My 1st thought when I saw the 500 at the S&W booth at SHOT when the introduced it was "This will be great in a lever rifle". A little shorter than the 45-70, maybe even get another round into the tube. Lever guns were designed to shoot rounds much like the 500's external dimensions in past years, so one strong enought for the new round is just plain going to be made. Since NEF is making rifles, and Marlin and NEF are owned by the same parent company, I have been waiting to see the press release announcing the obvious development.
I doubt I will make the jump to buying into the 500S&W myself. I don't really want a pistol that painful to shoot and I already have 45-70 for my large bore rifle needs. If I wasn't already invested in the 45-70 and in 44mag, I can see how the 500 makes an atractive option.
I hope you can interest some one in importing them. Australia needs some good news in the world of guns. Heck, we all need good gun news
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