.500 S&W Magnum

The .500 S&W Magnum is a cartridge that was developed by Cor-Bon with the "X-Gun" engineering team at Smith & Wesson for use in their Model 500 revolvers and introduced in February 2003 at the SHOT trade show. Currently only a handful of models have been introduced that fire this massive caliber, including the X-Frame Model 500 revolver from Smith & Wesson, Magnum Research's "BFR" (Biggest, finest revolver), the Taurus Raging Bull and German Janz JTL-E 500. Each holds only five rounds to allow for thicker cylinder walls to accommodate the pressure generated by such a large and powerful cartridge. The single shot Thompson-Center Encore and NEF Handi Rifle are also chambered for this round.

Performance
With over 2500 ft·lbf (3.5 kJ) of energy, created with a 440 gr (29 g) bullet travelling at 1650 ft/s (503 m/s), it is claimed to be the most powerful handgun cartridge commercially manufactured, and provides power similar to long established wildcat cartridges such as the .375 JDJ and pistol loadings of the .45-70 Government.

The intended design for this cartridge is for big game hunting and wilderness protection.

Bullet weights available for this cartridge, range from a 265 grain (17 g) jacketed hollow point, to a 700 grain (45 g) cast lead bullet. Moderate velocity, heavy bullet loads from the .500 S&W Magnum are similar in performance to the black powder .50-70 Government.

The recoil of this cartridge is quite strong. Smith & Wesson has incorporated design features into their Smith & Wesson Model 500, including a muzzle brake, recoil reducing rubber grips, and considerable weight to help mitigate the recoil.