Big hole in, and a big hole out.what's not to like.
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500S&W loding
- Thread starter Allan Clark
- Start date
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Sergeant Stadanko
Well-Known Member
I use Accurate FS 11 with Lehigh 330 grain wide flat nose mono's in my .480 Ruger. Devastating load on anything you put in front of it.
A friend of mine took a Cape buffalo
with it at 53 yards. DRT.
A friend of mine took a Cape buffalo
with it at 53 yards. DRT.alancthomas
Active Member
CCI 250 and no problem shooting 20 to 40 rounds without cleaning !
Guy M
Well-Known Member
I've had a lot of fun with the 500 S&W over the years! Fully intended to hunt with mine, but never made that happen. Instead the big revolver became a range toy for me. Fun to haul out now and again.
I loaded it with 350 or 440 grain bullets. Have happily used H110 and Accurate No. 9.
A couple of my buddies have loaded it with 700 grain bullets:
After a dozen years or so I decided I'd had enough 500 S&W fun and sold mine. Still load for and shoot one now and again. I'd like to try a 500 S&W rifle.
Regards, Guy
Allan Clark
Member
H110 is a great powder i use it in 45 colt, 460s&w and a few others. It is a dirty powder if not loaded to near max and a good crimp, which is harder to do with berry bullets as they say "do not over crimp" I've been using N-110 recently and found it is much cleaner with pretty much any load I've ran.
memtb
Well-Known Member
WW LRM primers in Starline brass. They were suggested when I first got it, bought a bunch of them……so far, I'm very pleased. They appear to give good ignition, good velocities, and accuracy is as good a# I'll ever be! memtb
dhbikerczar
Well-Known Member
I've watched that video a few time to see if there's any sign of carbon messed all over everything.
. Actually I think I've watched almost every video on that channel and have been a sub from very close to the beginning. In any case I did not see the carbon. Maybe I'll crimp a bit tighter.DustThroughaFan
Well-Known Member
I shoot the same primer in hornady brass with 45gr of H110 under a 240gr xtp mag or the 250gr ftx out of my 460.
Two deer and a javelina so far. 100 yards was the farthest kill. Bangs steel at 200 with minimal effort.
Sorry for the derail, back to the 500.
meatyrem
Well-Known Member
Have the 460 Xframe but gonna be getting my 454 SR back from a friend. Don't really get carbon built up. Maybe that's a lower pressure thingI went back to my .454 Casull...
View attachment 626336
Here are a couple of lengthy lists to review:
https://shootersreference.com/reloadingdata/500-smith-wesson-magnum/
https://reloadammo.com/500-sw-reloading-data/
https://www.barnesbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/500SW.pdf
AussieWriter
Well-Known Member
I got one for review in 2003. Most readers won't know there were 2 versions of this cartridge and my early review was version 1 which I transitioned to version 2 because back then, there was nothing to reference, for any issue you had and no loading data which I had to create from scratch.
Version 1 (withdrawn from the internet) was a pistol cartridge, meaning pressures were lower and large pistol primers were used.
The original cartridges were made by Corbon where the factory specs were designed to cover a 275gn Barnes X bullet at a reduced velocity and a heavier 440 grain lead bullet at higher velocity and obviously energy levels.
Barnes right from the start marketed a 275, 325 and 375gn X bullet with the later 2 being pointed bullets which extended the range of the cartridge. There was also a Speer 325gn flat pount designed for the milder 500AE and way too soft for the S&W version and later a 350gn Hornady. None of the heavyweights from 500-700grains existed back then.
My review handgun came with 2 boxes of Corbon factory loads with the 275gn X bullet which didn't take long to go through as each box only held 12 cartridges. (Doing this from memory) After a call to Corbon, they refused to send more so I began handloading.
RCBS dies I found didn't mate with the pointed Barnes ogives so a call to them determined that the seater was designed for assumed flat point pistol bullets and they quickly sent me a couple of seating inserts which worked fine with both designs, flat or pointed.
The next issue was unburned powder and low velocities. The primers I was using were large pistol primers as designated by S&W and were useless, in that factory specs were elusive.
