Question on the 500 S&W

[Deaf Smith]

Is th 500 S&W as powerful as the 500 or 475 maximun as loaded by john Lonbaugh? these were cartridges handloaded for specually made 5 shot custom revolvers made from the old Ruger 357 maximum guns with a new barrel and cylinder put in place the cylinder was enlarged to fit the window of the frame and the cartriges were made from 348 winchester beass for the 500 and 45/70 for the 475. Both were extremely powerful and folks like John Taffin did not fire more than 40 or 50 rounds per range session becouse of the recoil. Does anybody know about thes custom cartridges and how they compare in power and recoil to the new 500 S&W magnum? I am just wondering if Smith is right about their round being the most powerful or if the maximums have it beat still.
Jim L

[Redhawk1]

They are the most powerful "production" guns. The other guns are custom guns. But the 500MAG and the 500 Lonbaugh are very similar. Hope this helped.

[New Hampshire]

The only way your gonna get more power from a handgun is to go T/C Encore with a custom 15" bbl in a high power rifle round.  Ill admit that the .500 S&W sure is efficient!
Brian M.

[JohnK]

According to articles by John Taffin and Ross Seyfried the 500 Linebaugh Long runs 100 to 200 fps slower than the 500 S&W Magnum with the same bullet weights. That's assuming typical guns, which gives the Smith an advantage with the longer barrel. I haven't seen any data from someone shooting a 5" X frame Smith in 500 S&W, but I'd bet velocities would be pretty close to the 500 Linebaugh Long in 5.5" Ruger.

The Linebaughs are going to have more felt recoil though since they're generally chambered in much lighter guns without compensators.