I bought a 6 1/2'' S&W 500 magnum 2 weeks ago and immediately started reloading for it. I've shot a total of 55 rounds in it so far. The 1st few were just a mild load to test the gun and see if the recoil wasn't too horrible to handle. It was more than I expected. This is a monster gun and cartridge but it's not too bad.
I bought good bullets and made up 3 rounds of 5 different charge weights on the 2nd trip out to work up a good, accurate load. I know 5 round groups tell you a whole lot more than just 3 but with the cost of bullets being 54 cents and the recoil this thing creates, I didn't want to get too beat up just doing work ups. After 5 rounds to get sighted in, I started shooting for groups.

I started with 36gr, 37gr, 38gr, 39gr and 40gr of H-110.
350gr Sierra JHP's
CCI LR primer
new Starline brass
Very firm crimp.
All were shot from a sand bag @ 25 yards, open factory sights.

The results weren't bad, but didn't give me any indication of a definitely good load. I made 3 more of each and shot them under the same conditions and set up as before. Compared the targets.

The 37gr charge showed a pretty good load, so I loaded 10 more (2 five shot groups) and both were 2''. Consistent, but disappointing. I thought it would do better, I have .22's & .45's that do better. I started researching more load data (I originally used Hornady #9 & Hodgdon). Nearly everybody is using H-110 in 42-44gr weights with several guys saying they get 2'' groups at 75 yards!!! WTH ? Also, a lot of guys say these guns work best at the upper limits of pressure.

I can change powder but the Hornady manual says H-110 is hard to beat. I can change bullets but need a hollowpoint. I can move closer. I can up the powder charge, there's plenty of room til MAX and no pressure signs yet.
I saw a few posts that used H-4198 but gave no charge weight and I found NO published data for it, but I have plenty of it. I also have 2400.

Where do I go from here ? What gets the accuracy you need ?

Yeah, I got a lot of info from the S&W site. I'll look into the loadswap link you posted, see what's there.

There's really no shortage of load data, just that I haven't seen anybody say ''Mine shoots really well with X bullet and Y amount of Z powder''. Granted I've only tried 2 different bullet styles and 1 powder but this thing is tougher than a $2 steak and kicks worse than my Barrett 50BMG... and this is with a ''LIGHT'' load.

The sandbag is what causes the recoil to go straight into my hand, shooting it off-hand, standing isn't bad at all, I could shoot 100 rounds no sweat, but accuracy suffers. I normally don't take the easy way with load work ups, but this is one mean bastard of a gun and I'd like to get it over with quickly.

One trick to mitigate the recoil is to position the sandbags under your wrists rather than under the barrel.  Not as steady as under the barrel but a lot more stable than freehand.

We have 3 early production 500's. All 3 will malfunction with full power loads. This phenomenon is well documented with high speed video.

I don't care for the crazy recoil so I started loading cast bullets. Then I switched to powder coated cast bullets.

2 of them are muzzleloader bullets a 250gr Lee REAL and the 360gr hollow base mini. Either one will darn near shoot one hole groups at 50 yards.

In fact today my brother shot a doe at 100yards with the 250gr.

Both are mild loads using 12gr Unique.

I also load the Lee 440gr. I have 2 loads worked up with this bullet. One is 13gr Unique the other is 27.5gr Lil-gun. Both are super accurate.

A third load we have used with success uses the Hornady FTX bullet with near top end loads of either Lil-gun or H-110/W-296 (you know they are essentially the same powder) at least late manufacturer they are. However we have experienced the aforementioned malfunction with these as well.

I don't know why you think you need a hollow point and absolutely disagree that these pistols are not accurate with lower power loads.

Oh I almost forgot. We recently got a 4th 500. It's was a used performance center model. The only thing we've shot from it so far is the 440gr with 27.5gr Lil-gun. It's a freekin tack driver.

This load shoots 1450 fps. That's an ounce of flat nose projectile traveling 1450 fps. I don't think very many animals in the USA would stand much of a chance.

The recoil is not mild but very manageable.

If you must shoot commercial bullets I can definitely recommend the Hornady FTX.

Optics help a lot too as far as shooting groups. My personal 500 is the only one that still has open sights. I put a fiber optic front on it.

I actually just switched to the 27.5gr Lil-gun load for mine because the slower 13gr Unique load shoots too high at normal hunting range (50 yards) and my sights are down as far as they can go and I have the tallest front sight available.

I know sounds funny but the slower round spends too much time in the barrel allowing the muzzle to rise more before it exits.

