Buying a S&W Model 500

I've been saving my pennies, and I think I'm just about ready to buy a 500. I already have my HSC. Problem is, it would cost $1400 out the door from my local gun shop, and the nearest Bass Pro (probably about $1000-$1100 out the door) is three hours away. I called, and they said there's no way that I could buy it without going there once to buy it and then again to pick it up. No faxing, nothing. I also don't really know how I would save time/money using GunBroker.com. Would I still have to visit an FFL (most likely Bass Pro, since their transfer fee is only $10 IIRC) twice? Would I be "buying" from the online seller or the FFL, in terms of sales tax? I'm also stumped about the proof of residency requirement. I live at my parents' house and my car was given to me by my father a few years back (in his name), so I can't think of any official "I live here" documents in my name.

Any suggestions or advice about any of these things would be greatly appreciated.

Where do you live in CA? What gun store did you go to?

If purchasing from an FFL in CA, you need to make two trips to the store, once to fill out the DROS, then again to pick it up after the 10 day wait. You can purchase from an online retailer (Bass Pro, gunbroker, budsgunshop, etc), and have it shipped to your nearest FFL, thereby only needing to make one trip, but most likely you will have to pay shipping charges + tax + whatever the retailer wants to charge you for the transfer. That almost sounds like a good idea, until you actually try and do it.

Most likely, buying online will end up costing almost the same as buying from the local gun shop, because the shops are really going to jack up their transfer cost to make their in store price seem more attractive. Figure $20-$30 for shipping, another $90 for tax, and anywhere from $75-$150 for transfer (<-those are some of the prices I have been quoted for a transfer), + dros, so now the local gunshop price of $1400 isn't looking so bad anymore. Not to mention the hassle of trying to return it if something is wrong with it. That's also if you can find a gunshop that will accept the transfer. Legally they have to do it, but since you aren't buying it from them, certain stores will try and make it difficult to force you to buy from them. Don't you love living in CA?

For the documentation, you'll need your DL and some proof of residency. A credit card bill, utility bill, car registration in your name with your address on it.

Oops, I just reread it and I made a mistake. When getting it shipped, you still need to make two trips because the 10 day wait still applies, but it's to a local store instead of somewhere three hours away.

If they're going to be about the same price, personally I would buy from a local dealer. Easier, faster and less of a hassle. Buying a gun should be fun.

Quick question: is this your first gun purchase?

The "94087" in my Location (top right of each of my posts) is Sunnyvale, which is close to San Jose. My "local gun shop" is Kerley's. That's where I got my latest gun, a semi-auto 12ga.

So, I'd pay tax on an online gun purchase even if the "seller" is in another state? Am I technically still buying from whatever FFL it's shipped to?

Yeah, Kerley's transfer fee is over $100. I distinctly remember seeing a sign at Bass Pro that their transfer fee was only $10, but I'll have to call and double-check. (Interestingly enough, my buddy and I only got to stop by there because we were picking up a used gun safe in Lodi. )

Is a CC bill really adequate proof of residency? I have lots of those.

I'd love to support my local dealer again, but money really is an issue. If it were $50 or so I wouldn't mind, but $1400 as opposed to $1100 is the difference between having money left over in my bank account and having to save a few more paychecks.

This isn't my first gun, but it is my first handgun purchase. The last time I was about to buy it, I went through what I'm going through now and just gave up on it and bought another shotgun. I don't want that to happen again, because I don't need any more shotguns, and I really want a 500.

I have no good advice for you but I wanted to add that the ammo cost for the 500 is really steep.

Years ago I made as many connections at the local gun place as I could so my firearm cost is usually a good bit lower than the tag's price. The more business you give local shops and the more often they see you in there the better, it's especially nice when you start bringing them in new customers. Now if only I got a deal on ammo!

Sgt. LED said:

Now if only I got a deal on ammo!

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Up here it's, "If only I could find ammo!" Most of the sporting goods stores have laminated signs behind the counter reading "We are out of 9mm and .380 Ammo." The case price for .45ACP is $21/box.

And good luck finding reloading supplies!

If you are buying new, ry Irvington Arms in Fremont. They have pretty decent pricing and are not too far way from you. Another reasonable shop is City Arms in Pacifica.

If you haven't already, I would see if you can find one to shoot. They are very cool and I can honestly say I enjoy recoil, but I would say that it is definately the most jarring gun I have shot. I think it has a lot to do with the compensator redirecting recoil backwards instead of upwards. It is definately different than almost anything else I have shot.

My father has an 8 inch and we load up every thing from the lightweight 350gn to the 500gn bullets in them. The 500gn is my favorite load I think. :naughty: They are really impressive. Ammo cost seems to be about $2-$2.50 a shot also so you may want to keep that in mind. Some indoor ranges do not allow them because of the noise and backstop requirements. I am not sure how many pistols you have, but this would not make a good 1st or 2nd because of its expense ammo wise and it can cause a little flinch to get bigger.

