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I have seen little handguns and I have seen big handguns, but until now I have never seen to much handgun. This is TOO MUCH HANDGUN!
Forget everything you've heard about magnum revolvers; this is the ultimate.
Caliber .600 Nitro Magnum - Measured by muzzle energy, it is the most powerful in the world.
Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum
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The worlds most powerful pistol is the Austrian Pfeifer-Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum. It is chambered to fire the British developed .600 caliber rifle bullet originally made by Holland and Holland. This revolver was not originally a full production model but a one-off built especially for a wealthy Swiss gent...Mr. Zeliska.
But if you would like one and I am sure that a few of you licensed rootin tootin gun lovers with a bit of disposable income would, then contact Pfeifer arms (url near bottom of page) and they will make one for you. Priced at EU€13,840. This equates as US$20,560. (Exchange rate December 4, 2009)
The Pfeifer Revolver is also available chambered for the .458 Winchester Magnum and qualifies as the world's second most powerful handgun.
The .600 Nitro Express Magnum revolver is a Single Action, 5 shot, old west style gun. A single action revolver is stronger in construction than a double action revolver due to the solid base frame that the cylinder sits in.
The image below shows the colossal size of the revolver in the hands of a suitably impressed gun magazine photographer!
Because of its size this revolver would need to be fired whilst resting on a bench clamp or small sand bags as shown in the image below. The gun weighs in at 13.23 lbs. and consequently is heavy enough to absorb most of the violent recoil. In fact it is on scale to firing the .50 Magnum.
The recoil is not uncontrollable, but instead, tamed by the guns weight. A bi-pod and shoulder stock may be in order though.
The .600 Nitro Express bullets were originally developed in 1899 for the big game hunters who went to Africa with the intention of killing Elephants, something that I despise by the way. Even though H&H no longer manufacture these cartridges they can still be sought through the gun trade, small reloading companies or even over the internet.
One company still actually make these rounds and they are Kynoch at www.kynochusa.com
The images below shows the actual size of the .600 Nitro Express round, the bullet of which can go clean through a 10mm steel plate at 12 meters like a hot knife through butter. The bullet on the end is a .700 Nitro Express which is currently the worlds most powerful Rifle cartridge and its probably just a matter of time until a revolver is developed for it.
Actual size. These are pretty awesome rounds, folks! These .600 Nitro Express rounds sell from about $40 each! MidwayUSA sells just the empty brass at $14.60 each!
Of course the size of cartridge-based ammunition can go up to an 88mm anti-tank round and beyond but as small arms go, these bullets/cartridges are colossal.
Nitro Express in firearms terms applies to a cartridges charge or powder that in this instance is made by mixing nitroglycerine with the already explosive gunpowder to make a nitrocellulose compound which is then dried and becomes many times more explosive than the original gunpowder.
With a Bullet Weight of 900 grains and a Muzzle Velocity 1950 fps, it produces Muzzle Energy of 7591 ft/lbs or 3½ tons!! The Pfeifer- Zeliska .600 Nitro Express Magnum is 8 times more powerful than a Smith and Wesson.44 magnum and 3 times more powerful than the Smith and Wesson .50 Magnum.
The ported recoil compensation holes can be seen at the business end of the barrel. These holes let some of the blast out before the bullet has left the barrel, reducing the back pressure enough to lower the recoil to an acceptable degree. In fact the gun "only" rises up 60 degrees when fired.
The line of sight from rear to front sight is 440mm. This long sight range of course helps for long range shooting of which the .600 Nitro Expressis more than capable.
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As a Single Action revolver the hammer needs to be cocked before the gun can be fired.
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The cartridges are loaded through a gate on the right side of the cylinder housing one at a time, the spent cartridge case are also ejected through this gate by pushing back the extractor rod that lies under the barrel.
The ejector rod has a stroke of 170mm and pushes the 76mm long Nitro Express cases out 60mm from the back of the cylinder leaving 17mm of case still in the chamber, enough for them to be extracted by hand. As the Nitro Express cases are expensive and can be reloaded they aren't damaged by falling to the ground.
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Nice polished woodwork there! The gun is made from 42 CrMo4-Tungsten steel and can withstand the gas pressure of the .600 Nitro Express cartridge of 2500 BAR without a hitch. The cylinder's pivot is 8mm in diameter and is bolted to the frame for extra strength. The empty cylinder with its highly polished chambers weighs 4.5 lbs. on its own.
The hammer, extractor, knock-out cylinder bar, screws and the cylinder central pivot are all gold plated. Also on the right lower sides of the gun the inscriptions are gold filled. The inscriptions read, 'MOD. ZELISKA CAL. 600 NE', on the left side the manufacturer's address 'K. PFIEFER WAFFEN, FELDKIRCH, AUSTRIA '.
Most of the guns metal work was made on conventional milling and drilling machines, then each part was finished to a very high standard by fine filing and polishing to give the gun a superb finish.
With a price of US$16,501 though, the price of this unique gun is just as exclusive as the caliber!
Click the picture to go to the Austrian Pfeifer custom gun website
Every single part is made by hand and is matched individually for each Zeliska revolver.
The Zeliska revolver is unique and a masterpiece of the art of gunsmithing.
Due to the weight of the gun, shooting the Zeliska is no problem for a skilled marksman.
There won't be any permanent damage inflicted to your wrist.
The Zeliska is also available in cal .458 Win Mag, take into consideration that the price for this ammunition is much lower than 600 Nitro Magnum.
| Technical Data |
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| Caliber: |
.600 Nitro Express or .458 Win Mag. |
| Muzzle velocity: |
1950 fts with a 900-grain Solid |
| Muzzle energy: |
7591 ft/lbs. |
| Weight: |
13.23 lbs. |
| Capacity: |
5 rounds |
| Barrel length: |
13 inches |
| Overall length: |
21.65 inches |
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