In all the discussions I've seen here concerning different calibers used for self defense in the home, one of the most maligned is the 500 S&W Mag due to it's power and ability to penetrate a target. Case in point: You stop an intruder in your bedroom but, the bullet goes through 3 walls and drops your neighbor's dog 3 house's away....

Not good....... At all.............

But... While cruising the 'net the other night I came across some interesting rounds made by Matt's Bullet's!

First is the 425gr "Vaporizor" round:

425 Grain Vaporizor Hollow Point 20 Cartridges [500sw425hp20] - $58.00 : Matts Bullets Ammunition

That should be enough to stop a felon but here's another one that he sells called the "Grand Canyon". It's a 635gr round that's basically a hollowed out 700gr round!

635 Grain Grand Canyon Hollow Point 20 Cartridges [500sw635hp20] - $62.00 : Matts Bullets Ammunition

So the moral of the story is, Yes! IMHO, The 500 can be used for home self defense without taking out the neighbors or their dog!!!

BTW, before anyone say's anything about being deaf after firing the weapon, just ask yerself one question.... What is 15 rounds of 9mm fired in an enclosed 12 x 12 room gonna do to yer ears?????

And yes.. I'm thinking about getting a box or two.....

I would think a 500 mag for home defense is a bit overkill unless your experiencing a home invasion by a grizzly bear........

Take a look at the round's description... Massive wound but not much penetration!!

BTW: Define "Overkill"...................

Good shoot or not you will be dragged through the mud using a 500 for home protection. Worked a case years ago where a home owner used a 458 win mag against a kid breaking into his car one night... As I recall, the home owner got 10 years...

No matter what is used the person using the weapon is gonna be dragged through the mud no matter what caliber is used.. Especially if your defending your vehicle and not your life.

Be that as it may, the point of my post is to let members that own a 500 know that there is a pretty good choice of round to use in that type situation if needed.....

Which I have not seen before!!

Yeah, that's all I want: shoot someone with ammo called "Vaporizer".

Think you'll be able to defend your choice of firearm and ammo in court when the prosecutor paints you as a Dirty Harry on steroids? God forbid if you wind up shooting someone "of color".

Ammo is immaterial,the 8 3/8" makes an excellent club!

Again, I was mainly pointing out a good self defense round for the 500... Prosecutor's are gonna roast this type of case anyway no matter the caliber!!!!!

Maybe I should suggest using harsh language instead???

"Overkill" can mean one of two things....

1. a awesome 80's thrash metal band or.....

2. to obliterate (a target) with more nuclear force than required.

I wouldn't consider the recoil of a 500 controllable so it's not a HD or SD firearm.

What if you miss? You gotta get on target and soot again. The best SD guns can be shot fast AND accurate

I presume that you own and have shot a .500 mag. If so, then you know that the muzzle blast would blind you at night. It will also deafen you temporarily at best and maybe some permanent hearing loss. You might also blow through your house and your neighbor's house and hit their kid sleeping in bed.

Otherwise, I see nothing wrong with a .500 mag for self defense. After all, they will drop a 500 pound elk with a single shot at 100 yards.

A warning shot with a 500 with blanks will do the job.and definitely mess up everyone's hearing for a while...

Thewelshm

Or attracted return fire. No blacks or warning shots

Last week there was a guy at our indoor range sighting in a S&W magnum 500..... I stood 6-7ft behind him along with several others to watch this spectacle and I can tell you from standing that far back I still felt the percussion of the muzzle blast and the recoil on that beast was impressive... I can tell you gods honest truth, he fired 2 shots & shook his shooting hand, put the revolver down and took a break before shooting another two shots, then packing it up for the day.....

LOL at some of these post and misspells.

Just the concussion in a hallway will likely incapacitate both the shooter and the target.... Be better off tossing a flash bang, and shutting the bedroom door....

Lol yes but posting on an iPad or I phone takes over lol


Thewelshm

Lol I shot mine at the range and the blast blacked out the cameras. I let all the staff shoot it after... Cost me $70 in ammo but I'm still popular at the range and get cards for free

Thewelshm

Blanks is what I was going to suggest--improve their deftness then set them on fire--

I don't see that happening as the shock wave is so immense. Average assailant is leavin. However my post was in jest, typically I would utilize a 40 cal sig with crimson trace at night. In the day 357 magnum... Either way it works.

Thewelsh

There's no need to presume.. I own a model 500 S&W Mag with the 8-3/8" barrel and the interchangeable compensator.

As far as the rest of your response, please reread my initial post. Yeah, I know it's gonna be loud.. Yes I know there's gonna be a muzzle flash. These rounds are NOT designed for deep penetration.. Noise?? How much from a 9mm in an enclosed room with no hearing protection. Firing 15 rounds......