You may want to check out the calguns.net forum market place as they come up for sale used every so often for about $900 or so.

Here is a video of my buddy shooting ours for the 1st time. You can see that there is not as much upward movement as what would be expected because of the compensator.
http://www.unnerv.com/cedarcamp/dan500.avi

I agree that the cost of ammo is going to be a real PITA.

My best advice would be to call around to get as much information as possible, do the calculations (tax, dros, transfer fee, shipping, gas if you're making two trips, etc) and go with the best deal. That's what I would do.

Best bet is to check the DOJ website for the most accurate information.

http://www.ag.ca.gov/firearms/pubfaqs.php

As for the proof of residency, I thought a CC bill was acceptable, but after reading the AG website I'm not so sure. I thought I had used it before, but it might have been my phone bill, I really can't remember. The gun store will tell you what forms of ID are acceptable.

Also, you might want to check the transfer fees at bass pro, I am almost sure it's a lot more than $10, or I'd be doing a lot more transfers there. Even so, if the nearest one is 3 hours away, that's a 6 hour round trip that you'd have to make twice, for a total of 12 hours of driving. Is that really worth the savings once you factor in your time and gas?

To be honest, I have tried a couple of times to buy online or transferred, but everytime I added up all the costs it ended up being more a hassle than just buying locally. I might have saved a few dollars, but not enough to make it worth my time. Maybe you'll have more luck. I would check around at different gun stores to see how the prices compare.

LukeA said:

Up here it's, "If only I could find ammo!" Most of the sporting goods stores have laminated signs behind the counter reading "We are out of 9mm and .380 Ammo." The case price for .45ACP is $21/box.

And good luck finding reloading supplies!

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I know, right?! My buddy and I stopped by Big 5 to pick up some shotshells for trap shooting last week, and do you know how many boxes of plain ol' .22LR they had? ZERO. And now you're telling me reloading equipment is like that, too? Jeez.

unnerv said:

If you are buying new, ry Irvington Arms in Fremont. They have pretty decent pricing and are not too far way from you. Another reasonable shop is City Arms in Pacifica.

If you haven't already, I would see if you can find one to shoot. They are very cool and I can honestly say I enjoy recoil, but I would say that it is definately the most jarring gun I have shot. I think it has a lot to do with the compensator redirecting recoil backwards instead of upwards. It is definately different than almost anything else I have shot.

My father has an 8 inch and we load up every thing from the lightweight 350gn to the 500gn bullets in them. The 500gn is my favorite load I think. :naughty: They are really impressive. Ammo cost seems to be about $2-$2.50 a shot also so you may want to keep that in mind. Some indoor ranges do not allow them because of the noise and backstop requirements. I am not sure how many pistols you have, but this would not make a good 1st or 2nd because of its expense ammo wise and it can cause a little flinch to get bigger.

You may want to check out the calguns.net forum market place as they come up for sale used every so often for about $900 or so.

Here is a video of my buddy shooting ours for the 1st time. You can see that there is not as much upward movement as what would be expected because of the compensator.
http://www.unnerv.com/cedarcamp/dan500.avi

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Yep, Irvington Arms is where I bought my first gun, a little Marlin. In fact, both the store and the rifle were recommended to me by you guys. Maybe I'll give them a call.

My buddy and I rented a 4" at Reed's (Target Masters stopped allowing rounds more powerful than .44 Mag just a short while before I wanted to try it, due to incorrect replacement plates being sent to them or something) a long while ago. The only ammo they sold for it was about $4/rd... $75 for a box of 20! Still, we only fired eight rounds or so. It's the only handgun I've ever put more than a couple rounds through that I didn't quickly feel comfortable enough to fire one-handed. Granted, I only just barely put more than a couple rounds through it, so I have a ways to go in terms of practice/familiarity. However, my buddy said that if I get a 500, he will not fire it after having tried it out that day - too much for his taste.

I actually have a video of myself firing the 4" 500, but before I could get it edited/uploaded, my computer broke. However, I recently reestablished most of the necessary tools on the computer I'm using now, so maybe there'll be a bunch of new content on my site soon.

dudemar said:

I agree that the cost of ammo is going to be a real PITA.

My best advice would be to call around to get as much information as possible, do the calculations (tax, dros, transfer fee, shipping, gas if you're making two trips, etc) and go with the best deal. That's what I would do.

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Yep, this might be a good motivation to finally get into reloading. Regardless, I'm going to be shooting this thing pretty sparingly.



When I tell people I want one of these, the first thing out of their mouths is usually "why??". I figure that I might as well get the most exciting things I can, since practicality is basically moot. I already have shotguns and a .22, so sporting purposes are pretty much covered. I don't need something for EDC, since (according to the guys at Kerley's), CCWs are impossible to get unless you a) are a retired judge, b) donate heavily to the Sheriff's Association, or c) are a celebrity. Since none of those apply to me, and carrying unconcealed in CA and particularly in the SF Bay Area is laughable, I don't need the reliability of a Glock, the stopping power of a .45, the simplicity of a .38, or pretty much anything. The question, then, becomes not "why?" but "why not?".

