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Anyone carry a S&W 500 in a 4" barrel? I'm thinking about getting one as my primary carry gun. This gun would have plenty of knock down power to end a threat. On a few other threads I have read that I should carry the largest caliber possible that I can conceal. It's kind of heavy, but with a good gun belt and holster, it shouldn't be that hard to conceal or carry. Any comments or suggestions?
Thanks
I personally wouldn't carry one. A .45 will suffice and honestly I think they are just too big to be practical. I mean you could carry one but i think it would be unnessesary and a bit of a hassle.
Besides... shot placement over shot size.
Puncho, I have only known one guy that CC a 500. He was well different and lived in bear country, infact had already been mauled by a bear once. So unless you are going to be in bear country most of the time its actually too much, a 500 will go right through any human, and keep going through what ever is behind them too. But if you want to do it, and can pull it off go ahead.
Probably too much gun for the purpose, don't you think?
That's extreme fire power. Got to agree with Fox; A 45 works very well. A large sledgehammer on impact.
I carried a 4" M-29 in an OWB holster with a pair of speedloaders for a few weeks just to see if anyone would notice. They didn't.
Even if I was 6' 8" tall and weighed 350 lbs. I wouldn't carry a .500. Too slow on repeat shots and too few shots to be a serious SD gun. Think you'll only need one shot? Ever been in a gunfight?
I'd consider something like a full-size XD45 with 230 gr +P JHP ammo the biggest practical SD handgun. A gun like that with 2 spare mags and a Glock 26 BUG would be much nicer to carry, much more controllable and give you a lot more good hits in a hurry than a 4" .500.
And if the BG was hit center chest, he'd never know the difference.
The S &W 500 was made with a specific purpose in mind that being a hunting revolver. The 4" model was produced as a "backup" gun for dangerous game. Because of its intended uses it was made big, heavy, and tough. It fills these niches quite well.
As to being a CCW? IMHO it is too large and too heavy to effectively serve in that capacity. Now doggone nearly any gun can be made to serve as a CCW but the big question is what would have to be done to make it an effective carry weapon such that one would want to carry it all the time?
There are much, much better choice available.FWIW
Being able to conceal a large caliber weapon isn't what matters. Being able to shoot accurately with the weapon is what matters. How accurate are you going to be able to shoot it? What about follow up shots? Are you going to want to lug around a 10+ inch, 56+ oz weapon on a daily basis? Also you will be limited to 5 rounds plus reloads. Remember a 9mm COM is much better than a 500 in the arm. JMO but not a good choice for a EDC weapon.Quote:
Originally Posted by puncho
That's alot of weight to be carrying on your poor belt. Unless your OWB carrying it could be do-able.
I would stick with the more compact sizes. 9mm, .45, .40 S&W.
Great knockdown powers and more bullet's in a more concealable/manageable size.
I don't know Puncho. Is a 500 mag going to be big enough? You might want to think about this a little bit.
You also have to consider over penetration, and hitting an innocent bystander
I've shot the longer barrel (comped) X-frames in .500 & .460 S&W mag. Unless you are already stone-deaf, they're certainly not practical, healthy or realistic to shoot without hearing protection. Increase that issue with a 4" non-ported barrel & you've got stun-grenade percussion on the shooter with each shot. NNnnnoooo Thanks!
There's also the cost of (practice) ammo to consider -- I don't consider myself any more than an average shot, and I burn through 300-400 rounds of (9mm) ammo per month. The cheapest .500 ammo I've seen is about $30.00 per box of 20; if I were practicing at this rate with a S&W 500, I would be spending $450 - $600 per month just on practice ammo (the cost of a fairly good gun). And for myself, anyway, I'd need significantly more practice shooting to get good with a 500 than with my 9mm . . .
Zeko
Sorry, but I can't imagine a worse choice for a CC handgun. Most would consider the 44 mag to be over-powered for a CC handgun but the 500 is, in most loadings, twice as powerful. With minimum loadings for the 500 running around 1500 ft. lbs. of energy and with some loadings going over 2000 ft. lbs., this would give a new definition to "over-kill" and open up some huge liability for the next 5 people that this thing's going to go through after it blows straight through the BG. Reserve the 500 for what it is intended for (moose, bear, elk, etc.) and pick a more practical cartridge for CC.
Hoss
Consider the 10MM. It can be loaded to roughly .41 magnum ballistics and close to light .44 magnum depending on ammo manufacturer. It can also be loaded down to .40 for plinking and/or practice use. You can get everything from Gold Dot hollowpoints to full metal jackets to adapt to the situation you're facing. Did I mention that these are usually equipped with a fifteen round clip? Do some research on the caliber and the weapons available for it and I think it'll become a contender. These are, with the correct load, rated for Black Bear. If you get a three to five hundred pound adversary you're good to go.