s&w 500 upgrades?
- Thread starter uchi
- Start date
Wish Elmer was still with us.I'd also like to hear his take on it.
The BFR?
And,
^ Berrrrrrrrrrh
My wrists ache just looking at it! Lol!OP, congratulations on the 500 (which leaves half inch holes in stuff). I've shot one and a 460 and own a 629, and trust me when I tell you to heed some advise that has been posted here...this is not a revolver for beginners...magnum revolvers/loads are not for beginners imho (with the exception of .357 perhaps). I found both the 460 and 500 to have uncomfortable recoil and an incredible muzzle flip, follow up rounds are an impossibility for this guy with these calibers...and I shoot factory box.44 mag regularly. Softer loads for the wife is a good idea, but the reality is that even soft loads may still be too much for her to enjoy.
I also support the idea of not only loading one round in the cylinder, but also to be very nearby her when she's shooting. Place your hand above and in front of her head to catch the revolver before it strikes her in the face...I'm not kidding, if she's not used to the recoil, she might wear it in the face. And its a heavy gun...it will leave a mark.
thanks i was planning on supporting her arms from behind just to be safe. i still need to tell her i bought it, maybe ill wrap it up for her for christmas, great gift right? lol.
where can i go to upgrade the brake to one thats a bit better than factory?
where can i go to upgrade the brake to one thats a bit better than factory?
Don't worry about the "brake" on the gun. The compensators on them work very well in my opinion. Also, before you spend too much time thinking about changing the compensator, not all of them are easily swapped out. If your gun looks like the one pictured in this thread, it's not going to be easily changed. If it is the 8 3/8" barrel model that comes with interchangeable compensators, you might be able to find an aftermarket one. There used to be a company called pure research, (I think that was the name), that made some.
For a couple of years I had a TC Encore chambered in .500S&W. At the time I wanted to shoot it badly enough that I bought a box of 20 Hornady rounds which cost $80. Yep, $4 a hit.
I soon found some brass, bullets and H110 powder and began loading my own for around 60 to 65 cents a pop. If you can't find any brass anywhere else Rustywoodtrading.ca is showing Starline brass in stock. It's not cheap at $87 for 100 cases but they'll last a good long time. And he's also showing plated Berry's bullets and some 330gn and 440gn cast bullets. The 440's should let you load it up pretty stout without exceeding the cast lead speed limit issue. That being that if you push cast to anything much over 1400 to 1600fps you risk getting lead buildup on the bore.
The bullets seem to end up being around 40 cents each and primers these days are 5 cents each. And if you're working with H110 or 4227 powder then you're looking at around 17 cents per load. So that ends up being 63 cents a shot. And that's WAY BETTER than factory Hornady at $4+ a pop.
If you're doing up loads for the wife I'd consider using a powder which does well in small amounts floating around in big cases with lots of air inside. And one of the better ones for that is Titegroup. The starting load given by Hodgdon for Titegroup pushing on a 350gn bullet is 11gns of powder to get up to around 1000fps and 23,100 PSI. But you should be able to extend that down to more like 9 to 10gns and reduce the velocity to more like 800fps without getting such a low pressure that the burn becomes erratic and the rounds sound like you messed up the charge amounts. We use Titegroup in cowboy action loads at far lower pressures and the powder remains consistent. So try some at 11 and work down to around 9 and I think you'll find a load for the missus that she'll like if she's able to hold the gun up at all....
And yeah, if there was ever a gun to push a fella into reloading for the money saved this would be one of the major players in that high cost team.
I soon found some brass, bullets and H110 powder and began loading my own for around 60 to 65 cents a pop. If you can't find any brass anywhere else Rustywoodtrading.ca is showing Starline brass in stock. It's not cheap at $87 for 100 cases but they'll last a good long time. And he's also showing plated Berry's bullets and some 330gn and 440gn cast bullets. The 440's should let you load it up pretty stout without exceeding the cast lead speed limit issue. That being that if you push cast to anything much over 1400 to 1600fps you risk getting lead buildup on the bore.
