The Most Powerful Handgun in the World

[Durango_Dave]

I own a 44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world. It would blow your head clean off.

"Clean off"? That's hard to visualize, let alone believe. But at least it's the most powerful handgun in the world. That's what Harry Callahan says.
OK that may have been true when Dirty Harry was in the theaters but not any more.

That got me thinking: what handguns were the most powerful at the time they were released?

I'd like to stick to handgun cartridges with factory loads. Sure Magnum Research sells revolvers that shoot 45-70 cartridges but the 45-70 is a rifle cartridge so that one's out.

Here's some that are in the running:

Colt Walker 1847 (must be an honorable mention due to above rules)

45 Colt 1872

357 Magnum 1935

44 Mag 1955

454 Casull 1959 Was this the most powerful when it was released?

460 S&W 2005 Not sure about this one either.

500 S&W Magnum 2003

Go ahead, make my day. Tell me about the most powerful handgun ever made.

 

[entropy]

Nope. The 500 S&W was topped before it was produced.

[WARNING. Video contains offensive language that will be audible when played.]



Whether you'd like to stick with production "handgun cartridges" is a moot point. It is a handgun, that fires cartridges, unlike the Walker.

I'd say some of the JDJ/SSK rounds make the the .500 look like a popgun also, and those are cartridges "made for handguns."

 

[earlthegoat2]

If boutique cartridges apply, none of the above in the OP were ever the most powerful at the time of their respective releases.

 

[Rule3]

https://yestactical.com/the-460-vs-500-sw-magnum

 

[earlthegoat2]

https://yestactical.com/the-460-vs-500-sw-magnum

Interesting about shooting 444 Marlin and 44 Mag from a 460 S&W firearm.

 

[JohnKSa]

The .44Mag wasn't the most powerful even at the time of the movie release. The .454 Casull was developed in the late 1950s--of course it wasn't officially adopted by SAAMI for another 40 years or so. Maybe if he had said: "...most powerful production handgun in the world..."?

 

[Durango_Dave]

The .44Mag wasn't the most powerful even at the time of the movie release. The .454 Casull was developed in the late 1950s--of course it wasn't officially adopted by SAAMI for another 40 years or so. Maybe if he had said: "...most powerful production handgun in the world..."?

Good point. I really should have said "Most powerful handgun cartridge adopted by SAAMI"
Those elephant cartridges are insane in a rifle, let alone a handgun.
We really need a lot of stipulations to stay on track but Dirty Harry would not have had such a great line if he had to say it like this: "This is the most powerful production handgun cartridge that has been adopted and approved by the SAAMI organization and would blow your head clean off." It just doesn't have the same affect.

 

[jag1954]

I'm content enough with my trio of X-Frames....

 

[westernrover]

Those scenes needed a smart guy from the internet to correct inspector Callahan on camera.

 

[DeepSouth]

Does no one here remember shot show 2004?
50 bmg
https://gearsofguns.com/50-bmg-thunder/

 

[Plan2Live]

Does no one here remember shot show 2004?
50 bmg

Mic drop.......thread closed.

 

[DeepSouth]

Mic drop.......thread closed.

I bet it still holds the record!

 

[Mizar]

Does no one here remember shot show 2004?
50 bmg

Also, there was the Maadi-Griffin pistol (parts-kit actually) in .50BMG, made some time in the 90's.

 

[BushMaster-15]

All that talk makes MY wrist hurt Ah winner winner chicken dinner .

1. Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Revolver

Cartridge: .600 Nitro Express
Bullet Diameter: .620 in (15.7 mm)
Year Created: 1903
Handgun Price: $15,000 – $17,000

 

[shoobe01]

I mean, if you need a handgun to blow people's heads clean off:

 

[GarrettJ]

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The Mars Automatic Pistol was the most powerful handgun in the world in the 1900s.
The .45 Mars Long 220 gr bullet made 1250 fps. It was a bit more than the newer .45 Super and a bit less than the .45 Win Mag.

"The captain in charge of tests of the Mars at the Naval Gunnery School in 1902 observed, "No one who fired once with the pistol wished to shoot it again". Shooting the Mars pistol was described as "singularly unpleasant and alarming".[2]
2. Geoffrey Boothroyd, The Handgun, Crown Publishers, 1970, pp. 410–412.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Automatic_Pistol

The .45 Remington-Thompson developed for the M1923 Thompson Submachine Gun (250gr bullet @ 1450 fps from a 14 inch barrel) was never chambered in a handgun, probably saving thousands of wrists and eardrums..

 

[entropy]

I mean, if you need a handgun to blow people's heads clean off:

View attachment 1121190

Kinda hard to blow people's heads off with an Airsoft gun, though. I've been to the website that sells them too.

 

[Durango_Dave]

View attachment 1121194

The Mars Automatic Pistol was the most powerful handgun in the world in the 1900s.
The .45 Mars Long 220 gr bullet made 1250 fps. It was a bit more than the newer .45 Super and a bit less than the .45 Win Mag.

"The captain in charge of tests of the Mars at the Naval Gunnery School in 1902 observed, "No one who fired once with the pistol wished to shoot it again". Shooting the Mars pistol was described as "singularly unpleasant and alarming".[2]
2. Geoffrey Boothroyd, The Handgun, Crown Publishers, 1970, pp. 410–412.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Automatic_Pistol

The .45 Remington-Thompson developed for the M1923 Thompson Submachine Gun (250gr bullet @ 1450 fps from a 14 inch barrel) was never chambered in a handgun, probably saving thousands of wrists and eardrums..

That's interesting. I also got more info from Ian on Forgotten Weapons.

 

[Pudge]

What about the 480 Ruger in 2003?

 

[sparkyv]

Yeah, I don't think that's right. One probably could as the X-frame can handle the pressure, but accuracy would be comical.

Interesting about shooting 444 Marlin and 44 Mag from a 460 S&W firearm.

[Edit] The COAL of the 444 Marlin is too long.

 

[eddiememphis]

"Clean off"? That's hard to visualize, let alone believe.

Go ahead, make my day. Tell me about the most powerful handgun ever made.

9mm. "A 9mm bullet blows the lung out of the body". President Joe Biden, May 2022

https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-says-9mm-bullet-blows-lung-out-body-1711551

 

[Slamfire]

I remember the TV series Lady Blue. It was about a fiery red headed Cop Chick who was, shall we say, a Detective Callahan in a skirt. And she had a Python in 357 Magnum. And I distinctly remember Lady Blue shooting a van with her mighty 357, and the van blew up. Big, bad, kaboom! Flame, doors blowing off, you name it.

Always wondered where I could get that ammunition. It would be fun to have a 357 round with an explosive charge large enough to completely blow up a van.

What you see in movies and TV is always true. They don't make up a thing.

 

[Targa]

What about the 480 Ruger in 2003?

.454Casull, .500 S&W and although it could be argued that it was a wild cat cartridge back then, the 480’s daddy cartridge .475 Linebaugh all best it.

 

[bigpower491]

IIRC....."Harry" said he shot a light special when he was hanging with "Sweet" and the gang at the indoor range in Magnum Force. Remember, 38s careen off windshields, some stuff like that.
The Super Red 454 that resides here is some kinda cannon. I can only imagine the look on the face of the first person Dick Casull handed the final version of his 45 Magnum to......probably easily pop a whole Big Mac of the Era right in that open mouth.....