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Does anyone here have one of these revolvers and if so, how do you like it? What barrel length do you have? I am trying to figure out if I want a .44 magnum (S&W 629) or a S&W 500.
Thanks
I have the standard 8 3/4" version with compensated muzzle. Wanting one or the other really depends on what you wish to use it for, and your budget.
Unless you can reload your own, the factory prices for .500 ammo is between $2.50-$4 per round. Pre-reloaded you can get it down to about $1.75 per round.
The big-bore gods were with me the day I went to purchase mine...Got it brand-new for $825 (Included a store price-reduction, extra discount and S&W rebate).
Does anyone here have one of these revolvers and if so, how do you like it? What barrel length do you have? I am trying to figure out if I want a .44 magnum (S&W 629) or a S&W 500.
Thanks
I really don't know what they cost. Mine came from Four Seasons shortly after being made available. And, my wife bought both of them for me!
...Also, it's totally worth it to let other folks at the range shoot it, the huge grins are totally worth the ammo cost.
...I got the 500 'cuz it's such an absurd dinosaur gun. It's such a completely over the top cartoon/Johnny Dangerously/Yosemite Sam/Roger Rabbit gun it's a total hoot...
...It's a "you must be kidding me" gun for me, and it serves that purpose well.
With my cast bullets my reloads come out at around 16 cents a round......
BTW, both my 500 and 629 are 8 3/8 barrels.....
I have a couple of them. There as much fun as you can have with your clothes on.
The 8-3/8" is about the most accurate handgun I own. I bought the 4" used for short money - along with a box of ammo with 3 rounds missing. I got the big one in a trade for a gun I paid $300 for.
Of course it can only be that cheap if you don't put any value on your own time. I understand all the reasons why one wouldn't (fun, 'time I'd otherwise waste', etc.), but there IS a value to your time. I'd love to know the cost to reload INCLUDING a cost for the time to acquire the scrap lead, melt it, cast it, clean the brass, trim the brass (if necessary), and load the rounds.
Of course it can only be that cheap if you don't put any value on your own time. I understand all the reasons why one wouldn't (fun, 'time I'd otherwise waste', etc.), but there IS a value to your time. I'd love to know the cost to reload INCLUDING a cost for the time to acquire the scrap lead, melt it, cast it, clean the brass, trim the brass (if necessary), and load the rounds.
Of course it can only be that cheap if you don't put any value on your own time. I understand all the reasons why one wouldn't (fun, 'time I'd otherwise waste', etc.), but there IS a value to your time. I'd love to know the cost to reload INCLUDING a cost for the time to acquire the scrap lead, melt it, cast it, clean the brass, trim the brass (if necessary), and load the rounds.
Of course it can only be that cheap if you don't put any value on your own time. I understand all the reasons why one wouldn't (fun, 'time I'd otherwise waste', etc.), but there IS a value to your time. I'd love to know the cost to reload INCLUDING a cost for the time to acquire the scrap lead, melt it, cast it, clean the brass, trim the brass (if necessary), and load the rounds.
He should also put a value on all the time he wastes at the range shooting. [/sarcasm]
I hate this argument. Nobody that casts or reloads hates doing it. Also, it doesn't take nearly as much time as people that don't do it think it does.
Wheel weights take minutes to pick up from your local sources (tire shops and garages on the way home from work).
You dump it in a pot while you're doing something else and let it melt (this takes about 30 seconds to fill the pot, the burner does all the rest of the work). You flux it, skim off the crap, and pour it into molds for ingots (this takes maybe 15 minutes for 50 lb melt).
It takes 30 seconds to dump the brass in a tumbler and a few minutes to separate the media when it's done. You don't trim pistol brass.
For the .500, 50lbs of alloy will make about 1000 bullets. You can cast them in an evening. Size them in another evening, and load them in another. The total time to make 1000 rounds of .500 is about 13 hours. If you were to buy 1000 loaded S&W.500 hollowpoints, you'd spend about $2000. Subtract $160 for the cost of reloading supplies and you're ahead $1840 for about 13 hours of work.
