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Smith & Wesson, Barnes Make A Great Combination
May 24 2007
| Written By - SCI first for hunters - 05/24/2007 | |
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Link to Original Article here |
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Since its inception four years ago, the Smith & Wesson Model 500 and its cartridge, the .500 S&W Magnum, have made quite a name for themselves among serious handgun hunters.
This was evident in the article in the November/December 2003 issue of SAFARI Magazine when Mark Hampton used the S&W 500 to take an elephant in Africa, and then used the same handgun to take a second elephant that was in the process of trying to kill the professional hunter when the PH's backup rifle failed him.
As the long list of credits the cartridge is developing grows, it is becoming apparent that the use of high-tech bullets can expand the versatility of this big bore revolver. For this hunt, the author opted for Cor-Bon's factory loading that features a 325-grain Barnes X-Bullet at 1,800 feet per second muzzle velocity (2,338 foot/pounds of energy) from the 8 3/8-inch barrel of the S&W Model 500.
On any animal, it is good to be able to use ammunition that can be relied upon to penetrate to the vital area(s) from any logical shot angle.
As he turned, I placed another shot into his right side, slightly higher, that found its way to the spine. Instantly, his rear end dropped, followed almost lyrically by the front. It was over. It was an initial, lethal shot, followed by a dropper, just as the plan had anticipated. At less than 20 yards, the drama had played out.
Consistent, repeated performance on large animals literally since the day of its introduction has set the Model 500 Smith & Wesson revolver and its cartridge, the .500 S&W Magnum, apart from the crowd. It is a serious revolver for serious handgun hunting. And Barnes bullets are serious bullets for serious firearms and serious hunting.
