500 S&W, is it really THAT bad?

"How much muzzle energy do you want in your bear loads sir?"

"Yes"
Precisely. You can't be stingy on the energy when it comes to shoot paper at the range.
Most people don't like touching off more than a couple round of 45/70 out of a 7LB rifle never mind a revolver.
 
I liked when my wrists were good and I could shoot 100 or so 45/70 from a pistol. 14" barrel.
Now, not so much.

Snubby is easier on the recoil anyway so no big deal. Long barrels would change your mind.
 
IRT 45/70 in a pistol, I shoot a fair bit through a 14" TC contender. I load 13.5gr Unique under a cast 405gr bullet. The recoil characteristic is like a popcorn fart, more of a quick "pop" than a "boom" associated with 45/70. It crosses my chrono screens at 1,100FPS, is fun to shoot, economical, and I've taken many deer with it.
 
In about 2005 or 6 I was at the neighborhood gun shop in Prescott AZ and there was a snapshot of a guy who had taken a cape buffalo cleanly with a S&W .500 Hunter. Of course, never knowing when a cape buffalo may charge you from behind a saguaro cactus in the AZ outback... I bought a .500 Hunter. It shot really well, the compensator took a lot of the muzzle flip out of it. However it drove back in to my palm hard enough that it made moving my thumb painful. I worked with it for a while but was never able to defeat that issue. I sold it not long afterward without ever seeing a cape buffalo :)
 
The EC nuclear loads aren't bad if you're the one shooting them but don't shoot next to him if he's the one shooting them unless you enjoy having the hair burned off your forearms.
 
Snubby is easier on the recoil anyway so no big deal. Long barrels would change your mind
This. I have 5 of them in various lengths, and have owned or shot every version of this gun. Here's the recoil form least-to-most: 2", 4", 10.5", 8", 5" "John Ross".

Felt recoil in these is a combination of bullet weight (most important factor), time in the barrel, weight of the gun, powder charge, and (least important) type of compensator.

Put a hot 500+gr load through a John Ross and you'll see Jesus.

I load mine with 40gn of N110 behind a 300gn hornady flex tip. Eddie what do you use?
My "nuclear loads" used a 385gr Remington HP bullet (which is no longer available) and consisted of a Clark-Magnuson-like compressed charge of H110 that's way over what they now consider max (but at the time was published as safe - I won't post details) Ask @drgrant how hot they are.

OP try some full steam .460 magnum. way worse than .500.

Compared to the .500, the .460 is much flashier and louder, but there's nowhere near as much recoil. It uses much lighter bullets.
 
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I've shot my friends 4". I really don't mind it. Yes, it kicks. Wrist-breaker? No.

I do wish someone had a slightly less absurdly-priced version of this. I think this would be extremely fun and useful in a hunting situation.
Model 89 - 500 S&W - Big Horn Armory

Personally I have no desire to ever own an X frame Smith. I think the .460 and .500 are awesome cartridges. I would find more use for a carbine lever rifle chambered in one of the two. But to each their own. A lot of people seem to love hand cannons.
 
I picked up a 5" S&W 629 last year and was instantly hooked. Now in true Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor fashion I want "more power!" This thread doesn't help lol. I'm thinking about an X Frame, and the BFR has my eye too.

If an opportunity for a rare "already in Massachusetts" Dan Wesson .44 came up I'd surely jump on that first. Maybe it's not so much the big bores, but simply that revolvers are soooooo damm addictive.
 
I think any grown man complaining about kick is a nancy boy. Babe Ruth would have shot it. That's all that counts.

Babe Ruth would have signed your bat for a hot dog and then get up to the plate drunk swinging a 60 ounce piece of hickory wood that ressembled a table leg and crack one 500 feet out of the park into some hot chicks bra.
 
Shot a 460 S&W a couple years ago at a gun shop w/ indoor range that was trying to demo it and sell it I shot it using the previous owner's "downloaded" reload ammo that came with it. Not sure grains, power, powder or muzzle velocity. The damn thing sounded like a high pitch booming laser cannon and spit fire like a flamethrower, hence I dubbed it "laser-flame thrower" because such a name is just as ridiculous as the gun itself. The only thing more ridiculous than what I've told you so far is the recoil. My wrists hurt for a week. Thankfully it was the end of the shooting session anyway. Now that was the smaller 460 using downloaded ammo. Please note I can shoot a 44 magnum and hit steel targets at 1-200 yards no problem.

The honest to god truth is that if you want to defend yourself from something that big requiring the 460/500 then bear spray is better, and if you want to hunt something that big there are dozens upon dozens of center fire rifle calibers that will do the same thing delivering more or less same muzzle energy but shoot a lot easier.
 
Shot a 460 S&W a couple years ago at a gun shop w/ indoor range that was trying to demo it and sell it I shot it using the previous owner's "downloaded" reload ammo that came with it. Not sure grains, power, powder or muzzle velocity. The damn thing sounded like a high pitch booming laser cannon and spit fire like a flamethrower, hence I dubbed it "laser-flame thrower" because such a name is just as ridiculous as the gun itself. The only thing more ridiculous than what I've told you so far is the recoil. My wrists hurt for a week. Thankfully it was the end of the shooting session anyway. Now that was the smaller 460 using downloaded ammo. Please note I can shoot a 44 magnum and hit steel targets at 1-200 yards no problem.

The honest to god truth is that if you want to defend yourself from something that big requiring the 460/500 then bear spray is better, and if you want to hunt something that big there are dozens upon dozens of center fire rifle calibers that will do the same thing delivering more or less same muzzle energy but shoot a lot easier.
been loading my 8 inch 460 with 240 jhp, muzzle blast is impressive, got a nice 8 pt with it last year
 
If I was spending a bunch of time in dangerous animal territory, like fishing in Alaska for instance, I wouldn't bother with any of the hand cannons. I'd just sling a compact 12 gauge pump gun on my back.
I'd rather have five or six slugs and a sixteen inch barrel than any handgun out there.
 
If I was spending a bunch of time in dangerous animal territory, like fishing in Alaska for instance, I wouldn't bother with any of the hand cannons. I'd just sling a compact 12 gauge pump gun on my back.
I'd rather have five or six slugs and a sixteen inch barrel than any handgun out there.

I'd rather a Glock 20 with a 15+2 magazine, one in the pipe, and Cor-Bon or other full power ammo. Good 10mm ammo is quite effective
 
I'd rather a Glock 20 with a 15+2 magazine, one in the pipe, and Cor-Bon or other full power ammo. Good 10mm ammo is quite effective
10 mm is excellent and if I were stuck with only a hand gun it would be my choice. But in a stressful life or death situation I would much rather have two hands on a long gun. I'd take a Mosberg cruiser or one of the new Shock wave type shotguns if it were me.
I've never had to use a handgun while being attacked but I have trained under stressful conditions. It isn't easy to get a handgun on target quickly when you're under extreme stress.
 
While a longarm is ideal, I think in many cases a large, pissed off animal like a bear can and will close the gap between you and it very fast. By the time you're assessing the threat and becoming aware, it's already in motion. Longarm or not I'd still want a powerful handgun on me to fit between me and the creature in close quarters as a last resort if it manages to knock me down. Just my own thoughts... I'm in no way experienced in such scenarios, nor do I ever hope to be.
 
Meh, I really don't have an issue with recoil, but the few times I have fired the 500 what I noticed was that it really smacks your hand. Not a wrist issue but your hand takes a beating.
There really is nothing to compare it to.

I have noticed that firing 44 magnum through my S&W 29 is not nearly as bad as through a Ruger Redhawk
 
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