# So, uh, is this Dirty Harry's new sidearm? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 14, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972 "2003-02-14T01:42:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaximenes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@Anaximenes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaximenes)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/41 "2003-02-14T20:13:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > \*\*Might want to keep that friend away from _Tremors II_. šŸ™‚ \*\* Far too late for that. If Burt were a real person, my friend would probably be _Burtā€™s_ role model. :eek: (Yes, my friend scares me. A lot. ) ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/42 "2003-02-14T20:32:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by UncleBeer \* > **If Iā€™m not mistaken, some lunatic did indeed take 20mm shells, trim them back a bit and then neck 'em down to .223. He called it the Fat Boy (I think).** How the hell can this possibly work? Seems to me youā€™d need some _really_ rugged bullets to keep them from disintegrating, and theyā€™d probably be tripping the barrel lands anyway. I bet that guy shot out some pricey custom barrels after about, oh, two rounds. Some people just go beyond weird. And thanks for the Magnum Research link. I was sure I remembered that, nice to see Iā€™m not nuts. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/43 "2003-02-14T20:34:47Z")
Shit. Hereā€™s a bit I Googled out of the Junk Science forums (of all places). Itā€™s not the Fat Boy. Itā€™s the .50 MacMillan Fat Mac. A 20mm shell trimmed and necked down to .50 caliber. Iā€™ll post the velocity and muzzle energy when I get 'em. Ouch, thatā€™s gonna hurt. And hereā€™s the book: [http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/087341909X](http://www.bestbookdeal.com/book/087341909X) ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/44 "2003-02-17T16:50:22Z")
Okay. Better late than never. 50 McMillan FatMac: 1000 yard competition ā€¢ 750 gr Hornady A-Max FMJ ā€¢ 20mm cannon shell necked to .50" ā€¢ 351.5 grs NC-A3502 powder ā€¢ V=3425 fps ā€¢ ME=19,545 ft/lbs(42" barrel) Nineteen thousand plus foot-pounds of muzzle energy. Ouch ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/45 "2003-02-18T09:07:42Z")
As stupid as Iā€™ve always found the ā€œoverompensationā€ argument, I do have to admit it looks like S&W is trying to grow its balls back after handing them to Bill Clinton a few years ago. Iā€™ve fired the Desert Eagle .50AE several times with several rounds and it never bothered me (despite being a grown man with the wrists of a 14 year old girl). This javalina leg, on the other hand looks like something I might have to seriously thing about whether or not I want to put five through it. At least itā€™s a long barrel. Iā€™d hate to think of the number of strained ligaments that could be found after putting that cartridge through a 4"-er. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/46 "2003-02-18T09:23:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 2trew \* > \*\*We need a firearms expert in here. Where does this fall in the ā€œGodawful overpoweredā€ spectrum with the Automag and the Cassul .454 and all of those other non-production handguns? > \*\* Well, the joke is that it comes with a spatula so the guy at the shooting range can peel you off the back wall after each shot. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/47 "2003-02-18T09:28:55Z")
You guys think THAT puny little thing is big? Let me show you [THIS](http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/1700/1756.htm)!!! šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/48 "2003-02-18T10:23:12Z")
My dad would love one of them things. ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/49 "2003-02-18T14:27:58Z")
SC\_Wolf, youā€™ve been wooshed, big time. If you disagree, post a link to those ā€œ50 BMG pistolsā€. ---
**Author:** ![radar\_ralf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@radar\_ralf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/radar_ralf)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/50 "2003-02-18T15:25:31Z")
Kalashnikov, there really were a few pistol versions firing the .50BMG round. I am at work right now, so my company firewall prevents me from finding the correct sites, but I think one of these pistols was made by Maadi-Griffin a few years ago. A search on ā€œAsk Jeevesā€ provides several sites, but I canā€™t reach them because of the firewall, so I donā€™t know what youā€™ll find. ---
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/51 "2003-02-19T13:34:34Z")
OK, that one might be real. My apologies, some sites (such as the security arms site linked to above) list the Birdman/Barrett .50 pistols as if they were real and I assumed that was what you had seen. I know other people have been fooled by their joke. ---
**Author:** ![Texican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Texican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Texican)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2003, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972/52 "2003-02-19T13:59:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 2trew \* > \*\*I wonder how long itā€™ll be before somebodyā€™s sitting around with their new S&W and lamenting the fact that itā€™s less powerful than a .30/06 and decides to buy up some 20mm. anti-aircraft ammunition and see what they can build around that. \*\* Do you know where to get some? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-uh-is-this-dirty-harrys-new-sidearm/154972.md?page=2)