Description
The Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch is The Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch takes the most powerful production revolver cartridge ever made and puts it in the shortest package Smith Wesson will build around it.
Three and a half inches of barrel on the enormous X-frame, a HiViz fiber optic front sight, an adjustable rear and Hogue grips shaped to spread recoil across as much of your hand as possible. This is not a target gun or a hunting gun. It is a field revolver for people who want maximum energy at close range in something they can actually carry, usually in a chest rig, usually in country with animals larger than they are.
Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch Short Barrel And X Frame Build
The X-frame is what makes the Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch possible at all. It is the largest revolver frame Smith Wesson builds, designed specifically to contain the pressures of the 500 S and W Magnum, and its mass does useful work absorbing recoil rather than simply adding bulk. Even so, this is a heavy handgun by any standard.
Shortening the barrel to three and a half inches is a deliberate trade for portability. In a chest holster on a hunt or a hike, the difference between a short barrel and a ten inch one is the difference between a gun you carry and a gun you leave in the truck. What you give up is velocity, and with this cartridge you give up a great deal of it.
The HiViz fiber optic front sight is the right choice for a gun like this. Under timber or at dusk, a bright front sight is what lets you make a fast shot, and precision at distance is not what this configuration is for.
Hogue grips spread the recoil impulse over more of your hand, which matters more here than on almost any other handgun.
Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch Recoil, Blast And Honest Limits
Be clear about what this is. Full-power 500 S and W Magnum from a three and a half inch barrel produces recoil and muzzle blast at the extreme end of what a handgun can do, and the Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch is not a pleasant gun to shoot. Most owners fire a few cylinders at a time, sight it in, and carry it. That is a reasonable way to own one.
The short barrel makes the blast far worse than a long one. There is not enough distance for the powder to burn, so an enormous amount of energy leaves as flash and noise. Firing this indoors or without hearing protection would be a genuinely damaging experience.
Ammunition is expensive and inconsistently stocked, and unlike the 460 there is no cheaper cartridge you can substitute for practice. Reduced power 500 loads exist and are worth seeking out for range work.
It does not conceal, it is heavy, and it needs a purpose built chest or field holster. Anyone thinking of this as a carry gun in the ordinary sense should look elsewhere.
Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch Specifications
- Manufacturer part number: 11623
- UPC: 022188870008
- Caliber: 500 S and W Magnum
- Capacity: 5 rounds
- Barrel: 3.5 inches
- Frame: stainless steel X-frame
- Build: Smith Wesson Performance Center
- Front sight: HiViz fiber optic
- Rear sight: adjustable
- Grips: Hogue
Buyers shopping a Smith Wesson Model 500 in short barrel form are buying portability rather than ballistics. As a 500 S and W Magnum Revolver it fires the most powerful production revolver cartridge made, and as an X Frame Field Revolver it is built and weighted to survive it. The three and a half inch barrel is a deliberate concession to carrying the thing, and it costs velocity to get there.
Why Buyers Choose the Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch
Buy the Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch if you spend time in country where something very large could be a problem and you want the most energy available in a handgun you can actually wear. In a chest rig it is carryable, the fiber optic front sight is fast in poor light, and nothing else this short delivers comparable power. For guides, backcountry hunters and anyone working in bear country it is a serious tool.
Skip it if you want a gun you will enjoy shooting, because recoil and blast are punishing and ammunition is expensive. Skip it if you want the velocity the 500 is famous for, since a short barrel throws much of it away. And skip it if you are new to handguns, because this is emphatically not a starting point.
Who Should Buy The Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch
The Smith Wesson PC 500 3.5 Inch suits This revolver suits backcountry carriers in bear country, guides, outfitters, and experienced shooters who want maximum close range stopping power in a carryable package. It also appeals to collectors of extreme handguns. It is a poor fit for new shooters, for the recoil sensitive, for concealed carry, and for anyone wanting a handgun to shoot regularly for practice. All firearm sales ship to a licensed FFL dealer for transfer, and handgun rules vary by state, so confirm your local law before ordering.
Learn more from Smith and Wesson, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.
Every firearm we list ships to your chosen FFL and is transferred there after a background check.
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