Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

I seriously want to buy a .500 Smith and Wesson RIFLE for hunting. The reason I want this gun is because I dont want a gun thats not gonna make a nice blood trail in case I have to trail a deer. PLUS I know where theres one for $200 dollars.

Any thoughts on this gun? Indiana just legalized rifles for deer hunting here, but they have to be a certain caliber, and the .500 is at the top of the list.

What I want to know are things like how bad the recoil might be, or if it is TOO big for deer hunting, or whatever you wanna say about it. I use a 20 gauge every year, and I want to try a rifle this year. What do ya'll think???

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

You best start eating your Wheaties!

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

I know where you can get a sweet deal on a 155mm :eek:

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

WELL THE GOOD DOCTOR SUGGEST YOU PUT A LOT OF ROCKS IN YOUR POCKET .... AND WEAR A CRASH HELMET !


dd

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

my friend has got a 30/378 for a 'trophy' hunting rifle. I have shot it several times and have saw its devestation on several deer. I watched him harvest a doe when he first bought the rifle, and I have to say it was impressive. At 180 yds it almostspun the deer around 180 degrees! Needless to say he hasn't bloodtrailed a deer while shooting it!

If you want it and can get a good deal on it, then go for it. I will stick to my browning 308.:D

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

It really kicks that bad in a rifle format?

I guess it could.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

Can't kick bad as my handgun doesn't. Didn't know they put it in a rifle format. My wallet goes empty before I get tired of shooting it. I wouldn't buy a rifle in this caliber for deer hunting; ammo way too expensive and much better choices and flatter shootersfor a hunting rifle.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

I take it that you will be hunting elephant right, not deer?

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

Are you talking about the H&R Handi-Rifle in .500 S&W. I was given one for my graduation and in my opinion its a great little gun. The recoil is no greater than a single shot 20ga. And the price is unbeatable. The only real drawback is how much the ammo costs.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

I would seriously look into wether of not you can use an inline muzzleloader during the "rifle" season. You'd get much more impressive ballistics and trajectory and a far more impressive maximum range (200+)!

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

I agree, but I think he already has his mind made up.

One thing that I am kinda "worried" about is your statement "I don't wanna gun that won't make a good blood trail.....".

Any gun/caliber will made a great blood trail. Its not the gun/caliber is the shooter and shot placement.

You can wound just as many deer with this caliber as you can 300mag if you don't know how to shoot.[&o]

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

No, it's not neccessarily the shot placement that makes the blood trail, it's the bullet, a ballistic tip most of the time will leave an entrance wound the size of the bullet diameter, which is small, and will leave no exit wound, since the bullet just shatters in the organs, and deer can run very far, even with excellent shot placement, and ifthe ballistic tip leavesvery littleblood trail, and the deerruns far,thewoundwill clot, and theblood trailwill stop.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

Its a combonation of things. Not just bullet, not just placement. When It comes to shooting a living animal, nothing is written in stone.

As for the BT's, I have used them and have had the opposite exp. as you described. I switched from them b/c they were leaving too big of an exit hole, damaging too much meat.

However, you can take a bad bullet and get good shot placement, such as the hear or lungs and the animal is done for.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

Deer have been known to run 200 yards with nothing but he upper vena cavae of the heart, why does this happen?
The A-factor, which is, adrenaline, adrenaline can make a deer or person do things they couldn't do in normal circumstances, so, as you said, it's a combination of things, just like the way it's a combination of things that makes getting the animal in a shootable circumstance, so that you can bag it.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

You have studied.

My point is that a bad shot with no matter what caliber is a bad shot and can wound the deer and you not recover it.

The orginal post makes it sound like the guy wants this caliber b/c he thinks since its a "big gun" that it will kill better. Which isn't true.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

As was stated before, the .500 S&W kicks like a single shot .20 ga, and if he can't hit the broad side of a barn with a rifle that kicks that small, he's not got much business firearm hunting, period, but since the guy has hunted with shotguns before, he should be able to hunt with a rifle, so recoil making flinches isn't an issue here.


You said that every gun/caliber will make a goodblood trail, that's nottrue, and you said it's not the gun/shooter, it's shot placement.
Then, you come out later and say,"Its a combonation of things. Not just bullet, not just placement. When It comes to shooting a living animal, nothing is written in stone. "


We weren't doing the ol' "Magnum" debate, it was entirely different.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

Let me clear it up....um...lets see.

JUST because the .500 is a "big" caliber, doesn't mean that it will produce and BIG blood trail!!! There we go... thats what I was getting at.

You can take a .22LR and if the bullet hits the heart and makes an exit hole low enough, you SHOULD have a massive blood trail. A good shot will make the animal bleed out before it has time to "clog" up.

In my opinion shot placement is more important that what caliber or bullet styleyou use. The bullet type doesn't have anything to do with it (IMO). A blood trail is made by the bullet causing internal bleeding which the blood is then released by the exit hole. The bullet, now matter what caliber or type CAN'T do its job if its doesn't hit the target.

My statement about "its a combo of things" was for the most part b/c I didn't feel like you coming back and me having to do this and so on.....to be honest with you.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

OH yeah...before you come back wanting to argue etichs... I would never shoot a deer with a .22LR it was just a hypothetical situation.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

The .500 is over rated. If I wee you id look into getting a .460, its a better balanced gun than the .500 and wont knock out your teeth when you shoot it.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

The .500 S&W is a handgun cartridge.Fired from a rifle chambered for this,the recoil will be manageable.I'm sure there's better rifle chamberings on that list than the .500 Smith for deer hunting--JMHO

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

IMO, the 500 just didn't do it for me. I have shot numerous ones and shot against some with some friendly contests at the range with my 460. My 460 is flatter, and about the limit of what I want to shoot in a pistol. When I get to 300gr loads kicking at 1900fps, thats my limit and raises havok on my scopes. I am all about excess and big, but 500 just didn't do it for me. In a rifle caliber, probably hit like a bolt of lighting however.

Its kinda funny, I have seen guys smirk at my 460 and go on and on about being overkill. I ask them what they shoot in thier muzzleloader. I find out they shoot a 250gr bullet around 2000fps. I tell them I am shooting a 240gr little over that. So I pose the question, why so overpowered in a ML?

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

lol its funnny how people all of a sudden assume that I cant hit the broad side of a barn.... I kill more deer, bigger deer than anyone else in my family. My shots are excellent, I practice a LOT, and this isnt the first time I have been hunting. Thats like telling Bill Jordan that he cant shoot a bow lol. Dont worry people, I know how to shoot! I just didnt want the bullet to leave a wound the size of a pencil eraser because I hunt in some very thick areas. Thank you.

RE: Hunting with a .500 S&W
 

You want a big hole? Use a 12ga slug.