My impression is the 50 caliber desert eagle and the 44 magnum are the most powerful ammunition available on a handgun.
I’ve seen guns that look like stock-less, short barreled AK-47s that fire 7.62x39 ammunition, but I don’t know if I would consider them handguns. Also I don’t know if that ammunition has more energy than a 50 caliber handgun.
Is there a definite answer?
Looking into it, there is handgun ammo called the 454 Casull that is supposedly stronger than the 44 manum.
Interesting question. I don’t even have a handgun so I can’t make any practical tests, but a quick perusal of Wikipedia tables reveals cartridges like .500 Bushwacker.
The .44 Remington Magnum has 1,000 ft⋅lbf and 1,450 ft⋅lbf of muzzle energy. The .50 Action Express is between 1,500 ft⋅lbf and 1,600 ft⋅lbf (for the ‘hot’ loadings), which is comparable to that 7.62x39mm. The .454 Casull is between 1,800 ft⋅lbf to over 1,900 ft⋅lbf. (Rounding all numbers to two sig figs for simplicity.) Having fired all three, I think they are at the limit of what could be fired repeatedly with any accuracy by even an experienced shooter.
The .460 S&W Magnum is even more powerful from 2,000 ft⋅lbf to over 2,900 ft⋅lbf and the .500 S&W Magnum has between 2,200 ft⋅lb and 2,900 ft⋅lbf. I have not fired either of these and they are chambered in S&W X-frame or something comparable, and I can’t imagine firing such a gun repeatedly with any accuracy even with a muzzle brake. There are some experimental ‘wildcat’ handgun rounds with more energy but none chambered in a production revolver or autoloading pistol.
That AK-type gun looks like a Romanian clone that gets sold under a bunch of different brands. While it is technically a ‘pistol’ for BATFE classification purposes you certainly could not wield it offhand, nor would it be possible to aim accurately even with two hands.
I mean, as our OP points out, it really depends on how you choose to define “handgun”. There are plenty of pistol frame that shoot rifle rounds, and rounds like the 454 Casull or the .500 Bushwacker may be handguns but almost no one is going to be able to “shoot from the hip” as it were.
And it’s always changing, there’s always a new hot round or caliber coming down the pipe. So it’s a moving target.
There is a practical upper limit to the bore of a firearm, particularly a handgun. There are exceptions for black powder rifles and some safari rifles like .700 Nitro Express, but as a general rule anything over .50 caliber is deemed a Destructive Device by the National Firearms Act if it is deemed to lack a “sporting purpose”. I can’t imagine then finding one for a handgun with a bore that large, so that pretty much tops it out unless you’re rich and want to deal with the feds and register your own lunatic wildcat round.
So, discounting “handguns” that are actually rifles without a stock that play fast and loose with the law yet stay within the definition (like AK and AR-pattern “handguns”) you need only check the SAAMI pressures of each round tested and use f=mv^2 with each bullet weight and you’ll have your answer. SAAMI tests require survival of an overpressure event so you’ll be able to figure out the upper boundary for each round and you’ll find the standard loadings so the answer will lie in that range since there is again a practical limit to how much propellant you can pack into a case and the case size doesn’t vary.
You can get a 45-70 in a Derringer! That’s a buffalo hunter round. Here is a video. It seems to shoot a lot better then I would have expected. Shooting occurs at 1:30
A friend of mine brought one over about 15 years ago w/ 7.5 inch barrel. Each round was (IIRC) $5. I told him I’d like to shoot one round, just to say I did it. It definitely packed a wallop. I imagine the 3.5 inch version would have been even more… interesting.
The only practical use I can think of would be deer hunting. (Here in Ohio, deer hunting with big caliber handguns is a “thing.” Or at least it used to be. You can now hunt deer with long guns that take straight wall cartridges. So a lever action chambered in .500 S&W would obviously be a superior choice compared to the handgun.)
It is lightweight and comfortable to carry, but is a handful to shoot. You’d better be ready! It’s a ‘carry often, shoot infrequently’ piece and is what I sleep with when camping in remote overlanding areas.
If it’s good enough for Dirty Harry then it works for me. The ammo, not the specific gun.
A big part of why I was wondering about this question is I was wondering about bears. my understanding is a 12 gauge is the best weapon to defend yourself against bears, but there are certain handguns people recommend.
That led down a rabbit hole of what is the most powerful handgun. Part of me wonders how powerful does a handgun become where the recoil and the damage to your wrist and arm becomes so powerful that it isn’t a useful weapon anymore. Having a handgun that is so powerful that it damages your arm/wrist and you need several seconds between shots doesn’t seem useful.
I’ve fired several handguns and rifles in my life. The 9mm has some recoil but you can still fire it repeatedly if you need to. However something like a 44 magnum seems so powerful that you need several seconds between shots.
Since we’re speaking factually about the KE (1/2 MV^2) in a handgun, we haven’t talked a lot about barrel lengths, except in passing.
Especially for revolver rounds, there’s a lot of potential energy being lost in shorter barrels, so the round (the OP’s question) doesn’t reach the peak KE potential. I brought this up in prior threads talking about the fun (and additional power) of firing pistol rounds out of a PCC (Pistol Caliber Carbine).
So, I’m linking this site again, where they did KE by barrel length so you can see the difference.
The Ruger Super Blackhawk pistol did a 9.5" barrel, so that would be an increase of over 50% for the same round out of a 2" barrel.
That’s a classic question in defensive shooting (person or animal) but it’s equally IMHO, as so much of felt recoil is to the individual, the platform, and how a specific firearm fits your hand. If you want to talk about that it’s probably better to ask the mods for a forum change.
FWIW the Glock 17 seems to be the most popular sidearm carried by law enforcement. At 9mm I think that is a smaller caliber than .44 (smaller than .40 too I think). Maybe too small for bears though…certainly the really big bears.
Yes, the 9mm is far and away the most common cartridge for police, etc handguns. But by no means is it the most powerful. The .40 S&W Glock, etc is somewhat more powerful. There are loads for the .45 which are more powerful yet. Those three are the most common police rounds, iirc.
.44 magnum, generally in a revolver, if far more powerful.
It also depends on how you define a handgun. This is supposedly a .50 BMG “pistol.” But I don’t think I would define it as such, seeing it has a forward grip.
Slightly off-topic, but I think that this subject has been broached in a couple posts:
Setting aside the question of “most kinetic energy,” and concentrating on some other practical aspects, I’d probably be suggesting a S&W Model 686 (.357 magnum) with 6" barrel for most people. The extra weight (over a 4" barrel) really helps to control it. If it’s for defense purposes, especially in the woods, I’d tend to favor a stainless steel revolver. (Anything you shoot at is probably not going to stand still for 15 rounds from a semi-auto anyway.) And it’s a lot easier/cheaper to practice with a 686, especially if you work up from .38 SP to high-quality .357 rounds. Trust me, it’s very, very easy to start flinching (and stop practicing) with some of the bigger cartridges. Sore hands hurt.
As far as stopping power, I’m not a hunter and I defer to my betters. But I’m definitely in the camp of “better to hit something with a .22 than miss with a .45.”
