rifle or handgun
.50 cal desart eagle

p.s.
plz dont give me that (power in terms of what) crap its all your opinion
SPECIFIC RIFLE OR HANDGUN CARTRAGE AND GUN

rifle

The most powerful shoulder-fired rifle in regular production is probably the .700 Nitro Express double.
The most powerful pistol in production is the S&W .500 Magnum. The .50AE Desert Eagle does not even come close in comparison.

Run a search anywhere for details on either weapon.

P.S: 'cartridge' is the correct spelling.

P.P.S: Hard as l search, l just can not seem to find ANY records of ANYONE taking record game with a HMG cartridge gun. The .50 BMG does not even hold the record for longest sniper kill anymore. . . . .

l would hate to challenge a .700 however l know some one who can. 20mm Vulcan the same thing they use on the ''Gatling Guns'' on the apache helicopter. It has been used in about 1/2 dozen rifles. unfortunately it is a Class 3(NFA) weapon and required a special permit form the bane of tyranny(ATF).

.50 BMG is the most powerful rifle.

The Holland & Holland Nitro .700

THE 'ROYAL' DOUBLE RIFLE

The Holland & Holland 'Royal' double rifle has long been celebrated as the best in the world. This pre-eminence dates from the astonishing day in 1883 when the company is rifles, ranging from a .295 rook rifle to a 4 bore elephant rifle, won all ten categories of the rifle trials organised by THE FIELD magazine. The quintessential practicality & design detail of today is Holland & Holland 'Royal' double rifle ensure its continuance as the rifle of choice for the modern hunter on ImageEuropean driven hunts, or facing dangerous game in Africa. That the company is not content to rest on the reputation won in days past is demonstrated by the recent introduction of the 'Royal' .700 Nitro Express, the largest proprietary sporting calibre yet developed.

Big game hunting in Africa came into its own during the 19th Century when early settlers found abundant exotic & dangerous quarry to hunt. These settlers required specially-made firearms & it was at this time that the double rifle first established itself, since the best available insurance against personal injury lay in the reliability offered by two independent firing mechanisms - a fact that remains as true today as it was one hundred years ago.

Although breech loading rifles have existed since the early 16th Century, it was not until the age of the 'Express' rifle in the late 19th Century that the principle of making a bullet spin fulfilled its potential.

Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth President of the United States, was perhaps the most famous admirer of the Holland & Holland rifle: ' l do not believe there exists a better weapon for heavy game', he reported from Africa. With the handling characteristics & balance of a shotgun, a Holland & Holland double rifle points with ease & speed - an essential requirement for moving game, & the ability to fire two shots almost instantaneously is a considerable plus should a second, quick shot be required.

The great knock-down effect that a double rifle imparts also lends an advantage in close cover, as does rapid & straightforward reloading when an angry buffalo charges. An inventive integral muzzle wedge, of Holland & Holland design, is fitted to the barrels & allows the rifle regulator to adjust the point of bullet impact to guarantee accurate shooting. Each rifle has its barrels individually regulated for a client is preferred ammunition & bullet weight. Stylish yet incredibly strong, the 'Royal' double rifle is equal to the harsh environments it often encounters. Our craftsmen r not content to rest on 19th Century laurels & r engaged in a continual quest to improve accepted methods. The genius of a Holland & Holland rifle lies in the melding of tradition with state-of-the-art technology. Today is rifles r made from the best steel the modern age can provide.

One of the pleasures of selecting a Holland & Holland 'Royal' double rifle is the discussion of calibres & their respective merits between gunmaker & customer. Smaller game calls for the lighter, higher velocity calibres, while big game requires the power of large calibres. Holland & Holland is world-renowned for having developed many well-known double rifle calibres. Pre-eminent r the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum & the .500/.465H&H Nitro Express, now joined by the awesome .700H&H Nitro Express. Most popular modern calibres r available.

Skill, fieldcraft & patience r all required of the hunter. He, in turn, can rely on the Holland & Holland 'Royal' double rifle, which has been tailored precisely to his needs. It will take shape week by week as it is built to the customer is order - the stock of finest walnut, painstakingly oil finished; the barrels carefully regulated for maximum accuracy, the classic lines of his rifle enhanced by Holland & Holland is master engravers. His will be the choice of either the distinctive 'Royal' scroll, or the commissioning of an individual work of the engraver is art. Together these features ensure that each 'Royal' is a unique creation.

The world is finest rifle.

