Will the 460 or 500 S&W shoot through Kevlar?

Answer 1

regardless, the concussion would kill you.

Answer 2

Depends upon how many layers of kevlar and the veolicty + grain weight of the bullet. Although, this is a moot point. Even without penetrating, the energy transfer from the bullet to the wearer of a vest would most likely be enough alone to induce fatal injuries. A human body is not meant to take a high amount of pressure in blunt force trauma to the chest. This would probably be much like wearing a bullet proof vest and having someone slug you in the chest with a full swing of a 10 pound sledge hammer.

Answer 3

Harry's answer doesn't come close to the facts. A bullet hitting Kevlar rarely penetrates. What does kill you is the kinetic energy that passes thru the vest and the subsequent shock wave that results from the hit. Imagine throwing a rock into a pond and you will see the ripple effect as the stone hits the water.That very same "ripple" effect passes thru the vest into your body and into your internal organs...I have had the unpleasant experience of being shot myself wearing Kevlar in 1986 as a Detective with a large municipal department here on the east coast. The bullet never penetrated, by ruptured my spleen, tore my diaphragm lose (the muscles and tissue that support your stomach and intestines) resulting in 14 hours of surgery and a nasty scar. I also know from experience that a Kevlar Type III vest will stop both the Smith 500 or the 460...It's the shock passing thru your body that is the highest risk of death. They would turn your internal organs to MUSH !

Answer 4

Regarding the remark about the above mentioned rounds being slow, consider the following:"The Smith and Wesson 460XVR and 460V are two revolvers designed to fire the .460 S&W round. Smith and Wesson boast that the .460 is the highest velocity revolver cartridge in the world, firing bullets at 2630 ft/s (750 m/s). The .460 achieves over 2500 ft·lbff (3.25 KJ) of energy by driving a 200 gr bullet at 2330 ft/s but this falls short of the title "most powerful commercial handgun cartridge" as the .500 S&W Magnum drives a 350 grain round at 1975fps at over 3032 ft·lbf. (DoubleTap Ammunition Co.)"
Whether it would penetrate body armor is a moot point, but I would be willing to wager, the bullets wouldn't even slow down much.

Answer 5

Even if I was wearing Kevlar, I wouldn't want to be shot by one of those sledgehammers.

Answer 6

Yes. 460 sw will penetrate level 3A vest.
Easy...

Answer 7

No.The size of the bullet means it travels slowly and the majority of it's energy on impact comes from the weight rather than speed.Fast bullets are generally the ones that pierce armor.Kevlar degrades after every hit,so if you shoot it enough times with a 460/500 it would break.Try howstuffworks.com I think they have a page on how bulletproof armor works.It will help you understand it a lot better.The concussion won't kill you,though it could very easily knock you off your feet.

Answer 8

i doubt it the bullet will expand too much on impact creating a large surface area. the other fella is right though will still kill you with the concussion.