With the acquisition of a .475cal revolver, I have now neared the end of my handgun journey.

What I lack is a .50cal (not BMG) handgun of some flavor. And.......I want one.

So, learn me as to their strengths, weakness, options, and attributes.

I don't "NEED" one. I will never go to Africa. I will likely never hunt legit dangerous game requiring such a gun. I just simply want one.

Custom, is not an option. I just choose not to spend more than 1k-ish for another handgun. Done it twice. Got it out of my system. And the slush fund isn't what it once was.

So, as I see it, my available options are .50 AE / .500 JRH / .500 S&W.

Platforms in that price range seem to be the BFR / S&W / Encore.

Teach me, oh wise Enablers!

I'm not so wise, but I have been accused of enabling!

In my humble opinion, the .500 JRH is the most logical and practical of the various .50 cals. It fits in a "normal" sized gun, offers all the terminal performance one could want, and has a wide selection of bullet availability. Also, you can produce brass from .500 S&W brass with ease.

That said, I do like the .500 Linebaugh and the .500 Maximum a whole lot as well. I wouldn't waste my time with a .50 AE, but that's just me.

The best platform -- aside from a full-blown (read: expensive) custim, in my humble opinion, is the BFR. It is available in .500 JRH and they are accurate to a fault, typically, and reasonably priced.

Great minds think alike. Or at least, disturbed ones.

I was kinda leaning that way as well. But, wanted the voice of reason. Or experience.

Id agree with the 50jrh. I have that and the smith and had a 500 linebaugh. The 500l is a very limited gun imho and expensive to get brass and buy bullets for. The smith is large and to take advantage of the extra case capacity you need at least the 8 3/8" barrell imho. With my 6.5" smith 500 i cannot really beat a jrh in velocity out of my sons bfr 7.5" barrel but the bfr has better tolerances as well and my bfr 460 7.5" barrel beats my smith 460 8 3/8" barrel by almost 100 fps. So that have something to do with it. The bfr is a little cheaper. Also the brass can be made from cut down 500 smith brass which no other 50 cal can claim and the bullet selection is by far better and the same as the smith but unlike the other single action platforms you have a slightly bigger cylinder and can use the big bullets. Thats what id do, in fact im gonna do it soon

Practical, the right size, long cylinder, tough, and very accurate. Also, pretty much readily available. No doubt in my mind 500 JRH BFR!

 Originally Posted By: dhom

Practical, the right size, long cylinder, tough, and very accurate. Also, pretty much readily available. No doubt in my mind 500 JRH BFR!

Yup!

I owned a Freedom Arms Model 83 in .500 Wyoming Express. It was a real beaut; and for sure the recoil got your attention!
http://www.handgunhunt.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2058&ppuser=872

I killed a doe antelope and also a muley buck with it; I finally sold it to one of my hunters so I could get some cash flow to have Rod build me my .475 Linebaugh custom.
http://www.handgunhunt.com/promo/membership/features/readNewArticle.php?oid=28

But alas! This gun breaks the One K limit by two times!

I killed this water buffalo with a .500 JRH. As I said before, it isn't lacking even remotely in terminal effectiveness!

Zee
I acquired my 454 BFR last spring, then Santa delivered Max?s latest book for Christmas. That was the seed for the following. I wanted a BFR 475 Linebaugh, I called BFR to ask the process to order one as it was listed as a custom offering. I learned from that call that BFR was moving the 475-LB & 500-JRH from custom to production. I was able to locate both within weeks apart. The triplets [454\475\500] are a dream to shoot and accuracy is top notch if I do my part. I started wearing glasses at the age of 8 so? with age I have scoped all three of them with Burris 2x7x32.
The 500 JRH ? I use Starline 500 S&W brass and cut it down, RCBS dies are listed as (500 S&W M \ Short) they work just fine for the JRH. My pet load that I plan to hunt with (deer) is A#9 Swift 325 AF\HP @ 1535fs.



You mentioned the Encore platform so I will add in this 50 caliber. The 50 B&M Alaskan, which is the standard 50 Alaskan necked down to .500 taking advantage of the many .500 caliber bullets Vs the original .510. Pictured below ? SSK 14? full bull barrel 1-12? twist - Tsob with a 60 caliber fishgill brake. I use Starline 50 AK brass and a simple trip tough the B&M die has them sized and ready to shoot. This will equal and exceed the 500 S&W with less pressure.
Ballistics to date for this canon:
Hornady 300 FTX ? 2300fs
Barnes 325 XPB ? 2240fs
Swift 325 AF/HP ? 2192fs
Hornady 350 XTP ? 2190fs
Hornady 500 FP ? 1800fs (This is a handful & max load!)



B..

Thanks, guys.

If I went with an Encore barrel from MGM, it would be in .500 S&W.

That would be the most cost effective route to go. A barrel is cheaper than a gun.

If I can save my pennies, I'd rather go with the shorter barreled (5.5in.?) BFR in .500 JRH.

Do they come with scope base? Or, is that ordered separately?

Either way, it will likely be closer to fall or the end of the year.