[tuckerdog1]

I was recently watching a youtube video. The guy was testing some ammo in a Glock 20. He made the comment that it 'might' be the most powerful handgun available. He wasn't saying the 10mm was the most powerful round you could put down the tube. There are several that round vs round, the 10mm would come up way short. But based on the 15+1 capacity, it's total power put it over 5 or 6 shot revolvers chambered in 454 Casull or S&W 500 mag.

Does he have a point?

Is there another handgun he's overlooking?

Tuckerdog1

[Skribs]

Power is very subjective. The FiveseveN offers impressive wounding mechanics for the recoil and a standard 20-round magazine. The Glock 20 offers incredible energy for a semi-auto with unrivaled capacity for a 10mm. The Glock 20/21 with the .50 GI conversion kit offers controlable .50-cal firepower, and the Desert Eagle offers more power in the .50-cal range (with more ammo than a .500 S&W). If you're looking for number of holes from a magazine, the Taurus Raging Judge Magnum with the 7-round cyllinder shooting 000-buck out of 3" shells can produce 35 holes.

You also gotta factor in things like a 6.8 AR pistol or a Draco AK pistol, which are legally considered handguns. 30 rounds of 7.62x39 beat out 15 rounds of 10mm any day, even out of a 7" barrel. While we're on that subject, I guess I can bring up the 100-round beta-cmag for the Glock 17, which offers a lot more firepower than a 10mm Glock with 15 rounds. Which reminds me of the Calico pistol (ugly and impractical, but still a 50-round .380 or 9mm pistol).

What are you looking for in terms of power? How many BGs (or bears) you can take down? How much energy you can impart? Total wound channel size produced by a magazine?

It is also worth noting that if the 10mm doesn't penetrate deeply enough (thinking of things like really big bears), then it doesn't matter if you have 50 rounds; 1 round of something more powerful will likely serve you better.

[56hawk]

Mentioning beta mags. Might as well consider an AR pistol with 100 rounds of 223 as the worlds most powerful handgun:

http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac88/Golgo-013/Patriot/DSC02128.jpg

[hexidismal]

Mentioning beta mags. Might as well consider an AR pistol with 100 rounds of 223 as the worlds most powerful handgun:

Well, if you're going to be putting things like that into the mix, then an AK pattern pistol with a 100 round drum of 7.62x39 blows that out of the water.

I've never really thought about it in a sense of total energy delivered between capacity and cartridge before though; that would be an interesting study of numbers.

[Skribs]

I'm just waiting for some yahoo to make a PGO version of the 12-gauge rifle from hell.

[cougar1717]

I never understood this point of argument. It's really a power vs capacity question. How would you even determine that? Bullet weight in grains x muzzle velocity in fps x capacity? The point of the video guy is to purport that the G20 is the most awesome gun ever. On paper (lets be generous), 200gr x 1200 fps x 15 capacity is probably hard to beat. But what does that number really mean? It does not mean that 10mm is the most popular caliber or that the G20 is the best selling glock model. The number, or the "total power" if you would like to call it that, really doesn't mean anything.

[AFDavis11]

I think you have to define what Power means.

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I think this is, but not sure....
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/11/23/wts-50-bmg-pistol/

[MCgunner]

Well, that 50 is a hand rifle and this makes a bigger hole.....

http://www.vincelewis.net/50magnum/600revolver.jpg

[hogshead]

This wins.

[oneounceload]

Thinking any of the XP-100 or TC Contender pistols that fire rifle cartridges would easily take the title

[MCgunner]

I think I found one bigger than the Pfeifer Zeliska .600 Nitro Express revolver.

http://crimsonsguns.tripod.com/movieguns.html#hel

http://crimsonsguns.tripod.com/8911_extra04.jpg

[45_auto]

A friend of mine has a registered Browning 1919 (belt fed full auto) that he shoots with a shorty (14") barrel and shroud sometimes.

How much power does an infinite number of 7.62 x 51's have?

I've seen them with barrels as short as 10", muzzle blast must be horrendous!

[MCgunner]

This is always good for a laugh....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o14ikCTeVo

[MCgunner]

Old school Lemat. Bottom barrel is 20 gauge smooth bore, upper is .44.

http://home.hiwaay.net/~stargate/images/Lemat.jpg

Howdah Pistol...20 gauge SxS....

http://www.cherrys.com/pedpics/S358b.jpg

[303tom]

This is the Worlds most powerful (Production) hand gun............

[ArchAngelCD]

While probably not the "most powerful" handgun available 2 rounds of 3" 410 Buckshot or slugs in a small package ain't too shabby at all.
That will for sure ruin your day IMO.

