Smith & Wesson Forum - View Single Post

5kwkdw3 · 04-16-2016, 02:06 PM

Softball sized holes or not, it's merely a matter of what it's loaded with as in any firearm used for carry. Shoot the wrong (or sometimes right) person with a mouse gun loaded with Glaser Safety slugs and watch the circus follow that one in the courts. Just the same with any such caliber. Folk don't usually shoot well with the highest power loads anyway.

I am and always have been a big fan of the "larger hole" theory and have preferred to get there is bullet diameter and weight rather than higher and higher velocities. Another reason for the choice of 45 LC when starting my run in SASS (Single action Shooting). I used full case loads of black behind a 300 grain slug and just had a blast and with a powerful, but rather slow moving slug. Big point is that it was NOT painful or inaccurate to shoot.

I'm right now looking for the mold of the slug I'll be casting for my 4" 500 magnum and it's between a couple of designs. On that I helped create is a lengthened nose section, round nose, plain base bullet that's around 575 grains. (500 was my starting point). In this quest I've found what may be the biggest and best bullet to have, a 710 grain monster that only tapers in on this semi-wadcutter design, the least little bit at the nose. The nos section is at such a length so as to come just 1/32" shy of the end of the Smith 500 mag cylinder, so there isn't much more than can be put in that case. I'll load this to what many might call blooper velocities, yet can you imagine getting hit at any velocity with 710 grains? I've not seen too many bullet proof vest owners/manufacturers volunteering to be shot with a 12 gauge slug at any velocity, so much the same here. It might not be worth a poop at 100 yards or even at 50, but when was the last time you remember someone needing to shoot someone at that distance and is not spending the rest of their life in jail. At 50-100 yards, most think that getting away would have been the most prudent response rather than shooting. I now think I've just convinced myself to go with that 710 grainer. Yep that's it for sure. Smithy.