Wheelgun Wednesday: The Smith & Wesson X-Frame

Welcome back to another edition of Wheelgun Wednesday. Last week, we took a look at the single action revolvers for any budget. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to look at the big brother of the Smith & Wesson revolver line. For years, it was the N frame that reigned king, but early on in the 21st century, something larger came along and took the market by storm as the champion of large-framed revolvers. Let's take a closer look at the X-Frame from Smith & Wesson.

Brief History

Like I said earlier, if you wanted a heavy-hitting, large-frame revolver, you would go with the N frame or something similar from another manufacturer. In the 90s, there were a number of options for big-bore revolvers, but with modern metal alloys and machining processes, Smith & Wesson looked to kick their big-bore revolvers into high gear. Back in 2003, Smith & Wesson decided to ramp up production on their largest frame known to date. This frame is almost a pound heavier than the traditional N-Frame revolvers, coming in at a whopping 14 ounces heavier. This tank of a frame ensured it could take load pressures from the new 500 S&W Magnum, making the Smith & Wesson X-Frame the most powerful production handgun in the world.

Grip Size 

One interesting aspect of the X-Frame is the fact that it still has a relatively small, rounded frame for smaller grips. I would surely leave the Hogue rubber overmolded grips on the gun, but you can certainly throw smaller grips on the X-Frame if you like to live dangerously. This means they are compatible with the K and L frame grips with the round butt on them. At first, I didn't think this was the case, but taking a closer look at it showed that the X-Frame does indeed take the smaller K and L-Frame grips.

Calibers

Smith & Wesson started out selling the X-Frame revolvers chambered in their massive 500 S&W Magnum round, as well as the 460 S&W Magnum, which offered slightly more versatility than running one option for a huge round. The joys of 460 S&W Magnum are the fact that you can also fire 454 Casull, 45 Long Colt, as well as 45 Schofield. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me if the 460 S&W Magnum is compatible with 500 Magnum rounds and I want to make it very clear they ARE NOT compatible. Back in 2023, Smith & Wesson came out with the 350 Legend hunting revolver that added the third cartridge to the lineup in the X-Frame.

Capacity

Capacity-wise, it's another wide story with a typical N-Frame revolver having a capacity of 6 rounds with 44 Magnum or 357 Magnum. When it comes to the X-Frame calibers, the 500 Magnum and 460 Magnum both have a capacity of 5 rounds. The pressures that the X-Frames are put under limit their capacity by the need for thicker cylinder walls to ensure the revolver is strong enough to endure the brutal pressure for a lifetime of shooting. When the 350 Legend chambering came out a couple of years ago, back in 2023, Smith & Wesson was able to bump the capacity up to 7 rather than 5 because of the thinner cartridge.

What It's Like To Shoot

I’ve personally owned my 4” compensated 500 Magnum for roughly 11 years and have fired 317 rounds through it so far. Some of you may scoff at the round count, but it's a tough gun to take to the range and shoot 100 rounds through in a single session. These guns are truly an event to fire with the compensator working overtime to kill the recoil from this massive round. When it comes to recoil, though, I still believe the 44 Magnum Model 29 has a snappier recoil that can transfer more energy into your hand. This means that I am a firm believer that the N-Frame 44 Magnum revolvers actually have sharper recoil that is more felt than the larger 500 Magnum.

The 500 Magnum with the larger X-Frame is more of a slow push than a quick snap, making it a fairly pleasant firearm to shoot. Smaller-framed individuals should still proceed with caution. A good friend's wife once wanted to shoot my 500 Magnum and even though she was an experienced shooter, she ended up fracturing her wrist from the recoil, so it's always best to be careful when firing big-bore revolvers in general. Overall, though, the 500 Magnum is not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be, especially when shooting the 200-350gr rounds that are commercially available for the caliber. If you're on the fence about purchasing one, I would say give it a shot! I seriously would consider it.

Overall Thoughts 

People have made the X-Frame to be one of the hardest revolvers to shoot and that's really not the case. These are truly an experience and are unmatched when it comes to stopping power in a smaller package than a rifle or shotgun. This is one of my personal favorites when I want to go out to the range just to have fun. The fireball and noise are a real event and one of my favorite guns that gives me a good laugh.

Let me know what your thoughts are on the X-Frame revolvers down in the comments below. I know some don't like the larger X-Frames and prefer the N-Frame, so I’d love to hear your thoughts down in the comments below. If you have questions about revolvers or firearms in general, feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram @fridgeoperator. Stay safe out there and we will see you next week for another edition of Wheelgun Wednesday.