[telackey]

A great many of the .45 ACP guys choose it, reasonably, because it is the biggest available diameter.

Why then are there no .50s in defensive handguns? I toyed with the idea of trimming a .50AE down to a '.50 Short' and having a revolver chambered in it (I was hoping for a smaller gun for the shorter caliber, like an S&W Mountain Gun, rather than needing a Super Redhawk). I was thinking about a rather moderate load: a 325gr Gold Dot at ~850fps.

Seems there might be some obstacles of course, but nothing impossible. A pistol would propose more challenges, but perhaps even they could be overcome.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: telackey on 2001-08-23 11:22 ]</font>

 

[buzz_knox]

Hamilton Bowen has done some snub-nosed .50s based on Redhawks. I've handled, but not fired, one and it was impressive. With a light, handload, it should be interesting.

There is acutally a .50 1911 design out there, but I don't think it'll ever be produced.

 

[Tony Rumore]

Pauza, of the 50BMG Robocop fame, already has a 1911 50AE short. I don't know what the status of procuction is however.

 

[Guest]

Quite simply,
The .45 works, it works in ball, JHP, expanded, non-expanded, flat, round, tapered, target or plain old lead form.
Very, very few of the .45 rounds are poor performers and for the most part they all penetrate reliably.
Outside of the hunting/handgun realm the reasons for a .50AE short to exist are fairly minimal.
The odd calibers are fun to experiment with and we all can learn a great deal by working with Wildcats but they rarely offer any real advantages or answer a need that truly exists.
The .45 stops people shot with it as reliably as anything out there, I guess that if a .50 short would fit/function reliably and accurately in a standard 1911 we would probably buy a few of them, but until then it has little need or market share potential for that matter.

 

[Ned Christiansen]

At the SHOT show, I had dinner with a guy who said his company was working on a 1911 in a .50 caliber.

 

[Matt VDW]

Bigger cartridges require (all other things being equal) bigger pistols. To make a .50 revolver, you'd have to sacrifice capacity to put bigger holes in the cylinder. To make a .50 1911, you'd have to make it so chunky that most folks wouldn't want to carry it.

 

[raskolnikov_22]

.50 GI

You probably all read about this in the magazines, but Guncrafter Industries has a 1911 chambered for their .50 GI. http://www.guncrafterindustries.com

 

[Ned Christiansen]

I wrote a little review of the GI .50 in the Gun Tests forum.

 

[Ron Reed]

Another point, here in Oklahoma for CCW you may not exceed the .45 caliber. So a .50 here would not be legal for Carry.