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o26/ArchAngelCD/DD_410_1.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o26/ArchAngelCD/DD_410_2.jpg

If that fails you can always sick the attack kitten on them!

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o26/ArchAngelCD/DSCN2361s.jpg

[TennJed]

If the pen is mightier than the sword, then I vote a Cross deluxe set with both pen and pencil

[Skribs]

Archangel, they have revolvers with .410 3" shells now, I think that beats out a 2-shot derringer.

How about the Metal Storm pistol? I don't think any other pistol can put out that much lead for 0.0003 seconds.

[azyogi]

the 600 nitro gets my vote

[460Kodiak]

This is silly. You can argue this question a hundred different ways.

Is the 10mm the most powerful handgun cartridge? No. Are there guns with higher capacity? Yes. Are these handguns practical? Yes to some, no for others. Does 30 rounds of 5.56 from a "handgun" kill anything deader than 1 round from a 10mm, or 1 round from a .22 with good shot placement? No.

And around, and around, and around.............

I would argue that the most powerful handgun is different for everyone, as it must be defined as the handgun that fires the cartridge that produces the most kinetic energy, and that YOU are capable of shooting well and quickly. A 1000 caliber revolver that shoots a 1500 gr slug may be the most powerful gun in the world for Andre the Giant, but not for me........

This is a semantic argument. Actually it's a semantic argument with opinions thrown in, which means it will go nowhere. Have fun I guess.

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Ok found the one I was originally looking for...50 bmg pistol....


http://s414.photobucket.com/albums/pp221/bbatou/?action=view&current=50bmgposter.jpg&newest=1

[303tom]

The worlds most powerful production hand gun.

[MCgunner]

Tom...thePfeifer Zeliska .600 Nitro Express revolver IS A PRODUCTION HANDGUN. Just because a working man can't even afford the ammo doesn't make it any less available IF you have the money. :D 600 NE is considerably more powerful than .45-70. It's a friggin' ELEPHANT rifle caliber. The .45-70 is barely enough cartridge to be called a "Buffalo Rifle" caliber. Now, the .50 BMG might beat it in energy, too lazy to look that up, but it sure doesn't make as big a hole. After all, the .45ACP guys seem to think the hole size is all that matters, 10,000 ft lbs is superfluous to "one shot stops", whatever that is. :rolleyes: They think that because they don't wanna admit that the .357 magnum is a more powerful caliber, of course. :D

[hardluk1]

heres a few of the cartridges for the competitor corp handgun chambered in 450 lott handgunhttp://www.competitor-pistol.com/callist5.html

[Prosser]

lets see:710 x 16=11360 Thats Doubletaps max loads energy wise, for the 10mm.

Max loads for my .500 Linebaugh Maximum:
Energy of 2,935 foot-pounds for a 550 grain bullet at 1550 fps, X 5=14675.

So, no, the guy is WAY wrong. My 5 shots have nearly 30% more energy then all his
10MM.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f99/Socrates28/RUGER%20510%20Max/500maxright.jpg

Doubletap offers a factory load for the .500 S&W that isn't much off my gun:

Caliber : .500 S&W Magnum

Bullet : 400gr. WFNGC Hardcast

Ballistics : 1800fps - 2878 ft./lbs. - 8.375" bbl.
Results are pretty much the same.

The 45-70 is in the same ball park, but requires a longer barrel to get the same results, and a longer cylinder.

[Smith357]

The most powerful commercially available current production handgun is the TC Encore. It can be had in .300 Win Mag from the factory, with custom shop barrels going up to .458 Win Mag and .416 Rigby.
http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/images/silos/1626.jpg
As for custom guns, I'm sure there is some idiot out there who has custom built a hand held artillery piece that will tear your arm clean off if you fire it.

[ATLDave]

The Glock 20 offers incredible energy for a semi-auto with unrivaled capacity for a 10mm.

Not exactly. I've got a bunch of 16 round mags for my EAA 10mm.

[DM~]

I'm thinking the 600 nitro express revolver is the most powful production handgun, it shoots a 900 grain bullet. You can see them shoot it on u-tube.