The bullets seem to end up being around 40 cents each and primers these days are 5 cents each. And if you're working with H110 or 4227 powder then you're looking at around 17 cents per load. So that ends up being 63 cents a shot. And that's WAY BETTER than factory Hornady at $4+ a pop.
If you're doing up loads for the wife I'd consider using a powder which does well in small amounts floating around in big cases with lots of air inside. And one of the better ones for that is Titegroup. The starting load given by Hodgdon for Titegroup pushing on a 350gn bullet is 11gns of powder to get up to around 1000fps and 23,100 PSI. But you should be able to extend that down to more like 9 to 10gns and reduce the velocity to more like 800fps without getting such a low pressure that the burn becomes erratic and the rounds sound like you messed up the charge amounts. We use Titegroup in cowboy action loads at far lower pressures and the powder remains consistent. So try some at 11 and work down to around 9 and I think you'll find a load for the missus that she'll like if she's able to hold the gun up at all....
And yeah, if there was ever a gun to push a fella into reloading for the money saved this would be one of the major players in that high cost team.
For a couple of years I had a TC Encore chambered in .500S&W. At the time I wanted to shoot it badly enough that I bought a box of 20 Hornady rounds which cost $80. Yep, $4 a hit.
I soon found some brass, bullets and H110 powder and began loading my own for around 60 to 65 cents a pop. If you can't find any brass anywhere else Rustywoodtrading.ca is showing Starline brass in stock. It's not cheap at $87 for 100 cases but they'll last a good long time. And he's also showing plated Berry's bullets and some 330gn and 440gn cast bullets. The 440's should let you load it up pretty stout without exceeding the cast lead speed limit issue. That being that if you push cast to anything much over 1400 to 1600fps you risk getting lead buildup on the bore.
The bullets seem to end up being around 40 cents each and primers these days are 5 cents each. And if you're working with H110 or 4227 powder then you're looking at around 17 cents per load. So that ends up being 63 cents a shot. And that's WAY BETTER than factory Hornady at $4+ a pop.
If you're doing up loads for the wife I'd consider using a powder which does well in small amounts floating around in big cases with lots of air inside. And one of the better ones for that is Titegroup. The starting load given by Hodgdon for Titegroup pushing on a 350gn bullet is 11gns of powder to get up to around 1000fps and 23,100 PSI. But you should be able to extend that down to more like 9 to 10gns and reduce the velocity to more like 800fps without getting such a low pressure that the burn becomes erratic and the rounds sound like you messed up the charge amounts. We use Titegroup in cowboy action loads at far lower pressures and the powder remains consistent. So try some at 11 and work down to around 9 and I think you'll find a load for the missus that she'll like if she's able to hold the gun up at all....
And yeah, if there was ever a gun to push a fella into reloading for the money saved this would be one of the major players in that high cost team.
thats some great info thanks very much. ive got a lee single stage press that i use to reload 30.06 with for my r700. the fella i bought this canon from sold me some brass for it and the dies so the plan is to reload, initially i just want to get out and shoot it as soon as it arrives so ill probably swallow the cost like you did and go out and make all sorts of noise and grow a big stupid grin. the fella i bought the gun from is also going to send me his recipe for what hes been using in the gun and says it works great and is a bit of a toned down load. ill probably load up a handful of those just for the wife to try and ill get some of the big boy loads loaded up for myself and my buddies. i know reloading for my r700 i was shooting for under a buck a shot and my gun would shoot half inch groups at 100 yards. the best i was able to get out of the cheap box stuff was right at 1 inch and they were over a buck a shot.
i guess the next question is, is it sacrilege to turn one of these things black?
I'm in the Niagara region as well and I cast 375gr lead bullets out of a Lyman mold and push them with 10-12 grains of trailboss. Shoots like a 38. I shoot at the Maple Leaf and at Silverdale, let me know if you want to hook up some time and you can try the loads for yourself.
cd.
