The .50 AE isn't even in the same league as the .500 S&W.

The .500 S&W (2400-3000 ft/lbs) has anywhere from double (using standard loads) to triple the energy of the .50 AE (1200-1400 ft/lbs). It can use heavier projectiles too.

You can find .44 Magnum loaded to levels above .50 AE easily.

There's more factory ammunition for the .500 S&W by far these days (I think IMI and Speer are the only ones that factory load .50 AE).

The only things they have in common is that they are both heavy and expensive (and expensive to feed, but the .50 AE is slightly cheaper per round).

 

50 AE: 12.7x33mm - 325 gr bullet @ 1,305 ft/s 1,229 ft/lbs of energy

500 S&W: 13x41mm - 350 gr @ 1,975 ft/s 3,031 ft/lbs

just a small difference.

pics: L-R= .454 cas., .50 AE, 500 S&W

 

AJSully hey have you got a .44 Mag that you can throw in there side by side to those 3 cartridges and then shoot another picture?

Those are massively awesome, as I have been thinking about getting a 500 Magnum. I currently have a S&W 629 6" and a guy that I know just got a .500 Magnum 8 3/8ths so I'm going to get some shooting done. What I like is that you can load the .500 Magnum from mild to wild from a 300-gr to a 700-gr load if you want. :wow:

 

dont forget that freedom arms has a 50 cal. handgun...look on handgunhunter.com...you can view a online magazine that has a article on a 500 shootout,comparing several of these beasts!

 

If you get the SW500, get some 700 grain cartridges.

http://www.ballisticsupply.net/Default.aspx?tabid=252105

Muzzle velocity = 1200 fps Muzzle energy = 2240 ft. lbs Recoil = 64 ft. lbs.

 

The .50 AE isn't even in the same league as the .500 S&W.

The .500 S&W (2400-3000 ft/lbs) has anywhere from double (using standard loads) to triple the energy of the .50 AE (1200-1400 ft/lbs). It can use heavier projectiles too.

You can find .44 Magnum loaded to levels above .50 AE easily.

There's more factory ammunition for the .500 S&W by far these days (I think IMI and Speer are the only ones that factory load .50 AE).

The only things they have in common is that they are both heavy and expensive (and expensive to feed, but the .50 AE is slightly cheaper per round).

You left out the .460S&W. It's the baddest mofo of them all.

 

.460 is certainly a powerful round but still second to the 500. Don

 

Crappy cell phone pic. 700 grain SW500 vs 44 mag

 

If you get the SW500, get some 700 grain cartridges.

http://www.ballisticsupply.net/Default.aspx?tabid=252105

http://www.ballisticsupply.net/Portals/11097/700 gr - 3-s.jpg

Muzzle velocity = 1200 fps Muzzle energy = 2240 ft. lbs Recoil = 64 ft. lbs.

One of our local club guys loads 700-grainers like that. Nothing like shooting 1/10 of a pound of lead in one shot.

 

I got a rifle that shoots 1/4 pound of lead with each shot. And burns over an ounce of powder to do it.

 

In addition to the major power advantage the .500 Mag has, as a revolver, it has the ability to shoot any type of slug. You can't do that in the DE.

If you shoot lead slugs in the DE, you'll foul the gas action and regret it. You need to shoot jacketed slugs. That means that a .500 Mag can be reloaded for far less and with far more versatility.

As for the poster saying the .460 is tops, if you really want to go nuclear, you can load the .500 Mag to a cartridge length that uses the full cylinder (aka John Ross) and get muzzle energies well above 3000 ft lbs and recoil to go with it. Don

 

I recently got bit by the same bug, I've fired 500's in the past and frankly they are most unpleasant to fire(yeah,yeah call me a sissy). I decided on a Ruger 454, cost was much,much better than either of the Smiths. Plenty of ammo choices plus you can run 45 colt cowboy loads if you like, bullets from 165gr JHP's meant for the GAP/ACP through 400gr hard cast. If I need more gun than my 454, I'll pull out my 375H&H! If I need more than that I'm running...

 

I don't own either one, but I've shot both the .50 DE and the .500 S+W.

If you want big and powerful skip the DE and get the S+W. There just is no comparison shooting the. The DE feels like a big heavy .45 ACP. The .500 S+W lets you know it's a powerful handgun.

Personally If I was going to buy one I'd get the 460 S+W. Because I'm already set up to reload .45 Colt, the 460's would be much cheaper to shoot. Besides that the chance of me shooting anything larger that a white tailed deer is pretty slim for the foreseeable future.

 

AJSully hey have you got a .44 Mag that you can throw in there side by side to those 3 cartridges and then shoot another picture?

that's not my pic... i got it from google images.

 

I really appreciate all these replies!

WOW! 64 lbs. of recoil from those 700gr. loads?!?:wow:

Not to be a kill-joy but isn't a 12ga. slug going to have more power than even the most powerrful round in .500?

Only reason I bring that up is that we're talking about a pistol here that CAN put out quite a bit of oomph in it's rounds, but isn't it left in the dust by some rifles like the AK/AR/12ga/.308? It might be apples and oranges but I just keep getting the feeling that the .500 S&W is sort of like cutting the shoulder stock off of a .50BMG. Sure you could turn it into a pistol if you really wanted to, but what's the point?

