Buffalo Bore 500 S&W 440gr Hard Cast – Staggering Dangerous Game Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 500 S&W 440gr Hard Cast is the load you reach for when penetration is the only thing that matters. A 440 grain gas checked hard cast lead flat nose at 1625 fps produces roughly 2579 ft-lbs, and unlike the expanding loads in this calibre it is designed to go straight through whatever it meets. Twenty rounds per box, item 18B/20.

• Buffalo Bore 500 S&W 440gr Hard Cast Overview
• 500 S&W Hard Cast Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 440 Grain Lead Flat Nose Bullet Keeps Going
• Specifications
• Range Notes For This Gas Checked 500 Magnum Load

Buffalo Bore 500 S&W 440gr Hard Cast Overview

The bullet is cast from a hard lead alloy with a wide flat nose and a gas check on the base. It does not deform on impact, so it keeps its full weight and its full half inch of frontal area from entry to exit.

The gas check is a copper cup crimped onto the base. At 1625 fps hot propellant gas would otherwise cut into the soft lead base and leave the bore leaded. With the check fitted, a cast bullet can be driven this hard and still shoot clean.

There is a practical advantage over the expanding loads worth knowing. Buffalo Bore states that guns fed from a magazine tube require flat nose ammunition. The Buffalo Bore 500 S&W 440gr Hard Cast is a flat nose, so unlike a pointed or hollow nosed load in this calibre it suits a lever gun as well as a revolver.

500 S&W Hard Cast Ammo Ballistics

2579 ft-lbs from a handgun is an extraordinary figure. For scale, a 30-30 Winchester makes around 1900 ft-lbs and a 308 Winchester about 2600, so this is producing rifle energy out of a revolver while throwing a bullet nearly three times heavier than either.

Against the 375 grain all copper load in the same calibre, which makes 2697 ft-lbs at 1800 fps, this gives up roughly a hundred foot pounds. That comparison misses the point though, because the two loads are not trying to do the same thing.

Momentum is the measure that matters here, and the heavier bullet wins it. 440 grains at 1625 fps carries more than 375 grains at 1800, and momentum is what drives a non expanding bullet through heavy bone and out the far side. This 500 S&W hard cast ammo is built for depth, not for energy transfer.

Why The 440 Grain Lead Flat Nose Bullet Keeps Going

Big bore revolver hunting settled on hard cast bullets a long time ago for one reason. On heavy animals an expanding bullet gives up the depth you actually need, and at handgun velocities there is not enough speed in reserve to have both expansion and penetration.

A 440 grain lead flat nose bullet takes the other path completely. It keeps every grain of its weight and its full frontal area, and it keeps going. Against a big bear, a bison or anything else where the bullet has to reach the vitals through a shoulder, that is the behaviour that finishes the job.

The wide flat nose is what makes the penetration count rather than merely happen. A round nose of the same weight will slip through tissue and leave a surprisingly narrow track. A flat meplat crushes and cuts, leaving a full calibre hole with sharp edges from entry to exit.

And the gas check keeps it practical. Without one, a cast bullet at 1625 fps would foul the bore steadily. A gas checked 500 Magnum load shoots clean enough that you can actually sight the gun in without scrubbing between strings.

Specifications

Range Notes For This Gas Checked 500 Magnum Load

Shoot it from sticks or a padded rest, never off a hard bench. A 440 grain bullet leaving a revolver at 1625 fps produces punishing recoil, and a bench concentrates every bit of it into your shoulder and cheek. That is how flinches are made.

Keep sessions short and deliberate. Maximum penetration revolver ammunition in this class is expensive and genuinely tiring, so sight in, confirm at your realistic distance, and put the rest away for hunting.

Confirm your point of impact against the lighter loads if you shoot both. A 440 grain lead flat nose bullet at 1625 fps will not land where a 375 grain bullet at 1800 does, and the difference is meaningful at fifty yards. Find out before the season rather than during it.

Think hard about your backstop. A non expanding 440 grain bullet at this velocity will pass through almost anything you shoot with it and keep travelling well beyond. That is a feature in open country and a serious liability anywhere else.

Maximum Penetration Revolver Ammunition Availability

This maximum penetration revolver ammunition is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or an expanding 500 S&W load, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For an expanding all copper bullet in the same calibre, see the 500 S&W 375gr Barnes XPB. For a similar hard cast approach in a smaller case, compare the 480 Ruger 410gr LBT-WFN, or browse our full ammunition selection.