Today I bought my S&W 500. It has a 4 inch barrel and green grip. I contacted S&W today and asked if they would exhange the right handed holster that came with the gun for a lefty and also the green grip for one that is black.
I was VERY close to buying the Wildey, in fact I had the money order in my hand. After going to the post office for the money order my friend needed to go to a local gun store for a few things. I went in with him and saw the pistol that I now own. What made me change my mind?
1. The Wildey only has one extra round vs the 500 and from what Ive read the Wildey wont shoot the last round so that makes it even with the 500. Also the ballistics are close on these two guns.
2. The gas adjustment on the Wildey makes it a one ammo type of pistol while the 500 can shoot anything that is made for it.
3. Cost of ammo is about the same with the 500 being more availible.
4. The 500 with the 4 inch barrel is more manuverible than the Wildey that I was going to buy with the 10" barrel {the other shorter barrels looked wrong on the Wildey}.
5. Even though its a big pistol I can still carry the 500 if needed and it will fit in the glove compartment of my vehicle. The Wildey loses on both counts there.
6. Reliability. I think that is an issue that set it in stone. I think the Wildey can be reliable, but you would be married to that round that you set the pistol up with, which would be an expensive trial and error given the cost of ammo. The 500 gonna fire every time {barring of course a bad round}.
7. To me the Wildey had more of a cool factor, but that alone isnt the best point for making a decision for buying a weapon. Also the Wildey has very sharp edges which would be easy to overcome, but Ive also read where the Wildey is uncomfortable to shoot. I shot the 500 today dirty Harry style, one handed, and it did very well and shattered the cinder block into pieces.
Anymore pros or cons on my decision? Also, where can I buy some speed loaders for the 500? Ive looked all over the net and even the S&W site........thanks, Mike