Because I was working with charges around 35-40 grains at the time, I used handloading logic to equate the loads to something similar to a .243 Winchester so began using Federal 210 large rifle primers which worked, picking up an immediate 500 fps in additional velocity and eliminating the unburned powder in the barrel, but fired singly, as I wasn't happy with the primer protrusion which indicated the Corbon cases as having the more shallow depth primer pocket.
By this time my personal discovery had been found by others and cases became available, the primer pockets deepend to accommodate Large Rifle Primers and the cartridge actually was upgraded as Verson 2 by S&W to a new MAP of 60,000psi.
So far I have used 8 bullets and 5 powders in this cartrige but only used it on whitetail so far.
2 mods I have done about 10 years back was to add a 2x Leupold scope which helps generate 1"-1.5" groups at 50yards and also tossed the rubber grips by added the wooden grips from a S&W 44 mag as the grip frame is identical. Those larger grips make huge improvement to the balance and control of the X frame revolver.
My standard whitetail or brush load uses 40grains of H110 sending tje 275gn Barnes XPB at 1861fps and 2115FPE. By comparison, the orginal Corbon factory loads were chronographed over my Oehler 35P at only 1667fps which is still a formidable load, but 200fps in my favor is more appealing when coupled with the barely over 1" accuracy I get at 50 yards.
Because I was generating original data back then, it was some time before data was provided to handloaders where MAX is often quoted at 2 grains over my loads with that bullet.
I did try faster powders such as LilGun and Titegroup but tended to like H110, H 4227 and even 2400 which all worked very well. H4227 did very well with heavier bullets as well, where H110 worked with any bullet weights.
Remington introduced a 385gnHP sold in 100qty bags at Cabela's a while back which shot extremely well though I don't know whether they will ever return.
With today's bullets, I prefer the Barnes 275 and 375gn XPB and the 400gn Sierra FP. Barnes also makes a 400 grain solid called a Buster which has shot quite well from my revolver using 35gn of H110.
Don't be afraid of it and don't pay too much attention to anyone who hasn't owned and loaded for it, as the whims of fools will always dominate the conversation. Like any big bore cartridge, you can load it to suit you, the user, and play with it over time as your confidence and needs grow to use it on larger game.
Its a great cartridge and a terrific revolver as long as as you put in the time to learn how to use it to suit you.
Version 1 (withdrawn from the internet) was a pistol cartridge, meaning pressures were lower and large pistol primers were used.
The original cartridges were made by Corbon where the factory specs were designed to cover a 275gn Barnes X bullet at a reduced velocity and a heavier 440 grain lead bullet at higher velocity and obviously energy levels.
Barnes right from the start marketed a 275, 325 and 375gn X bullet with the later 2 being pointed bullets which extended the range of the cartridge. There was also a Speer 325gn flat pount designed for the milder 500AE and way too soft for the S&W version and later a 350gn Hornady. None of the heavyweights from 500-700grains existed back then.
My review handgun came with 2 boxes of Corbon factory loads with the 275gn X bullet which didn't take long to go through as each box only held 12 cartridges. (Doing this from memory) After a call to Corbon, they refused to send more so I began handloading.
RCBS dies I found didn't mate with the pointed Barnes ogives so a call to them determined that the seater was designed for assumed flat point pistol bullets and they quickly sent me a couple of seating inserts which worked fine with both designs, flat or pointed.
The next issue was unburned powder and low velocities. The primers I was using were large pistol primers as designated by S&W and were useless, in that factory specs were elusive.
Because I was working with charges around 35-40 grains at the time, I used handloading logic to equate the loads to something similar to a .243 Winchester so began using Federal 210 large rifle primers which worked, picking up an immediate 500 fps in additional velocity and eliminating the unburned powder in the barrel, but fired singly, as I wasn't happy with the primer protrusion which indicated the Corbon cases as having the more shallow depth primer pocket.
By this time my personal discovery had been found by others and cases became available, the primer pockets deepend to accommodate Large Rifle Primers and the cartridge actually was upgraded as Verson 2 by S&W to a new MAP of 60,000psi.
So far I have used 8 bullets and 5 powders in this cartrige but only used it on whitetail so far.
2 mods I have done about 10 years back was to add a 2x Leupold scope which helps generate 1"-1.5" groups at 50yards and also tossed the rubber grips by added the wooden grips from a S&W 44 mag as the grip frame is identical. Those larger grips make huge improvement to the balance and control of the X frame revolver.
