Thread: Any .500 S&W shooters out there

I'd like to find someone who owns one of these... just for kicks no pun intended, but I saw a bear that had been shot by one of these.

The exit hole was massive.

As a retirement gift to myself, a couple of years ago I bought a PC 500 Hunter. That is the 6 ½” barrel, non-fluted cylinder from the Performance Center. It has a Weaver base on the barrel. I mounted a Weaver 2x handgun scope in Warne QD mounts. Mostly I shoot it with the scope off. I tend to load it with fairly light loads. For jacketed bullets, I like the relatively inexpensive Speer 325 HP. I load this with mild charges of H4227. I don’t have a chrono, but I estimate the velocity at about 1200 fps. Accuracy is very good, recoil is mild, and it does a mean job on a 1 gallon milk jug full of water.
For lead bullets, I have gotten 325 FP and 370 FP bullets that I load with Universal. These loads are probably less than 1000 fps. Very accurate and fun to play with.
I use Titegroup for mild loads in other calibers, but the .500 S&W case is so big, I am a little reluctant. Trail Boss looks very promising. It is a low density powder that fills this huge case. Loads for it with lead bullets are available from IMR.
As you can tell, I don’t spend much time shooting full power loads. What for? By loading it down, I still have more power than the .500 Linebaugh.

I can rent 1 if I wanted - but the damn ammo is so expensive

I don't know how any non-rich person can own a gun like this and not handload. Components are a little more expensive than smaller calibers, but not unreasonably, but factory ammo costs a fortune. I load it on my Dillon 550. I gave up on single stage presses 20 years ago.

lol i want to be