Smith and Wesson 500

By Sean Percival on November 26th, 2008

A Japanese air gun manufacturer was recently raided, seems the Smith and Wesson 500 replicas they produced could easily be turned into real guns. While not as powerful as the real thing, these replicas fired pellets (along with a casing) and much higher pressure. Replace the gas pressure with bullet power and you have one very hardcore pellet gun.

Lets take a look closer look at the real thing after the break.

The Smith and Wesson Model 500 is THE men’s toy amongst men’s toys. This .50 caliber Magnum is touted by its manufactures as being the “most powerful production revolver in the world today”. Of course the guys are only reiterating what Dirty Harry told us way back in 1971 albeit he was talking about the Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44-cal. Magnum revolver. That was the gun which made his day, wonder what he would have to say about this baby which produces 2600 ft-lb of muzzle energy at its heaviest load, that’s more devastation power than what you get from a 5.56×45 mm caliber rifle. Yup, this revolver is more beastly than even a rifle.

The Model 500 is a big brawny double-action revolver that can bring down big game, in fact it is meant to be used for big game hunting. The Smith and Wesson 500 scores over other heavy power handguns. The gun is beautifully balanced with a wraparound Hogue grip ideal for a two-handed grip. The weight of the gun is balanced perfectly because of its advanced design so that even at an empty weight of 4.5 pounds, it does not feel unwieldy. The five almost 2-inch cartridges that the gun can hold take the weight to five pounds. A composite barrel/shroud system was developed to ensure that the gun could withstand the rigors of expelling the heavy bullets. In fact, Smith and Wesson developed the gun around the .50 cal cartridge which was developed first.

Sure, the gun has recoil that even the most doughty gun wielders will feel; but it’s not something that will make you want to put the gun down and walk away with a wrenched wrist.

Here is a video of the real thing in action: