Shockwave from a 500

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How the heck is he holding it? His right hand thumb is alongside the frame.

I know Jerry is a lot faster than me, but here is a video of me shooting a USPSA stage with my 500:

 
56hawk,

Holy cow...the rings of fire that thing casts are amazing. Especially on that last target...that ring was almost all the way to the target.
 
"How the heck is he holding it? His right hand thumb is alongside the frame."

My thoughts exactly.
 
chuckpro said:
"How the heck is he holding it? His right hand thumb is alongside the frame."

My thoughts exactly.
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Probably, that's what he changed when he said "I've got to change how I grip that revolver."

I've seen video of a guy shooting a .40 cal Limited gun with the strong hand completely removed from the grip, just using it to pull the trigger, to demonstrate just how much of the power of the IPSC/isoceles grip comes from the weak hand.

My guess is the same thing is going on here: that the 500 mag was beating up his thumb joint, so he stopped using his thumb. Most people, that's a recipe for a front sight to the forehead, but since this is Jerry Miculek, with hands and arms like Popeye the Sailor, he got away with it.
 
I solved a few problems of "500" shooting when I purchased my snubnose. First of all, the 8 3/8" .500 is a beast; great for long range hunting, or maximum power with minimum recoil sensation (compared to .500's with shorter barrels), but too heavy to carry for any length of time.....they just wear you out. Then came the 4" .500. It has this goofy compensator that has a nuisance of a design for changing and tightening, and the comps HAVE to be changed if going back and forth with lead and jacketed bullets. SO, along comes the 2 3/4" gun, which is basically the 4" without the compensator. With full loads, the snubnose would be very punishing, way more than the 4" with a working compensator, so my idea was to reduce the load just to the level that it was manageable with the short barrel. That just made sense. A gun light enough and "small" enough to pack, but at the maximum level of personal controllability and power manageable. And less blast directed BACK at the shooter. As another point, it might be useful to explore something like the "Flaming Pig" blast device adapted for use on the .500 to direct blast away from the shooter, this further protects one's hearing. Anyway, the .500 can be a lot of fun, and controllable, less painful, and quite practical for hunting or a dangerous game back up with loads tailored for the shooter's wants or limits. ...............
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Knowing basically nothing about this caliber I have a question.
Does it really have over 2000 fps. out of a barrel that length?
Thanks
Dave
 
Dave P. said:
Knowing basically nothing about this caliber I have a question.
Does it really have over 2000 fps. out of a barrel that length?
Thanks
Dave
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No way you are going to get 2000 fps out of that barrel. He was just reading the advertised velocity off the box, tested in a 8 1/2" barrel.

Ammo advertised at 1900 fps chronographs at 1400 fps from my 2 3/4" 500ES.
 
The burn to the target adjacent to the shooting window @ the 30 second mark in 56hawk's video is evidence why you don't get your hand/fingers close to the cylinder gap of the X-Frames.
 
56hawk said:
No way you are going to get 2000 fps out of that barrel. He was just reading the advertised velocity off the box, tested in a 8 1/2" barrel.

Ammo advertised at 1900 fps chronographs at 1400 fps from my 2 3/4" 500ES.
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Still, 300 grain bullet at maybe 1500 to 1600 fps. has got to be a pretty
big bang when it goes off.
Thanks
Dave
 
Jerry was only able to produce an 18" 5 shot group from 10 yards. And his comment that it was "enough fun for me" is instructive, apparently he finds it unpleasant to shoot that Hornady factory ammo.
 
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Precisely why I advocate loading the darn thing to suit the person and purpose. Problem solved. Load it down until you get that 6" group at 10-15 yards. That is more bear-worthy than an 18" group.
 
SharpsDressedMan said:
Precisely why I advocate loading the darn thing to suit the person and purpose. Problem solved. Load it down until you get that 6" group at 10-15 yards. That is more bear-worthy than an 18" group.
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That's the nice thing about the .460 and .500 S&W mags. They DON'T have to be loaded to max to be effective.
 
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