I'm thinking about picking one of these bad boys up as a brother for my Marlin 1895. How easy is brass and cast bullets to find for the cartridge? How to these rifles hold up to the round over time? Any reason to not add one to the safe? Its primary use will be killing tin cans and paper for ####s and giggles.
Talk me out of a H&R 500S&W?
- Thread starter natesfitness
- Start date
It's a blast
Talk you out of it? Are you kidding? Southern Ontario has some of the meanest tin cans and paper in Canada. You wouldn't be safe without one. Get one before it is too late.
Seriously though, half the fun is having something different and you would have it. WSS has brass. Not sure on bullets though as 50 cal components have a tough time getting here.
I keep eying up the 460 S&W Clay has in the Ruger #1 for the exact same purpose. Alberta tin cans are a little lighter so to defend myself I can go down to the 460. Good part is that 0.451 bullets are plentiful......and then I would have to get the S&W revolver to go with it.
Seriously though, half the fun is having something different and you would have it. WSS has brass. Not sure on bullets though as 50 cal components have a tough time getting here.
I keep eying up the 460 S&W Clay has in the Ruger #1 for the exact same purpose. Alberta tin cans are a little lighter so to defend myself I can go down to the 460. Good part is that 0.451 bullets are plentiful......and then I would have to get the S&W revolver to go with it.
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If I had common sense, I would agree but a .50 is a lot of fun. I have a 500s&w in a handi and I haven't even come close to maxing out the power. I reload at around 51k psi, forcing a 500gr hornady to travel at around 1550 fps.
There are people taking the pressures up to aound 60k psi. If you check hornady's website, I believe they revised their reloading data for the 300 gr FTX bullet. At 49gr of Lil gun powder, the load should run around 4200 ft/lbs of energy.
There is a guy online claiming to hit 2300 fps with a Hornady 300 FTX and 45gr of Lil Gun powder. That is already 3500 ft/lbs of energy.
I also heard guys running 350gr speer JHP up to 2350fps when using the speer reloading manual #14.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=529113
If I wanted to shoot 454 or 45LC I would buy a lever gun, get the 500 S&W, half inch wide bullets are way more cool than 45 cal.
I'll be keeping mine until a Ruger #1 stainless grey laminate is chambered for it. It just such a fun cartridge in a rifle, havent tried the revolver yet..
Don't try this in your 460!!
Beautiful gun, but I'd like to hear the stories of damage to the right hand upon firing. The recoil is fierce with the 500 S&W, and lever guns have lots of places to pinch, scrape and otherwise marr if you're not holding it right.
