Smith & Wesson has introduced a brand new pistol, the Model 500 S&W Magnum, that reclaims its former title as manufacturer of what Inspector Callahan once called “the most powerful handgun in the world.” Of course, that was more than a quarter century ago, and inflation has taken old. This new beast produces about three times the muzzle energy of that scourge of San Francisco “punks.” Now, I reckon, they’ll need to be that much luckier.

Seriously, though, the sheer engineering challenges here had to be fascinating. The article — from Popular Mechanics, not the gun press — goes into some detail on those points, and it’s pretty interesting.