WTB S&W 500 ammo

[Livngr8ful]

I know this is not a popular round, but maybe someone can help. I'm looking for a place to purchase a few boxes. If you have any or know of a place that has them for a decent price please tell me.

Thanks

[justinvan]

Not sure what you consider decent pricing but Sportsmansguide has it for between 37 and 42 bucks a box. I buy a fair amount of ammo from them when I am in the S.W. part of town and most of there prices are in line with the competition as longs as you pick it up yourself(no shipping charges).

[Livngr8ful]

Not sure what you consider decent pricing but Sportsmansguide has it for between 37 and 42 bucks a box. I buy a fair amount of ammo from them when I am in the S.W. part of town and most of there prices are in line with the competition as longs as you pick it up yourself(no shipping charges).

That's not bad. If I've found them they run $50+ for 20 round's. I'll check it out. Thanks

[selurcspi]

Come and talk to me once you've shot your factory ammo, I'm setup to reload the 500!

[Seismic Sam]

The S&W is one of the few rounds where you can actually PAY OFF your investment in reloading equipment in a few boxes of 50 rounds. Factory ammo is over $2.50 per round, which is $250 for 100 rounds, which will easily buy you a single stage press and all the other goodies. As opposed to 9mm ammo, where you may be blowing off hundreds of rounds in a day, and maybe need a Dillon to keep up with your ammo needs, NOBODY is going to go through more than 100 rounds of this stuff in a day, if that. Lee makes a carbide die for this caliber, which is nice, and it's pretty straightforward to reload, provided you RTFM!!!!!! and put one hell of a crimp on the bullet. (like .007") Seeing as seating and crimping together require some expertise, get the 4 die set with the factory crimp die. You can NOT use plated bullets like Ranier or Berry's with loads over 1400 FPS, so don't even try!

[Livngr8ful]

Thanks folks. I wish I had the skill and space to reload. I'm saving the brass just in case. I appreciate all your input.

[DeanC]

Thanks folks. I wish I had the skill and space to reload. I'm saving the brass just in case. I appreciate all your input.

Worst case you can sell the brass. I found 20 rounds on the ground (and the box in the trash) at the range. I put them on ebay and netted $20.

[Livngr8ful]

See.. One more thing I have to invest in. Reloading equipment. I love shooting the 500 S&W so i may as well learn to reload. IIf it what you guys say, I'll save money. Time to start looking....

[traveler]

Worst case you can sell the brass. I found 20 rounds on the ground (and the box in the trash) at the range. I put them on ebay and netted $20.

I didn't realize you could sell firearm/ammunition related items on eBay.

[JJ]

Worst case you can sell the brass. I found 20 rounds on the ground (and the box in the trash) at the range. I put them on ebay and netted $20.

I didn't realize you could sell firearm/ammunition related items on eBay.

Just can't sell guns. Parts and accessories on the otherhand are GTG.

[Seismic Sam]

Oh, for the Smith 500 Lil' Gun is THE powder of choice. Don't waste your money on anything else. And all current 500 Smith cases use LARGE RIFLE primers, and there is normally an "L" on the headstamp to denote this. Earlier cases used magnum pistol primers, but if you get a large rifle primer pocket reamer you can ream out the older brass. If you don't, the large rifle primer will protrude out the back of the case, and with 500 Smith recoil that could be catastrophic. Stay away from bullets over 350 grains to begin with, as the recoil can be pretty brutal. The factory 440 grain loads are nasty beyond belief, and the Barnes 500 grain solid loads ain't no party either. (Yes, that's the same bullet they use for the 500 Nitro Express... ) For this caliber a single station press will work fine, as you won't be shooting more than a hundred rounds at a time, if that, and it will take practice to work up to that.

[rugersol]

For this caliber a single station press will work fine, as you won't be shooting more than a hundred rounds at a time, if that ...

That might be true.

But it don't mean a turret-press wouldn't work fine, neither.

And it don't mean .500's the only thing he'd ever reload.

If it's a $60 single-stage vs. a $160 turret, then I 'spose that's a $100 saved. But if it's a $100+ single-stage, I'd seriously consider a turret press!

[Seismic Sam]

Rugersol's point is well made. The difference between a $60 single stage and a $160 turret press is a whopping 40 rounds (two boxes) of Smith 500 factory ammo. As I said initially, this is one caliber where you can actually save money hand over fist by handloading. And if you think this is a deal, .338 Remington Ultramag ammo is up to $4.00 a round!!! Even with Sierra 300 grain MK's costing 66 cents apiece, you can still save 60 bucks on reloading a single box of 20!! For a box of 50, you save $140!!! At some point here I will be coming up on my 40th anniversary of starting reloading, and until 3 years ago I never, ever thought that I would break even considering all the stuff I bought, much less go deep into the black on reloading.

[rugersol]

As I said initially, this is one caliber where you can actually save money hand over fist by handloading.

Not to but several years ago, I got my first .41 ... went over to Sportsman's Whorehouse to buy some cartridges ... like $6x fer 20rd ... instead, I bought dies fer $35 and 100pcs brass fer $20. I still never bought a box of factory .41!

Frankly, I can't imagine even considering a .460 'er .500 w/o planning to reload it!

Actually, I don't think I'd do .500 w/o casting my own bullets!

[Livngr8ful]

I'm sure I am going to go the reloading route. I just need to learn a bit about it. It is Greek to me at this point. To the guys that offered help with this, I will be contacting you.