.500 S&W - BFR or S&W?

[Ruger45Bisley]

I have a question, I'm about to purchase my first .500 S&W and I'm torn on which to get. I've had a couple of S&W's over the years and I've owned 2 BFR's in 454. I know the twist rate of the BFR is 15", but what about the S&W? I'm thinking of either the 7.5" BFR or the 8.38" S&W, both seem to be about the same overall size and weight.

I've heard the comp on the S&W isn't that great, and some say it makes it a lot louder, does this seem to be correct? To those that have both, or have owned both at one point in time or another, which did/do you prefer? Did one seem more accurate in general? I'm just trying to get an idea of others think concerning these two and which might be the wiser choice.

[tygar]

I like my S&W 6.5. Also had the custom shop 10" but it was so big figured a carbine was better & not much bigger.

If you want the 500 for bear protection, S&W all the way. Single action on a charging bear & you get one shot off, with a double action can get 3 with practice. That's figuring a charge from 25yds.

[Whiterabbit]

shot both, own BFR. Nuff said. (about my clear opinion on the matter.)

[ole 5 hole group]

I like my S&W 6.5. Also had the custom shop 10" but it was so big figured a carbine was better & not much bigger.

If you want the 500 for bear protection, S&W all the way. Single action on a charging bear & you get one shot off, with a double action can get 3 with practice. That's figuring a charge from 25yds.

I don't think it much matters when confronted by a bear charging at 25 yards - you're gonna get chewed on a little. A full-on charge by a bear means he's closing on your sick **** at 35mph - that translates to 51.3 feet per second and that's pretty fast - meaning you have approximately 1.5 seconds to recognize and evaluate the threat, draw and attempt to get a round off. Better to have a lanyard on that handgun, so when you get flatten, you just might be able to locate that firearm if you "feel the need".:wink:

Both revolvers are big heavy suckers unless you get the short barrel Smith or a JR 500 (John Ross model) - I've got the JR Model and it satisfies my "wants". The comp generates a lot of "conclusion" if shot under a roof or indoors - I didn't much care for it when I had the 4" model - that's why it went down the road and I ponied up for the Ross model (non-ported 5" barrel). If you don't think you have a need for anything heavier than 500 grains or bigger bullets at warp speed - maybe consider the 500 JRH.

[44man]

I feel the JRH is the very best .500 made today. If you need more then it can do you are trying to sink a battle ship!
Any .500 S&W is way too huge to pack for bears. No need for ports on the JRH.
If anyone thinks they can make more then one shot on a charging bear with a DA .500, they are built like Charles Atlas. It takes time to unstick the barrel or front sight from your forehead too! :bigsmyl2:

[Electric88]

I have a question, I'm about to purchase my first .500 S&W and I'm torn on which to get. I've had a couple of S&W's over the years and I've owned 2 BFR's in 454. I know the twist rate of the BFR is 15", but what about the S&W? I'm thinking of either the 7.5" BFR or the 8.38" S&W, both seem to be about the same overall size and weight.

I've heard the comp on the S&W isn't that great, and some say it makes it a lot louder, does this seem to be correct? To those that have both, or have owned both at one point in time or another, which did/do you prefer? Did one seem more accurate in general? I'm just trying to get an idea of others think concerning these two and which might be the wiser choice.

I'm glad you asked this question, as I am also looking at buying a revolver chambered in 500 S&W and couldn't decide between the Smith and the BFR... I'm kind of leaning towards the Smith though, as I have a thing for double action revolvers. I hope one day to own a 454 Freedom Arms though (it's a fine looking single action!) :D

[44man]

I have shot them all, JRH, Linebaugh and S&W. All kinds of guns from custom to factory.
I stand by what the JRH can do. Shoot a bear in the nose and the boolit will remove the tail on the way out. A 440 gr at 1350 fps has to be reckoned with.
The JRH is just a shorter .500 S&W case. The BFR JRH is smaller then a S&W too.

[Whiterabbit]

I'm kind of leaning towards the Smith though, as I have a thing for double action revolvers.

