The 10 Most Powerful Handguns in the World
BY Herschel Smith
3 years, 9 months ago
The 10 Most Powerful Handguns in the World.
The .44 magnum is a sensible buy in my opinion in spite of the stiff recoil. One can shoot .44 special with it, and then .44 magnum if the need arises.
But I don’t think I want to shoot most of these handguns.
On March 19, 2021 at 9:15 am, George 1 said:
Unless you are built like Hulk Hogan in his heyday you won’t get back on target too fast with most of those cartridges. Like you said the 44 is reasonable and makes sense in large predator country.
The 460 S&W would be great in a compact semi-auto carbine of some sort that you could sling.
On March 19, 2021 at 10:08 am, George said:
Thumbs up on the .44 magnum.
On March 19, 2021 at 11:04 am, Furminator said:
I’ve owned two 500s, 4 454s, and more 44s than I can remember. I’ve shot 460s and the 480 and I always come back to the 44 being all you need and they’re quite nice to shoot. The 2 3/4 inch 500 was totally useless for getting back on target but every single action 454 takes the cake for most miserable recoil ever.
On March 19, 2021 at 1:31 pm, scott s. said:
My experience is if you shoot a lot of .44 special, .44 mag won’t chamber without some aggressive lead removal.
On March 19, 2021 at 2:40 pm, =TW= said:
My Old Man used to say “If you can’t kill it with a .357, use a rifle instead.”
On March 19, 2021 at 4:41 pm, Bob in NC said:
No thanks on the .44 Magnums .. I’m just fine with my Beretta PX4 9mm. I have put close to 1,000 rounds through it (back before ammo became too costly to use at the range) and it has never jammed once. Super easy to disassemble and clean too.
I can’t understand why Berettas rarely if ever make most people’s Top 10 list of handguns.
One would think that oldest firearm maker on the planet would know a thing or two about making quality guns.
I just wish I could afford a Beretta shotgun.
On March 19, 2021 at 9:03 pm, PubliusII said:
A little off-topic here, but is Field & Stream published as ink on paper anymore?
On March 19, 2021 at 9:10 pm, Elmo said:
I think I’ll take my .45-70 in rifle form, thank you very much.
The ‘BFR’ in the Magnum Research BFR is technically an acronym for Big Frame Revolver. I ain’t buying. I think the F stands for something else entirely, and my 69 year old right arm just isn’t up to it.
On March 20, 2021 at 10:11 am, Ned said:
I’ve got a TC contender in 45-70. It’s lighter than a BFR revolver. I actually shot a coyote with it using a 300 gr HP going 2100 fps. It did the most damage to anything I’ve ever killed, literally blowing a plate sized exit hole.
I’ve shot everything else on the list except a 500 and 460 S&W. 454 in a Freedom Arms revolver is quite sharp, and so is the 475 Linebaugh.
I’d actually love to have a BFR in 454 Casull – for using warm 45 Colt loads.
A hard cast 280-300 grain 45 bullet at 1000 fps will pretty much go through an elk end-to-end, so I don’t need more power than that in my neck of the woods.
On March 20, 2021 at 6:57 pm, TheAlaskan said:
What is often overlooked is ammo availability. Here in Alaska, I’ve never found a shop, regardless of size or how remote, that didn’t stock .44 mag ammo. The other ‘exotic’ cannon rounds would have to be special ordered. Tried and trusted .44….bear stopper.
On March 20, 2021 at 8:07 pm, xtphreak said:
@Ned
Just get a old (full size frame) Blackhawk in .45 Colt.
It will handle the “hot” .45 loads just fine, get a convertible and it’ll also shoot .45ACP.
.44 Mag is plenty ’nuff for a handgun, anymore needed get a rifle.