Bottom line. 4 different pistols although 3 are the same model. All 4 are super accurate mild to wild.

Motor

@Motor1 :
Thanks for the reply, it's just the kind of info I was looking for. It will at least give me a place to start without a lot of hand-busting, start all over from the beginning work ups. Let me try to answer some questions as well as ask more too.

The gun is a novelty gun. I have no useful purpose for it. I don't hunt so it is just for blasting stuff into oblivion (fruit, veggies, canned goods, ice blocks, etc.). Jerry Miculek's videos are a bad influence I've been doing it for years with various pistols and rifles and video recording the explosive results to watch in slow motion. It is quite an astonishing thing to see. I've shot video from the front and sides and saw the events from the moment of impact to total destruction. It's just for fun. I've also turned the camera on the gun and caught the fireball from the barrel/cylinder gap. The 500 blasts a foot long fireball out both sides ! It's stunning to see and it's over in a fraction of a second.

With that in mind, hollowpoints cause the most damage which is why I need them. Maybe a wide flat nose would work.

I've found that I often get better accuracy from my cast bullets VS jacketed at shorter ranges. This type of shooting is done at about 20-25 yards with pistols. I have thought about casting and PC'ing bullets for this gun but the compensator looks like it can be easily clogged up and would be nearly impossible to clean if it does. Are you finding yours getting clogged up ? If not I would switch to cast and lighten the load. I don't NEED a heavy load and would rather have it be lighter. When I said that about high pressure loads, that's what I found on most sites. Many guys say these guns perform best up there. I find that hard to believe. I have several extremely accurate loads at or under the listed start loads. I think this gun would be no different.

Since H-110 can't safely be reduced much I'll take your suggestion to use Lil-Gun. Also, I've thought of using optics. Apples, oranges and canned corn aren't very big from 25 yards and the 2'' groups I get now would probably just nick or miss completely 3 out of 5 rounds, not good. A scope or red dot would help a lot. It's already drilled and tapped from the factory so why not ?

I think a 1/2'' dia. flat nose bullet at moderate speed from this gun would turn any kind of produce into vapor so, with your helpful suggestions, that's the direction I'm going to take. Less recoil, better accuracy = more shredded veggies.
Thanks for the starting advice, Motor.

ETA: What is the malfunction you are talking about ? What happens ? Can it happen to my later production gun ? I searched but only found reloading mistake blow ups, I don't think that's what you mean.

If you  load long and you have heavy recoil the bullet in the next chamber can walk forward, locking up the cylinder.  Buddy who loads excessively hot has to single load his hottest loads otherwise it locks up every time.  Not a huge issue if you don't go real hot and / or load long.   Always load with a really good crimp for hot loads.

Forty5Cal

When I started shooting cast bullets I was using A-Lox lube. With the lube
everything worked fine except the muzzle brake was getting it's interior painted with lead spray.

This is from the base of the bullets being pressure cut when they leave the barrel. The easy fix for this of course is a gas check however I'm a cheap SOB and didn't want the added expense plus neither of the muzzleloader bullets are designed for gas checks.

Then I started powder coating. Powder coating has changed my approach to shooting cast bullets in pistols completely.

With powder coating my muzzle brake stays clean. Even with the 30k+ psi Lil-gun load.

H-110/296 has a wider range of data than you may think. You need to look at data in the Lyman Cast Handbook. Personally I think they (whoever does lab testing) has been working with these powders and are finding that the "old rules" about SEE and such were simply not true. As far I know SEE has not been recreated in any test platform.

Regardless, fallow data from reliable sources and you can't go wrong. I consider the Lyman Cast Handbook a reliable source.

The malfunction:

When shooting full power loads our pistols (3 of them. I haven't tested the performance center model yet) will unlock the cylinder during recoil.

Then the gun actually rotates around the free cylinder. This puts the fired charge hole one station to the right. So when you go to shoot the next round you are actually bringing up the one you just fired.

Some people accidentally squeeze the trigger during the recoil. When this occurs the cylinder obviously ends up advanced. There is YouTube of people actually doubling because of this. That's scary.

As a side note. The Lee 360gr hollow base mini loaded backwards would make a huge hollow point. I haven't done this. I have loaded them a little hotter than 12gr Unique and accuracy went away so I'm guessing the hollow base doesn't like the pressure.

