s&w 500

[Jeff2131]

My step father just bought an s&w500. Im going to be.reloading for him.
Ive never reloaded for a caliber this powerful before....anything special i should know?
Does the fact that its a revolver mean anything?
Crimp or no crimp?
Magnum primers or standard large pistol primers?

[Gdawgs]

It's really not much different than any other cartridge. I don't load for 500, but I do load 460. You'll want a heavy crimp to keep the bullets in place while under heavy recoil. It also helps for a more consistent powder burn.

The 500 calls for large Rifle primers, not pistol. I use magnum primers in my 460, but it looks like most 500 loads call for standard large rifle. Makes sense as the 500 runs lower pressures than the 460.

I'm sure some others will chime in with some more info.

[burrhead]

"Crimp or no crimp"

Asking that question tells me you have limited reloading experience. That's not a knock, just a observation. You're about to start reloading a handgun round that is in the 60,000 psi range. You better know what you're doing and you won't get the depth of knowledge you need off the interweb. Buy some advanced reloading books, read them and understand them. You're going to a place where the newbies should not tread. I'm not trying to be harsh but that's just the facts.

[Jeff2131]

Compared to most of you guys, yes, still somewhat new. I load for 9 and 40 as far as pistol goes. I figured the 500 was an "extreme" round, hence me asking for pointers. According to the first reply, they use large rifle primers, so is it really far out that i would ask if they need to be crimped?

[mehavey]

The 500 is very straightforward in reloading, and if you already load for the 9mm and 40mm, you have 80% of the process down.

Key Points:

1. It is a revolver (not an automatic like the 9/40 that require a straight case mouth).
Roll crimp into a crimp groove is not only permissable, it is required ... big time.

2. Rifle primers (already mentioned) are required at design working pressures.
You will punch through regular pistol primers once over 35,000 psi.

3. You DON'T have to load this beast all the way up to the gills. In fact mid-range loads
are quite pleasant to shoot. It's a heavy gun that handles recoil well.

4. Think gas-checked cast bullets as a staple for darn near anything -- even full loads.

5. The 500 is an extreme gun*... but the cartridge and its loading is a pussycat.






*postscript: Once you shoot the gun itself you'll find it isn't that extreme either.... But don't tell anybody.

[Sevens]

Where a LARGE revolver round differs at the bench is mostly in the crimp.

A heavy roll crimp gives you two things that you desperately need in .500 Magnum:

1) It gives the cartridge time to develop the pressure to operate properly, before the slug starts moving too early. A proper, heavy, and consistent roll crimp will make each round of ammo perform optimally and consistently with the rounds before and after it. This goes for .44 Magnum, heavy .45 Colt, .460 S&W, .454 Casull, anything with a large, heavy slug.

2) A firm, consistent roll crimp will help to hold the huge slugs in place under heavy recoil. When the revolver jerks backward under the forces of discharge, the other rounds in the other chambers jerk back violently as well, but the heavy BULLETS in those loaded rounds tend to TRY to stay where they are at before jerking backwards also. The end result is that they will try their best to "jump crimp" and inch forward in the brass. The real truth is that those bullets aren't inching forward -- rather, those bullets are staying exactly where they are while the revolver, it's cylinder, and each cartridge case is jerking violently backwards and the end result is that the big fat slugs end up pulling themselves forward and out of the cartridge case.

You end up with bullets sticking forward OUT of the face of the cylinder, and then the revolver is tied up and can't move.

How to test?

Make 9 rounds and mark the case head of one of them with a sharpie. Each round should be EXACTLY the same load and roll crimped exactly the same.

Load up a cylinder including the single marked round.
Fire -FOUR- rounds, shooting all EXCEPT the marked one.

Eject all 5 pieces, examine the marked piece to ensure the bullet did not lurch forward. Should be easy to see visually as each bullet has a visible cannelure and you'll see that it's in the right place.

Now, load four more rounds and for the 5th, your marked round.
Repeat the process, shooting those four and ejecting the 5th round, still marked with the sharpie, STILL should have the bullet in place, not having lurched forward under the extreme recoil.

When you've successfully sent two cylinderfuls down range and the marked round has resisted eight full-bore attacks on it's integrity, you have a sufficient roll crimp!

Jeff, send me a PM when you get a chance -- I may have something you might be interested in.

[Jeff2131]

Thanx guys, thats the kind of info i am looking for. I dont own the revolver nor do i own any revolver myself, never been fan enough to spend the money on one so reloading for one raised some questions, especially since the ammo is not being fired by me.

So, my next questions are, what exactly is a "gas checked" round? Ive heard this before but it hasnt pertained to me until this point or does it not HAVE to pertain to me and its just an option.

I always load EVERYTHING mid range simply because i consider my self to be a reloader for "bulk" not for "precision". I simply reload because im saving 60% on the cost of ammo, its nice to be able to open my cabinet and grab whatever it is i want to shoot, when ever i want it, and because, although i dont load for precision, my mid range bulk reloading still gives me more punch and accuaracy then factory junk. So loadind mid range for the 500 is def what i had planed on. Im a fan of unique and power pistol, are these good powders to use in a 500? Also, i read that after seating the round, if you take out the seating part of the die and readjust your die that you can go back through your rounds and put more of a consistent crimp on each one. Does this sound like a.method that will give me the firm "hold the slug in place" crimp im going to be looking for?

[45long]

There's a lot of loads out there but if you want a good powder-puff load I use 11.3 grains of unique over a 440 grain. Makes the 500 fun to plink with. the unique isn't case sensitive so it's stays pretty steady on the extreme spread on my chrono. This is the only non-magnum load I've seen for this round. Kicks like a snub nose 38 when fired out of a BFR. But still has about 8- 900 fpe with that 440 gr bullet ..lol ..always use Heavy Crimp with any load with this round.

[mehavey]

The little copper-colored ring (actually a shallow cup) is a "gas check."
It protects the cast bullet base at high pressures.



http://www.midwayusa.com/product/198...nose-gas-check