.500 S&W Magnum vs. .50 Action Express

Sir Isaac Brock

Sir Isaac Brock

Regular
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Canada
Hello,

Ballistically speaking, which cartridge would be the better one: .500 S&W Magnum OR .50 Action Express?

I notice the Desert Eagle recommends only 350g, while the S&W can go up to 750grams!

I am definitely confused on this cartridge and the corresponding firearms.

Thank you,

SIB
 
Wikipedia is your friend! ;)

They are 2 very different cartridges!

The 500 S&W Mag is a seriously overkill round, and would likely not be chambered in any Semi auto, and is confined to giant revolvers to soak up some of the tremendous recoil it produces. There is few firearms available in this chambering, but definitely more than the .50 AE. HR makes a single shot, and there is a couple revolvers out there I believe.

The .50 AE is pretty much just a .44 magnum, but in a .50 diameter. It is nowhere near the velocities, and pressures created by the 500 S&W Mag.

As far as which is better, it would depend on what you want to do with it. As far as I understand the 50 AE is only available in the DE, and really is nothing special. If you want a DE just get the .44 mag, as ammo is much cheaper and easier to find.

If you are looking at S&W revolvers I would actually go with a 460 V in .460 S&W Magnum as you can shoot .45 colt and .454 casull as well. They also come in a shorter barreled version which I haven't seen in the 500.
 
Dont buy one or the other, buy both!

They are as Mlehtovaara explained, completely different. WAAAYYYYY different.

I have had a 44 mag DE, and have a 50AE. They are also Waayyyyy different beasts. Do not buy a 44 mag DE, they are unreliable due to 44 mag being a rimmed case, and not designed to be fired in the DE. the 50, being designed to be fired in the DE, is much more reliable. Price wise, they are not much more to feed, if you reload. If not, what are you waiting for. Get on it! :cheers:

The 500SW if you do not have a good grip, will fall out of your hand, it is wicked powerful. Factory ammo is loaded very hot as well.
 
jdman said:
The 500SW if you do not have a good grip, will fall out of your hand, it is wicked powerful. Factory ammo is loaded very hot as well.
Click to expand...

The 500 S&W is not that bad to fire, it does have a good amount of recoil but I am no circus strong man and I have fired my 500 S&W many times with one hand. Of course it isn't very accurate with one hand due to the weight but I do it to show people that it won't fly out of their hands or hit them in the head like many people think it will.
If you are not going to reload I would say forget about both of them unless you have tons of money for ammo.
 
Silverback said:
The 500 S&W is not that bad to fire, it does have a good amount of recoil but I am no circus strong man and I have fired my 500 S&W many times with one hand. Of course it isn't very accurate with one hand due to the weight but I do it to show people that it won't fly out of their hands or hit them in the head like many people think it will.
If you are not going to reload I would say forget about both of them unless you have tons of money for ammo.
Click to expand...

Ok i was exaggerating a bit. I have not fired it one handed though. No thanks.
 
I own booth
500 S&W hurts my hands period. Barely ever shoot the damm thing. The Hornady 500 gr. will kill your hands the 700 gr. WoW but the 350 gr. that they sold wasn't to bad. I can actualtly go threw 10 rounds of the 350 before I can no longer hold a paint brush for the rest of the week due to the severe hand tramau. Although these revolvers can handel anything so a good buddy of mine made up some lead round light loads and makes this beast more enjoyable to shoot. Also cleaning is a breaze
The 50AE bar none is the easiest to controll and shoot in the standing postion. Right or left handed one or two handed. No word of a lie I can shoot mags threw this handgun and have no problem painting the rest of the week. Although shooting lead threw this beast is a no-no and the best thing you can do is shoot jakected soft points for reloading as it has the same type of barrel as the glock. Also to ensure this fire piggy keeps on ticking make sure to properly clean and keep it well lube cuase she does get hot and 350 gr. is the norm for this round and I have even been know to push the envolpe with heavier grains just for gigles but honestly there ain't a living thing on gods green earth that won't go down from a 350 gr. 50 cal lead pill.
Hell any 50 cal handgun make shooting your 12g slugs seem like your taking a stroll in the park compared to the 2,000 ftps plus that the 500 can achieve and the 1,700 ftps with the 50AE ain't nothing to laugh about either.
Actualy I think after reading this I am going to take booth up to my range this weekend and tell my boss I ain't working next week :p
 
I have 0 experience with DE however I own two S&W 500 - 6.5" and 8-3/8"

I mostly shot my cast boolits thru it from 350gr to 700gr. I do have a variety of jacketed but haven't loaded that many of them.

