John Ross/PC .500 Magnum Group Buy (Gun, not mold)

[John Ross]

John it has been a week since you got my check and ffl. Can I get some updates?

I will ship your gun when my bank tells me your check cleared.

[wilddog45]

Boy ,I hope my gun is not like that as I didn't have the the chance to look it over and after not being able to pick it up after driving all the way to the city,that would be a great displeasure.

[waksupi]

I see from the impatience of some, that we should have put into effect the rule that any one purchasing on a group buy, would have to go through a Lee mold group buy first. THEN you would learn what waiting is all about.

[captain awesome]

John you're a good man and I appreciate it. i managed to fix it so the grip stays on, (the threads weren't totally stripped just the front so it couldn't screw in) so i used a tap to straighten out the threads and got it working, so you won't have to worry about the grip issue. I'll be sending a pm to get more info for shipping and work all that out with you.

[wilddog45]

John you're a good man and I appreciate it. i managed to fix it so the grip stays on, (the threads weren't totally stripped just the front so it couldn't screw in) so i used a tap to straighten out the threads and got it working, so you won't have to worry about the grip issue. I'll be sending a pm to get more info for shipping and work all that out with you.

If you get some custom grips you can do away with that clip that the rubber one screws into.

[wilddog45]

Well, the gunshop called and said the background check cleared so I went back up and picked up the gun. It does have a cylinder ring on it from the heavier stop spring but everything else looks good.I even got a pair of the badger rosewood conversion grips put on it. SWEEEEEEET!!!

[5.7 MAN]

Just got an Email from my Dealer, It is in! Can't get it until Weds.

Dan

[Don Purcell]

Went to my FFL holder today and checked out my two .500's. Brought along some rounds loaded with John's 450 grain long nose loaded with 50 grains of H-322. This is the first .500 I've ever shot- MAMA!!! This is going to be a learning curve. I started shooting .44 mags when I was 9 years old (56 now) but this is awesome, glad I bought them. Don

[SoCalLove]

I will ship your gun when my bank tells me your check cleared.

Well sweet ass sweet, check is cleared in my bank. FINALLY!!!! hope to get shipment soon, thanks John.

[John Ross]

This is the first .500 I've ever shot- MAMA!!! This is going to be a learning curve. I started shooting .44 mags when I was 9 years old (56 now) but this is awesome, glad I bought them. Don

http://classic-web.archive.org/web/2...t/betrayal.htm

[John Ross]

I even got a pair of the badger rosewood conversion grips put on it. SWEEEEEEET!!!

The gun is probably going to sting you with those grips with factory magnum ammo or its equivalent, unless you are used to shooting a 329 or somesuch. Put the rubber grips back on it at first so your first impression of the gun isn't "Oh, my God, this thing is awful!"

Or whip up some loads with Trail Boss...

[John Ross]

I never want to talk down to anyone, but it concerns me that some of you may not realize what you are in for, if you have little to no experience with heavy recoiling magnum revolvers. By "heavy recoiling," I mean something with MORE recoil than a factory .44 magnum round out of a 48 ounce gun...

Below is a vid of one of my customers shooting my .500 alongside a 5" full-lug .460. In the .500, he is shooting a 300 grain Hornady factory load going about 2000 FPS. He is an experienced magnum shooter and knows what he's doing. For him, recoil with this load is quite manageable, even one-handed...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZnJMhZunw4

Below is a guy shooting a factory 3 1/8" barrel (4'' with compensator) .500 with a 700 grain round at 1050 FPS from Ballistic Supply. He has no experience with handguns more powerful than .44 mag, and the heavy recoil startles him. The barrel goes slightly past vertical. BTW the 700 grain bullet likely went unstable in 30-60 feet out of that gun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjmtU...eature=related

Here's a vid in slo-mo of a kid (meaning half my age) shooting one of my guns with a 500 Hornady factory load. He needs a better stance and technique, but it was his first try at the .500, and he didn't drop the gun or let it hit him in the head...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFFMv...eature=related

Next, here's a girl "doubling" a factory 8 3/8" .500. I have personally witnessed this twice with two of my students. The gun recoils enough to compress not only the rubber grip but the palm fat in your hand and pushes the gun and trigger away from your trigger finger, letting the trigger reset. Your brain is still telling your finger to put pressure on the trigger, and you fire the gun again, usually straight up. Use a firmer grip. Note her stance doesn't change and the gun comes nowhere near hitting her. Firmer grip is all she needs to shoot this gun well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4OE78spknk

