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Good S&W 500 starting load

*chris*

*chris*

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Finally found a 4" S&W 500 at a price I was willing to pay. I am no stranger to full house 44 mag loads out of a 4" barrel, but I have read this is a different beast.

What are some good bullet weights and charges to get started with? I have read that Trail boss is a good starting powder, but I don't have any. I can't find any published loads for Unique or 231 which could possibly work as well?

Thoughts?

Chris
 
I use Trail Boss, Titegroup, blue Dot, Lil Gun, 5744 and H4227. I have not used 231 but I have used 10 grains of Unique with a 440 grain cast bullet. A case full of Trail Boss makes the lightest loads and the H4227 is for full power loads.
 
I only use lilgun for the moment. I use berry's 350gr or hornady XTP 350gr and use recipe from hornady book or hodgdon.

Riley has bulk pack of berry bullets. Cost about 0.27 each. You might want to take a ride up. You can find powder on your way up that area too.
 
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I have some 296, how much recoil is felt with a 350gn bullet traveling at 1700 FPS? Is this a good place to start with the 500?

Looks like Lil Gun can produce lower starting loads like trail boss, I may try to find either of those as well.


Chris
 
chinalfr said:
I only use lilgun for the moment. I use berry's 350gr or hornady XTP 350gr and use recipe from hornady book or hodgdon.

Riley has bulk pack of berry bullets. Cost about 0.27 each. You might want to take a ride up. You can find powder on your way up that area too.
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I don't have much to add other than I know Riley's had Trail Boss on Friday last week. Not sure of the other Hodgdon powders mentioned. I'll be stopping by Riley's (as well as SO and Bass Pro) on Friday on my way back from VT and can report if they had any of those powders in stock.

I can grab powder/bullets etc if anyone needs some and happens to live where I work/live (Gloucester - Andover - Chelmsford).
 
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What's a "starting load". Is that like training wheels?

Just shoot the friggin thing.

Trail Boss will make light loads for any revolver. Did you really buy a .500 with the intent to immediately pussify it?

Look up a load in any reloading manual. Find one that fires any of the specified bullets at or near full velocity. H110/W296, A1680, 2400, Lil Gun are all "full power" powders.

Don't use Lil Gun until you have some experience. I don't know what you read to make you think it's in the same class as Trail Boss, but whatever it was, it was wrong.
 
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EddieCoyle said:
What's a "starting load". Is that like training wheels?

Just shoot the friggin thing.

Trail Boss will make light loads for any revolver. Did you really buy a .500 with the intent to immediately pussify it?

Look up a load in any reloading manual. Find one that fires any of the specified bullets at or near full velocity. H110/W296, A1680, 2400, Lil Gun are all "full power" powders.

Don't use Lil Gun until you have some experience. I don't know what you read to make you think it's in the same class as Trail Boss, but whatever it was, it was wrong.
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LMAO, thanks for the straight dope, just trying to prevent smacking up my pretty face.

So many people on the net are afraid of the damn thing I don't know what to expect.

To get the brass I need to shoot a box of factory 350gn ammunition, I will do that tomorrow I suspect.

Chris
 
Everyone handles recoil differently but the .500 was not as bad as I expected. I bought a pair of shooting gloves because I thought the .500 would kill me but I don't use them. Even the 700 grain loads don't kick as bad as a scandium j frame .357. I shot factory loads out of a 4 inch and it wasn't bad at all. Just hold the gun with a firm grip and you won't have to pull the front sight out of your forehead.
 
Never downplay the massive recoil of the SW500. OP need to shoot it first. I would load one rd, shoot it and feel it. Once you get a taste of it, load more and have fun. I can only say SW500 is no where like 44 mag. After shooting SW500, 44 mag feel like .22lr.

Sent from my Tinfoil hat
 
Not so bad, 350gn 1900FPS Hornady ammo. More of a push than a snap, quite a bit more recoil than the 44 MAG. Massive Hogue grip absorbs all the "snap." Lost interest in shooting it after 5 rounds. Loved the hot shockwave from each shot.

