A gun was earlier considered an equipment whose main purpose was to scare people or end someone’s life. It has always been associated with crimes. But with time, its sphere of purpose has widened. Now, it’s associated with several activities related to leisure, self-defense, and official duty purposes.
Having a legal handgun is quite common now. Gun enthusiasts are passionate about their guns. Going to a shooting range or hunting with friends is considered a leisure activity. They love to own guns and boast about their collection.
Not just that, but guns are used for self-defense such as the best handguns for self defense. With rising crime rates,, guns provide a sense of security. In such cases, handguns are considered to be a necessity for protection.
Well, be it for leisure or self-defense, handguns have actually become quite common. Regardless of whether you’re a gun enthusiast or just someone who wants a gun for self-defense, you should be aware of the most powerful handguns. This will add to your knowledge of guns as well as will provide you an idea of the kind of gun you should own for your specific needs.
To make it easy for you, here are some of the most powerful handguns and a glimpse of their qualities, their functioning and the features that make them better than the rest.
1. Smith & Wesson 460 XVR
This gun is a tough and revolutionary model from the gun manufacturers, Smith & Wesson. There are a number of features in this gun that make it a perfect choice for this list of the most powerful handguns.
This handgun claims it is the highest velocity revolver in the world and holds the record for 2330FPS/200 grain, which makes it ultra robust and a game-changer for all gun lovers.
Not just that, this gun also claims to be the most powerful .45 caliber revolver in the world and holds a record of 2400lbs/ft. This is what makes this gun special and powerful.
To be more specific, this gun comes with incredibly low perceived recoil for all reloads. Along with that, it also has a removable and interchangeable compensator that makes it easy to operate.
If you zero your sights at 200 yards with this handgun, you’ll bag your buck with a middle hold of 0-250 yards without hanging over. All you’ve got to do is aim and shoot it. The rest of the job will be done by this gun.
The barrel and frame material of this handgun is stainless steel along with a frame finish of stainless steel as well. It has a synthetic grip and is perfect for both single as well as a double action. Its barrel length and overall length are 8.38”/21.3 cms. and 15.0” respectively.
This gun has two muzzle brakes. One is for use with Jacketed Bullets, whereas the other one is for use with Lead Bullets. It comes with an interchangeable front sight and a rear sight with an adjustable white outline.
This gun is perfect for purposes such as shooting competitions, hunting, or state compliance. The availability of this handgun is subject to federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances.
2. Desert Eagle Mark XIX
This thunderous gun is a pop-culture symbol and has been featured in numerous movies, TV shows, and video games for 25 years.
Bernard C. White of Magnum Research and Arnolds Streinbergs of the Institute of Riga Arms pioneered an outline for this magnificent handgun. This model from the Desert Eagle is a semi-automatic, gas-operated pistol with a capacity of 7 rounds at .50 and 8 rounds at .44 Magnum.
The brand offers numerous customization options with this pistol. You can add unique finishes of your choice to this gun. This makes it unique and specially made for you.
This handgun comes with a Picatinny style accessory rail and integral muzzle brake that add to its efficiency and make it one of the most powerful pistols in the world. Not just that, but it also has an ambidextrous safety lever installed to add to its safety.
This gun has soft synthetic rubber grips with an MRI logo. This feature too further adds to the efficiency of the gun. This makes it easy to operate by providing a subtle and strong grip while you use the firearm.
This gun can be customized in multiple material options such as burnt bronze, brushed chrome, polished chrome, titanium gold, tungsten, etc. Not just that, but also you can add various kinds of designs onto it such as tiger prints. This makes your gun look even more sturdy.
If we talk about the measurements, the width and height of this gun are 1.25” and 6.25” respectively, and it weighs almost 72 ounces. Its length is almost 10.75”, with a barrel of 6” and almost 14.75” with a barrel of 10”.
3. Cva Optima .50 Cal Black Powder
While we’re talking about the most powerful handgun, how can we miss this superior pistol? A trigger-guard with an actuated braking lever and a neutral center-of-gravity trigger are offered with this gun and these features make it remarkable.
