Caliber designations (or “cartridge designation” or just “cartridge name”) mean much more, like you said.
“Caliber” itself is just a term for the projectile diameter.
Since I’m reading posts by people who seem to know their stuff, a separate query: Why didn’t the 10mm catch on? Supposedly S&W made the 1006 for the US Treasury Department-anecdotal comment heard at a gun shop-no reliable cite. The grip was narrow (straight as opposed to staggered clip load) and specs were good.
Valgard, the .600 Nitro Express is significantly less powerful than .50BMG so any comparison is meaningless. Traditional elephant guns are double rifles, just like a side by side shotgun, which are significantly less strong than a bolt action rifle and cannot withstand the same pressures.
DougC, I still hold that any true .50 BMG handgun is a monumental whoosh. I’ve never seen anything but FOAF stories about apocryphal magazine reports.
Something very telling in the image search you posted are .50 BMG cases with a saboted .30 caliber bullet. This is not the same as .50 BMG ammo as bullet mass will be 1/4 to 1/5 that of the normal .50 caliber bullet and recoil impulse will likewise be fraction.
Sorry, I wasn’t suggesting that they are equivalent, just that both are examples of Big Friggin’ Pistols. Quick Google search turns up about 7600 ft-lbs for the .600 NE and 13000 ft-lbs for the .50BMG. Obviously the .50BMG wins that argument but both of them far and away dwarf the S&W .500.
I’m sure that this won’t be the end of it, there’ll be some joker out there building a derringer chambered for 30mm DU cannon rounds.
From the site
Like what?
“Oh my God honey! There’s a Grizzly Bear out in the yard tearing up the daffodils!”
As far as police/military use? I dunno. I think I read that here somewhere. It is concealable, although barely. Another Dirty Harry sequel?
But I could definitely see a fly fisherman in Alaska being interested one.
Hell, they’re only a thousand bucks or so. Some of those guys spend that much on a friggin’ reel.
And I thought the .50 cal S&W was :eek: !
That .600 Nitro Express revolver is only slightly smaller than the gun the Joker pulled out of his pants to shoot the Batplane down with!
I can think of several situations when you would need extreme firepower at close range:
- When there are six bad guys standing in a neat row in front of you, but you have only 1 bullet.
- When you’re re-doing you living room decor to “blood spatter red”.
- If you want to use corpses as storage devices, bigger entry and exit wounds make for easier access to your stuff.
Uh oh, I can’t believe I’m writing this response in GQ.
Speaking of exit wounds;
What kind of damage would the S&W 50 do if it hit between the eyes, as it were?
Or “center mass”?
Quite a lot, huh.
I believe the Desert Eagle, if from what I remember being told when spending a week on an Israeli Military base, was made for Israeli Tank Commanders. This is a big friggin gun because if you’re caught outside your tank, odds are you drove it into a place where you’d be pretty screwed without a tank’s massive firepower. A Desert Eagle is a small attempt to level the playing field, even if it isn’t much against another tank/well armoured enemy.
Another well known gun that has come from Israel is the Uzi, which in Hebrew means ‘strength’. Go figure.
Oh, and not only that, but being an Israeli Tank Commander is pretty high up on the soldier echelon (up there with Israeli Paratroopers). If you were one of those guys you knew how to handle your shit.
From what I remember, it was designed for the FBI. It was too hot for most agents and it beat the hell out of the pistol (M1911A1 derivative) it was used in. I think there is a version of the MP5 chambered for 10mm.
Yeah, but that’s more of a coincidence. The Uzi was named after it’s designer, Uzi Gal.
Wow…Most Usless gun EVER!
Indeed. The supreme irony is that it’s more effective use of a weapon would either be to give it to the target and let them shoot at you…or just run up to the target and bash them over the head with it.
But that’s incredibly overpriced for a club.
IMI, which used to make the Desert Eagle (now its Magnum Research), also makes the Jericho 9mm pistol that is (was) an issued sidearm in the IDF. It was/is sold as the ‘Baby Eagle’, even though it’s doesn’t really share much with the .50. Marketing.
The IDF respects its tankers, and therefore, would never consider inflicting the .50 DE on them. They use a combination of SIG, Glock, and domestic pistols, all in 9mm.
Actually, the IDF doesn’t issue pistols to tankers at all, no matter what their rank. They have to make do with Glilons - the carbine version of the Galil - instead.
As a rule, the IDF doesn’t issue pistols at all, except to certain special ops units, which are given a budget to buy whatever handgun they like (Glocks have been popular lately, I hear). Officers and NCOs over a certain rank are allowed to purchase pistols from their own pay.
JoeSmack - I think you’ve been had. No IDF unit as ever used a Desert Eagle in any way, shape or form. The damn thing weighs more than a M-4 carbine! If you really need a firearm that compact, why not use a Mini-Uzi? It’s basically the same size and much more effective.
As to the relative status of tank commanders, I’m not really going to touch that. Suffice to say that they’re indeed very good at what they do… which is command tanks. As infantrymen they can hold their own, but it’s not really their natural element.
Well, I meant issued to IDF in general, not just tankers, but your point stands. I’ve seen pictures of IDF troops with their rifles and some had a pistol in a drop-leg, but could those be the soldiers’ own pistols?
To clarify: Could a reservist bring along their own pistol? (Not counting regular NCOs or officers)