What do you think the 'strongest' handgun cartridge is out there?

Question

I heard that the .500 S&W magnum 'claims' to be the strongest, any ideas?

I always thought .50AE (i.e. desert eagle) was strongest, but I forgot about those good old revolvers..

Personally, I think that all in all, .357 magnum might be best. It hits hard and not too expensive (and the recoil is eh)

Please, if you could, let me know what you preferred handgun cartridge is. I wanna find one that gets you enough 'bang for you buck.'

thanks guys.

Answer 1

there are a couple of companies out there making revolvers in 45-70. i know its a rifle cartridge, but it is in a revolver and not a single shot pistol. i'm not sure how it stacks up against the 500 s&w, but it is quite a handfull.

357 mag gets my vote for the most versatile handgun round ever invented.

Answer 2

There is a custom made 60 caliber nitro pistol they made. Heres the video for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yzI0AIpU...                        

if you want a powerful handgun get a .45 preferably made by colt or one of my favorites which is the desert eagle .50 AE 24kt. gold plated. You could get a .44 magnum which is decently strong.

Answer 3

The S&W .500 is the strongest (as in most powerful) cartridge designed for a handgun. However there are many custom handguns chambered in rifle cartridges that are much more powerful.

The .357 Magnum is a very versatile caliber and handguns chembered for it also may be loaded with .38 spcl making the firearms even more versatile. I have used the .357 as a police officer, a handgun hunter, and for my own defense and like it. But it does have shortfalls as a hunting cartridge and the .44 magnum is considered by most to be the minnimum caliber for hunting, especially in bear country. Having taken bears with both .357 mag and .44 mag, I agree. But, as a matter of routine, when in the wilds, I carry a 7" barreled revolver chambered in .44mag with either 240 grain semi jacketed soft points, or the 300-345  grain bullets by buffalo bullet company around camp, or when fishing etc and I cannot carry a long gun..

shoot safe

Answer 4

I once saw a .45 ACP beat Magnus Ver Magnussen in hand to hand combat. But a .357 will win if it's squat thrusts.

Answer 5

considering 'normal' handguns, and not rifles with the stock removed, 500 S&W takes the cake by a large margin.  Even before, the 454 casul outperformed the 50 AE.

I too think the 357 magnum is probably the best all-around revolver cartridge because of it's versatility.  It is an absolutely proven man-stopper.  With proper bullets it is a great whitetail gun for handgun hunting, and it can use 38 specials for cheap low recoil shooting.

The only think it lacks is as a good grizz gun, but even then, any handgun has shortcomings and the rifle is the real answer.

Answer 6

LOL. The sky is the limit, I rememeber Clint Eastwood wielding the "most powerful handgun in the world" with his .44 mag. But now there are so many custom made rounds for those big game hunters and general wildcatters that no one really knows. But if your looking at production rounds I would go with the .357 mag wheelgun or .45 in a compact 1911-clone for carry. If you need something laying around the house for self defense then like I said the sky's the limit. If you're looking for somethign to shoot for fun thta's powerful I recommend .44 mag or the .500 S&W wheelgun. Stay away form those Desert Eagles unless you have lots of cash. But if you do have the cash laying around a Desert Eagle in .44mag or .357 mag would be a nice gun, expensive but not as unwieldy and ridiculous as a .50 AE.

Answer 7

Well, if you have a good bit of money you could custom design a revolver to fire the .50 BMG (think of the 'Ma Duce' .50 cal). Just call up a gun smith and tell him its not a joke. But thats a really unwieldy and inpractical pistol, And its something only an idiot would try!

Answer 8

.500 S&W if you are not counting encore handgun in wich case you can get rifle rounds. I have heard that the .50 ae is a terd past 50 yards . The 44 mag is enough for me but I have long out grew the desire to shoot anything that could kick my teeth out. HA HA

Answer 9

they make a 450 marlin pistol and the 450 marlin is a more powerful cartridge than the 500 sw in a pistol or rifle

Answer 10

10mm.

Answer 11

Q: What do you think the 'strongest' handgun cartridge is out there?

A: Without getting silly and listing one-shot custom jobs like a .50 BMG pistol the .500 S&W Magnum is the most powerful commercially manufactured handgun out there today.

The .50 AE is plenty powerful but the newer .500 takes the cake.  Don't feel bad about believing that the Desert Eagle was the most powerful handgun out there.  Back in the Seventies when the movie Dirty Harry came out everyone believed that the .44 Magnum was the world's most powerful handgun.  It wasn't.  The .454 Casull was and it had been around for some ten years prior to the movie.  Mass media and hype will misinform the public everytime!

