The .500 is a solution with no problem to solve.ammosmoke wrote:@Pete- If you like big revolvers, you should get a smith and wesson 500!
Except for hunting BIG GAME (think 800 pound plus animals) it's a useless gun. It recoils so much that it takes a second or two to get your gun back on target after firing a shot, meaning in a combat situation, follow-up shots are slow. In addition, ammo for it is so expensive that it's not economical to practice with it frequently, and practicing with your chosen weapon is critical.
In my opinion the biggest useful defensive handgun cartridge is .41 Mag or .44 Mag maybe. Those are controllable enough to get back on target in a reasonable amount of time, but still suffer from overpriced ammo. Note that bigger cartridges (.454 Casull, .460 S&W Mag, .500 S&W) have their place in hunting, but not in self defense, in my opinion.
.357 is my choice because guns chambered for .357 will also shoot .38 Special ammo which is a lot cheaper (and fine for practicing with), and packs more than enough punch for defensive purposes. I don't have handloading equipment anymore, but my Dad does. He's loaded 110 grain semijacketed .357 hollowpoints (over Unique powder, don't know the exact powder charge) to around 1600fps, which is over 625 ft/lb of energy. Those rounds will do 10+ inches of penetration on ballistic gel, and expand very reliably, making them a prime choice for self defense. It's possible to load them even hotter, too, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've seen .357's shoot 158gr bullets at nearly 1500fps, for almost 800 ft/lb. Crazy stuff.
Sorry for taking this thread off-topic...
Peace,
Pete Zaria.