When the first reports of these "doublings" came out in June of 2003, S&W shot some extreme high speed footage of what happens when the .500 fires. Here's engineer (and chief .500 designer) Brett Curry firing the 500 one-handed. The vid starts just as the primer has ignited the powder. Watch his trigger finger all the way to the end of the clip as the gun recoils ALMOST enough to reset the trigger. The gun initially moves straight back, compressing both rubber grip and palm fat. The clip ends before the muzzle even starts to rise. We are looking at about five milliseconds span of time in this clip. Note that he bullet passes the B/C gap at :02 and exits the muzzle at :06. This is a short section of the original S&W vid, slowed down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s37ZT...eature=related

Here's the original HS footage from which the above vid was edited. It gives even clearer evidence of the trigger almost resetting:

http://www.youtube.com/user/dwebb210.../1/q2joba9pbZw

And last of all, here's what happens when someone with no experience with heavy recoil gets turned loose with a .500 by some idiot boyfriend. Note that this girl is about the same size as the young woman in video #4, but her technique is all wrong.

When newbies get excited at seeing the .500 and want to shoot it, here's what I do: A cylinder out of a K22, then a K38 shooting wadcutters, then regular .38s, then a Model 27 with magnums. If they're still in, then a 6 1/2" M29 with 10 Unique/250 Keith. Still game? 25 296/250 Keith. More? 5" .500 with a 550 over a case full of Trail Boss. Still with me? 550 over a case full of 4759 for 1325 FPS. Most women and some men have had enough by then, but a few have gone farther, including one woman who made it all the way to the end, 725s @ 1250. My rule is you can quit at any time, but you can't go up until you finish the cylinder you're on. That's how I do it.

Anyway, here's the vid:
:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQI-zWdZAGk&NR=1

Use a crush grip, extend your arms and lean forward with one foot farther to the rear, and work up to the heaviest loads gradually. Don't EVER shoot this gun with a loose grip and your arms relaxed.

Be careful out there...

[wilddog45]

This is my second 500 I have purchased. I got it because of it's 10:1 twist to see if accuracy would be improved over my 8- 3/8 barrel with the interchangable compensators.I mainly shoot boolits in the 440 gr range as that is what I feel comfortable with and even though I have molds from 350gr up to 700 gr, I like to stick with one boolit and experiment with different powders to find that one load that works the best and then stick with that so that im not changing my sights around too much.I casted up some more of the Keith design swc round HP's out of water dropped WW's that weigh in at 420grs sized and lubed.So far I have shot this boolit into some rootwads of some trees that have been dozed over and it was blowing 1 cubic foot chunks of dirt off at a time. I am lucky in that I have my own shooting range in my backyard and can try out loads as soon as I load them up. Hopefully will have some paper and chrony results to post as soon as I get time to get these sized and lubed.

[Spartacus]

Here's a vid in slo-mo of a kid shooting one of my guns with a 500 Hornady factory load. He needs a better stance and technique, but it was his first try at the .500, and he didn't drop the gun or let it hit him in the head...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFFMv...eature=related

Poor kid might have broke both wrists with that shot. lol

Good stuff John. In this day of political correctness its probably not appropriate to call this a man's gun but it is definitely not for the weak of muscle or faint of heart.

On a personal note, I am traveling to my 2nd home in AZ this week and will get your check in the mail when I get there. If you did not read my PM's I want one revolver in each color with matching serial numbers.

[Gunslinger1911]

Yes, listen to the man about recoil !!!

I have shot my 4" comped 500 with the full tilt Hornady load and some of my reloads with a 350g hp that were shall we say VERY warm - hang on Mary for the ride of your life !!!

John my check and FFL should go out by Friday.

[Bob J]

Hopefully mine will arrive soon.... The waiting is really the toughest part.....

[bushwaker]

Hi John just checking to see if you had a chance to ship my gun yet? thanks.

[bushwaker]

I bought the same kind of rosewood grips. but i will take your advice and shoot the gun as is first.

[wilddog45]

I couldn't contain myself and went out and popped off a cylinder of full house 440 gr gc Keiths.In one word. Ouch! Although I love the feel of the rosewood grips, i see where the trailboss loads fit in. If you shoot hot loads , stick with the rubber. On my other 500 i would have the cylinder unlock at least once with these loads. This gun functioned flawlessly.At least i got an idea what my loading is going to be for the boolits I cast today. Nice gun.

[SoCalLove]

John,
Any chance my gun was shipped out today?