Can someone reload s&w 500?

[sirr6]

Is there anyone in Elk Grove or in NorCal that can reload some s&w 500 rounds for me? I had a guy in SoCal that reloaded some for me some time ago and I think he said you had to be licensed to reload for anyone other than yourself?

[Eljay]

In order to make them with intent to sell, yes.

[Guns R Tools]

If you are going to reload one caliber. It shouldn't cost that much to set up.
You can send out spent casing for processing so you don't have to buy too many equipment.

[TKM]

Big, straight walled revolver rounds are extremely easy to reload. You will realize serious savings over factory with the 500.

[Fivehundo]

Yeah, he'd need a type 6 FFL to reload, and sell the ammo. Now, if he's a friend, he could invite you over, let you use his equipment and that's okay. Or he could possibly do it for you and not charge you but even that is "iffy".

As was mentioned, it's a straight-walled case. Very easy to load with minimal investment.

[Fordtrucks]

You prolly don't shoot hundreds of rounds of 500sw a session anyways so even a cheap Lee Loader will do u good. U can have 50 rounds in an hour or so and that should keep ur hand buzzing till next weekend.

[Cowboy T]

You prolly don't shoot hundreds of rounds of 500sw a session anyways so even a cheap Lee Loader will do u good. U can have 50 rounds in an hour or so and that should keep ur hand buzzing till next weekend.

Agreed. It's not expensive to set up.

OP, here's a shopping list. If you'd like to upgrade the press to, say, a Lee Classic Turret Press (a very good option), then simply add $70.

http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithagun.com/ReloadingShoppingList-Beginners.html

[waltrich]

Agreed. It's not expensive to set up.

OP, here's a shopping list. If you'd like to upgrade the press to, say, a Lee Classic Turret Press (a very good option), then simply add $70.

http://www.sanfranciscoliberalwithag...Beginners.html

^^This

Really, if 500 is the only caliber the OP is loading for, a lee hand press would suffice.

[CGT80]

500 would be easy to reload for. I reload for it's slimmer, faster, brother-the 460 Mag.

My 460 cases do grow in length and I have to trim them once in a while, so it may happen with the 500. It isn't a big deal to trim them, though.

Reloading yourself will allow you to use whatever bullet you want at any speed. Light or medium power loads are easy to make if you want to shoot the gun more, without the full concussion and recoil, plus lighter loads can be much cheaper to shoot. You do have to be careful when choosing which powders to use for such large cases. Trailboss is great if you want some soft loads and A5744 is good for mid loads. They are both bulky powders. The usual pistol powders won't be great or very safe in such a big case. Win 296/H110 will give you full power loads, but it isn't good for lighter loads. A member here has worked with using heavier bullets or lower charges, but he found that the key is to reduce air space above the powder. Some powders do OK with just a little in a case, and others do not.

[JMP]

I agree that it only makes sense to load your own 500 S&W. This is one reason that I opted for the 460 S&W over the 500 as I could load it with my existing 45 ACP bullets with just a small premium over regular 45 ACP once I had the brass as it just needs more powder. Of course, it's a bit more if you want a longer range bullet. You really can't mess up on the load since as long as you are using a good slow powder, the cases fill up all the way, especially with lighter bullets.

With that said, it may not be a good first case to reload bullet as it has quite a lot of powder and it's a big kaboom. If you take it up as the first case, I'd load lightly with light bullets and work your way up.

One thing to watch on the big magnum revolvers is that you need sufficient neck tension or a roll crimp to securely seat the bullet; otherwise, you may experience creep as the inertia of the other bullets in the cylinder pulls the bullets out during the recoil and this could lock the cylinder. I haven't had any real issue with this in 460 as my gun has a muzzle brake and I don't load the really heavy bullets.

The retail price on the 460 and 500 magnum loaded cartridges is absolutely absurd when you look at the actual components they use. If you threw away the brass after one firing, you'd still save money. Most people seem to use Starline brass in these magnums, and it is pretty good for the money.

[CGT80]

I use starline brass for the 460 as well. I also forgot to add that I only size the brass part way down. The brass goes back in the same revolver and fits fine and full sizing squeezes the brass down too much. You just need to resize for proper neck tension at the bullet and to fit the cylinder.

Shooting the 500 was an experience, but when I thought about buying one, the 460 made more sense as stated above. I already loaded for 45acp. 45 colt loads work just fine for plinking at close range. It didn't take long for me to buy a custom quality boolit mold for the 460. The price on some of the commercial lead bullets is crazy, especially when they have gas checks (good idea for high velocity loads).

For top end loads, I use Hornady xtp MAG bullets. The MAG is made for very high velocity loads and standard bullets don't seem to be recommended for those speeds as they can come apart in the barrel. I don't know if the 500 has similar recommendations and bullets available. My mid power loads use 240 Sierra JHP bullets but they are only loaded to 1400 fps, which is 44 mag territory.