After the first shot, the cylinder was in-between notches, not sure if I pulled the trigger twice of I limp wristed it. This was my second shot.

Chris

 
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chinalfr said:
You double taps.
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I have seen that video, the cylinder didn't make it fully into the next cylinder latch on that one round. I guess I should load 1 cartridge at a time until that never happens. Is this something that goes away with practice or do I need to change my grip?

Chris
 
*chris* said:
I have seen that video, the cylinder didn't make it fully into the next cylinder latch on that one round. I guess I should load 1 cartridge at a time until that never happens. Is this something that goes away with practice or do I need to change my grip? Chris
Click to expand...

You luck out. Didn't I told you to load only 1 rds?

I'm not aware of any other grip method. As long as you don't put your thumb forward next to the cylinder gap, your thumb is safe. I would suggest not to fight the recoil from the gun. Let it be.

Sent from my Tinfoil hat
 
EddieCoyle said:
Trail Boss will make light loads for any revolver. Did you really buy a .500 with the intent to immediately pussify it?
Click to expand...

Well trail boss sucks. I loaded the "starting" load which is 70% of a fully loaded case which I think was 11 grains behind a 350gn Hornady XTP bullet.

I am pretty sure I saw the bullet leave the barrel, I was also able to see the bullet drop on its way to 20 yard target. Recoil was not much more than a 38 special, certainly less than a 357 magnum. I over-compensated, this load is way too weak for any enjoyment. Does it get any better with a "full" load of trail boss?


I think I may move over to my Titegroup. Is 11 grains enough for a starting load? That is what the online Hodogon manual states. Looks like they state it will work from 11 to 18.5 grains with a 350 gn jacketed bullet. Should I load a little more like 13 grains or so? I thought I may have read about detonation issues with light loads of titegroup???

Chris
 
I have a can of trail boss that I've been meaning to use it for almost a year. That said, I've only ever heard of it used in loads that recreate original black powder loads with full or nearly full cases. Obviously that doesn't exist for .500 Mag, but it's not unlike a big-bore .45-70. Everything I've ever read about trail boss says to load it at 90-100% published loads and let'er rip. It's not supposed to be a powder used for heavy hitting loads. I don't own a .500 mag (yet). 2400 seems to be an inefficient but forgiving powder but if you want a full level of boom try H110 and W296 (same powder).

Or just reference EC's load data and disregard anything I've posted here.
 
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asp said:
I have a can of trail boss that I've been meaning to use it for almost a year. That said, I've only ever heard of it used in loads that recreate original black powder loads with full or nearly full cases. Obviously that doesn't exist for .500 Mag, but it's not unlike a big-bore .45-70. Everything I've ever read about trail boss says to load it at 90-100% published loads and let'er rip. It's not supposed to be a powder used for heavy hitting loads. I don't own a .500 mag (yet). 2400 seems to be an inefficient but forgiving powder but if you want a full level of boom try H110 and W296 (same powder).

Or just reference EC's load data and disregard anything I've posted here.
Click to expand...

I'll probably load a few with more Trail Boss as well as trying some Titegroup that should push the FPS over 1000. I really don't like the factory Hornady ammo with a 350gn bullet that is supposed to go 1800 FPS, it isn't enjoyable to shoot. I want to get somewhere in the middle and it looks like Titegroup will be the key. I also was shooting my 8 3/8" S&W 460 with 296 loads and it is amazing how the longer barrel tames the recoil. The S&W 500 with the 4" barrel isn't for the weak hearted.

Chris
 
I saw some Youtube video of a guy shooting one of these 500 shorties. You'll need an asbestos suit for the flash...lmao!!! One is definately on my list of things to buy but I need to hit the gym a bit first.
 
*chris* said:
The S&W 500 with the 4" barrel isn't for the weak hearted.

Chris
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I've seen the argument that the shorter barrel = less recoil. I own the 4" and have only shot the longer barrels a couple times, but never did a side by side comparison.