Motor

Powder coating has changed the way I load for pistols AND rifles. I load and shoot them at jacketed start loads and a few even faster. I've recovered some of them and they look like green jacketed bullets (my powder color is green).
But the compensator on my 6 1/2'' seems to let gas go by as the base gets to the 1st set of holes, it goes forward in the space behind the barrel and comes out the last set of holes and burns the nose of the bullet leaving a lot of copper fouling as it goes past. I think it may burn the powder coating leaving a gooey mess. But it won't hurt much to try it. I have a 50 cal muzzle loader that the bullets may fit.

Regarding the H-110: I've worked down to 10% lower than the start loads in .357 mag without any trouble, found a good load there and stopped but would be cautious about going any farther. You think it can go less then that ? I have also read a lot about SEE and don't believe it can happen. I went pretty far down with 38 Spcl & HP-38 till it got erratic ignition and hang fires but there was no explosions.

Also, H-110 is right after Lil'Gun on the burn rate chart. If one was to take a little leeway with Lil'Gun data why couldn't one do the same with H-110 ?

I wish I had access to the Lyman Cast Book. I bet there's a lot of info I could use. Is it worth buying just for this one caliber ?

The malfunction: WOW !! How the hell does that happen ? Do your guns not have the crane detent ball lock ? I have not had that happen to mine yet, have they figured out the cause and fixed it or can mine do it too ?
I've seen vids of doubles with the 500. Yes, it is scary because the 2nd one goes off when the muzzle is about 45 degrees up.

Anyways, the weather is starting to get bad here, not much time before winter comes. I have some 2400 with data to bring the speed down a lot plus work down with H-110 and a few other things. If I can't find something that works better then I'll buy a couple molds and PC them in the spring.
That 360gr mini loaded backwards is a devious idea... I like it ! Thanks Motor.

Concerning the malfunction. S&W has a new (blue) spring for the cylinder lock. I need to order some and have my gun smith install one and test it. What's really surprising is that they had the same problem with early model 29's. You would think they would have learned.

The thing about H-110/W-296 is that there are 2 or 3 very popular "rules of thumb" concerning these powders and the fact is the latest published data breaks every one of them.

I'm in no way saying to take it on yourself to experiment all I'm saying is research reliable data and see for yourself.

As far as powder coating goes. I have melted down powder coated bullets in my lead pot. The lead actually melts out leaving the polymer floating on top until it catches fire and burns up. I really don't think you'll get any kind of gooeyness. I think once cured it stays hard until it actually burns.

Motor

I just now took the side plate off mine and it DOES have the blue spring for the cylinder lock. Good news. Yes, you would think they'd have learned a lesson but that's the cheap way out which is what modern manufacturing is all about.

An interesting thing I just found out: while I had the side plate off, I checked the function without their transfer/action bar in place and the gun worked fine. The firing pin poked out of the frame just as normal as shooting live rounds would. I put it back in but I think it would work without it. Strange.

H-110: yes, you are correct. Everything I've heard about it is to not reduce it more than 3% of MAX for a start load. I just looked in my Hornady book and they have it 7.9gr lower than MAX as a start load, that's a reduction of 18% ! Thanks for pointing that out. I won't worry so much if I decide to lighten the loads a little less than start charge. And, I understand your reluctance to say ''yeah, go ahead and experiment with it, it's OK''. I wouldn't say that either and should have known better than to even suggest it. Please excuse me.

Lastly, I haven't melted any of my PC bullets down yet, so that info is very good to know. It will come in handy in the spring if I start casting for this gun. I may even look around for some online to try out now. I'll probably end up casting my own anyways, that's usually the way it goes.

Generally h-110 will work best at or near the max load. If you try to reduce the load you will likely get a squib especially in cold weather.

My favorite load is 14 gr VV 3N37 with a 350 gr bullet, the recoil is very light and its accurate.

I tend to agree. It's not just the volume but the chemical make up too. Powders like H-110 have ingredients that make them burn at their intended rates. Some of these actually act like flame retardant.

Just for informational purposes:

The lightest H-110 load listed in the Lyman Cast Handbook is 30.6gr with a 400gr bullet.

For 375gr it's 32gr

For 440gr its 31gr

Forty5Cal, I believe you are correct about the "safety bar" in the S&W

Unlike the Ruger which uses a "transfer bar" to transfer the hammer strike to the firing pin the S&W uses it to keep the hammer from striking the pin if it should happen to drop without the trigger being pulled.

Which is actually pretty good engineering because that thin metal bar gets hammered every time you shoot the Ruger while in the S&W the only way for it to get struck is with a non trigger pull hammer drop. Which obviously should never happen.


Motor