.500 Smith & Wesson Magnum 350 Grain Hornady XTP~ 100% Hand-Loaded!!

.500 Smith & Wesson Magnum 350 Grain Hornady XTP- The .500 S&W Magnum is a .50 caliber semi-rimmed revolver cartridge developed by Cor-Bon in partnership with the Smith & Wesson “X-Gun” engineering team for use in the Smith & Wesson Model 500 X-frame revolver and introduced in February 2003 at the SHOT Show. It has two primary design purposes: as a hunting handgun cartridge capable of taking all North American game species, and to be the most powerful production handgun cartridge to date. To put the cartridge’s extreme level of power into perspective; the muzzle energy of a .500 S&W bullet fired from a typical commercial loading of the round is roughly equivalent to that of a 16 pound bowling ball traveling at a speed of over 70 mph.

Smith & Wesson had been at the forefront when developing powerful handgun cartridges such as the .357 S&W Magnum and the .44 Remington Magnum. However, since 1960 the company’s .44 Remington Magnum, which it had developed in partnership with Remington, was eclipsed by the .454 Casull.

The .500 S&W Magnum was originally designed to be primarily a handgun hunting cartridge. The creation of Big Horn Armory’s Model 89 lever action rifle has changed it to a serious big game hunting rifle cartridge. In that platform, the cartridge is capable of taking any animal on earth. It also serves a secondary purpose as a back-up survival handgun cartridge as a defense against the large bears of North America.^[15]

The .500 S&W Magnum’s success with large, dangerous game is in part due to the availability of heavier bullets with exceptional sectional densities. Bullets above 500-grain (32 g) have the sectional densities required for hunting heavier African dangerous game. As a hunting cartridge the .500 S&W Magnum has been found to be effective against elephant and African buffalo as long as ranges are kept within reasonable limits. Bullet selection is extremely important when hunting thick-skinned dangerous game. Smith & Wesson bills the Model 500 revolver as “A Hunting Handgun For Any Game Animal Walking”. Big Horn Armory bills its Model 89 rifle as the most powerful lever gun currently made.

In North America, it serves the purpose of hunting all North American big game species. The cartridge has had success in taking Alaskan brown bear, American bison, moose, and elk. It is also used to hunt black bear, whitetail deer, wild boar, and feral hogs.^[17] The cartridge gained some notoriety as being the cartridge which was used to hunt the supposed Monster Pig.

Choice Ammunition, and our 100% Hand-Loading techniques- produce a round of ammunition for the .500 Smith & Wesson that is demanded for long-range pistol, big game and dangerous game hunting. Accuracy, consistency and dependability are crucial at that final moments of such an encounter. Choice Ammunition takes this responsibility seriously by meticulously weighing each powder charge with our proprietary formulas and temperature insensitive powders, seating the bullet at the exact length for optimal performance and test firing each and every lot of ammunition at an average of 500% over industry average. We have no high speed production machines- only passionate and dedicated load technicians pulling each and every handle, producing one round of ammunition at a time. 

The Bullet~

Hornady XTP bullets were designed for hunting, self-defense, and law enforcement. One of the great things about the XTP bullet is reliable performance, it features controlled expansion where six serrations divide the bullet into six symmetrical sections. These sections weaken the jacket to allow controlled expansion at low velocities and ensures fragmentation does not occur at high velocities. The XTP bullet is really known for its stopping power. They were designed from the beginning to expand reliably at a variety of handgun velocities and deliver deep, terminal penetration with every shot. Most handgun bullets are designed to perform at a single factory-specified velocity where the XTP bullet is designed to offer controlled expansion over a range of velocities.

Each XTP Bullet has a swaged core and drawn copper jacket to ensure uniform expansion and in-flight stability. Adding a cannelure to this bullet keeps the core and the jacket locked together while also allowing the cartridge case to tightly crimp, adding security at high velocities.

• 100% Hand-Loaded
• Velocity 1,429 fps (4.5″ barrel)

Additional Information