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robjax said:
I saw some Youtube video of a guy shooting one of these 500 shorties. You'll need an asbestos suit for the flash...lmao!!! One is definately on my list of things to buy but I need to hit the gym a bit first.
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I have no idea what you're talking about.

securedownload-2.jpg
 
Moderator said:
I've seen the argument that the shorter barrel = less recoil. I own the 4" and have only shot the longer barrels a couple times, but never did a side by side comparison.

- - - Updated - - -



I have no idea what you're talking about.

securedownload-2.jpg
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lmao...is it a gun or a flame thrower.....lol

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Moderator said:
I've seen the argument that the shorter barrel = less recoil. I own the 4" and have only shot the longer barrels a couple times, but never did a side by side comparison.

- - - Updated - - -



I have no idea what you're talking about.

securedownload-2.jpg
Click to expand...


lmao...is it a gun or a flame thrower.....lol I LOVE IT!!!
 
robjax said:
Now that is true multi-tasking. [laugh2]

I want a .357 but I really want one of these too. Now I'm not sure what my next purchase will be.
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I love my 500 and shoot it way more than I thought I would. With that being said, it's a reloaders gun. If you don't reload, it's not very economical or nearly as fun to shoot.
 
Moderator said:
I love my 500 and shoot it way more than I thought I would. With that being said, it's a reloaders gun. If you don't reload, it's not very economical or nearly as fun to shoot.
Click to expand...

I shoot with my cousin a lot. He reloads. I could have it do it for me or I could start. I was only toying with the idea of reloading but he said he would teach me if I wanted to get into it. This could be a good reason to start. Is it like $90.00 for 50 rounds? I think I saw that on the web somewhere. I think it would be fun to have even if I didn't shoot it a lot. Looks like a great range toy and a nice home defense gun. News Flash..."Home invader suffers second degree burns as a result of muzzle flash when homeowner misses two shots with his S&W 500 Magnum...."LMAO!!!!
 
It costs me .74-.88₵ for my average load. I could get that cost down a bit if I bought in bulk or bring it way up if I wanted to shoot those custom bullets. The average price of "cheap" 500 cartridges I see start around $2 a round plus shipping.


ETA;

I would trust very few people to reload for me (I can only think 3 people). It's not that I think everyone I know is an idiot, I just like knowing that I am in charge of my own QC and if the gun KB's on me it's my own damn fault.
 
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Moderator said:
It costs me .74-.88₵ for my average load. I could get that cost down a bit if I bought in bulk or bring it way up if I wanted to shoot those custom bullets. The average price of "cheap" 500 cartridges I see start around $2 a round plus shipping.


ETA;

I would trust very few people to reload for me (I can only think 3 people). It's not that I think everyone I know is an idiot, I just like knowing that I am in charge of my own QC and if the gun KB's on me it's my own damn fault.
Click to expand...

Based n the price of that ammo you could actually save the cost of reloading equipment very quickly by reloading yourself. You figure if you are doing it for .88 and it is 2.00 per at 500 or 600 rounds you saved the cost of some nice equipment.

I totally get your point as far as trusting yourself and the QC aspect. I know there is a reloading thread as I have read through it as I am interested. A 500 I think would make me take up that hobby as well. The Dillon XL650 with the 500 conversion kit on-line is $576.00 so you could save that quickly at the price you reload at...I'm not sure what else is needed as I haven't looked into it too seriously .

But love the gun and want one.
 
Check with EddieCoyle on when his next reloading class is. He one of the most knowledgeable guys I've ever met on the subject for both rifle and pistol.

I know plenty of people who are happy with the 550B if you are looking to save a buck. I am a red guy. I have the Hornady L-N-L AP and single stage and have no complaints about it. Their warranty is every bit as good as Dillon's. There are pro's and con's to both machines (550b vs LNL) and are priced about the same. If you go with a LNL you get a voucher for 500 free bullets, just pay shipping.
 
Moderator said:
It costs me .74-.88₵ for my average load. I could get that cost down a bit if I bought in bulk or bring it way up if I wanted to shoot those custom bullets. The average price of "cheap" 500 cartridges I see start around $2 a round plus shipping.
.
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Start casting your own With casting my own heads I can load for .18 a round including a gas check
dave
 

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