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Subbies on steroids

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Oh—and I HAVE shot the snub .500.

It is an…experience.

It was at an indoor range, and I was shooting my buddy’s 500gr XTP handloads (it was his gun, as well).

They were…warm. As in “the surface of the sun is…warm”.

Hung a target at 7 yards, and corked one off.

The muzzle flash extended into the two lanes on either side of me—we’re talking a solid 3’ ball of purple-orange flame.

The muzzle blast tore the target out of the holder (X ring, though…).

Have you ever seen Robocop? When all the cops shooting on the range fall silent and poke their heads out to see WTF he’s shooting? That’s what happened.

The RO materialized as if teleported…he thought there was a catastrophic failure; that someone’s gun had “kinetically disassembled”. He was…amused…at what I was shooting.

The guy on the right of us packed up and left; the guy on the left laughed and swore he had wet himself…he also ended up giving it a try, though.

But…it was not that bad, recoil-wise. Less nasty than a 329 Airweight, or an Airweight .357 mag J-frame firing full-power loads.

In .45C or .454, I suspect that X-frame will be a kitty-cat.
 
HansGruber said:
Less nasty than a 329 Airweight
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The nastiest recoiling gun I have ever shot, hands-down. I barely got through one cylinder and couldn't wait to hand it back to the guy who let me borrow it.

Not that all guns need to have a strictly practical application, but I question how practical .454 Casull really is, in the real world (though certainly fun, no doubt). I have a feeling the biggest segment of the market that buys them are guys going on their first hunt to Alaska, who have convinced themselves that's what they need for large critter protection. They take it to range once before their trip, likely barely hit anything with it, and then cross their fingers that it's going to work for them if/when an 800 lb fur missile is coming through the willows at them at close range. And then after that trip it mostly sits in the safe.
 
I have shot rhe Ruger Akaskan in 454 Casull and the .500 but not the snubbie 500. Both were more pleasant than the S&W 329 I owned for a short time. That thing was the only weapon I dont believe I ever ran a whole box of ammunition through.

I decided I was a wimp and sold it a few weeks after buying.
 
Hammer67 said:
The nastiest recoiling gun I have ever shot, hands-down. I barely got through one cylinder and couldn't wait to hand it back to the guy who let me borrow it.

Not that all guns need to have a strictly practical application, but I question how practical .454 Casull really is, in the real world (though certainly fun, no doubt). I have a feeling the biggest segment of the market that buys them are guys going on their first hunt to Alaska, who have convinced themselves that's what they need for large critter protection. They take it to range once before their trip, likely barely hit anything with it, and then cross their fingers that it's going to work for them if/when an 800 lb fur missile is coming through the willows at them at close range. And then after that trip it mostly sits in the safe.
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.454 in the right platform is pretty dang effective; same buddy with the snub .500 had a FA .454 in a 7.5” Magnaported barrel…I watched him knock down a deer at 75 yards like he swatted a fly.

It’s an impressive cartridge.
 
HansGruber said:
.454 in the right platform is pretty dang effective; same buddy with the snub .500 had a FA .454 in a 7.5” Magnaported barrel…I watched him knock down a deer at 75 yards like he swatted a fly.

It’s an impressive cartridge.
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Oh, no doubt. It's a very impressive cartridge. And for a hunting shot, when one has the time to line things up, it can be very effective. I'm thinking of it more in the "bear defense" realm, and I question how many shooters truly have the skill to control it accurately. Realistically, anyone other than the exceptional (and highly trained) shooter would probably be better off with something slightly less powerful, but more controllable and capable of faster follow-up shots.
 
You can have all mine.

I put exactly 50 rounds of full .357s through my 2.5" Model 19 back in the '70s, and that was enough for me. I found it FAR more unpleasant than shooting full-tilt .44 Magnums through my 6.5" M29. I can't imagine what one of these monsters (or one of the new lightweight .357 snotties) would be like to shoot.

OTOH, .38+Ps in my 3" M66 (stainless 19) are very manageable. ;)
 
Snake45 said:
You can have all mine.

I put exactly 50 rounds of full .357s through my 2.5" Model 19 back in the '70s, and that was enough for me. I found it FAR more unpleasant than shooting full-tilt .44 Magnums through my 6.5" M29. I can't imagine what one of these monsters (or one of the new lightweight .357 snotties) would be like to shoot.

OTOH, .38+Ps in my 3" M66 (stainless 19) are very manageable. ;)
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Interesting; I have no problems with .357’s on my 2.5” 66; given, I haven’t pushed nuclear loads, but 125gr Golden Sabers or 125gr REM SJHP are very pleasant.
 
Sld1959 said:
My experiences have been similar. I shoot 357s out of the 2 inch model 60 all the time. Like you I stay away from the nukes.
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I’ve run Underwood 125gr XTP’s out of my 2.75” 686+…they’ve got some honk.

Controllable, but recovery times are slow.

Tried them out of my 640 Pro…not terrible, but REALLY slow recovery, and they stuck in my cylinder; needed a rubber mallet on a punch to remove the cases individually.

They’ve been since dedicated to my steel N-frame 27/28/628’s.
 
HansGruber said:
Interesting; I have no problems with .357’s on my 2.5” 66; given, I haven’t pushed nuclear loads, but 125gr Golden Sabers or 125gr REM SJHP are very pleasant.
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Yes, interesting. I'd never noticed any particular unpleasantness shooting either full .357s out of my 4" M19, nor full .44s out of my 6.5" M29, but I recall those full .357s out of the 2.5" M19 to be DISTINCTLY unpleasant. Maybe it was the increased muzzle blast and flash, or the reduced weight of the gun, or the smaller size of the grips (factory "splinter" grips with a Tyler T-Grip adapter), or the combination of those three factors, but I do remember that I considered the whole experience to be pretty nasty. :eek:
 
Snake45 said:
Yes, interesting. I'd never noticed any particular unpleasantness shooting either full .357s out of my 4" M19, nor full .44s out of my 6.5" M29, but I recall those full .357s out of the 2.5" M19 to be DISTINCTLY unpleasant. Maybe it was the increased muzzle blast and flash, or the reduced weight of the gun, or the smaller size of the grips (factory "splinter" grips with a Tyler T-Grip adapter), or the combination of those three factors, but I do remember that I considered the whole experience to be pretty nasty. :eek:
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Yeah, I’ve got some fairly meaty grips on my 66….
 
HansGruber said:
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Yeah, I’ve got some fairly meaty grips on my 66….
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I've got some like that, but seldom use them. IMHO they kinda defeat the whole idea of a shorty K-frame .357.

My 2.5" M19 still has the Tyler T-Grip on it, and so does one of my 3" M66s, and the other 3" M66 rolls with Pachmayr Compac Professionals, which are also quite good.

All my square-butt Smith Ks have factory Target Grips on them--some of them, old-school "diamond coke bottles." ;)
 
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