My standard whitetail or brush load uses 40grains of H110 sending tje 275gn Barnes XPB at 1861fps and 2115FPE. By comparison, the orginal Corbon factory loads were chronographed over my Oehler 35P at only 1667fps which is still a formidable load, but 200fps in my favor is more appealing when coupled with the barely over 1" accuracy I get at 50 yards.
Because I was generating original data back then, it was some time before data was provided to handloaders where MAX is often quoted at 2 grains over my loads with that bullet.
I did try faster powders such as LilGun and Titegroup but tended to like H110, H 4227 and even 2400 which all worked very well. H4227 did very well with heavier bullets as well, where H110 worked with any bullet weights.
Remington introduced a 385gnHP sold in 100qty bags at Cabela's a while back which shot extremely well though I don't know whether they will ever return.
With today's bullets, I prefer the Barnes 275 and 375gn XPB and the 400gn Sierra FP. Barnes also makes a 400 grain solid called a Buster which has shot quite well from my revolver using 35gn of H110.
Don't be afraid of it and don't pay too much attention to anyone who hasn't owned and loaded for it, as the whims of fools will always dominate the conversation. Like any big bore cartridge, you can load it to suit you, the user, and play with it over time as your confidence and needs grow to use it on larger game.
Its a great cartridge and a terrific revolver as long as as you put in the time to learn how to use it to suit you.
5oomiles
Member
Yes 42gr. 350xtp is devastating on deer and accurate.
Oh that powder is lil gun.
With soot on cases and a near max load of H110, the only kind of load with H110 other than a max load, the source of the problem is lack of crimp. H110 needs heavy crimp to start since we dont use duplex loads anymore.
I am both a handgunner and a loader of the 500. But my 500 is a levergun. 38.0/H110 with 450 cast. CCI 200 large rifle primer, or Wolf. No soot or carbon.
I am both a handgunner and a loader of the 500. But my 500 is a levergun. 38.0/H110 with 450 cast. CCI 200 large rifle primer, or Wolf. No soot or carbon.
Last edited:
comfisherman
Well-Known Member
Think my hot load was ramshot enforcer, think h 110 was close and Lil gun not far behind. My fps drop from 8 to 4 was more than expected as was my jump to a 16.5 inch rifle. We piced together the lightest single shot 500 we could, it's about an inch longer than a child's chipmunk and even amongst my friends that are experienced gun guys it's been dropped at least 3 times firing.
Glad to hear guys are finding success with the 4in version. Considering how many fps my loads lost from the 8 I've wished they had done a 5 like the 460 or a double lug 6. I'm self admittedly a lousy pistol shot, for some reason I shoot the shorter version much worse than the longer. Maybe it's time to swap a red dot off the 648, certainly easier to carry the 4.
Recoil at the top end of the load chart can be punishing, but at lower speeds I've found it to be downright tolerable if not fun. Definitely a niche category that isn't for everyone, have one crewman that rattled off 3 of 5... handed the pistol back to me and said he'd take his chances with the bears over pulling the trigger again.
Anyone try the modern taurus 500s? I have a pretty good scar on my hand from a Taurus in 44 that decided to index incorrectly and had me swear off their revolvers. Im told these are made at a different plant, qc has improved in decades since my incident and they are making 5 and 6 inch versions that I'd like to try.
Glad to hear guys are finding success with the 4in version. Considering how many fps my loads lost from the 8 I've wished they had done a 5 like the 460 or a double lug 6. I'm self admittedly a lousy pistol shot, for some reason I shoot the shorter version much worse than the longer. Maybe it's time to swap a red dot off the 648, certainly easier to carry the 4.
Recoil at the top end of the load chart can be punishing, but at lower speeds I've found it to be downright tolerable if not fun. Definitely a niche category that isn't for everyone, have one crewman that rattled off 3 of 5... handed the pistol back to me and said he'd take his chances with the bears over pulling the trigger again.
Anyone try the modern taurus 500s? I have a pretty good scar on my hand from a Taurus in 44 that decided to index incorrectly and had me swear off their revolvers. Im told these are made at a different plant, qc has improved in decades since my incident and they are making 5 and 6 inch versions that I'd like to try.
