The Real Hand Cannons

[lrb1200]

Just curious, how many of you own something like this.

They were the rage back in late 70's and 80's, numerous
manufacturers, and as time went on, not so much.

I hear and or see little about them today.

This one competed in IHMSA with iron sights on it
for a few years, and then moved onto deer hunting topped with
Redfield 3 ring base ( recoil compensation) it's a handful
with full house 7-08 Rem. Trigger is 1.5 lbs.

No problem putting venison in the freezer with this set up,
back in the day.

Leupold Vari-X EER 2X of the same vintage.

Custom laminate center grip stock, pillar blocked action.

Started out as a Remington XP-100 in 7mm BR,
which I promptly had re chambered to 7-08 Rem, before it was ever fired.

 

[SteveA]

Very nice but I really never considered them hand cannons, more like hand rifles. I have a couple of .475 Linebaughs I shoot and love. The custom Ruger is fairly compact with its 5.5" barrel. The BFR not so much, but I consider them more of the hand cannon genre. Great for whitetail as well, though I don't reach out beyond 100 yards.

 

[Snapping Twig]

I'll toss in a .480.

When I got this 454 in the late 80's, it was king of the hill. Now, not so much.

 

[MSgt G]

I had a Thompson Center Contender in .35 Remington, topped with a Leupold scope. I loved it. Shot exceptionally well, I thought. Unfortunately, it and a number of other firearms and other items were stolen not long after the Air Force moved me to Prattville, AL.

 

[ExRanger714]

I've got a 14" TC Contender with a 30-30 barrel re-chambered to 30-40 Krag. Easy open frame with trigger adjustable for pull, creep and over-travel. With a saw-handle Pachmayr grip it reminds me of shooting a pistol grip pump shotgun. Muzzle blast is terrible.

It ain't Smith but I like it a lot.

 

[Bakebfr480]

Pipsqueak!

 

[Harkrader]

I'll put up my Hamilton Bown-modified Ruger Redhawk .500 Linebaugh against any other hand cannon. It will injure you if not handled properly. I was speaking with Mr. Bowen regarding Howdahs, and he allowed as how that "Ruger" IS a modern Howdah. Yup.

 

[richbuff]

I wanted an XP-100 years ago in the 1980's, but I never did get one. Instead I had a TC Contender SSK .444 Marlin throated long.

XP-100: I think a .416 through .500 belted magnum would be a nice chambering for such an item.

Today, I have X-frame S&W 460 and 500 magnum revolvers; I attached a pic a few posts ago. I also have a DW PM-7 with .460 Rowland barrel, for my auto-loader hand cannon needs.

 

[rburg]

View attachment 337499
Yup.

The knife, tell us about the knife in your avatar!

 

[ParadiseRoad]

...600 nitro express...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o14ikCTeVo[/ame]

 

[Lonegle57]

Currently have 3 XP's, 35 remington, 7mm tcu that started as 223, 7mm bench rest. Have as well, 3 Savage Strikers, 243, 7mm-08, 300 WSM. There are numerous Contenders and an Encore of various calibers focused for the most part on hunting deer.

 

[steelslaver]

I remember seeing photos of some guy who made a 458 win mag single shot bolt action handgun. It had 2 grips at about 45 degrees to each other. When he fired it prone it lifted most of his body off the ground.

Once again, just because you can doesn't mean you should.

 

[Echo40]

The biggest "Hand Cannon" I have is a Taurus Judge Magnum in .45LC/.410 Bore 3".

However, it's the size rather than the power which makes it a Hand Cannon. Sure, it's no slouch with full-house .45s or 000 .410s, but it's nowhere near some of the so-called Hand Cannons out there.

 

[ExRanger714]

In all seriousness I stand in awe of you guys that can shoot some of the above repeatedly.

If I couldn't see you load it and get prematurely terrified I might get one aimed shot but would probably flinch so bad on number two I'd shoot my toe off.

"I can't wait to get the cast off my hand so I can shoot it again."

 

[29aholic]

Currently I have a 4 3/4" FA 83. Years ago I owned one of the first 500 Linebaugh Rugers that John converted. I think it was a 5 1/2" gun.

 

[zipty6]

Dang. I clicked the link thinking someone might have a nice handgonne collection...

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Just curious, how many of you own something like this.

They were the rage back in late 70's and 80's, numerous
manufacturers, and as time went on, not so much.

I hear and or see little about them today.

This one competed in IHMSA with iron sights on it
for a few years, and then moved onto deer hunting topped with
Redfield 3 ring base ( recoil compensation) it's a handful
with full house 7-08 Rem. Trigger is 1.5 lbs.

No problem putting venison in the freezer with this set up,
back in the day.

Leupold Vari-X EER 2X of the same vintage.

Custom laminate center grip stock, pillar blocked action.

Started out as a Remington XP-100 in 7mm BR,
which I promptly had re chambered to 7-08 Rem, before it was ever fired.

I have a Remington XP-100 in 7mm BR, which, when I purchased it used, looked like this:

(see thumbnail below)

The owner had installed a Wichita rear sight, and had misplaced a front sight on the muzzle. However, he was more interested in ten-shot groups with a fairly high-powered Burris. I bought the gun without the scope, replaced the front sight where the factory planned it to be, and sighted the gun in properly with the Wichita at four distances. I also decided that I was getting a little old for iron sights with this pistol. I then installed a Leupold M8-2x EER, and sighted it in. I was quite happy with the results, which, IIRC, run about MOA on a good day. Maybe not award-winning, but about as well as I can see with a 2x scope.

I also have an H-S Precision 2000VP in 7mm-08 with a Leupold EER 2.5-8 scope. This is a somewhat heavier pistol. The two pistols recoil about the same, with the 7mm-08 possibly a little more violent. I would not want to convert my XP-100 to 7mm-08, and I am glad that my long consideration of 7mm-08 vs. .308 for the H-S precision resulted in choosing the lighter-recoiling cartridge.

 

[daddio202]

I keep my eyes open for an XP100 in 221 Fireball. That gun with just iron sights I think would be great fun shooting at my indoor range. They usually are not priced cheap when I find one in that format, I also want it in very good condition. I will get one of these days. Meanwhile you guys have fun shooting yours in the big boy calibers!!

 

[29aholic]

When the XP came out in 223 you couldnt give a 221 fireball away...practically literally. I bought several for less than $200.00 for the actions.

 

[H Richard]

For IHMSA Silhouette I used a Thompson Contender, first in 7 TCU, and then in 7x30 Waters.