Again... Please reread my initial post......

I will make this comment mate, if I got to reach one and fast and my 8 3/8 500 is there "ce la vie" I was laughing about the hypothetical situation not a factual one thankfully.

Thewelshm

Oh, good grief!!!

-- I would more than likely be using this one-

If the 500 is all you have.......go for it.

If the intruder does not have a gun you might be in trouble in the court battle.

Your call.

Roscoepc - thanks for the information
Sorry about the dog pile

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the rules? there are no rules

The .500 might be a very good choice, if you expect the crook to be wearing a bullet proof vest. Otherwise, maybe not.

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Tom

ONE OF THOSE BAD BOYS WILL DO MUCH MORE DAMAGE TO AN INTRUDER THAN 15 ROUNDS OF 9MM, AND MAY ACTUALLY BE MORE MERCIFUL TO YOUR EARS. I FIND THE SOUND OF 9MM TO BE MOST OFFENSIVE---ESPECIALLY FOR WHAT IT IS…..

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

I remember that there was a guy on this forum a number of years back, circa 2005 or 2006 who claimed to be CCWing a 4" 500. It would certainly serve as a decent HD gun given the right ammo. Not my choice (even though I have both the 4" and a very early 8 3/8" with the non-changeable comp), however, although I do open-carry the 4" in the back-country quite often.

No need to be sorry and thanks for the response. The loads I'm loading for mine right now are NOT producing the blast effect's that one would experience with, say, a 500grain full house magnum load and are very comfortable to shoot: 350gr JHP Hornady with 12gr of TITEGROUP producing about 1080fps.

In other words, all loads for the 500 do NOT produce the same effects....

I just ran my first 50 rounds of this recipe last Saturday and a friend of mine commented that he could tell I was running a lower powered load due to the lack of side concussion. The funny thing is I was wanting to shoot 50 more! At least!!

BTW, Post's #4 & 6 describe consequences.. Not Overkill.....

As with many other things, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Common sense must prevail.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

We can debate forever. It would be fantastic if you tried some out and let us know. If you can, please take video and post that for us too. Good luck!!

and even the white box ammo would do it I agree.... but I respect the original posts argument.. If all I left was a 500, come and get some... Most wont know My son was murdered in a home invasion. A tank is to small for me

thewelshm

You know I shoot a lot of .500 and have shot it in little rooms and it is quite an experience. I often carry one when I'm out in te desert or mountains. There are going to be downsides to every self defence option and everybody thinks they have it figured out. One thing that gets me is the "overkill" argument. What defines "overkill"?! You certainly own every bullet that comes out of the barrel and as long as you realize that if a bad guy is entering your home to do you harm who gives a hoot if you shoot him with a .40 cal slug or a watered down .50?! Now, I'm not saying a full house 440 hard cast would be the most prudent thing to torch off in a dark hallway deep in suburbia. However, a specialty projectile designed to limit penetration that is no doubt traveling below the speed of light? There is an argument to be made. The way I look at it a handgun is a ****** tool to stop a fight with and I'm going to use the biggest one I can SAFELY and accurately use. Just my opinion.

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As for me....make mine .500

You can use a .470 Capstick with the right load AND the right bullet. And you are welcome to use a Howitzer in your own home if that is what suits you. I like something a little lighter for easier and quicker handling.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Both of those rounds look like you would be shooting your assailant with a beer stein....mouth of the stein first. They look like clay mugs, maybe even small pitchers.

If I do buy some I will be reporting back on the result's. Maybe use a watermelon for a target with some 3/4" plywood located about 3' in back of the melon to check for any further round penetration..... With pic's and video of course!!!

You know you want to

We can and probably will debate these things forever. If the shoot is what the police call "righteous", also known as justified, it does not matter what gun you used or what load you put in it. Whether or not you get interviewed by a DA or an LEO if your answer is that you were faced with deadly force or imminent bodily harm you're basically good to go. Civil suit? Maybe. Shooting a perpetrator in your living room is unlikely to generate a civil suit but you never know. Still, the answer is basically the same, to wit, justification creates no liability.

There is a little wiggle room on the civil side insofar as you could face a cross examination wherein the plaintiff's counsel harasses you on your personal intent using your Megagun with Vaporizer rounds but, still, justified is justified.

What you need to be aware of when using an unusual gun, especially a monster, is the fact that stopping an attack, which is the ultimate goal of justified deadly force, killing is not the goal, might result in damage to the perpetrator that creates some kind of liability. For instance, 2 shots from a 9mm might stop the perp without killing him. The same 2 shots from a .500 might kill the perp and, while your justification argument is there, you might have to fight the counter argument that using a normal gun wouldn't have killed this guy and you wanted to kill him, you planned to kill, you know, the whole gamut of disgusting prosecutorial tricks everyone wants to avoid.

