MAX. CASE LENGTH:. . . . . 1.

625"
CASE TRIM LENGTH: . . . . 1.615"
BULLET DIAMETER: . . . . . . 0.500
RIFLE: . . . . . . . S&W MODEL 500
BARREL:. . . . . . . . . . FACTORY
CASE:. . . . . . . . . . . HORNADY
PRIMER:. . . . . . WINCHESTER WLR
BULLET:. . . . . . . . 300 GR. FTX
MAXIMUM C.O.L.:. . . . . . 2.250"
SECTIONAL DENSITY: . . . . . .171
BALLISTIC COEFFICIENT: . . . .200
E lmer Keith would have loved the 500 Smith & Wesson. Never one to be
under gunned, Elmer helped usher us into the world of high-performance,
big-bore cartridges back in 1955. He was instrumental in bringing the 44
Remington Magnum to the shooting world. The 500 Smith & Wesson was introduced
at the 2004 SHOT Show in Smith & Wesson's brand new X-frame revolver. It was then
and is now, the largest most powerful revolver ever to be mass produced.
The 500 Smith & Wesson is not for the beginning handgun shooter. Recoil is
punishing, as the cartridge is capable of driving a 500-grain bullet at velocities well in
excess of 1300 fps. Compare that to original 45-70 rifle ballistics, a 405-grain bullet at
just over 1300 fps. The 500 Smith & Wesson is a lot of gun.
In our testing, the 500 Smith & Wesson is best when loaded with Hodgdon Lil' Gun,
H 110 or Winchester 296. If the handloader desires to slow things down a bit, they
would be hard pressed to find better powders than H 4227 or Alliant 2400. The 300-
grain FTX is an excellent all-around bullet choice and more than enough bullet for any
game in the world, save dangerous game. If dangerous game is in the neighborhood
or on the menu, the 500-grain XTP FP is the bullet to choose. It delivers controlled
expansion for exceptional transfer of energy, and is super tough to penetrate deep and
ensure adequate tissue damage.

Loading FTX™ bullets requires some specialized techniques in certain cases.

To achieve a high ballistic coefficient we had to lengthen the ogive, or nose,
of the bullet. Sometimes this requires that the cartridge case to be trimmed
shorter than the suggested .010" under SAAMI Max length that we recommend
for conventional bullets. Follow prescribed trim lengths exactly as presented
in the FTX™ data for optimum results.

ITEM #50102
DIAMETER: 0.500"
500 S&W S.D.: 0.171
B.C.: 0.200
300 GR. FTX C.O.L.: 2.195"

VELOCITY (FPS–feet per second)

POWDER 1700 1800 1900 1950 2000
POWER PISTOL 25.1 gr. 28.1 gr.
AA #9 38.5 gr. 40.7 gr. 43.0 gr. 44.1 gr.
VIHT N-110 37.8 gr. 40.8 gr. 43.7 gr.
2400 38.7 gr. 40.9 gr. 43.2 gr.
LIL’ GUN 40.1 gr. 43.1 gr. 46.0 gr. 47.5 gr. 49.0 gr.
ENFORCER 40.6 gr. 43.9 gr. 47.1 gr.
WIN 296 43.0 gr. 45.7 gr. 48.4 gr. 49.8 gr.
H 110 43.6 gr. 46.2 gr. 48.8 gr. 50.1 gr. 51.4 gr.
Hornady Ballistics Tables are available at www.hornady.com/ballistics
Indicates maximum load • Use with caution