.50 BMG Armor-Piercing-Explosive-Incendiary

a hot load .50 BMG has more kinetic energy than a hot load .700

.50 reaches further distances, more accurate & with the round stated above it can take out armored vehicles, the .700 can not. but the 700 has more ''knock down power'' according to the taylor KO factor because it has a larger diameter & is a heavier bullet.

edit: l just found this from one of the u got

http://anzioironworks.com/20MM-TAKE-DOWN-RIFLE.htm

Check these beasts out. 600 Overkill and 700 AHR..
http://hunting-rifles.com/Rifles/700AHR/700AHR.htm
http://hunting-rifles.com/About_us/about.htm

The biggest production (limited) hunting rifle is the 700 nitro express double rifle made by holland & holland. firing a true 0.700 caliber, 1000 grain bullet at 2000 feet per second (fps) it produces 8900 foot pounds of energy (fpe). But biggest does not always equate to most powerful.

The 577 tyrannosaur fires a 750 gr bullet at 2473 fps & delivers 10,180 fpe. & will function thru a standard bolt action rifle. while the rifle must be custom made, the ammo is available thru A-square. .

The barrett model 82A1 rifle firing the .50 browning cartridge puts it in the shade in the power dept.
with a 720 grain bullet at 2910 fps it produces 12,550 fpe, that beats the tyrannosaur by over 2300 fpe & almost 3500 fpe more than the 700 nitro, & clearly wins the most powerful category, since it is also available in production firearms (albeit very heavy ones).

in a handgun, speaking of only handgun cartridges & not rifle cartridges in a handgun, the desert eagle firing the 50 a.e. actually falls in at fourth place, with a 300 gr jhp at 1579 fps it produces 1568 fpe.

the 454 casull revolver from freedom arms firing a 300grn jhp bullet at a velocity of 1623 fps delivers 1755 fpe, easily taking third place.

The 460 smith & wesson revolver comes in at second place. with a 220 gr bullet moving out at 2200 fps & producing 2149 fpe. it also has the distinction of being the worlds fastest production pistol round. The cartridge was created by leangthening the 454 casull case to 1.8 in.

top dawg in the handgun category is indeed the 500 s&w revolver firing a 350 gr jhp at 1900 fps & producing 2805 fpe. that is 1200 fpe more than the 50 desert eagle. And thats with a bullet 50 grains heavier!

l am not running down any firearms or beliefs u may have about guns, but these r the facts.

the biggest ''small arms'' firearm caliber would be the 2 gauge shell for punt guns. its between a shotgun & a cannon. Punt guns were used in the 1900 is from little boats called punts for commercial bird killing. The largest guns of that time could down as much as 200 birds in one shot. Very few punt guns survive today. England (UK) is the best place to find them.

The most powerful & biggest revolver in the world is the Zeliska 600 Nitro Express Revolver. the .600 NE round originated as a elephant gun round in the 1900's. The average .600NE round runs about 25$ each & outputs about 7,000 ft-lb energy at muzzle.
This is a custom handgun, but new ones can be made if u ask Zeliska to do so & have about 40,000$ laying around.

The most powerful handgun in the world, period is the legendary one of a kind Maadi-Griffin .50 BMG handgun. Its the gun that the gun banners have been talking about for a decade but few know that it really exists. A single .50 BMG round costs about 5$ & is about 6 inches long, its bigger than the .600 NE round. The average .50 BMG bullet packs about 12,000 ft-lb energy at muzzle.
The maadi-griffin was invented & made in the united state not too long ago, the government found out & was furious, all known models were immediately confiscated & the manufactures where severely punished. Only a couple dozen were made, very few survive today.

the most powerful rifle ever made & legal for civilian use in the united states would be the McBros .95 cal rifle. The manufactures were able to convince the ATF that its a sporting arm. the .950 JDJ cartridge that it fires outputs about 39,000 ft-lb energy at muzzle. Its something that you'd like to use for shooting down aircraft.
The .950 JDJ rifles made a very limited production run, the rifles sold for about $10,000 each. l do not know if McBros makes any more .95 cal guns.

20 MM either a Solothurn or a Lahti...

DWARFS the .50 and the 600 Nitro in enegry..

Without getting ridiculous & listing cannon rounds let is just say that the currently biggest hunting cartridge is the .700 Nitro Express. This one is literally 'bigger' as it is a seventy caliber. The biggest commercially available handgun hunting cartridge is the .500 S&W Magnum. If u want to include the .50 Caliber Action Express, then this one would fall way behind the .500 S&W Magnum. For that matter it is way behind the older .454 Casull revolver round which has been around since the early Sixties.

The most powerful handgun is still the .500 S&W Magnum. The most powerful rifle (capable of being shoulder-fired) would be one of the dangerous game rifles like the .700 Nitro Express (no longer in production) or the .577 T-Rex still available commercially. Some one or other is going to stand up & yell ''.50 BMG!'' Okay, fine, if u want to lug around a 34 pound rifle in the field & try to shoot it from the shoulder then the .50 BMG is a contender for the most powerful (but totally impractical for hunting) rifle.

H

At my local Cabela's

Rifle - .50 Browning Machine Gun (BMG) wins in all categories at all ranges.

Handgun - .460 S&W or .500 S&W dependent on range.

700 nitro express
600 nitro express
577 trex
check out youtube!