First time for the 500&460

[Cheesehead]

Went to a local gun club today where  a Smith & Wesson and a Springfield representative were making their firearms available for the public to sample. Very interesting. By the end of the day I had fired the airweight 38 hammerless, the 500 x frame 8 inch, a 460 x frame 5 inch and a Spingfield 16 inch socom M1A. The S&W 500 Magnum was fierce in both recoil and muzzle blast. The 460 Magnum was less recoil but even more muzzle blast due to the shorter barrel. I fired 5 rounds in each pistol. I fired ten round in the Socom. I am a big strong man with years of shooting experience, competition and otherwise. The ammunition for the S&W Magnums was made by Hornady. I am accustom to shooting 45 acp and 44 mag. The 500 and the 460 are pushing the envelope in my opinion and speaking for myself. I have no interest in shooting these calibers again, but i may buy the Socom and the 38.

Cheese

[stuffit]

Honest men are few.  You are to be commended for your candor; a rare quality and a good one. 
 
stuffit

[Redhawk1]

Cheesehead, there are a lot of guys out there that don't like the recoil of the 500 Mag or the 460 Mag. Personally they don't bother me, also I have fired over 5000 of the 500 Mag rounds in the numerous 500 Mags I have and do own. The 460, I am close to 3000 rounds fired. I would rather shoot my 500 or 460 mag than shoot a S&W Model 340PD Revolver, Scandium alloy frame with a Titanium cylinder. I fired a cylinder full of them and the recoil was brutal. 

[Cheesehead]

I could tolerate the recoil of the 500 and the 460, but I was quite surprised but the magnitude of the muzzle blast and the huge fire ball even in bright day light. It was interesting and I am glad I did it. Now I can form my own informed opinion. Some onlookers refused to shoot these revolvers after what they had witnessed and I was disappointed in them. Redhawk1, how many consecutive rounds can you fire from the 500 before you feel the physical stress on your hand and wrist? I had something going on after 10 rounds. The S&W rep was very accommodating, but the Springfield rep had issues. He told a young woman that she should not shoot a 45 acp compact because she would not like it, when in reality she is a very accomplished shooter of 45's and 44 mags. She said he was a sexist a$$ and I agreed.

Cheese

[Redhawk1]

Cheesehead, I have sat and shot 50 and 100 round at a time. When I am at the range just shooting, I wear a shooting glove and it does not bother me to shoot even 100 rounds of heavy loads. Now if I was shooting without a glove on, after about 10 to 15 rounds, my hand feels the effects of the recoil.

I have told people all along that it is not the recoil that gets them, it is the muzzle flash and concussion that scares them. 

I have also been at our range when S&W came in to let people shoot there guns, you are right, a lot of them would not shoot the 460 or 500 Mag after they saw someone else shoot it. I also noticed a lot of the shooters, either holding on the grip to tight or to loose and having problems.  The guys holding on to tight sometimes have a double shot, that is where they are holding on so tight they actually pull the trigger a second time shooting a second round into the ceiling of the range. Then the ones that don't hold on with just enough pressure on the grip tend to have the gun either come out of there hand or very close to there face.
The 460 and 500 Mag need to have the right grip, not to tight and not to loose.  Once you find the right grip, it is actually not bad at all.  Personally I don't have them problems due to the amount of shooting I have done with both rounds. I did have to take the time to learn the right grip so I could shoot more than 10 times without my hand or wrist being effected.

[myronman3]

Some onlookers refused to shoot these revolvers after what they had witnessed and I was disappointed in them.

   

perhaps those onlookers already learned that lesson.  myself, i learned the 44 is all i need;  my time with the 454 taught me that.  the 460 and 500 are just more of the same senseless concussion and blast.  lol.

[myronman3]

 

[Cheesehead]

Some people are afraid of their own shadow and should never, ever shoot these guns. lol

Cheese

[myronman3]

 that is me,  a s.p.g. for sure.  so when you making your purchase?   lol......

[jro45]

I own and shoot the S&W 500. I don't find the recoil that bad with the 400 or 500 or 575gr bullets. It is there but it doesn't bother me.

[Cheesehead]

I would buy a 500 Magnum if it came in a lever rifle.

Cheese

[myronman3]

in a lever it would be interesting (500 that is, the 460 is like an utter on a bumble bee), but in the smith platform, to me it is ridiculous.  a boat anchor would pack better. 

[SwampThing762]

Cheesehead,

How about a Handi-Rifle?   I own a Handi-Rifle by NEF chambered for the the 500.  It is quite a critterslayer.   I put 2 hogs down with Magtech 400 grain pills last year.   I hope to put 2 more down this year.

ST762

[Cheesehead]

I would bet the 500 has devastating terminal performance on game in a rifle configuration. Do the hogs go far after a direct hit?

Cheese

[buck460XVR]

I've  found that my  P.C. .460 Compensated Hunter has a crisp, but not excessive recoil. Maybe it's the 10 1/2 in barrel, the heft of the gun or just me, but it surprises me every time I shoot it. My 14 year old son shoots it almost as much as I do......does that say anything? The accuracy off a rest is amazing and the grips fit my hand like they were made for it. Everybody has their own tastes, but my .460 tastes like venison.

[terry]

 My buddy bought a S&W 500 and I have shot it. The recoil was not painful,but the gun was so large I couldn't handle it well enough to hunt with it. I do have small hands so that was as no surpise for me Neat gun though. I would like to fire a 460 maybe one day I will get a chance.

[Redhawk1]

buck460XVR, even in the 5 inch version of the S&W 460 Mag the recoil is not bad at all. No matter what we say about the 460 or the 500 Mag, there is always going to be someone with nothing but negative to say about them. The kicker is, most of the negativity comes from guys that don't even own one or both. 

[RANGER RICK]

I would buy a 500 Magnum if it came in a lever rifle.

Cheese

I am pretty sure Wild West guns out of Anchorage Alaska makes the 500 on the Marlin lever action frame ... They are very proud of them   !!!!!
I think Rossi Rifle is making the 500 ?? I know it was on their drawing board back in November 2006
How about a bolt action 500
I have a Cyrus 500 CCM, Cyrus Compact Magnum . OK so it is not a true 500 Smith & Wesson round but they use .500 Dia bullets
Here is a picture of the 500 CCM along side the 500 S&W both loaded with a 700 WFNGC THumper .

RR

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[delta767]

i own both the 500 & 460 i also have the 629 PC hunter 44 cal the 500 doesn't have the kick people think it does when there next to it as it fires the people next to you feel the gasses  from the muzzle break i have shot close to 800 rounds with no problem   Now for the 460 it to me has more of a recoil than the 500 but it could be me i love the 460 at 100 yds with a 200 gr bullet it shoots flat i mean flat it blows up 1 gal water bottle like a grenade hit them the 500 also explodes water jugs up at 100 yds, but the 460 has, more  gasess i think than the 500 with that new muzzle break it has on them when i shoot the 460 NO one wants to be next to meleft or right ( oh well its gives me a little more room ha ha) so for the 460 i shoot my reloads and factory ammo from hornady bought them back when they were only 17 bucks for 20 with the 200 gr sst head i normally go to the range 3 times a month with a variety of firearms  thank you Gary

[tn_junk]

I fired a friends 8" .500 S&W a few weeks ago. I've been shooting .44 mag for 30+ years, but I don't care to ever fire a .500 again. Just too much.

alan