That said, now I'm starting to lean TOWARD picking up a .500 (not sure on breaks or barrel length yet though!). But what purposes does it serve other than hunting? Sure it's a cool range toy, but does anyone carry it or use it for self/home defense?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

The .500 Mag can be loaded to energy levels equal to a 12 ga slug and with far harder lead in the slug, can seriously out penetrate them.

The .500 with heavy hard cast slugs can penetrate right with a .458 Win Mag and has stopping power in the range of a .375 H&H.

As is commonly said though, all the power in the world isn't worth spit if the slug isn't placed properly and there, most people, particularly under stress, can place a 12 ga slug out of a rifled barrel shotgun more accurately than they will with a revolver even though the revolver has excellent intrinsic accuracy. Don

 

The .500 Mag can be loaded to energy levels equal to a 12 ga slug and with far harder lead in the slug, can seriously out penetrate them.

The .500 with heavy hard cast slugs can penetrate right with a .458 Win Mag and has stopping power in the range of a .375 H&H.

As is commonly said though, all the power in the world isn't worth spit if the slug isn't placed properly and there, most people, particularly under stress, can place a 12 ga slug out of a rifled barrel shotgun more accurately than they will with a revolver even though the revolver has excellent intrinsic accuracy. Don

Wow really? But I'm guessing firing 5 rounds (whole cylinder) of the stuff that's equal or better than a 12 ga slug...you'll need to wrap your wrists for a few days or it'll take a minute or two to get all the rounds out of the gun (taking time to get set in proper stance and taking aim).

Good to know though!

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

EMT, something to amuse you. One time, I decided to test a 370gr hard cast at 1800 fps on 6 gallon jugs filled with water. That was a mistake. I shot from maybe 10' away and got soaked. The geyser was probably 25' high and the sand was soaked a stepped off 30' either side of the jugs.

The slug went through the 6 jugs and was found on the sand beyond. Don

 

That said, now I'm starting to lean TOWARD picking up a .500 (not sure on breaks or barrel length yet though!). But what purposes does it serve other than hunting? Sure it's a cool range toy, but does anyone carry it or use it for self/home defense?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

I initially thought of the 500 as I figure our new king will push for a 50 cal ban of some sort probably rather quickly If I guess right. What other purposes do handguns of thhis type serve? I'm not a hunter, I wanted more than a 44 to have hideable rifle type power. A 454/460 is basically a 45/70 powerwise, so a 7.5" 6 shot 45/70 that I can hide under coat. It makes sense to me, a 500 is even more power, what can you do with this kind of power? Vehicle sheetmetal is toast, soft BA is toast alot of cover is made into just concealment with this level of power. There's alot to be said for having this kind of power in a small non-rifle platform. Somewhere online is a video of ceramic plates being broken and penetrated by a 500, I saw it on another forum a year or so ago, also a nice capability to have.

 

Why is the .460 bigger? It looks thinner....I know the round isn't more "powerful"...but does it have anything over on the .500mag?

Thanks!

-Emt1581

 

The .460 has the advantage of higher velocities and thus flatter trajectories so for a hunting handgun that you want to scope and use with a bipod etc at long range, it would probably be preferable. Don

 

The .460 has the advantage of higher velocities and thus flatter trajectories so for a hunting handgun that you want to scope and use with a bipod etc at long range, it would probably be preferable. Don

So it's a faster bullet...right? That means that the only reason the .500mag is better is because it's heavier...meaning more ft./lbs. right?

Plus the 500 is slightly wider/heavier...so more devastating/dammaging impacts/penetrations...right? Again I'm not experienced enough with revolvers/ballistics...which is why I keep saying "right?".

-Emt1581

 

And if you're adventurous enough, use John Ross's data. I think I'm correct in saying that he loads the 500 Mag cartridge to a longer COAL than factory using more, if not all of the cylinder length. The 460 is already at full cylinder length as far as COAL. Don

Edited to add that the COAL isn't as different as I suggested. With comparable bullet weights, the 500 COAL is 2.05" the 460 2.16" from Hodgdon's data. Don

 

He,he,he,he,heeeeeeee,he,he,he,heeeeeeee, .500 S&W 2.5 inch barrel,the new,one shot,one kill,and one hell of a flamethrower at night time gets my gosey jucies flowing. He,he,he,he,he,he,heeeeeeeeeeee.17z

 

i say get the 500 it can shoot lead, cast, jacketed,. The Eagle can only shoot jacketed

 

also know that there is ammo for the 500 s&w...500 s&w "special" which is shorter and weaker...kinda like shooting 38's out of a 357 magnum. it still packs a heck of a punch but no where as bad as a full blown 500 magnum.

 

EMT, both are extremely powerful guns. The .460 has been advertised as 200gr @ 2300fps, nothing that fast in commercial .500 loads.

Both have with proper slugs plenty of penetration for any game animal, it's just that the .500 leans toward heavier slugs @ lower velocities.

I'd just say that if you want to hunt REALLY big stuff, the .500 has a little edge and if you want versatility and flatter trajectory, the .460 has a worthwhile advantage. Don

 

My 500 was an impulse buy, not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet. I just received my scope, rings and base this week, so I'll be taking it out to see what it can do at 50 and 100 yards and beyond.

Mike at Doubletap has two great loads for the 500, at a very reasonable cost.

Here's my setup (and yes, it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot):

The "pea shooter" next to it is my 6" GP100 .357