If you found .500 caliber rounds that won't penetrate and hit your family or the neighbor's dog then using a .500 starts to fall into the reasonable arena. Naturally, it is never reasonable to use that much power at home otherwise, and you'll pay for every bit of damage that over powered round creates. Using the lightly loaded .500 alleviates much of that concern; your intent to avoid excessive damage is made clear by your efforts to use non-penetrating ammunition.

All of that is epilogue to the opening statement I made - a justified shooting can be done with any gun and any caliber. I do think, as a lawyer and as a CHL instructor and Texas licensed firearms instructor, that if you own more typical handguns that those are your better choices for home defense but it's your call.

***GRJ***

PS:

I would make the same comments for the .44 Magnum and even the .357 Magnum - I consistently tell my students that they do not need magnum loads for self defense, that the risk, especially at home, of over penetration, etc., is not worth the trade-off, and that there are plenty of standard loads that will work for this purpose. YMMV

ISCS Yoda, Many thanks for the post which I think is a very good one!! There's only one thing that I don't agree with but, I'm not gonna talk about it because in all reality I did NOT make this post for debate purposes. I was merely trying to make a post to pass on information about some new rounds that I found for the 500...

Hopefully I was successful and members that own the 500 found it useful!

Despite the Dogpile....

I'll be performing my own tests with my Governor, using defensive 410 rounds. I'm always interested in learning what else is out there. Thanks for the thought provoking thread!

As a general rule of law, if you are justified in shooting someone, whether they live or die is of no legal consequence. It is possible that in some parts of the country, with some LE and prosecutors, you would get a different approach, but that is driven by perspective, not the law, and blatantly unethical.

I do not see the .500 as a good choice, ever. No handgun is. Most handgun ammo is far more likely to present a potential problem with over-penetration (which is not near the problem that missing is - the best way to reduce the risk of over-penetration is to ensure that rounds hit the offender as they are much less likely to exit with enough energy to go the rest of the way through your residence and present a risk to others that way) than a good duty round in 5.56X45 out of an AR platform. Further, it is MUCH easier to have a good light on a rifle (or shotgun) than it is on a revolver, and a light is generally not an option. It is also easier to shoot a long gun with proficiency.

Attending classes with people who have shot offenders, investigated shootings, and seen people shot reveals that no round you can shoot from a handheld single person platform is a guaranteed one shot stop. The research available, such as the data collected by Tom Givens, indicates that at least some number, roughly 1/3, of offenders, will have to be shot many times to stop. It depends on the motivation and physiology of the person shot. If you have multiple assailants, the need to shoot several times in rapid succession (not likely with a .500 - possible, but hard to train to) is not an option.

Will this platform work, yes. Is it is a good choice? Unlikely, for most of us. Are there far better choices, heck yes.

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NHI, 10-8.

Under-penetration on two continents. Won't stop a raging elephant, water buffalo or rhino from making you a puddle on the living room carpet.

That type thing only happens when the jury has zero NRA members on the panel and you are flat out in the wrong. Still, as some LAPD officers told me "it's better to be judged by twelve than carried by six". I have the 460xvr and for home defense, I load it up with three colt .45+P DPX rounds, then one 454 Casull Black Talon (now dual bondeds), and the last round is one 460 caliber Black Talon (dual bonded). If you get past all that, I figure all the flames coming out of the business end of that flame thrower is gonna' set your butt on fire anyway, so, ya'll come back now, ya' hear!

But yet some still insist that the ammo or gun used don't matter as long as the shooting is "justified"

I can understand the OP's point about letting 500 owners know there are defensive rounds available.

On the other hand, it's hard for me to imagine a 500 as being the only gun owned by an enthusiast, and the only gun available for home defense or personal protection. It's a niche market revolver as far as I'm concerned.

A 500 would not and never will be my personal choice for home defense, even if I had one, and no matter what kind of ammo I could get for it. The gun is heavy and unwieldy, awkward to track a moving target with, and it's virtually impossible to get off a double action second shot with any real speed and accuracy (in my opinion). It might be great for hunting, but home defense is not a stalk-and-shoot scenario.

Now I like that! Wish I'd thought of it.

The .458 Win Mag was not the issue. Shooting someone breaking into the car probably was if it was a straight up property crime.

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NHI, 10-8.

Too much to handle in a crisis, I just keep an old 1913 Mod.11 12ga. in the bedroom, can't miss when you're shaking and a model 60 in the headrest of my recliner

Good luck with the DA if you are tagged into court on that.

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NRA Bene Life, SWCA 2372