What is the most powerful handgun?

[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.


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.

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.

 

[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.

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.

 

[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]

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&W_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

 

[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..........