The Smith and Wesson 500
A Smith & Wesson Model 500 with a 6.5″ barrel. Weighing in at just under five pounds loaded, it’s a bruiser in more ways than one.
Last in this last of my series on pistols, I have tried is the Smith & Wesson 500, a large-frame revolver that is notable for its strong swing away from general purpose and toward wretched excess. This is because it is designed to do one thing only, and that in order to accomplish this one thing, many other desirable characteristics must be sacrificed. The S&W Model 500 is a .50 caliber Magnum revolver designed for use as a big-game hunting handgun, and by big game, I mean anything that walks or crawls on the planet. Its success in this venue, combined with its high reliability, has also led to its popular use as a defensive sidearm in areas where large, aggressive predators roam free. Fur-bearing four-legged ones, I mean.
On the hunting end of things, I don’t hunt, because I don’t need to. I apparently lack the “sport hunting” gene, so I must admit that I’m not real clear on the appeal of hunting with a pistol instead of a rifle. In relatively open areas, a rifle is inherently a more effective hunting tool, if your purpose is to put meat on the table the old-fashioned way. With more power for any given caliber and much more accurate aiming, a rifle’s effectiveness at long distances greatly decreases the need to closely approach game animals. Perhaps, like bowhunters, pistol hunters consider that rifles have made hunting too easy and effective. I assume that they like the challenge of having to successfully get close without spooking the animal, since the inherently sloppy aiming of a pistol at distance means that you must get close to bring the animal down. Otherwise, you’ll have a long walk ahead of you, tracking it. The so-called “kill shot” becomes more difficult with a pistol, and in the case of a truly large wounded Read more…
Strolling Amok 