One of my old "Company" friends just sent this to me:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/Pfeifer-ZeliskaRevolver600NitroExpress.jpg)
This Austrian Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum is claimed by its manufacturer to be the world's most powerful handgun. It is chambered to fire the British developed .600 caliber rifle cartridge originally made by Holland and Holland. The revolver is reportedly a "one off" built especially for a wealthy Swiss client named Zeliska. It would require some special dispensation from BATF to be legal in the United States, and was priced at 13,840 Euro's (approximately $18,169).
The Pfeifer-Zeliska is said to weigh in at 13.23 lbs and consequently is heavy enough to help absorb some of the inevitably violent recoil. It is reported that the .600 Nitro Express cartridges sell from about $40 each. With a bullet weight of 900 grains and a muzzle velocity of 1950 fps, it is said to produce muzzle energy of 7591 ft/lbs or 3½ tons when fired from the revolver. That would appear to make the Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum about 8 times more powerful than a Smith and Wesson.44 Magnum and about 3 times more powerful than the Smith and Wesson .50 Magnum.
Now . . . the ultimate question. Why? ::)
[size=10][Edit: Numerical typo on US Dollar equivalent.][/size]