500 S&W Magnum

Ever since I posted earlier about a video of a watermelon being shot by a person using a S&W .500 magnum revolver, I've been getting a lot of referrals from search engines for people searching for things like:

• .500 mag
• s&w 500 mag
• 500 mag
• 500 magnum watermelon
• s&w .500 ban

Given that there seems to be a lot of interest in this, I thought I would provide some information about it here so that my visitors from search engines don't go away disappointed.

Basic Info about the .500 Magnum cartridge:
According to Wikipedia:

It is the most powerful handgun cartridge commercially manufactured with over 2600 ft·lb_f (3.5 kJ) of energy created with a 440gr bullet travelling at 1650 fps.

The .500 S&W Magnum can develop over 2600 ft·lb_f (3.5 kJ) of muzzle energy, nearly three times as much as the 900 ft·lb_f (1.2 kJ) generated by the .44 Magnum made famous by Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies. This is a difference of over 600 ft·lb_f (0.8 kJ) of energy more than the .454 Casull, the previous commercial record holder.

Currently available is an even more powerful round developed by DoubleTap Ammunition which produces a 350 grain, 1975fps monster punching at over 3032 ft-lbs!

Reviews of the S&W .500 Magnum Revolver:

Shooting Times has a great review, complete with a nice photo showing the size of the .500 Magnum cartridge next to a number of large caliber rounds for comparison.

Popular Mechanics has a nice 3 page article about both the gun and the round, and goes more into more of the technical details about the cartridge.

Guns and Ammo also has a good review, and includes a chart comparing the muzzle velocity and muzzle energy of the .500 S&W to a number of other large caliber handgun rounds. There's also a photo of a .Model 629 .44 Magnum next to the Model 500 to give you an idea of just how large this revolver is.

Reloading Info for 500 S&W:
For those of you interested in reloading this round, ReloadAmmo.com and Handloads.com each have a page that you might find helpful.


Taurus Raging Bull in S&W 500:
If you are looking to buy a revolver chambered in S&W 500, you can now add Taurus to your list of choices. Gunblast.com provides a review, complete with gun photos and short video of mean being fired.


.500 S&W Special:
According to an American Handgunner and Wikipedia Article, there is also a shortened and weaker "Special" round available, which should make this gun a lot cheaper for plinking, though it won't have nearly the fun kick. This is the same concept as how a .357 Magnum being able to fire .38 special special rounds.


.500 S&W Ban:
For those trying to find out if this caliber has been banned, I did some research and thus far have not found any credible articles saying that the .500 S&W round is banned. In CA, a ban was passed against the .50 BMG rifle caliber (something altogether different), but not on the .500 S&W handgun round. I found a few references of a Florida democrat calling for a national ban on the .500 S&W, but it appeared to be local partisan whining without any real support. If anyone has a link about a ban being in effect for this specific round in the U.S.A., please post it in the comments so others can see it.

.500 S&W Lever Action Rifle:
I have seen a few references to a 500 S&W Lever Action rifle possibly being made for this round, but as of yet I have not found any actually for sale.


.500 S&W Collectors Knife:
Amazon.com has a .500 S&W collectors knife for a very reasonable price, and it includes the folding knife, a single .500 S&W cartridge and a collector's tin.