DM

[Japle]

Wichita Silhouette pistol in 7R. Getting 2,000+ fps with 165 gr bullets is easy.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y145/Japle/Guns/Wichita1.jpg

[MCgunner]

Just looking at 600 NE ballistics for a RIFLE, 900 grain bullet at 1950 fps gives 7596 ft lbs.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_ballistics_table.htm

.50 BMG has it beat at 12,597 ft lbs. Figure from the Pfeifer Zeliska's long barrel, maybe, say, 1600 fps for 900 grains of bullet, conservative velocity estimate. That's still 5115 ft lbs from a 60 caliber 900 grain bullet. And, it's a REAL production revolver. I did NOT say it was practical, just said it's a production handgun. :D

That youtube vid I posted earlier in this thread is a TC Encore with a 600 NE barrel. Now, if you know how hard a .44 mag kicks in a TC, you will NOT wanna fire a 600 NE in one!!!!!! That guy got a lump on his head for the effort, but he was holding the thing by the fore stock, kinda stupid. Still the thing HAS to hurt. The Pfeifer Zeliska is something over 10 lbs I think, 13, something like that. And, I mean, it'd be easier to carry a double rifle. BUT, some folks will no doubt buy one for the braggin' rights. Then, someone will design a .50 BMG production handgun. LOL I'm guessing the frame size of an Encore can't handle it. Just what I wanna fire, though, a TC Encore chambered for 50 BMG. :rolleyes:

[mr.trooper]

A Cheetah can run 70 miles per hour in short sprints...

A Prong Horn can run 60 miles per hour all day...

Which animal is the fastest?

[Jaxondog]

The 600 nitro express is not a production handgun i don't beleive. But it is without a doubt the most powerful.

[sgt127]

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j277/sgt127/IMG_1553.jpg

If there is something more powerful, that can be fired with one hand, I'm not interested. This thing is a beast with 00 Buck or Slugs.

[MachIVshooter]

A Cheetah can run 70 miles per hour in short sprints...

A Prong Horn can run 60 miles per hour all day...

Which animal is the fastest?

Ask the speed goat as he's dying in the cheetah's jaws. ;)

Fastest is fastest, regardless of sustainabilty. A nitromethane dragster can't go far, but they'll hit 250 MPH in less time than a ZR1 Corvette takes to get to 60.

And most powerful is most powerful. It's not cumulative based on energy x cylinder/magazine capacity. The Calico .22 I had held 100 rounds, which could develop 140 FPE each. That's slightly more energy than a single round from my AR-50 can do. One round of .50 will easily penetrate 1" steel plate. Anyone care to guess how many tens (hundreds??) of thousands of .22 LR it would take to erode a hole in the same 1" plate?

[blarby]

As shown above, depends on your definition.

pow·er·ful adj \ˈpau̇(-ə)r-fəl\

Definition of POWERFUL

1
: having great power, prestige, or influence <a powerful leader>
2
: leading to many or important deductions <a powerful set of postulates>

Using that definition... My answer would be :

The one that you can use the most effectively.

[sirsloop]

The most powerful single shot pistol I've ever seen was the .600NE Thompson Encore. I've got a .500 S&W Thompson Encore and its a handful. was considering a .458 Win Mag Encore which would also be quite a handful to shoot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10mm_Auto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.500_S%26W_Magnum

Back on topic... based on wikipedia math 16rds of 10mm has 16,320J of energy. If you consider a 5 shot 500S&W magnum revolver that's got 20,545J of energy. I think hands down something like a high cap mag on a .223 or 7.62x39 AR/AK pistol is going to be the pistol "energy in one mag" champion.

I'll still take my single shot .500 S&W over any of em tho, for fun factor alone! ;P

http://photos.tallmanphoto.com/photos/i-MhxMZFH/0/M/i-MhxMZFH-XL.png

[303tom]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGKZW4AX5YQ

[medalguy]

I thought Harry Callahan settled this question a long time ago.

[sirsloop]

Ya he settled it in 1971, but things change.

[MCgunner]

Whether the Pfeifer-Zeliska could be called "production", well, maybe "limited production?" If you have enough money, you can have one. From a site I googled......



The worlds most powerful pistol is the Austrian Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum. It is chambered to fire the British developed .600 caliber rifle bullet originally made by Holland and Holland. This revolver was not originally a full production model but a bespoke one off, built especially for a wealthy Swiss gentleman...Mr. Zeliska.

But if you would like one and I am sure that a few of you 'gunslingers' with a bit of disposable income would, then contact Pfeifer arms ( url near bottom of page ) and they will actually make one for you. Priced at 13,840 Euro's, this equates as $17,316* or £11,722* including Tax

[MrDig]

The former tactifool bawannabe in me wants to respond to the question What is the most powerful handgun? by saying " The one I point at the Bad Guy Pilgrim ", I have fortunately grown beyond the Mall Ranger stage of my life, survived and actually managed to learn something in the process. I will therefore leave the rest of you back to your normal thread..........