack at the back of the grip to soften the impact of the recoil and the recoil is more of a firm push than the nasty snap you can get from some other firearms.

This makes the revolver quite manageable, it was never meant to be a fun plinker you can shoot all day unless you have big strong hands that match the the depth of your pockets.

That said it's a great cartridge for a brush gun, say a lever action.

The revolver is good for hunting, or for taking with you on a hike in bear country.

Ironically the only human fatality so far was self-inflicted gunshot, an accidental trigger pull when some idiot put the gun into the hands of an untrained lady who was overcome by the recoil so that the gun tumbled barrel towards her and she accidentally hit the trigger again …

Actually, it does sounds like a good backup weapon for hunting, especially recoil as manageable as described. Bears and boars are dangerous, and a pistol can be lined up on a close target faster than a rifle. This one appears to have the power to put a bear or board down pretty quickly.

I'd actually say that the .500 is too much gun as a backup piece, you're likely to only get one shot due to the recoil. Same applies to the .460, actually. Plus, they're really heavy and tiring to carry, even on the hip. They're really intended as the primary hunting weapon, especially with the long barrels.

My shooting buddy carries a S&W Airweight in .44 Magnum for his backup (we have wolves and bear to worry about). The pistol itself actually weighs about as much as 6 rounds of .44 magnum! It has the same gel grips as the .500, and isn't unpleasant to shoot with 240gr hollowpoints. 300gr slugs are positively painful to shoot, I had a bruise showing on the back side of the web of my thumb after one shot!

Here's a random video of a guy doing some really quick follow up shots with a .500 magnum

YouTube link

It's the old "I can empty my 9mm Glock with 33-round mag faster than you can recover from your first shot with a .357 magnum." Complete with arms going as high and back as far as they go before bringing them down again.

Pure and simple BS. Sure the guy with .500 Magnum is not going to keep up rapid fire for a series of 100 rounds, but then again most people end up a little sore after a 100 rounds of 9mm or .45. I'd rather have a sore hand of rapid firing a .500 magnum than be the verb component of "Bears crap in the woods"

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand

Why rapid fire a .500? Why use such a big round if you're going to empty the thing?

Patrick R, I heard of that incident in one of Iraqveteran8888's Gun Gripes. Another video in that series stated that a woman had come in heavily pregnant, claiming that a different gun shop had tried to sell her one. According to the late Barry, she would have gone into labour the first time she fired it. Eric then mentioned that the forces involved would probably kill the baby.

They discuss this thing at length on that show, especially in terms of people who automatically buy it as their first gun "because I have the right, man" or because they're going fishing in Alaska and thinking that they might encounter a bear; and in their Five Guns series where they almost invariably recommend something else entirely. "Great bear medicine, if you have to use it; but what if your arm is broken, you haven't had anything to eat for three days…"

I wouldn't know much about hunting with it. Pistol hunting is illegal here.

I'd rather have a sore hand of rapid firing a .500 magnum than be the verb component of "Bears crap in the woods"

My concern is that you're not going to get a second shot off from that .500 if the bear is charging you.

I can from a .44 Magnum, even my buddy's Airweight.

Though I will admit that I would buy a .460 (.500 is too much gun for me) before an Airweight.

I wouldn't know much about hunting with it. Pistol hunting is illegal here.

Hrm. Well, here pistol hunting takes place during the 'Short-range weapons' season, what we used to call 'Black Powder season'.