can anyone tell me what is the most powerful handgun in the world i know it used to be the 44 magnum?

Question

like dirty harry used, go ahead punks make my day and tell me

Answer 1

The most powerful "Handgun" is the Smith & Wesson Model 500 Magnum followed closely behind is the 460 Smith & Wesson Magnum..Hands down..EXTREMELY powerful gun and HIGH recoil. Not for the weak,thats for sure! WithFMJ ammunition it will penetrate thru a piece of 3/8"-1/2" thick cold rolled ship plate steel like a knife thru warm butter..

Answer 2

Everybody from most police agencies to the various militarys have come to the conclusion that "too much handgun" is past the point of diminishing returns on survivability in armed confrontations. A few State Police, Sheriffs, and special duty Military have hung onto their 357's (myself included), but Magnums aren't generally seen much anymore outside of the noted exceptions. Use 44 Special JHP's in that 44 Magnum for home personal protection, and you are near the top of the bell curve on "good luck" at 3AM when your first shot with a full-powered magnum round would often miss and have you pointing at the ceiling, while the pitifully armed assailant would be pumping several meager 38 Special rounds into your gizzard! As I am addicted to my 357, for home protection I load midrange power light weight JHP's, splitting the difference between 38 +P level and full power, for controlability in fast followup shots, adequate stopping power, and good frangibility on wallboard. I use between 7 and 8 grains of Clays Universal powder under any 110 grain JHP for reduced muzzle flash, and a Magnum primer, in this service. Start with 7 grains and see what you think. Since it's a midrange download, it is safe in all 357's in good condition. EDIT: Oops! I just saw in your closing sentence that you live in Brown Bear country, and home defense from 1200 lb Gentle Bens raiding the kitchen is on the menu! Assuming the next door neighbors are the other side of a clump of trees, PENETRATION is the watchword on Brown bear ammo. Technically, while big JHP bullets will do on full power Brown Bear Species loads, it's better to use JSP big bullets. And just get used to making the first shot count, like any good hunter, because getting back on target will take a few seconds for a followup target acquisition to be arranged after 44 Magnum recoil! Also, I am unfamiliar with the "38/357 handgun" Glock Doctor refers to, other than like the S&W Outdoorsman or 38/44 Heavy Duty, briefly used before the 357 Magnum was developed. True you can load 38's in a 357, but saying a specific Police Dept uses the 38/357 does not make specific sense to me. Finally on the topic that a semi-auto is superior to any revolver for self defense, (1) many people have been cut down with edged weapons while they fumbled with a safety, a clip, an empty chamber, or a dust-jammed action! And (2) no matter how well trained a person is, a surprise invasion fills the system with so much adrenaline, that a drunkard on drugs might be more coordinated (!), and the simpler the equipment, like a revolver, "the more sunny be the fortunes of encounter".

Answer 3

Historically for a brief moment in time the .38 Super was considered the most powerful (automatic) pistol in the world. Then the .357 Mag. Then (thanks to Hollywood) the .44 Magnum.

Truthfully, the .44 Mag. being the most powerful handgun in the world was Hollywood hype. Then like today there were wildcat calibers chambered for behemoth revolvers that were more powerful. Today there are many that contend for that distinction so that it is hard to pin one down exactly because someone is always trying something new. Like the .600 Nitro Express pistol.

Conventionally speaking the most powerful handgun today that is commercially available would be the .500 S & W; in auto loaders make that the .50 Caliber Action Express.

Best.

H

Answer 4

That is a very hard question to answer. The reason is that if you are limiting your handguns to revolvers, than the answer is the .50 cal Model 500 Smith and Wesson revolver. The .545 Casul round is a close second. However, if you include such handguns as the Thompson Encore, you open a whole can of worms. The Encore is chambered for several rounds that are not traditionally handgun cartridges such as the .308, the .45-70, the .30-06, etc. Then, if Thompson Center does not chamber a barrel for a round that you would like to try, you can go to a gunsmith and have him chamber a barrel for you. Theoretically it is possible to chamber a custom made handgun for a .50 BMG round but I don't know anyone who could hold onto it when they fired it. So you see, asking what is the most powerful handgun in the world is almost impossible to answer.

Answer 5

The Smith & Wesson .500 S&W Magnum is the most powerful production handgun in the world, by far. MUCH more boom than the .50AE (Desert Eagle), .480 Ruger, .454 Casull, and nearly twice the .44 Mag. Even more than the Magnum Research BFR in .45-70!
I say production because anyone can make a "one off" at any time that would be a little more, but you can't run out and buy one of those.

Answer 6

The Smith and Wesson .500 is now the most powerful. They built it specifically for the purpose of knocking the .454 casull of the top. Then they built the S&W .460 which is now the second most powerful leaving the .454 in third. The .454 has twice the muzzle energy as a .44 magnum. However, this is all in a revolver. If you include some of the single shot pistols, such as the Ecnore, than they are built for rifle cartridges and can be more powerful than any revolver.

Answer 7

the s&w 500 mag Performance
It is claimed to be the most powerful handgun cartridge commercially manufactured with over 2500 ft·lbf (3.5 kJ) of energy created with a 440 gr (29 g) bullet travelling at 1625 ft/s (495 m/s).[4] Some loadings can even achieve muzzle velocities of 2300 ft/s using a 325 grain (21 g) bullet. This produces a muzzle energy of over 3817 ft·lbf (5175 J).[5]

The intended design for this cartridge is for big game hunting and wilderness protection, as well as for ultimate defense (bears, etc).

Bullet weights available for this cartridge, range from a 265 grain (17 g) jacketed hollow point, to a 700 grain (45 g) cast lead bullet. Moderate velocity, heavy bullet loads from the .500 S&W Magnum are similar in performance to the black powder .50-70 Government[3].

The recoil of this cartridge is quite strong. Smith & Wesson has incorporated design features into their Smith & Wesson Model 500, including a muzzle brake, recoil reducing rubber grips, and considerable weight to help mitigate the recoil.[6]

Answer 8

The .500 S&W Magnum.

Answer 9

The most powerful COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED handgun in the world is the S&W .500 Magnum.

However, the most powerful handgun in the world was custom built by Pfeiffer-Waffen, an Austrian gun manufacturer. It is the Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Revolver.

http://web.archive.org/web/20030406083234/http://www.pfeifer-waffen.at/Zeliska2.pdf

Answer 10

.500 S&W is the most powerful commonly / commercially produced handgun... however, there are some "specialized" handguns which have been chambered to fire rifle-rounds (like the Magnum Research (formerly I.M.I.) line of "Lone Eagle" guns - single shot handguns).

I'm sure there are some wild gunsmiths out there who've rechambered guns to do some crazy stunts like firing .50-Cals like the BMG ... or single shot handguns which will fire a 12-gauge deer slug... but I don't know too many folk who've got the hand-strength to fire such monsters and maintain control ... but heck, anything is possible.