500 S & W X-Frame revolver

[Quaticman]

I have an opportunity to buy a barely used Smith and Wesson revolver chambered in 500 S & W with a 6" barrel. For those of you who have fired one, what is the recoil like? I own a Ruger Super Blackhawk and do load and shoot "full house" loads.

 

[Mekaniks]

I have one with a 4” barrel and love it. It’s defintaly a load to handle but very much manageable. I prefer shooting it over a super red hawk 44 that I owned previous. The X Frame and good grips dosent allow the gun to rock in my hand the way the red hawk did.
I have 250+ rounds through it, and it took me probebly 20 rounds over 2 shooting sessions to become really comfortable with it.
Just wish it wasn’t so heavy. (Even though that’s one reason it shoots so well) I have a chest holster for it as well as a belt holster but prefer to carry it in the chest holster when I can.

 

[Bullthrower338]

Got the X-Frame in 460 8-3/8”. Recoil is no issue, concussion is! A very obscene pistol to be around if only wearing one set of ear protection. It is a badass pistol but I shoot it rarely due to the horrible backlash of noise. Prefer my 475 linebaugh or 454’s for shooting. I’m certain there isn’t a critter on earth that wouldn’t change his attitude after being whacked in the face by either the 460 or 500 smith!

 

[Mekaniks]

Got the X-Frame in 460 8-3/8”. Recoil is no issue, concussion is! A very obscene pistol to be around if only wearing one set of ear protection. It is a badass pistol but I shoot it rarely due to the horrible backlash of noise. Prefer my 475 linebaugh or 454’s for shooting. I’m certain there isn’t a critter on earth that wouldn’t change his attitude after being whacked in the face by either the 460 or 500 smith!

Yeah for sure!
When I bought it I told my wife it’s the ultimate home defense pistol. She didn’t believe me until I took her to the range with me once. Now she is a firm believer that if it ever goes off inside the house even the people that are supposed to be there are leaving....

 

[Josephus 458]

The 500 S&W is definitely my favorite hunting pistol. I’ve had a unique experience with mine. I own the 8-3/8” barrel with the porting on top. With that being said I found that with shooting gloves it is pleasant to shoot. The only gripe I had was under the recoil my finger took a pretty nasty hit from trigger guard, the gloves solved that problem at the range. Of course in a hunting situation you never notice the recoil, so I was good while hunting. I owned a 44 mag in Ruger Super Red Hawk with a 4” barrel and no porting that was a whole lot more unpleasant to shoot than my 500. Maybe it’s just me but seems like the porting and weight of the X frame Smith makes it tame to shoot. Well that is just my 2 cents. Oh and in other news I just acquired a Magnum Research 50ae, guess I have a thing for those 50 cal pistols. That is a whole different animal and story all together though.

 

[siutis]

Recoil is not an issue if you discipline your self to shooting big bore handguns at least twice per week. Most people make the mistake of jumping from 44 magnum to a 50 caliber. After the 44 magnum, invest in a 454 casull, 480 ruger, 500 wyoming express or linebaugh, and then the 500 s&w. I developed a strategic plan and over a six (6) year period, mastered them all.
Hope this helps. Best of luck to you sir.

 

[PLM]

If you reload for it, you can load some milder rounds with Unique powder to practice and target shoot with.

 

[PLM]

Got the X-Frame in 460 8-3/8”. Recoil is no issue, concussion is! A very obscene pistol to be around if only wearing one set of ear protection. It is a badass pistol but I shoot it rarely due to the horrible backlash of noise. Prefer my 475 linebaugh or 454’s for shooting. I’m certain there isn’t a critter on earth that wouldn’t change his attitude after being whacked in the face by either the 460 or 500 smith!

I think the 460 is even louder than the 500, but with a little less recoil. you don't want to be standing beside either one when it goes off for sure.

 

[Von S.]

I was handed one and my first shot hit dead center of a 50ft slowfire target exactly where I aimed it,


........the other 4 went where they wanted to go!

I now have 2 because they were in a dead guys gun collection that i bought.

When i was a kid there was a saying about how if you wanted to kill something to get a rifle and that if you just wanted to wound it to use a pistol.

The 500 changes that line.

 

[edward]

my wife and i are handgun hunters,have killed everything from ground squirrels to elephant.no problems.only own one rifle and thats a double that i bought in 2012 to take to Namibia as they dont allow handguns.the 55 + animals that we share our home with are all dead.only 3 killed with the rifle.
guess i never heard that saying.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I now have 2 because they were in a dead guys gun collection that i bought.

I'm afraid to ask..........what did the guy die of??????????

 

[Von S.]

375,

Hahaha

Guys die all the time who have guns and no heirs other than a wife who wants the guns gone. I buy the collections.

I always ask them what they want for everything and if their request is reasonable I pay them and cart the stuff away.

My problem is that when I sell off enough to get my money back and then some I start to get attached to some of them .

 

[ldmay375]

I have the 4" including the compensator. I am pretty sure shooting the 440 grain loads that it has a less violent recoil than at least one or two of my single actions in 454 and 475 Linebaugh with heavy loads.
But, in my opinion it is a very bulky revolver. And in the shorter barrel with compensator it has aplenty muzzle blast.
If my intent was to use the X-Frame for hunting it would have a longer barrel than mine. And I would have some type of sling attached for carry.

I have a chest holster for it. But extracting the behemoth is anything but fast for me.
I bought it just to personally see what the 500 S&W was all about. I had nor have any interest in carrying it for a trail / hiking / fishing or back-up firearm.

It is fun to shoot, but the muzzle blast on mine is somewhat annoying.

 

[CTDolan]

As others have stated, it is the concussion that will rattle your nerves. The revolver allows one to handle the recoil surprisingly well (I'd much rather shoot a .500 S&W than my Freedom Arms .475 Linebaugh).

I assume you're speaking of the standard 6.5" barrel version (not aware of one with a 6" barrel). Some time ago S&W also put out a Lew Horton special with a 6.5" barrel but those have become as rare as hen's teeth. As for me, the 6.5" version is the way to go. It's better balanced (even though still too heavy for anything but a chest holster).

Regarding the effectiveness of revolvers, they can handle anything. They're not going to shock the crap out of game like a .300 Weatherby Magnum but they can, and will, penetrate extremely well.