500 magnum revolver as a ccw gun

[cp1969]

I am not really disagreeing with you per se, but shot placement is key. Big bullets come at the expense of capacity, which is equally as important as stopping power and shot placement.

I agree with the shot placement statement but not with the idea that capacity is equally important as shot placement and stopping power.

What's the average gunfight, one or two rounds? Three? It sure isn't 10, 15, or 20. I would like to hear from the guy who needed his 17th shot after placing the first 16 anywhere close to where he wanted.

 

[pluspea]

Wow, a j frame is about all I can stand as far as weight. Be careful you are not arrested for sagging, and if you carry it four o'clock be aware of any plumbers crack that might be showing.

 

[bitstream]

I see one of those .50 revolvers in nearly every gun shop. I always laugh at how ridiculous they are for any practical use. Probably a lot of fun at the range, but that's about it. I always figured the people that buy them do so as a curiousity or just for their collection. I'd imagine you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a person actually carrying one as their CCW except, perhaps, out in bear country where it might actually have some use.

 

[boingboing]

I think you can buy a used howitzer on E Bay for a lot less.

 

[PersonalSecurity]

I agree with the shot placement statement but not with the idea that capacity is equally important as shot placement and stopping power.

What's the average gunfight, one or two rounds? Three? It sure isn't 10, 15, or 20. I would like to hear from the guy who needed his 17th shot after placing the first 16 anywhere close to where he wanted.

Its just more of 2 schools of thought. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST if any of you unfortunately must use your firearm, that you shoot a liberal amount of shots. At the end of the day, handgun rounds really aren't man stoppers (there are some that work better than others, yes, but are less practical).

I am a HUGE fan of the 1911 platform. But I also see the disadvantage of the capacity limit. You gain bigger holes, but limit yourself to 8 or 9 rounds. For a lone mugger 3 feet away in a parking lot, this may be ample. If someone kicks in your door in the middle of the night and you grab your gun and take a defensive position, you're going to wish that magazine held at least 10 more.

Even top shots will be better off with 4-5 rounds per threat, so if a small group of BGs attack, those get ate up quick. A spare mag (essential IMO) helps, but remember the huge adrenaline rush may compramise the reload, especially without training. Which leads to the biggest advantage for CCWs buying 9mm, price / availibility of ammo. Training is far more important than any weapon / caliber.

If you are a confident shooter who has trained and practiced emergency drills, then by all means go .45acp. I never hesitate to carry .45 but I don't think its an ideal round for people new to shooting/CCW. I also think 99% of new shooters/CCW permit holders would be best served by a high capacity Double action only style 9mm service pistol.

But again, this is just my $0.02 and what I've picked up overtime. Get what you are most comfortable with and shoot the living hell out of it! Know your weapon system, in and out, pros and cons...

YMMV

Steve
[email protected]

 

[ENGINE18]

Is this a real question? If so, I feel stupid carrying a J-frame!

 

[MTKTM]

I'm waiting for S&W to come out with a Scandium/Ti version of the 500!

Seriously, I recall someone writing, and I think it was on here, about using a 4" 500 for CCW. I carry mine, concealed or open, when I'm in the mountains picking huckleberries or hiking, being that I live in griz country. Not around town though......the thing is pretty hefty and you start listing to the side after a long day of packing it.

 

[cp1969]

Its just more of 2 schools of thought. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST if any of you unfortunately must use your firearm, that you shoot a liberal amount of shots. At the end of the day, handgun rounds really aren't man stoppers (there are some that work better than others, yes, but are less practical).

I am a HUGE fan of the 1911 platform. But I also see the disadvantage of the capacity limit. You gain bigger holes, but limit yourself to 8 or 9 rounds. For a lone mugger 3 feet away in a parking lot, this may be ample. If someone kicks in your door in the middle of the night and you grab your gun and take a defensive position, you're going to wish that magazine held at least 10 more.

Even top shots will be better off with 4-5 rounds per threat, so if a small group of BGs attack, those get ate up quick. A spare mag (essential IMO) helps, but remember the huge adrenaline rush may compramise the reload, especially without training. Which leads to the biggest advantage for CCWs buying 9mm, price / availibility of ammo. Training is far more important than any weapon / caliber.

If you are a confident shooter who has trained and practiced emergency drills, then by all means go .45acp. I never hesitate to carry .45 but I don't think its an ideal round for people new to shooting/CCW. I also think 99% of new shooters/CCW permit holders would be best served by a high capacity Double action only style 9mm service pistol.

But again, this is just my $0.02 and what I've picked up overtime. Get what you are most comfortable with and shoot the living hell out of it! Know your weapon system, in and out, pros and cons...

YMMV

Steve
[email protected]

I've heard all of this before.

I still want to hear from the man who needed 17 shots in a gunfight.

Then, I'd also like to hear from those who had six in their gun and had ammo left over when it was finished.

 

[SAFireman]

Its just more of 2 schools of thought. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST if any of you unfortunately must use your firearm, that you shoot a liberal amount of shots.

What the heck does that mean?

I was taught to deliver the minimum amount of force needed to stop a threat. If one shot puts him on the ground and unwilling to continue the attack, then that's what he gets....if he retreats at the very sight of my weapon, then that's what he gets....if I fire all 5/6 rounds and then have to beat him into unconsciousness with the butt end of my gun, that's what he gets....I don't shoot a whole bunch of rounds and then open my eyes and look to see what happened...and, I sure wouldn't tell anybody else to that either.

Gosh...I sure hope that the OP was kidding...you were kidding right?

 

[Old cop]

While I did not need 17, I did need 12 in a gunfight in '74 (retired LEO). I was carrying my dept. issue Colt DS when I got into a fight with three armed robbers. I emptied my Colt once, reloaded, and emptied it again before the bad guy stopped fighting. If I'd had a Howitzer I would have used that too.

