Hand Cannon: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:600holdgun 9038.jpg|frame|Yes, folks, that's a [[wikipedia:Pfeifer Zeliska .600 Nitro Express revolver|real gun]]. .600 caliber, in fact.]]

 

{{quote|''"You see the size of that gun he fired at us? It was bigger than him."''|'''Jules''', ''[[Pulp Fiction]]''}}

 

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and Manga ==

* The vampire [[Dracula|Alucard]] in ''[[Hellsing]]'': he carries an awesomely huge pistol (39 cm/16" long, 6 kg unloaded) stylized after an old-fashioned Colt that can fire the mighty .454 Casull cartridge (which is only ''slightly'' smaller than a AA battery); in fact, this ammo gives the gun its common name, "The Casull". Later on he is given another, ''bigger'' pistol (though it's more like a huge block of metal with a trigger) called "The Jackal" (also 39 cm/16" long, 16 kg unloaded, 13mm Mercury core rounds with [[Abnormal Ammo|blessed Macedonian silver jackets]]), which he uses together with the first one [[Guns Akimbo|akimbo-style]]. Both guns are ridiculously heavy for their size. For comparison, the US Army's standard-issue platoon machine gun, the M240B, weighs in at 12 kg. Neither are weapons any man could hope to wield, the former for its kickback and the latter for its insane weight, but "It was never meant for a man." The latter is also so heavy because {{spoiler|it has a bomb inside it}}.

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* [[Sam and Max|Sam's trusty revolver]], which is SO big the barrel actually bends from its own weight!

** Well, the [[Depleted Phlebotinum Shells]] are kind of a necessity no matter how crappy a shot he is; if he's firing the thing at all, he's probably up against something that's immune to fists.

* In the ''[[The Warlord]]'' comics, Travis Morgan carries a .44 AutoMag which was certainly never a standard issue sidearm for USAF officers. It also qualifies as an instance of [[Rare Guns]].

* Some of these show up in ''[[Preacher (Comic Book)]]'': .45 revolvers, .50 pistols, and one piece the [[Big Bad]] maniacally refers to as "Doomcock". The [[The Grim Reaper|Saint]] [[Implacable Man|Of]] [[The Juggernaut|Killers]] also [[Guns Akimbo|wields a pair of]] Walker Colt revolvers, which pack .44 ball and was arguably the most powerful handgun until magnum revolvers appeared in the 20th century. More specifically, they're a pair of Walker Colts forged from what used to be the [[Grim Reaper|Angel of Death's]] sword which makes them [[Weapon of Mass Destruction|Weapons of Mass Destruction]]. Revolvers which can kill {{spoiler|God}}.

** The Hand Cannon in question was a customised Desert Eagle, presented as the soviet [http://www.imfdb.org/index.php/Red_Heat#.22Podbyrin_9.2mm_Pistol.22 "Podbyrin 9.2 mm"]. Arnold's character describes it as "the most powerful handgun in the world".

* The '89 ''[[Batman (film)|Batman]]'' movie has [[The Joker]] pulling out a revolver with a ''telescopic'' 36-inch barrel... out of his pants... which he uses to shoot down the Batwing in ''one shot''. Make of that what you will.

* In the Prohibition-era gangster parody ''[[Johnny Dangerously]]'', Danny Vermin shows off his .88 Magnum. "It shoots through ''schools''."

* In ''[[Charlie's Angels|Charlie's Angels : Full Throttle]]'', the [[Big Bad]] (Played by Demi Moore) uses [[Guns Akimbo|two]] [[Bling Bling Bang|golden]] Desert Eagles.

* At one point in ''[[Hard Boiled]]'', Mad Dog, [[The Dragon]], uses a Thompson/Center Contender, a single-shot pistol that uses rifle bullets, and which he's apparently modified to spit the spent cartridges out in slow-mo, to fight Tequila and Alan. This pistol appears to be using a .30-06 barrel.

* In the Woo-directed Van Damme flick ''[[Hard Target]]'' the main villain Fouchon (played by Lance Henriksen) also favored a Thompson single-shot pistol (in .45-70 Gov't!) as his main firearm.

* In ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'', Jules and Vincent get shot at by a guy with a Hand Cannon, but [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy|every shot misses]]. "Did you see that gun he fired at us? It was bigger than him."

* A [[Western]] example from ''[[True Grit]]'':

'''Mattie Ross:''' It belonged to my father, he carried it bravely in the war, and I intend to kill Tom Chaney with it if the law fails to do so.

** ''[[The Cowboys]]'' had [[John Wayne]] telling the boys he had for cowhands to put their guns in a wagon. Cue the smallest boy extracting the largest gun from his belt.

* The opening scene of ''[[Desperado]]'' has El Mariachi's buddy spin a story of how he cleared a bar with a sawed-off and a de-stocked [[wikipedia:Armsel Striker|Armsel Protecta]] shotgun, which manage to throw your average Mexican about ten feet in the air with one shot:

* Paul Kersey's friend "Wildey" from ''[[Death Wish 3]]'' is the world's most powerful production semi-automatic. The bullet has as much impact energy at 100 yards as the .44 Magnum has at 1 yard. Unlike most examples here, the .475 Wildey Magnum has a relatively manageable recoil.

* Almost all the major characters in ''[[Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man]]'' wield a Hand Cannon at some point in the movie, ranging from .44 Magnum Desert Eagles to .454 Casull Rugers.

'''Harley:''' "Hey... I learned to shoot using one of these."

* In ''[[The Boondock Saints]]: All Saints Day'', the Saints trade in the silenced Berettas from the first film in favor of Desert Eagles.

** In the original movie, the two trade in two .50-caliber Desert Eagles used by two Russian mob dudes who tried to murder them, along with a pager and a money clip, in order to get their hands on their original arsenal.