Can't fault that justification.

shameless plug, I will be selling one (BFR 500 JRH). My local buddy who really wants one is getting first dibs this Friday, then I'll post it here. If you need the biggest and most powerful, the 500S&W is it. But for a 50 caliber hole @ 55ksi, the JRH is no distant second.

[obssd1958]

Don't own either one, and haven't shot either one - but I have seen several videos where the stout recoil and double action have produced more than one shot, when only one was intended. Single action won't do that.

[str8wal]

I feel the JRH is the very best .500 made today. If you need more then it can do you are trying to sink a battle ship!
Any .500 S&W is way too huge to pack for bears. No need for ports on the JRH.
If anyone thinks they can make more then one shot on a charging bear with a DA .500, they are built like Charles Atlas. It takes time to unstick the barrel or front sight from your forehead too! :bigsmyl2:

I agree. Plus, the BFR in JRH has a "normal" sized cylinder for the cartridge length.

[44man]

Don't own either one, and haven't shot either one - but I have seen several videos where the stout recoil and double action have produced more than one shot, when only one was intended. Single action won't do that.
That was a gun problem with inertia unlocking the cylinder to rotate backwards and if there is a live round there, hammer bounce can set it off. Stronger springs fixes it or load five and don't have one under the hammer to start but you can get a "click" the next shot. Easy fix.

[Ruger45Bisley]

Thanks for the replies. The more and more I dwell on it, the more I'm leaning towards the BFR. I did really look into the JRH and I have nothing against it, even heard they were selling the precision center BFR's in 500 JRH for same price as production models, or they were at least. Honestly the one thing about the BFR I didn't initially care for was the extra long cylinder that seemed too long for the .500 S&W, but maybe it's growing on me.

If anybody else has some opinions to share on the matter please do!

[Whiterabbit]

Last opinion off the top of my head:

500 S&W in the S&W revolver, cram everything as tight as you can get and the biggest bullet you can get in there is 700 grains, it fills the cylinder.

BFR, if you feel like playing with lunacy, a full 3" cylinder takes WAY more than a 700 grain bullet. Heck, I tried a 740 grain bullet in a 45 caliber in my 460 S&W and still came nowhere near filling the cylinder. So if you like to dance with heavy-for-caliber, the extra cylinder is really nice to have.

I can even picture turning some m33 ball in the lathe down to .500 diameter and loading in a 500 S&W case. it's easy to imagine. In fact, I did just that with some barnes 500 grain copper solids in .458. I turned down to .451 and shot them in the 460S&W. These are not easy activities to pursue in a 2.3" cylinder gun that you have to worry about coming unlocked or making it easy to accidentally double tap in recoil.

[Ruger45Bisley]

Good points. I too have seen the videos and am a bit leery at the idea of an accidental double tap, which I keep wanting to tell myself that it's the shooters fault, but what if it's a mechanical flaw? I've always heard that lots of heavy loads through a S&W .44 would basically beat the gun apart and cause timing issues although I haven't really heard of this with the S&W 500's. I'm sure the X-Frame was designed to take a beating but in the back of my mind I think a BFR might have less issues long term.

[44man]

We tested crazy weight boolits and they plain SUCK. They can't be spun to stability.
Now boolit jump to the cone means nothing at all. A BFR in .500 S&W with a good 440 gr boolit that I use in the JRH still works. The nose is short enough to fit a Freedom as is my .475 boolit.
My 45-70 BFR has a good 3/4" jump but is the most accurate revolver I own.
I was in that camp where you need the boolit at the end of the cylinder until I found it means nothing. A gripe I still have with a Freedom where you need a special boolit to fit the short cylinders and a boolit that pulls .001" from recoil renders the gun locked up.
You do not have to make use of a long cylinder by making boolits longer.

[Bonz]

I shot both models and decided on the S&W 4"

[carbine86]

Good points. I too have seen the videos and am a bit leery at the idea of an accidental double tap, which I keep wanting to tell myself that it's the shooters fault, but what if it's a mechanical flaw? I've always heard that lots of heavy loads through a S&W .44 would basically beat the gun apart and cause timing issues although I haven't really heard of this with the S&W 500's. I'm sure the X-Frame was designed to take a beating but in the back of my mind I think a BFR might have less issues long term.