Now the .357 Magnum (with the right ammo) is the best manstopper we have to date but there are more powerful guns out there:  .41 Magnum; .44 Magnum; 10mm; .454 Casull; .50 Action Express; .454 Casull; .460 S&W; .480 Ruger; .500 S&W, and others...  More power doesn't make them better stoppers.  As an old police lieutenant I once knew used to say, 'You can only kill so dead, anything more than a .3-5-7 is just... Overkill!'  Take over-penetration into consideration and the huge calibers rapidly become counter-productive.

H

Answer 12

It doesnt matter how powerful a gun is, if it ain't accurate, it ain't $hit.

Answer 13

Rubber Duck-

Nice nick name!  C.W. McCall would love it, (Artist: Convoy).

There are many that according to ballistic data, that considerably more power than the .357 Magnum.  But for self defense, these others are totally impractical, mainly because the firearm's themselves are huge.  

But when you start to compare the FBI Shooting Data against the other calibers, what you will find is that the one .357 Magnum load tends to be the best balance of weight and power, (.357 Magnum w/ 125 Gr Jacketed Hollow Point).

The 1950 Feet Per Second combined with this bullet weight seems to have a 99.1% First Shot Stop, in nearly every case.  

The .44 Magnum, being a very good cartridge, still lacks the stopping ability of the .357 Magnum.  Mainly because its too much weight traveling too fast.  This cartridge had a tendancy to go clean through its intended target.  Yes it did leave a huge hole, but should the fight occur in a building, this bullet would travel a very long distance before coming to a stop.

The same is said for the other two calibers that you mentioned above.

Now having said this, there are some young and up-coming cartridges that have very closely duplicated .357 Magnum power.  The .357 Sig is a cartridge that I really would not want to get tangled up with.  Its ballistic data so closely mimics the .357 Magnum, it not funny.

My duty cartridge .40 S&W 135Gr @1250 Fps, is one that is close, not for speed but for energy delivery.  Its another cartridge that has a good balance in its power to weight ratio.

I have nothing against those who would also recommend the .45ACP Cartridge.  The 230 Gr Bullet, hits like a brick.  I am just not a fan of the 1911A1 style pistols, but I do like the cartridge.  I have an H&K USP .45ACP that I like to carry on duty.  Though for my Duty Cartridge I carry a 185 Grain JHP from Cor-Bon.  Its a pretty hot knocker.

My Mainstay though that I carry most of the time is my Glock 22 .40 S&W, loaded with 135 Grain Remington Golden Sabers.  

But for home, next to my bed sits a Ruger GP-100 loaded with .357 Magnum Cor-Bon 125 Grain JHP @ 1950 Fps.  Its in a little hand safe, that only my wife and I have the 5 digit combination to.  Everything else stays locked up, and only used for duty purposes.  

Honestly, .357 Magnum is my favorite caliber.  Mainly because I can shoot .38 Specials thorugh it at the range to get my practice in.  Or if I head up to my family property, I can spend the day plinking cans.  I handload my .38 Special, so I always have a ton of it around and ready for a day at the range.  

I have used my .38 Special loads even when we have to clear the squirrels from our property from time to time.  I also carry my GP-100, (6 inch barrel), when I go hunting, though its chambered with .357 Magnum, (Wild Boar Hunting).  I have gotten treed before and had to crack the pigs skull, and a 158 Grain Bullet, (Hand Loaded Federal Hydra-Shock at 1850 Feet Per Second), got the job done nicely.

Anyhow, I hope I have given you some food for thought.  Good Luck.

Answer 14

500 S&W Mag is quite stout but how about a 30-06 in an Encore Pistol or 45-70 Encore !!!!!!!

J.D. Jones custom Encore chamberings have got to top the scales as the most powerful hand fired weapons.

I am more than happy with a Ruger Redhawk 44 Rem Mag.

Answer 15

.500 S&W.** The 357 Magnum is the best choice of them all, because it has been tried, true, tested, and proven to be the best no-nonsense man stopper there is, using 125 grain jacketed hollow point ammo.* You can also shoot 38 caliber ammo in it.* You get two (2*) handguns for the price of one.* It is comfortable to shoot and carry.* It is without a doubt the Best Bang for Your Buck.*~ I recommend and have a S&W Model 66 in stainless with a 4 inch barrel, Target trigger & Hammer.* Buy either a 4 or 6 inch barreled revolver new or used.* A new handgun doesn't shoot any better than a Good used one.* Buy used and save $$$.*~~