Anyone got any detailed info on .50 AE vs .500 S&W Mag?
From what I understand, they are both .50 Calilber Rounds? I would like to see some ballistics comparisons, I'd also like to know if the new S&W Mod. 500 can shoot .50 AE as well, or If perhaps the .500S&W Mag could be fired from something such as a Desert Eagle in .50 AE ? I highly doubt it but you never know 'til you ask right?
Can't speak for the other round, but I have seen two people with the .500 S&W at the range. One guy fired two rounds then said he would never fire it again. The other shooter managed six rounds and never hit the paper target at 50 yards. My advice is to watch someone fire the gun, perhaps see if you can fire it yourself, then decide if you can handle it. It is a very heavy revolver, not well balanced in my opinion, and you had better be ready for a lot of muzzle blast and recoil.
The .500 SW is BIG. I don't know what the chamber pressure is but it launches bullets from 275-500 grains at velocities of about 1400-2200 fps. Wow!
The .50 AE, is pretty substantial but it was intended for automatics. Bullets weigh 300-325 and velocity runs from 1400-1600 fps. I don't know if either would be "easy" to shoot but the .50 AE should be a little more manageable than the .500 SW.
Can't speak for the other round, but I have seen two people with the .500 S&W at the range. One guy fired two rounds then said he would never fire it again. The other shooter managed six rounds and never hit the paper target at 50 yards. My advice is to watch someone fire the gun, perhaps see if you can fire it yourself, then decide if you can handle it. It is a very heavy revolver, not well balanced in my opinion, and you had better be ready for a lot of muzzle blast and recoil.
While I myself have never had the opportunity to shoot a .50 AE,
I HAVE test fired the new 500 S&W. I put a cylinder through it, (and then I was done!) Now, while I agree it is intimidating watching someone else shoot it, (It's loud, and it has a muzzle flash about a foot long). However, its really not as bad as folks are making it out to be. The recoil of the 500 will certainly get your attention, and you will know you just fired a big handgun, but in my opinion, it's still far less punishing to shoot than the 454 Casull. I imagine it's largly due to the redesigned compensator on the 500.
Last edited by Alaskan Dude; 11-25-2007 at 11:31 AM.
Anyone got any detailed info on .50 AE vs .500 S&W Mag?
From what I understand, they are both .50 Calilber Rounds? I would like to see some ballistics comparisons, I'd also like to know if the new S&W Mod. 500 can shoot .50 AE as well, or If perhaps the .500S&W Mag could be fired from something such as a Desert Eagle in .50 AE ? I highly doubt it but you never know 'til you ask right?
I don't know what the "Mod. 500" is, never heard of it. But the .50 AE is a beefed up .44 Remington Magnum (so that it can feed in the semi-auto Desert Eagle, designed for the .44 Mag).
The OAL of the .50 AE cartidge (1.595) is less than the length of the brass (1.625) on a .500, which has an OAL of 2.25". The .50 AE might even fit inside a .500 casing, I've never had a .50 AE to test it, but the dimensions are small enough.
Besides being considerably longer than the .50 AE, the .500 has higher pressure levels. The .50 AE has pressures listed of 32,000 to 40,000 psi, while the .500 has a maximum psi of 50,000.
They are both .50 caliber rounds - taking bullets with a .500" bullet. They initially tried using a .510" bore (like the ".50 cal" rifles) for both of them, but that would have put them into the "Destructive Device" category and people would have had to have a special license to buy them.
As for the kick, my .500 isn't bad. It's heavy and ported. You do NOT want to be within 10 yards of this if you aren't wearing ear protection. The shock wave alone is pretty impressive when you're standing 30 feet behind it.
However, both of my boys enjoy shooting it. No, they don't shoot more than 15 or 20 rounds in an afternoon, but it doesn't make them sore, either. Even when my youngest boy was 14 and smaller (he's 16 now and at 6' 2", only weighs about 110, so, . . . ), he enjoyed shooting it.
