Why isn't there a demand for a short/low recoil/affordable .50 caliber pistol round?

[JRWhit]

When I think of larger caliber I don't think larger hole, I think more mass.
The Glock conversion is offered with an 8 or 9 round capacity. So no loss there to .45.
I'm not sure where you see the trade off for slower moving.
.50 G.I.
185 gr (12 g) JHP, 1200 ft/s, 591 ft-lb
275 gr (18 g) JHP, 900 ft/s, 495 ft-lb
300 gr (19 g) JFP, 700 ft/s, 350 ft-lb
300 gr (19 g) JHP, 860 ft/s, 493 ft-lb
The only trade off I see is a 200 gn projectile moving around 800 fps, for a 300 gn projectile moving around 800 fps.

Great for defense? IMO not for me. But what a great little hog gun or even a side kick for hikes in black beer country.

I would however prefer the 1911 platform over the Glock.

 

[JRWhit]

Like this one.

 

[WestKentucky]

Let's consider full size guns too. My b92fs holds 20. The same gun in .40 holds a laughable 14. In 45 probably 11 so at .50imaginif probably 9. That's a full size gun. Go to the pocket guns which are all the rage. Keltec pf9 sized gun would hold 5 at best.

Which brings up the p4d that keltec pulled as soon as it hit the shelf and it became the p11. The recoil of 40shortweak was incredible. On par by some reports as a .357 or maybe 44 ultralight shooting full house loads. Take this up a couple more notches to the .50gi and your at the point of material stress on the gun making it questionable and ripe for repair under warranty, not to mention people hating the gun for its recoil and suddenly your the manufacturer with the break-a-wrist junktastic gun. You lose business on your bread-n-butter lines and go out of business unless you pull a miracle off.

The current trend is towards small caliber high efficiency rounds. .357 sig is a big success in this area. High velocity, hard to jam, easily manageable recoil, ballistics on par with weak .357 mag rounds or really strong 38spl+p rounds. Now new cartridges comin in its wake in tiny guns in the form of 25naa and 32naa. Expect to see a 32 cal built on 9mm in the near future if it isn't already out there. Your talking crazy numbers when comparing them to gun size, mag capacity, and recoil. This is the future of handgun rounds, and the future of handguns.

 

[CraigC]

I think it's interesting that folks will argue and get their drawers bunched up in a 9mm vs .40 vs .45 thread but the minute someone mentions something bigger than a .45, "it doesn't gain anything". No one even wants to discuss it.

We know in the sporting world that a .475 truly is a bigger hammer than a .45 and that it does everything better. Just an observation.....

 

[orionengnr]

I had one of those .50 GI 1911s by Guncrafter Industries. It was a pretty nice 1911, hard chrome with a .45acp conversion kit , dies, ammo and a bunch of other stuff. That was about $4200 retail. Bought it used and got it for a fair bit less.

I sold it about a year later. I didn't carry it, and every time I shot it I would lose some brass, which was really annoying (esp at the price that brass brings).

In the final analysis, I decided that I was plenty happy with a .45acp 1911. All components are cheap and readily available, and I have owned several pretty nice 1911s (bought used) for $1000 each.

 

[SDGlock23]

I don't think there's any doubt a .475 hits harder than a .45, and caliber wise the difference between them is about the same as the difference between the .44 and .45 (.429 vs .452 vs .475, or .23" difference exactly between them).

In a semi auto, going .50 reduces capacity and the cost is high enough to drive many off. Sure power can be there, as more of the ft-lbs of energy is derived from bullet weight than from it's high velocities. Plus bullet selection is pitiful, so lack of bullet selection and high cost of components does drive a lot of people away. I would maintain that if you want more power than a .45 ACP just shoot some .45 Super/460 Rowland, both of which eclipse the .50 GI.

I do sometimes wonder why there isn't a popular .44 (.429") semi auto service type round. It could be very versatile, with low recoil options available and high powered options too if it was a higher pressure 35-40K PSI cartridge, and with approx the same OAL as the .45 ACP/10mm. Capacity would be somewhere between the .45 and 10mm, with power that could exceed both when needed, or could be loaded to "service" levels for LE agencies and such.

 

[hartcreek]

Too small a market. Most of the people whining about wanting a large caliber really have not shot one that much. My full power .44 Automag loads or .44 Magnum loads will make 80% of shooters cry. For the remaining there are plenty of punishing calibers already in existance such as the .454 Casul, Webly .375 and others.