Too Much Pistol For Me, Pard

[Callahan]

I was leaving the range this week after shooting one of my rifles and as I got to my truck, which was parked by the pistol range, I heard something that made me wish I had left my ear protection on.

I wondered. "What could be that loud on the pistol range? Maybe someone is trying to get their 300 Winchester Magnum on the paper before they move over to the 100-yard area."

I put my ear protectors back on, put my rifle away, and walked over to the pistol area where I could only see two guys shooting, one with a Glock 19 and the other with a stainless revolver.

Just as I walked over the guy cut loose with the revolver. Huge detonation, muzzle blast shooting 18" to 24", and recoil that was brought his arms up from 45 degrees or more.

It was a S&W 500 .50-caliber in stainless with a 4" ported barrel. He was firing 400 grain loads that were $49 a box. Looked like it was a box of 20, too. Is that possible?
He let me shoot it and I must say it was incredible. I think I managed to stay within the 9 ring at 25 yards. I can see that pistol flying out of someone's hands if they did not have a firm, two-handed grip. Forget about firing it one-handed unless you have huge upper body strength and mass. I'm over 200 pounds (easy) and it put me back a step a couple of times until I got used to it. Hard to describe the recoil and noise.

That particular gun I can only see one use for: A sidearm for an Alaskan guide in grizzly territory!

[MLB]

I'm going to have to rent one of those things sometime. I think a better idea would be to get a group together and pass it around. I can't see myself launching more than a handfull of those downrange.

["DoubleAction"]

The S&W 500 is too big for my own practical purpose, especially with the cost of it's ammunition. The 44 Magnum is more affordable, at $16. dollars @ 50 rds, and there are more variations and choices in the guns, holsters, or the ammo.

[mwatson69]

LOL when I went to an FFL near me to talk to him about ordering a pistol. He had a Win 500 and showed me it.. That is a big as gun... He wanted to sell me that instead of the XD40 that I ordered. He said it compared to the Desert Eagle .50 which I figured since the gun was huge. Wish Iw as able to shoot it a couple times though...

[tptplayer]

I have never shot one but I know that the relatively small gun shop that I frequent has sold several. The given reason was just that the customer wanted the biggest thing available.

[Flipper]

Some is good, More is better, and Too Much is usually just enough. But as Dirty Harry said, "A man has to know his limitations", especially if something serves no practical purposes.

[vito]

I'm waiting for it to come out in an airweight alloy with a 2 inch barrel, for when I go out plinking at elephants.

[5ontarget]

Vito-

Ruger has something close in the new Super Redhawk...
The Super Redhawk Alaskan features a six-shot cylinder and is chambered for either .454 Casull and .45 Colt, or .480 Ruger, and is equipped with a Hogue® Monogrip® to help cushion recoil. The Alaskan features a 2 1/2” hammer-forged barrel fitted inside the unique Super Redhawk extended frame and weighs only 42 ounces, making it the most compact revolver ever offered in these calibers.

Taken from Ruger's webpage www.ruger-firearms.com/Firearms/News-11-11-2004B.html

[NeilCasper]

I fired a friends a while back and really enjoyed the experience. I'll probably never need to shoot one again. It was a whole lot more then the .50 AE Desert Eagles I have fired!

[BlueSteel]

My friends dad also has a S&W 500 but with the 8" barrel and the thing looks like it was built for a giant . He let me take a couple of shots with it and I must say that it is very accurate considering. Im not sure how it compares to the 4" version but I found it close to a powerful 44 mag load. I guess the extra weight and the ported barrel lessen the punnishment a little , I liked it to try, but im not sure if I would like to own one tho.