.500S&W or .50AE

RedneckRampage · Feb 23, 2014

Just for what if sake, what would you rather have, and why?

Desert Eagle in .50AE

Or

Smith and Wesson .500

Certaindeaf · Feb 23, 2014

The .500 in a 4" Smith. For bears and such. Oh my!

Nwcid · Feb 23, 2014

Depends on why. The 6" S&W would be an amazing gun for tackling about anything on the planet. There is a large selection of bullet out there for it. The .50AE can not even compare for ballistics.

Well the DE is just a BA gun. Think of how many good movies it stared in. When Midway still had bulk bullets in .50 AE I was reloading for about $0.25/rd so very cost effective to shoot. I had wanted a DE for a long time but were out of the price range I was willing to pay. A couple years ago on here I found one, with accessories for a price I was willing to pay. It was such a good price I almost felt like I was stealing it.

SVT-ROY · Feb 23, 2014

Dang I would have brought my Titanium DE to play with if I had seen this thread. I hate wheel guns that's why I went DE. Plus Bullet tooth Tony can't be wrong! The kick isn't that bad on the DE, not compared to 500 anyway, but 500 seems easier to find.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2hYWMt5SZs&feature=youtube_gdata_player

mrblond · Feb 23, 2014

I would go S&W 500 mag in a 6-8 inch barrel. No offence to those that have the DE, but to be, its a bling weapon for king hood rat to keep the lesser hood rats in line.

orygun · Feb 23, 2014

I had a 5" S&W for a couple of years. If I was doing it all over again I'd do the same thing.
The 5" gun is heavy enough, but can be packed in a good holster without being in the way. The longer barrels don't lend themselves well to being carried, as I don't think the DE is a "packin" gun.
As far as ammo, fat chance on finding 50AE on the shelves, but the 500 S&W is fairly common on a well stocked shelf.
Power? There is no way the AE can touch what the S&W is capable of, plus the S&W has limitless choices of bullet style.
Not sure what you would pay for a DE in 50, but you can buy a brand new Smith for a shade over a grand.
Also, from what I learned shooting the 500 over a chrono, it didn't need a long barrel to get speed. 4" of rifled barrel did the trick. (5" guns have 1" of comp)

cookie · Feb 27, 2014

Too big and nasty, both of them . I realize that I am not MAN enough to handle either and that being said the wife would say that I am compensating if I came home with either.

jluck · Feb 27, 2014

The 50AE thinks its a bass *** and the 500 Smith knows it is...

I'd still rather have the 460 Smith in a wheel gun (I did for years) over the 500 but only if I needed it. I'd have a Desert Eagle in .44 mag over the .50 but that's just me.

Really with out your desired needs for cartridge it is really hard to give good advice.

Certaindeaf · Feb 27, 2014

I heard the .44 DE is super soft shooting and accurate.. but it's a brick x2!
I don't know if it's super reliable or not but those two things go far for a hunter/"plinker" gun.

Walter Sobchak · Feb 27, 2014

For a handloader, I got to think the .500 has infinitely more possibilities. Without the concern of cycling a semi auto action, a fella could load anything from dribble out the barrel duck fart loads, to hammer of the gods magnum cannon barrages.
All that being said, .454 casull is as far as I've made it the big bore revolver ladder, so what the heck do I know.

das_napeth · Feb 27, 2014

I say it comes to personal preference. I'm more of an auto guy vs. Revolver.

Fast Eddie · Feb 27, 2014

I would pick the S&W 500, I didn't set out to be a revolver guy, but that's where I've ended up, I like bolt rifles and wheel guns. I especially like the big Smiths, as others have mentioned, having a variety of ammo you can feed them is pretty cool.