 

[safearm]

Its just more of 2 schools of thought. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST if any of you unfortunately must use your firearm, that you shoot a liberal amount of shots. At the end of the day, handgun rounds really aren't man stoppers (there are some that work better than others, yes, but are less practical).

I am a HUGE fan of the 1911 platform. But I also see the disadvantage of the capacity limit. You gain bigger holes, but limit yourself to 8 or 9 rounds. For a lone mugger 3 feet away in a parking lot, this may be ample. If someone kicks in your door in the middle of the night and you grab your gun and take a defensive position, you're going to wish that magazine held at least 10 more.

Even top shots will be better off with 4-5 rounds per threat, so if a small group of BGs attack, those get ate up quick. A spare mag (essential IMO) helps, but remember the huge adrenaline rush may compramise the reload, especially without training. Which leads to the biggest advantage for CCWs buying 9mm, price / availibility of ammo. Training is far more important than any weapon / caliber.

If you are a confident shooter who has trained and practiced emergency drills, then by all means go .45acp. I never hesitate to carry .45 but I don't think its an ideal round for people new to shooting/CCW. I also think 99% of new shooters/CCW permit holders would be best served by a high capacity Double action only style 9mm service pistol.

But again, this is just my $0.02 and what I've picked up overtime. Get what you are most comfortable with and shoot the living hell out of it! Know your weapon system, in and out, pros and cons...

YMMV

Steve
[email protected]

This might be hi-jacking the intent of this thread, but I think it deserves an answer. I was a civilian LEO before I went into the military and was trained that I was responsible for every bullet that left my gun. Luckily, in my career as a LEO, I never had to shoot, although I had it in my hand and was prepared to do so on a number of occassions.
When I went into the military, I was always the guy that had left over rounds at the end of an exercise or mission, because I had been trained (very well I might add) to always identify my target before engaging, no "spray and pray."
As as staff/instructor navigator on B-52s, I always taught crews that they had to positively identify the target before they could drop; close enough didn't count.
Based on my experiences, I disagree strongly with the above post. Engage the target, evaluate the reaction, and either cease, or engage again. Shooting extra rounds opens up a world of explaining where you would never want to be. It could be twisted to make it look like you enjoy killing.
If all of this is an academic discussion for a zombie novel, no harm-no foul. But it's not that way in the real world.

 

[Old cop]

Forgot to add that the .38 stopped the fight then, and I carry a J frame now with confidence. I'd hate to see you carry all that weight and risk overpenetration should you ever need to deploy your .500 - it could be difficult to justify in court, but I'm no lawyer.

 

[cshoff]

What the heck does that mean?

I was taught to deliver the minimum amount of force needed to stop a threat. If one shot puts him on the ground and unwilling to continue the attack, then that's what he gets....if he retreats at the very sight of my weapon, then that's what he gets....if I fire all 5/6 rounds and then have to beat him into unconsciousness with the butt end of my gun, that's what he gets....I don't shoot a whole bunch of rounds and then open my eyes and look to see what happened...and, I sure wouldn't tell anybody else to that either.

Gosh...I sure hope that the OP was kidding...you were kidding right?

Just guessing here, but I believe what PersonalSecurity was alluding to is to be prepared to fire as many shots as it takes, not to arbitrarily empty your 16 round magazine "towards" the bad guy and then look for bits and pieces of him later. In some cases, there could certainly be a need for more than 5 or 6 rounds, especially in a situation where there are multiple attackers involved.

As to the OP and the .500 S&W Magnum, I've got to ask, have you ever shot one before? If you have, then you'd know that it is probably NOT the kind of handgun that would be ideal for use during a dynamic critical incident.

 

[PDL]

For those of you who haven't run across the OP before, it seems that most of his questions are geared towards outfitting characters in his novels.
They don't always seem to reflect a quest for real everyday info.

Not to disparage him, it just would be nice if he identified the actual reason for the question.
If I'm wrong, I'd appologize.

 

[David Sinko]

I recently took a long look at a .500 S&W with a 4" barrel and decided that this revolver has no practical application. The cartridge really belongs in a lever action rifle and NOT a revolver. If you are serious about carrying a .50 for personal defense (and I would not belittle anybody who is serious about it), better alternatives would be the .50 GI in an auto or the .50 AE or even .500 Linebaugh/.50 Special in a revolver. The revolver cartridges are custom propositions but can be had in custom Redhawks with 4" or even 3" barrels. The .50 GI from Guncrafter seems like a very good idea, and is most cost effective when used on the Glock platform.

Dave Sinko

 

[sipowicz]

For those of you who haven't run across the OP before, it seems that most of his questions are geared towards outfitting characters in his novels.
They don't always seem to reflect a quest for real everyday info.

Not to disparage him, it just would be nice if he identified the actual reason for the question.
If I'm wrong, I'd appologize.

Excellent analysis....

 

[SAFireman]

For those of you who haven't run across the OP before, it seems that most of his questions are geared towards outfitting characters in his novels.
They don't always seem to reflect a quest for real everyday info.

Not to disparage him, it just would be nice if he identified the actual reason for the question.
If I'm wrong, I'd appologize.

That makes better sense....maybe the question would be better positioned in the lounge?

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

That makes better sense....maybe the question would be better positioned in the lounge?

I think it would be better positioned over at GlockTalk

 

[michael thornton]

i think it would be fine, i carry a cut down ruger #1 in 458 winchester with nite sights myself

 

[hdsoftail]

Another woods carry weapon for backup against large Black Bears or ole Grizz if in that neighborhood.

But these guns tend to be heavy and will drag your pants down to your knees after walking up and down the Mts for hours. In AK I might carry one, otherwise I will pass and elect something lighter for the lower 48.