It really is the shooters fault for an accidental double tap. I have shot loads in a 460 that sent a 270 gr bullet out at 2500 fps. the design of the grip with there being a small air pocket at the web of the hand creates a soft recoiling gun IMHO. When shooting big bored you have to let the gun recoil naturally if you try to hold it back thats when things can go wrong.

[44man]

It really is the shooters fault for an accidental double tap. I have shot loads in a 460 that sent a 270 gr bullet out at 2500 fps. the design of the grip with there being a small air pocket at the web of the hand creates a soft recoiling gun IMHO. When shooting big bored you have to let the gun recoil naturally if you try to hold it back thats when things can go wrong.
Not so, we took movies and results showed a gun failure every time. There is just no way you can double tap a second round from recoil.
We proved the cylinder stop would unlock and torque would spin the cylinder backwards and the primer pressure had the hammer near full cock to fall again. No second trigger pull at all.
We had a time with S&W over it too as they claimed "shooter error."
Go back to some 29's where you got a click for the next shot because the cylinder rotated to a dead chamber and came back to another dead chamber. It was common and I could fix it. Just a spring.
You would learn if you ever seen a SA hammer near full cock at the instant the gun fired but parts are not subject to inertia. The cylinders stay locked.

[44man]

Double prime impacts from a S&W, not so bad but real.161098 I have seen primer impacts on the brass too. What happens if the cylinder turns all the way back?

[ebner glocken]

I have two BFRs, one in .500 Smith and the other is a 50ae/50JRH 2 cylinder. The JRH gets shot way more than the others by quite a bit. It's not hard to shoot and will kill anything on this earth that I will come in contact with. Not too many griz in southern Missouri. Both will out shoot me but the 500 wears me down quickly.

Ebner

[snowwolfe]

I like my S&W 6.5. Also had the custom shop 10" but it was so big figured a carbine was better & not much bigger.

If you want the 500 for bear protection, S&W all the way. Single action on a charging bear & you get one shot off, with a double action can get 3 with practice. That's figuring a charge from 25yds.

No way no how can a shooter get off 3 semi accurate shots in a S&W 500 in the 2-3 seconds or so before a bear starts clawing or biting. And my favorite sidearm when I lived in Alaska was a 4 inch S&W 500.
The 500 JRH is a much better choice for the lower 48 But even its to much of a good thing for deer and such. One of these days mine will go up on the auction block.

[apen]

I bought a smith not too long ago. The long cylinder on the BFR was why I didn't get the BFR. I'm sure the 500 JRH will kill just as well as the 500 S&W, but it won't launch a 440 grain boolit at the velocities a the big revolver will. Just knowing you are pushing a 1 ounce boolit at 1650+ and keeping 5 shots inside 2" at 50 yards is all the justification I need. They aren't a ridiculous gun in my opinion. What's ridiculous is buying one and shooting a 350 grain boolit with trail boss.

[tygar]

Sorry but you don't know what the hell your talking about!

[Electric88]

Lol


Also, I notice no one has said the obligatory "get both!" So I will.... get both!

[27judge]

I shoot a BFR 500 JRH with a 440 grain bullet in a 1000 fps light load. ITs very accurate and you can shoot it all day very easy on the hands tks ken

[Ramjet-SS]

Do not throw the S&W out the window they are really well built handguns and accurate and I like double action option. But the BFR is an outstanding option as well I am huge fan of the big framed S&W and never ever had double tap with them.

[warf73]

No way no how can a shooter get off 3 semi accurate shots in a S&W 500 in the 2-3 seconds or so before a bear starts clawing or biting. And my favorite sidearm when I lived in Alaska was a 4 inch S&W 500.

I know I couldn't do it but never say "no way no how" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOzyqiT1FFA 5 shots in just over 1 second on target. Yes I know he was already drawn but still impressive.

[Hickory]

I'll stick with the 44 magnum, it will handle anything in north America.
I've shot most of the bigger calibers and decided that if you needed to
cull a few beasts at Jurassic park, a larger caliber might come in handy.
Until then, I feel I've been punished enough in my lifetime.