500 S&W Shot Load

cheetah44 · January 14, 2007, 08:06 AM

I have a friend who is going to accompany me to Alaska on a Caribou hunt/Fishing float trip and he's going to carry his S&W 500. He's looking for information on or a source for shot loads for his pistola. Has anyone here developed a shot load for the S&W 500 or know of a source of such ammo. He's going to carry it loaded with 500 Grain Hard Cast while we're on the river, but when in the bush he want to tag a couple Ptarmigan with it. Any info on this would be much appreciated. I'm going to be carrying my .44 Mag for which I can load speer shot cups if I get the urge to shoot Ptarmigan. Thanks
Jim

Slip Shooter · January 15, 2007, 10:27 PM

Cheetah44,

You did not make it too clear if you can reload your own. If’n you can…..

Here is a really nice illustrated article copyrighted by Junior Doughty over at castbullets.com.

It’s a shotshell for the 44 Magnum but the principals can be adapted to the 500 S&W.

http://www.castbullet.com/reload/44shot.htm

Be aware that you will need to take responsibility for shot weight and adjustments to the powder charge when assembling a similar load in the 500S&W.

Maybe someone else can help in that area.

Be safe and enjoy your trip.

T. O'Heir · January 16, 2007, 02:24 AM

Shot out of any rifled barrel flies in a spiral, sending the shot string, who knows where. The patterns have huge holes in them. A good .22 pistol would be better for sitting birds.

jsflagstad · January 16, 2007, 08:30 AM

I have loaded 357 shot shells similar to the link that Slip posted and they were decently effective.

I would think that with Ptarmigan though, that you may want a larger shot size like 4-6. The 500 will give you extra capacity so this won't be such the trade off it is in the smaller rounds.

JSF

cheetah44 · January 16, 2007, 02:57 PM

Thanks for the replies guys. Looks quite straightforward. I do load, but we love 200 miles apart, so it would be a pain to help him with this. He does have local friends who will be able to help him. I'll post any relevant info later if he has any success with it.

Thanks again for your replies.

January 14, 2007, 08:06 AM	#1
cheetah44 Junior Member Join Date: January 5, 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 14	500 S&W Shot Load I have a friend who is going to accompany me to Alaska on a Caribou hunt/Fishing float trip and he's going to carry his S&W 500. He's looking for information on or a source for shot loads for his pistola. Has anyone here developed a shot load for the S&W 500 or know of a source of such ammo. He's going to carry it loaded with 500 Grain Hard Cast while we're on the river, but when in the bush he want to tag a couple Ptarmigan with it. Any info on this would be much appreciated. I'm going to be carrying my .44 Mag for which I can load speer shot cups if I get the urge to shoot Ptarmigan. Thanks Jim

January 16, 2007, 02:57 PM	#5
cheetah44 Junior Member Join Date: January 5, 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 14	Thanks Thanks for the replies guys. Looks quite straightforward. I do load, but we love 200 miles apart, so it would be a pain to help him with this. He does have local friends who will be able to help him. I'll post any relevant info later if he has any success with it. Thanks again for your replies.

January 15, 2007, 10:27 PM	#2
Slip Shooter Member Join Date: February 4, 2005 Location: NW Louisiana Posts: 85	Cheetah44, You did not make it too clear if you can reload your own. If’n you can….. Here is a really nice illustrated article copyrighted by Junior Doughty over at castbullets.com. It’s a shotshell for the 44 Magnum but the principals can be adapted to the 500 S&W. http://www.castbullet.com/reload/44shot.htm Be aware that you will need to take responsibility for shot weight and adjustments to the powder charge when assembling a similar load in the 500S&W. Maybe someone else can help in that area. Be safe and enjoy your trip.

January 16, 2007, 02:24 AM	#3
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	Shot out of any rifled barrel flies in a spiral, sending the shot string, who knows where. The patterns have huge holes in them. A good .22 pistol would be better for sitting birds.

January 16, 2007, 08:30 AM	#4
jsflagstad Senior Member Join Date: January 29, 2005 Location: Up Nort Posts: 419	I have loaded 357 shot shells similar to the link that Slip posted and they were decently effective. I would think that with Ptarmigan though, that you may want a larger shot size like 4-6. The 500 will give you extra capacity so this won't be such the trade off it is in the smaller rounds. JSF