He's 'saving' over $140/hour that he puts into it. Do you still think it's not worth it?
ETA: He's also shooting rounds that are better than what you can buy, and he doesn't have to run all over creation to find a particular cartridge - he can just make it.
He should also put a value on all the time he wastes at the range shooting. [/sarcasm]
I hate this argument. Nobody that casts or reloads hates doing it. Also, it doesn't take nearly as much time as people that don't do it think it does.
Wheel weights take minutes to pick up from your local sources (tire shops and garages on the way home from work).
You dump it in a pot while you're doing something else and let it melt (this takes about 30 seconds to fill the pot, the burner does all the rest of the work). You flux it, skim off the crap, and pour it into molds for ingots (this takes maybe 15 minutes for 50 lb melt).
It takes 30 seconds to dump the brass in a tumbler and a few minutes to separate the media when it's done. You don't trim pistol brass.
For the .500, 50lbs of alloy will make about 1000 bullets. You can cast them in an evening. Size them in another evening, and load them in another. The total time to make 1000 rounds of .500 is about 13 hours. If you were to buy 1000 loaded S&W.500 hollowpoints, you'd spend about $2000. Subtract $160 for the cost of reloading supplies and you're ahead $1840 for about 13 hours of work.
He's 'saving' over $140/hour that he puts into it. Do you still think it's not worth it?
ETA: He's also shooting rounds that are better than what you can buy, and he doesn't have to run all over creation to find a particular cartridge - he can just make it.
He should also put a value on all the time he wastes at the range shooting. [/sarcasm]
I hate this argument. Nobody that casts or reloads hates doing it. Also, it doesn't take nearly as much time as people that don't do it think it does.
Wheel weights take minutes to pick up from your local sources (tire shops and garages on the way home from work).
You dump it in a pot while you're doing something else and let it melt (this takes about 30 seconds to fill the pot, the burner does all the rest of the work). You flux it, skim off the crap, and pour it into molds for ingots (this takes maybe 15 minutes for 50 lb melt).
It takes 30 seconds to dump the brass in a tumbler and a few minutes to separate the media when it's done. You don't trim pistol brass.
For the .500, 50lbs of alloy will make about 1000 bullets. You can cast them in an evening. Size them in another evening, and load them in another. The total time to make 1000 rounds of .500 is about 13 hours. If you were to buy 1000 loaded S&W.500 hollowpoints, you'd spend about $2000. Subtract $160 for the cost of reloading supplies and you're ahead $1840 for about 13 hours of work.
He's 'saving' over $140/hour that he puts into it. Do you still think it's not worth it?
ETA: He's also shooting rounds that are better than what you can buy, and he doesn't have to run all over creation to find a particular cartridge - he can just make it.
He should also put a value on all the time he wastes at the range shooting. [/sarcasm]
I hate this argument. Nobody that casts or reloads hates doing it. Also, it doesn't take nearly as much time as people that don't do it think it does.
Wheel weights take minutes to pick up from your local sources (tire shops and garages on the way home from work).
You dump it in a pot while you're doing something else and let it melt (this takes about 30 seconds to fill the pot, the burner does all the rest of the work). You flux it, skim off the crap, and pour it into molds for ingots (this takes maybe 15 minutes for 50 lb melt).
It takes 30 seconds to dump the brass in a tumbler and a few minutes to separate the media when it's done. You don't trim pistol brass.
For the .500, 50lbs of alloy will make about 1000 bullets. You can cast them in an evening. Size them in another evening, and load them in another. The total time to make 1000 rounds of .500 is about 13 hours. If you were to buy 1000 loaded S&W.500 hollowpoints, you'd spend about $2000. Subtract $160 for the cost of reloading supplies and you're ahead $1840 for about 13 hours of work.
He's 'saving' over $140/hour that he puts into it. Do you still think it's not worth it?
ETA: He's also shooting rounds that are better than what you can buy, and he doesn't have to run all over creation to find a particular cartridge - he can just make it.