A black composite stock and CVA’s Quick-Release Breech Plug are installed in this handgun. This can be removed easily with your bare fingers without using any kind of tool or gun accessory. This makes its operation easy and convenient.
The brand claims that this specific pistol has more features than any other muzzleloading gun in this particular price range. This gun is perfect for hunting, shooting, and duty purposes.
This gun comes with a 14” 416-grade stainless steel barrel, making this firearm portable enough to carry as you hike up mountains, or go to hunting spots.
This gun is extremely tough and works flawlessly. It has .50 caliber and comes with a bullet guiding muzzle as well as a quick-release breech plug, making it extremely convenient to operate.
The overall length of this gun is almost 18.5” and it weighs approximately 3.7 lbs. This makes the gun extremely lightweight and using it won’t be a difficult task at all.
This gun also has Durasight 72 scope rail installed in it and the brand claims it is capable of shooting till a range of 100 grain. Not just that, but also this shotgun comes with a lifetime warranty, too.
4. Ruger Super Redhawk
This handgun is indeed one of its kind and is definitely one of the most powerful handguns. This gun comes with a triple-locking cylinder installed in the frame at the front, rear, and bottom. This ensures proper alignment and a dependable operation shot after shooting.
This gun is manufactured with stainless steel, which makes it extra-durable, corrosion-resistant, while giving it a sleek and sturdy look.
Along with that, this gun is extremely strong and has an extended frame with extra metal in the top strap, sidewalls, and barrel mounting areas. This ensures that the gun is able to handle powerful and big game loads.
This gun provides an amazing monogrip, too. This is made possible by an internal recoil cushion installed at the base of the web of the hand. This helps in decreasing the impact of powerful and heavy loads, while the peg-style grip frame easily accommodates custom grips.
This gun also has a transfer bar mechanism that provides the shooter with unparalleled security against accidental discharge. This ensures the safety of the shooter, too.
Along with all that, this handgun also has a cold hammer-forged barrel. This enables an ultra-precise rifling, which further provides accuracy, longevity, and easy cleaning of the pistol.
This gun comes with a replaceable front sight ramp insert as well as an adjustable rear sight. Super Redhawk also has dual chambering. All these features make it better and more powerful than the rest.
5. Triple Action Thunder
As the name suggests, this gun is indeed thunderous. All its nuances make it ideal for this list of most powerful pistols. This gun has a caliber of .50 BMG, which adds to its strength.
This gun came out in 2004 and left a good impression on all the gun lovers with its impeccable features. It is considered to be a large-caliber single shotgun. This pistol is loaded through a scissor breach at the base end of the pistol.
This gun also comes with a huge muzzle brake installed on the barrel, which helps to reduce recoil. In order to further minimize the massive recoil, a proprietary recoil reduction design called “Nitrogen recoil controller” was included in the pistol. This ensures the safety of the person using the pistol.
This gun also has a small cocking lever on its left side. This makes it even more convenient to operate and provides a smooth shooting experience. Along with that, it also has a separate case ejector.
The length of this gun is 16.9” and it has a barrel length of 13.2”. This handgun weighs around 12 lbs and provides a shooting range of approximately 25 yards, which is a great distance.
6. Taurus Raging Bull
This gun is perfect for home defense, hunting, target shooting, and recreational purposes. It is easy to operate and is lightweight, yet provides amazing strength when it comes to shooting. This is what makes this gun one of the most powerful handguns.
The brand claims that this pistol is amongst America’s favorite hunting handguns. This classic pistol was manufactured with the intention of lifetime tough use to cater to the requirements of the shooter.
This gun is a 5-shot pistol and consists of features such as a crisp trigger break and smooth pull for accuracy, cushioned grips, and factory porting to reduce felt recoil. These features add to the strength as well as the versatility of this supreme gun.
This gun comes with a fixed front sight and an adjustable rear sight. Along with that, it also has a safety transfer bar installed in it. This ensures the safety of the shooter while shooting.