You can load mild to wild - 440gr with 13gr of Trail Boss and shot it all day.

Load 700gr of 630gr hollow point with 27.5gr of Lil'gun and it demolishes you hand ;)

Very very versatile caliber.
 
Additionally, I'll chime in on the 500S&W Magnum round . . . it's a Beast!

I had a 15" barreled Encore Pistol chambered for the 500, only firearm so far that gave me a flinch. Didn't like it much and sold it to a gentleman that can appreciate it.

I like my Boom Sticks and Hand Cannons but the 500 was too much for this guy :redface:
 
jdman said:
there is not any room in the cylinder for that big of a bullet. With the 700gr, i have about 2-3 millimeters of room for anything. Like 25gr more. I cant see there being a 835 though. :eek:
Click to expand...

I just remember Paulinski showing off the beasty, thought it was a 835 or something like that. Had a pentagonal hollow point option too.

Could be I was wildly delusional or imagining things . . . it's been know to happen now and again :)
 
Guys

The 835gr mould is a ongoing group buy over on Castboolits forums. As it stands there are not enough people to do a group buy (I wonder why ;) ).

That boolit is simply too long for the X-frame cylinder. Max you can stick in there is only 725gr and finding that mould is difficult, plenty of 700gr or less tho...

To shoot the 835gr you will need a BFR revolver chambered in 500 S&W. I would love to get the BFR but I can't justify the expense and the 700gr mangle my hand already so I guess i have reached a point of too much...

Damn...
 
pageophile said:
I just remember Paulinski showing off the beasty, thought it was a 835 or something like that. Had a pentagonal hollow point option too.

Could be I was wildly delusional or imagining things . . . it's been know to happen now and again :)
Click to expand...

Thats 700gr solid and 630 hollow point.

Funny story my friend hit a steel plate at 50 yards with one of those - sent the plate / hanger flying back 10 feet.

Shooting the same plate with a VZ just dangled it....
 
Thanks for chiming in Paulinski, thought maybe my mind was going :)

As for the BFR in 500S&W, I've heard it's a handful of a pistol with hot or heavy loads. It reportedly rolls back on itself very, very quickly.

Not for the inexperienced but then that goes without saying.


Why does this not surprise me:

Funny story my friend hit a steel plate at 50 yards with one of those - sent the plate / hanger flying back 10 feet.

Shooting the same plate with a VZ just dangled it....
 
pageophile said:
Thanks for chiming in Paulinski, thought maybe my mind was going :)

As for the BFR in 500S&W, I've heard it's a handful of a pistol with hot or heavy loads. It reportedly rolls back on itself very, very quickly.

Not for the inexperienced but then that goes without saying.


Why does this not surprise me:

Funny story my friend hit a steel plate at 50 yards with one of those - sent the plate / hanger flying back 10 feet.

Shooting the same plate with a VZ just dangled it....
Click to expand...
Did you see me @ Poco shooting my 500 :p
Yep it sure does send everything flying.
Oh ya!...
If you are plaining on shooting the 500 from a revolver make sure it's the S&W cause the BFR stands for Big F'n Risk (for facal surgeory that is).
 
Satain said:
If you are plaining on shooting the 500 from a revolver make sure it's the S&W cause the BFR stands for Big F'n Risk (for facal surgeory that is).
Click to expand...

My chopped 6" BFR in 45-70 is a handful with hotter loading but nothing dangerous. With mild trapdoor loads it's a pussycat.

That said, a hot 500S&W is a different beast compared to a 45-70. The Phoenix Range here took a 500S&W BFR out of the range rental rotation. Was too much for most people coming in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom