New gun (Smith and Wesson 50 cal) makes their day at show

Washington Times ^ | 2/14/03 | Jenny Harper

[hoosierskypilot]

Smith & Wesson has rolled out the big guns. The really big guns.

The new .50-caliber Model 500 Magnum revolver made its debut at the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Orlando, Fla., yesterday.

It is the biggest, most powerful revolver ever made.

[hoosierskypilot]

Smith is no longer owned by the euro weenies that sold out to Klintoon. I think I'll buy one of these.

[Noumenon]

S&W has also acquired the Walther PPK / PPKs franchise. The little Walther PPKs (.380) has long been our backup pisto lof choice. The new Springfield Armory XPD in 9mm may be a better bet, though.

[coloradan]

How does this .50 stack up to the 454 Casull? The article states that the .44 magnum is the most powerful up to now, but it falls far short of the 454.

[O.C. - Old Cracker]

A friend of mine has been hunting deer for decades using an Army issue .45. There's got to be a heck of a recoil on this .50.

[kellynla]

At 15 inches, this pistola gives a whole new meaning to "is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?" At a grand a copy I think I'll take a pasadena. I looked at a fifty cal a few years ago and it was like carrying a Buick. LOL A Sig .45 serves me well. Semper Fi

[harpseal]

bang

[Dead Corpse]

1600+fps and close to 2600+ ft/lbs at the muzzle.
Cor-bon was brought in to develop the cartridge for it.

[section9]

I was reading the S&W Model 500 thread last night. EVERYONE was remarking that it would be a hard weapon to actually fire, as the recoil is the kind of thing that could, eventually, lead to joint damage in the wrist area. Anyone with any firing experience on this platform?

The highest I've ever fired from S&W was the old Model 29. Natch, a buddy who had one also carried an M-1911 by Colt. Those two probably don't come close to this unit for sheer force.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Dead Corpse]

This thing weighs in at around 4 1/2 pounds. At bit of an anchor for sure. Still, the weight could help with recoil control.

This is a completely different round than the .50 AE you more than likely looked at before. This is the .50 Magnum. Brand new for this gun.

[bandleader]

It wasn't"The Euro-Weenies"that owned Smith&Wesson,it was The Brits.I have two model 629's,but I NEED the new .50cal.!!!

[bandleader]

I have a .380.It's a Colt Gov.and I LOVE it!It's a little bitty 1911.

[kellynla]

They had an interesting article on the front page below the fold of the Left Angeles Times this am on this weapon including pix and specs. If you're interested you can pull it up on their website. www.latimes.com. This weapon has to have the kick of a mule for sure.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I would guess this new Smith needs the long bbl and extra weight.
I like to shoot a .357 Python with 6 inch bbl which seems well ballanced to me. A friend's 4 inch Python seemed like a totally different gun.

[The Iceman Cometh]

I imagine that with the energy and force created when firing this pistol, S & W will have it ported to reduce recoil. That coupled with the weight will go a long ways in controlling the power that it creates.

Blast on!

[Dead Corpse]

They've got it on S&W website, plus I did some Googling yesterday on it.

Drooling for one of these. I've got the XXL hands to go with it.

My fav piccie so far has to be this one:

[Tijeras_Slim]

I believe Shooter 2.5 knows somebody who has experience with the .475 or .500 Linebaugh hand howitzers.

[RightWhale]

This is a completely different round than the .50 AE you more than likely looked at before. This is the .50 Magnum.

I use a 45 Winmag, which is roughly the same as the 44 Magnum and very smooth, no kick. I cannot imagine something with 3 times the muzzle energy of either, not in a pistol.

[TigerDSL]

Is there an online video stream of someone firing a .50 Magnum?

[JimRed]

Fox News had a filler piece about this weapon yesterday. The comment quoted (I don't remember the source) was concern about the .50 being used against police officers.

[RebelDawg]

I regularly shoot my .454 Casull at the range. The .454 Casull has an equal amount of recoil as a .300 Ultra Magnum Rifle. My revolver is ported and has a nice set of grips which makes shooting it bearable.

I do not have any concrete information on the recoil of this new .500 S&W but my guess is that it will be untolerable for the vast majority of shooters. Here is a link to a chart showing handgun recoil for various calibers.

Chuck Hawk's recoil table

The .500 Linebaugh is towards the bottom of the page. I can only assume that this .500 S&W is based on the .500 Linebaugh cartridge so it may be comparable with these figures.