This gun has an extra-large frame size and provides a capacity of 5 rds. This further adds to the accuracy of this pistol. The action-type of this gun is DA/SA and it has a 454 CASULLl caliber.
This gun has a height of 6.20” and a width of 1.80”. Along with that, the overall and barrel length of this pistol are 12.0” and 6.50” respectively, and it weighs approximately 53.00 oz. This reflects that this gun is quite lightweight and portable.
This gun comes with a lifetime warranty, which reflects how much the brand puts in their faith in this gun. The process of obtaining this warranty is very easy and can be done by following instructions given in the manual that comes along this pistol.
This manual consists of every bit of information associated with this pistol, its operation, usage, and maintenance. For any kind of query you can refer to this manual.
7. Smith & Wesson 29 Classic
This pistol has the best possible design and is reminiscent of Smith & Wesson’s most popular and collectible firearms ever made. This handgun has a sleek and classic design, and along with that, it also provides the perfect strength while shooting.
This gun is especially known for its legendary performance and enhanced modern features. This gun has a caliber of 44 Magnum along with 44 S&W special, adding to its power.
This gun has a capacity of 6 shots and comes with a red ramp front sight and an adjustable rear sight. This is what enhances the accuracy of this gun when it comes to aiming.
The action-type of this pistol is single/double action. This gun comes with a wooden grip, which not only gives it a sleek and classic look, but also provides a stronghold on this pistol.
The materials used for the gun are high-grade and add to its durability, making it one of the most powerful pistols. The company has used great quality carbon steel for the manufacture of its cylinder, barrel, and frame with a blue frame finish.
The barrel length of this pistol is 6.5” / 16.5 cms. and the overall length is 12.0”, making it a portable pistol. This pistol weighs almost 47.7 oz. / 1,352.3 g., making it a lightweight product.
This firearm is suitable for purposes such as sport shooting, hunting, or state enforcement. The availability of this handgun is subject to the federal, state, and local regulations, laws, and ordinances.
8. Smith & Wesson 500
The brand claims that this pistol is the most powerful production revolver in the world. This gun is considered to have unbeatable power and velocity, and no other gun stands any close to this pistol when it comes down to this.
This gun comes with a massive .500 S&W Magnum cartridge with a muzzle energy of 2600 ft/lb. This is what enables this gun to provide an ultimate strength while shooting.
This gun is said to be perfect for activities such as hunting for game, state compliance, and recreation too. In a nutshell, this gun is handy for all kinds of major purposes.
This gun also has a removable high-efficiency compensator that makes its operation easier and adds to its accuracy and speed. Along with that, it also has a red dot interchangeable front sight.
The design of this handgun also consists of two muzzle brakes that are installed to be used with jacketed bullets as well as with lead bullets. This ensures the safety of the person using this pistol.
If we talk about the measurements, the barrel length and overall length of this pistol are 8.38” / 21.3 cms and 15.0” respectively. The weight of this pistol is approximately 69.1 oz / 1,959.0 g.
This gun has a capacity of up to 5 shots. It has an interchangeable front sight and an adjustable rear sight. This ensures accuracy while aiming a shot, and also adds to the versatility of this pistol.
The action-type of this gun is single/double action. It provides a synthetic grip which makes it easier to hold and helps you to aim with precision. This further improves your shooting capabilities too.
The barrel and frame of this pistol are made of stainless steel which makes it durable as well as corrosion-free. It also comes with a satin stainless frame finish to make it look even sleeker.
This gun is indeed one of the most powerful handguns, a result of its astounding features.
These are some of the most powerful handguns available in the market. These guns have been a part of the collections of a majority of gun enthusiasts and have been acclaimed for their strength, accuracy, and versatility.
The intention behind creation of this list is to ease out the process of procuring information about the most powerful guns for all the gun lovers. This article is a one stop destination to learn about the guns that provide you with maximum shooting strength.
Michael Castaneda is a 45-year old war veteran from Michigan with a deep interest in guns. After the war, Michael took a pledge to never touch a gun except for the purpose of self-defense. He created Machine Gun Books to guide people on self-defense and providing information on guns and accessories.