It is also a very accurate gun. I'm not a hand gun hunter and only have hand guns as backup for a rifle. I tend to think of handguns as being accurate out to maybe 25 or 30 yards at best -- I don't consider a 3" pattern to be acceptable accuracy. But we use the .500 for target shooting (golf balls - the only thing for which those little globes are useful) out to 50 or 60 yards.
Yes, the .500 is heavy and when you hold it, the entire 7 1/2 pounds is forward of your hand, no counterbalancing stock like a rifle. But I don't find it uncomfortable and I also don't try to shoot it one handed. But, I don't shoot my .22 LR pistols one handed, either.
I wouldn't mind having a .50 AE, except that the gun costs more, being a semi-auto. .500's can be had for about $800 on up. The .50 AE's seem to start at about $1200. Magnum Research does make wheel guns in .50 AE, which is comparable in price to the .500's.
While I don't own either, I've had a chance to shoot both and if I wanted comfort in shooting, I would go with the .50AE. Shot out of a Desert Eagle, its not exactly as painful or for that matter difficult to shoot as most would imagine. If it weren't for the sheer weight of the gun, I'd shoot it comfortably with one hand. Regarding the .500 mag, I've shot that with both hands and one hand. Same for weight, if it weren't so bloody heavy and unbalanced, I'd shoot it with one hand more. Recoil is painful though if you're not used to big bore handguns. I haven't noticed a problem with accuracy though, in either of them. Normally, I'm happy if I'm hitting 3 in groups at 100 yds with a handgun but both of these guns shot 3 inch groups readily. I'm really lucky to be hitting paper at 100 yds with my 45acp.
In short, the .500 mag is way (really, way way) more powerful than the 50AE but its not necessarily that much of a problem to shoot. I'm not through with it and my next handgun will be a .500 mag. Personally, unless you need the quick reload capability of an autoloader because for some reason you intend to be engaging in a prolonged gun battle with handguns, the .500 mag is a better choice in price and power.
As the owner of a Desert eagle .50ae i find it very fun and comfy to shoot. i think the recoil is less then a .357 mag. the only problem i have ran across is the high mant. of the gun. after about 3000 rnds you gotta (well should) replace all the springs mostly the mag springs outta my experince but still i dont think the .500 is quiet high mant. some times i cant tell the def between my wife and my DE.
I have both a 50AE and a 500 S&W. The 500 has a lot more kick to it then the 50AE if you shot factory loads in both. All so the 454 casull has more kick than a 50AE. they are all managable to shot. You would not want to go out and shot a 100 rounds at the range I am sure you would be sore after that. No the case of a 50AE will not fit inside of a 500 S&W and you can not shot one in the other gun.
As I don't plan on shooting tanks, or helicopters.
I will stick to my Red Hawk.
I can fire it either handed, if need be.
And still shove out 320 gr bullets.
And to me, it is far more practical.
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If it says anything about the recoil of the 500, a friend of mine went shooting with me the other day. We was shooting my Super Blackhawk Hunter in 44 mag. He said it recoiled more then his friends S&W 500 he had shot befor.
He also said his friend is the proud owner of twin S&W 500's and packs them both in a custom shoulder rig, one under each arm. And when he goes to the range he practice's drawing and shooting both at the same time one in each hand. LOL! I have met the guy as an aquantince, he's a little wild like that.
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I had a desert eagle .50 ae for a while and fired it only on 2 occasions. It hurt more from the noise than the recoil, and the fact is that it was far too much gun for me. With that in mind, the .500S&W is a revolver round, and the .50AE is an autoloader round. The .500S&W can be much heavier, and the comparison is much like comparing a .45 ACP to a .45 Colt. They are 2 big rounds, but I would think both would be too much for 99% of shooters out there to handle. Anything on the receiving end of either would be in a heap of trouble, so both would make great trail guns if you are a very strong person with good shooting technique.
