The most Powerful Handgun

Smith & Wesson Model 500 

The Smith & Wesson Model 500 is a five-shot, single action/double-action large caliber revolver produced by Smith & Wesson, firing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge, a .50 caliber bullet.

It is built on S&W's largest frame, the X-Frame, which was developed because none of S&W's existing double-action frame designs could handle the muzzle energy and pressures generated by the .500 S&W cartridge.[2] It is the most powerful production revolver in the world today, and it is being marketed as being "the world's most powerful handgun" by the manufacturer.[3] There are a few larger revolvers, like the Pfeifer Zeliska .600 Nitro Express revolver, however none of them are a "production" revolver. The Model 500 can fire a bullet weighing 350 gr ( 22.7 g; 0.8 oz) at 1975 feet per second (602 m/s) generating a muzzle energy of over 3,030 foot-pounds force (4.1 kJ).

Articles, statements, and opinions vary widely on this firearm. Any of the available bullet weights can be relied on to take game at a range in excess of 200 yards (183 m), a feat matched by only a handful of other handguns.[citation needed] The advanced design of the firearm helps in counteracting recoil felt by the shooter. This includes the sheer weight of the firearm, use of rubber grips, the forward balance, and the use of a compensator. On certain S&W Performance Center models the compensator is replaced with a full muzzle brake.

Like most big caliber handguns the Model 500 is suitable for sport and hunting applications. The high energy of these rounds make it possible to hunt extremely large African game successfully.[4]

Like any gun, proper supervision is required for novice shooters; however, due to the extremely high recoil, novice shooters should be especially coached while shooting this gun.[5][6] Another hazard is the gasses generated as they escape the cylinder which can present a risk of injury to a shooter using an improper grip, as demonstrated in an episode of the Discovery Channel series MythBusters-Wikipedia.

Smith & Wesson Model 500
A comparison of the Smith & Wesson Model 500 (above) and its .44 magnum sibling, the Model 629 (below). The difference in size between the .44 magnum and the .500 magnum cartridges is also shown.
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designed	2002–2003
Manufacturer	Smith & Wesson
Produced	2003–present
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Weight	56 oz (1.59 kg) to 82 oz (2.32 kg)[1]
Barrel length	4 in (102 mm) (500S) 8¾ in (213 mm) 10.5 in (267 mm)
Cartridge	.500 S&W Magnum
Action	Double action
Muzzle velocity	Approx. 2075 ft/sec. (632 m/s)
Effective range	50 m
Maximum range	100 m
Feed system	5-round cylinder
Sights	Iron sights, night sights

Who is Nelson Mandela?

                                     

 

(18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and an anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician. He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.

A Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family, Mandela attended the Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the Afrikaner nationalists of the National Party came to power in 1948 and began implementing the policy of apartheid, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was elected President of the Transvaal ANC Branch and oversaw the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961 but was found not guilty. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the South African Communist Party he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a bombing campaign against government targets. In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, first on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Becoming ANC President, Mandela published his autobiography and led negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory. He was elected President and formed a Government of National Unity in an attempt to defuse ethnic tensions. As President, he promulgated a new constitution and initiated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Continuing the former government's liberal economic policy, his administration introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversaw military intervention in Lesotho. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela subsequently became an elder statesman, focusing on charitable work in combating poverty andHIV/AIDS through the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Right-wing critics denounced him as a terrorist and communist sympathiser. He nevertheless gained international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-apartheid stance, having received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or asTata ("Father"); he is often described as "the father of the nation". Mandela died following a long illness on 5 December 2013 at his home in Johannesburg.