Awesome man that would be great. I used to shoot at Silverdale but after their rates went up I lost interest in keeping a membership there. I'm gonna join the place on cataract once this and my m&p9 transfer into my name. Yeah I got spendy this week and bought two guns lol. There's a nice indoor range in welland as well that I've shot at with a buddy of mine. The cataract range is close to me and it's indoor and outdoor. Once it comes in and I get a membership we'll hook up. Quick att question now, with the changes with it being paper less now. Is my att only valid for the range I belong to or any range that I pay to shoot as a guest at?
rick'o'shea
CGN Regular
- Location
- Burlington, On
I have the 500 performance center model. I'm not bored yet. I reload for it but mine
push just as hard as the hornady factory loads I have... no mods... its a Smith
push just as hard as the hornady factory loads I have... no mods... its a Smith
FYI, I believe the factory loads of 500 S&W will exceed the back stop on the indoor range on Cataract Rd (old police range, I thought they were rated for .44 Rem Mag, Tops)...you're probably ok for the outdoor range stop there. With the new ATT rules, you should be able to take it over to Silverdale on a day pass and I know there is no issue there with the berms/backstops.
good to know. ill have to talk to the fella who runs it when i join in and see what he says. worst case ill see if i can load some lead rounds up or some weaker loads for the indoor section. whats out side? a big pile of dirt?
thanks for clearing up the att stuff, i thought thats what it was, i called the cfo for the transfer and the ladies on the phone didnt know what the new rules were
thanks for clearing up the att stuff, i thought thats what it was, i called the cfo for the transfer and the ladies on the phone didnt know what the new rules were
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
That's one feature of mine that I don't like.
You do get the odd bit of burnt powder coming back at you. I'd prefer the port cuts to be angled slightly forward, or, no porting or muzzle brake at all.
when you get board of the 350gr, 440gr and 500gr stuff check out the 700gr cast bullets for them hehe. If you keep the original hogue grip for the gun you'll likely need to replace it after 4000-5000 shots. I've just changed mine but haven't been to the range to see what a new grip is like just yet.
if you looking for brass call up Chris from rouge river arms and order some hornady brass. I've got at least 8 reloads through my first box of 100 and it's still going, though i may have to anneal so it holds the crimp better. If you cast, get this mold http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=43&products_id=1713&osCsid=ctq3it7vgittq5csg2ghtdk231 the look and feel mean as hell! mine typically come out to 400gr.
powder coated and traditional lubed with gas checks. (in the background are the 700gr bullets)
if you looking for brass call up Chris from rouge river arms and order some hornady brass. I've got at least 8 reloads through my first box of 100 and it's still going, though i may have to anneal so it holds the crimp better. If you cast, get this mold http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=43&products_id=1713&osCsid=ctq3it7vgittq5csg2ghtdk231 the look and feel mean as hell! mine typically come out to 400gr.
powder coated and traditional lubed with gas checks. (in the background are the 700gr bullets)
x2 on the 700 grain slugs. I bought mine because I wanted a cannon, if I wanted a nice soft shooting revolver I would have bought a .38. Mine has the changeable compensators and I've fired it without one and didn't really notice much of a difference.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
when you get board of the 350gr, 440gr and 500gr stuff check out the 700gr cast bullets for them hehe. If you keep the original hogue grip for the gun you'll likely need to replace it after 4000-5000 shots. I've just changed mine but haven't been to the range to see what a new grip is like just yet.
if you looking for brass call up Chris from rouge river arms and order some hornady brass. I've got at least 8 reloads through my first box of 100 and it's still going, though i may have to anneal so it holds the crimp better. If you cast, get this mold http://noebulletmolds.com/NV/product_info.php?cPath=43&products_id=1713&osCsid=ctq3it7vgittq5csg2ghtdk231 the look and feel mean as hell! mine typically come out to 400gr.
powder coated and traditional lubed with gas checks. (in the background are the 700gr bullets)
Personally, I found once I went over 400gr jacketed and over the 440gr cast bullets, accuracy started heading south. Some of the accuracy examples under these weights are shown in the 2nd photo in post #14.
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i more wanted to make it gentler for when my wife shot it. i for one look forward to the challenge of the big boy rounds. 700 gr is pretty damn heavy, do they even hit the target at 25 yards out? lol, they look awesome coated up like that.
Urbansherpa
Regular
- Location
- Hamilton, Ont
deleted , thanks
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