It mostly comes down to being able to practice and how much you will be able to do it. Pistols are much more demanding to shoot than rifles. I would start with a .22, .38. 9mm or my favorite .45, just because you will be able to afford to shoot 200rds at a time. Develop good habits with something you can shoot all day and it will make the big boys much more enjoyable to shoot.

I am not trying to talk you out of a 500sw because I think they are great fun in small doses. But even reloading them costs us close to $2 a shot but on the flip side we rarely go though more than 25-50 between the two of us, which is cheaper than the 200 rnds each of .45 we shoot while out at the range. Still if we only had the 500sw, we would be done in about 15-20 minutes tops.

I think you would get much more usage out of something smaller 1st and then have the 500sw to finish off the day.

I realize that you're not trying to talk me out of anything, but I can only afford one thing. And I don't mean "afford" as in "eh, more than I feel like spending now." I mean "afford" as in "the numbers on those price tags are almost as large or larger than the number that shows up when I look up my bank account."

I stopped by a gun shop a couple days ago and saw an Armscor 1911 that was about $630 out the door. I was seriously considering buying it. However, my Internet research revealed that Armscor is probably a make to avoid, and a quality 1911 is probably close to the $1k I was expecting. I would love a 1911, and I don't need any pearl grips or other "bling," but I do want some solid workmanship with few or no jams/etc.

So, as soon as I have enough money (maybe with a hundred bucks or so of leeway), I'm buying a 500. I have heard ZERO complaints as to the quality/workmanship of those.

I won't try to talk you out of the .500 but have you looked into the .460 XVR or .460 V? It can shoot also shoot .45 Colt or .454 Casull for lower power rounds!

They're pretty popular up here in Alaska and much less punishing than either the S&W .500 or the Freedom Arms .454 Casull.

TigerhawkT3 said:

...I don't need any pearl grips...

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"Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl-handled pistol."

I like the look of the 500 but the price and cost of ammo I just cant justify it. Also people I talk to at the range who shoot it dont shoot it very long while they are there. If your not in to hurry keep and eye on Calguns for a good deal, people are selling alot of firearms right now.

Hello Tigerhawk T3,

Look here at Item #33 for information on what constitutes acceptable proof of residency. http://www.ag.ca.gov/firearms/dlrfaqs.php#dros

You have many dealers to chose from in the South Bay including Reed's Indoor Range, San Jose Gun Exchange, Sportman's Supply, Target Masters, Irvington Arms, among many others. Have you tried any of those places yet?

Good luck!

9x23

kaichu dento said:

I won't try to talk you out of the .500 but have you looked into the .460 XVR or .460 V? It can shoot also shoot .45 Colt or .454 Casull for lower power rounds!

They're pretty popular up here in Alaska and much less punishing than either the S&W .500 or the Freedom Arms .454 Casull.

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500 Mag has about 10% more muzzle energy than 460, and that's what I want this for - unfiltered awesome. My buddy said that the 460XVR felt much better to shoot than the 500, has better ballistics/trajectory, and so on... so I said, "then YOU get it." He will... but only after he gets a .357 Mag wheelgun. :laughing:

LukeA said:

"Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl-handled pistol."

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And hey, I don't even need ivory, either!

gimmejr said:

I like the look of the 500 but the price and cost of ammo I just cant justify it. Also people I talk to at the range who shoot it dont shoot it very long while they are there. If your not in to hurry keep and eye on Calguns for a good deal, people are selling alot of firearms right now.

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Cool; I'll keep an eye on Calguns. I guess there's a chance that I'll find one cheap enough to offset the shocking FFL transfer fee that most dealers around here charge. :candle:

9x23 said:

Hello Tigerhawk T3,

Look here at Item #33 for information on what constitutes acceptable proof of residency. http://www.ag.ca.gov/firearms/dlrfaqs.php#dros

You have many dealers to chose from in the South Bay including Reed's Indoor Range, San Jose Gun Exchange, Sportman's Supply, Target Masters, Irvington Arms, among many others. Have you tried any of those places yet?

Good luck!

9x23

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Many thanks for the link! I'll take a look over it. Reed's is where I rented a 4" 500, I haven't heard of the Gun Exchange and will look it up, Sportsman's Supply is, IIRC, the gun shop that had the 1911 I was considering, Target Masters is my usual shooting range, and Irvington is where I bought my first gun (linked in a post above).

I love my 4" S&W 500. Luckily I stocked up on ammo and have enough to shoot for a very long time. I found Ballistic Supply, in Washington State. They have more loads for the 500 than you can ever think of. Their prices were great and the ammo, premium, custom loaded stuff with top components. The owners had some tragedies in their life a while back, and production was delayed. I don't know if they have gotten back up and running yet. If they are, get in touch with them.