[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 32 (Thursday, February 27, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2915-S2916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                NEW REVOLVER TOO BIG FOR ``DIRTY'' HARRY

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I want to bring to the attention of 
my colleagues an article from the February 14, 2003, Los Angeles Times 
entitled ``New Revolver Too Big For 'Dirty' Harry.'' The article 
discusses a new .50 caliber handgun manufactured by the Smith and 
Wesson Corporation. The 500 model, the biggest handgun currently in 
production, is 15 inches long, weighs 4.5 pounds, and uses a .50 
caliber Magnum Smith and Wesson bullet that packs a muzzle force of 
2,600 foot-pounds. The bullet is half an inch wide and is more powerful 
than comparable ammunition because it is much longer and contains more 
gun powder.
  According to a Violence Policy Center expert cited in the article, 
the gun's cartridge has about twice the muzzle energy of most rounds 
for common semiautomatic assault weapons, such as the AR-15, a civilian 
version of the military's M-16. In fact, the new gun packs a punch 
powerful enough to stop a charging bear in its tracks.
  A Smith and Wesson representative acknowledges that the company hopes 
the gun will help Smith and Wesson win back market share lost when the 
company agreed to a number of steps to improve gun safety and keep guns 
out of the hands of criminals. Smith and Wesson's decision to produce 
the .50 caliber handgun represents a step backward in the effort to 
improve gun safety. Not only has the company apparently scrapped its 
plan to work with the federal government to take sensible steps to make 
guns safer and keep guns from getting into the wrong hands, but the 
company seems to be headed in the opposite direction by creating a 
handgun that is reported to have double the power of most assault 
rifles.
  Last year, I cosponsored the Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act, a 
bill which would change the way .50 caliber sniper rifles are regulated 
by placing them under the requirements of the National Firearms Act. 
This bill would subject the sniper rifles to the same regimen of 
registration and background checks as other weapons of war, such as 
machine guns.
  Unfortunately, the new Smith and Wesson .50 caliber handgun would not 
be affected by this legislation. However, both the .50 caliber handgun 
and sniper rifle are simply too powerful to be on the streets. Congress 
must take a long, hard look at these potentially lethal weapons.

                  [From the L.A. Times, Feb. 14, 2003]

            A Powerful New Revolver Is Drawing Fire Already

                 (By Ralph Frammolino and Steve Berry)

       Even the most ardent firearm lovers acknowledge that Smith 
     & Wesson's new .50-caliber Magnum revolver is more gun than 
     anyone needs.
       It has double the power of most assault rifles in America. 
     Its kick can send a grown man reeling; a single bullet can 
     drop a grizzly.; It is so heavy and long that police say no-
     criminal would dare try to hide it in his waistband. It will 
     cost as much $989.
       And gun buyers across the country can't wait to get their 
     hands on it.
       ``The initial reaction has been even stronger than we had 
     anticipated, so we're ramping

[[Page S2916]]

     up production to meet the demand,'' Bob Scott, Smith & Wesson 
     Corp.'s chairman, said from the 2003 Shooting, Hunting, 
     Outdoor Trade Show in Orlando, Fla.
       ``Certainly, in our booth it's the product that has created 
     the most buzz.''
       The Springfield, Mass-based company, creator of the .44 
     Magnum of ``Dirty Harry'' fame, unveiled its new offering 
     Thursday as the world most powerful commercially produced 
     revolver. Executives for the country's second-largest 
     firearms manufacturer said they hoped the gun would help 
     regain lost market share by generating excitement among an 
     important, albeit niche, market of big-game hunters, 
     collectors and recreational target shooters.
       But even before the weapon's wide distribution, scheduled 
     for next month, forces on both sides of the firearms debate 
     are taking aim at its social effects.
       Gun control groups condemned the Model 500 as an example of 
     the industry's ``deadlier-is-better'' mentality, predicting 
     that the new model would soon find its way to the streets.
       ``A hunting weapon? that's a joke,'' said Luis Tolley, 
     director of state legislation for the Brady Campaign to 
     Prevent Gun Violence. ``What we have here is a weapon that's 
     designed to appeal to people who just want to make a bigger 
     hole in whatever they're shooting at. And, hopefully, they're 
     not living next door to me.''
       Said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence 
     Policy Center: ``This gun is not being made for hunters in 
     Africa. It's being made for bored white gun owners in 
     America. Why are they putting so much firepower into people's 
     hands?''
       The real question, say some gun experts, is: Why are people 
     demanding it?
       Adam Firestone, editor of Cruffler.com, a Web site for gun 
     collectors, said he viewed demand for Smith & Wesson's new 
     product as more of an outgrowth of America's obsession with 
     size and status, rather than an indicator of growing paranoia 
     over crime or homeland security.
       ``How many people do you know have Lincoln Navigators or 
     Hummer H2s?'' he said. ``We are phenomenal at buying beyond 
     our needs. And with regard to the firearm industry, if it is 
     bigger, if it is more expensive . . . we will line up around 
     the corner to buy the darned thing, regardless of the fact 
     that there may be six other guns that cost half as much and 
     do the job just as well.''
       Smith & Wesson executives hope that the new offering, one 
     of nine new models introduced at the Florida gun show 
     Thursday, will put it back in the good graces of a gun-buying 
     constituency that remains sore over the company's decision in 
     2000 to sign agreements with the federal government that 
     promised to put locks on all firearms it sold.
       That backlash served as a double whammy, taking away sales 
     from Smith & Wesson even as the entire industry was in 
     decline.
       ``We're in the process of winning back market share or 
     business that was lost as a result of negative reaction by 
     consumers to the decisions by the previous ownership,'' said 
     Scott, the company chairman.
       Smith & Wesson has built its reputation by building 
     bigger guns. The .357 Magnum, introduced in 1935, was 
     considered a breakthrough because of its muzzle energy 
     that delivered impact at 535 foot-pounds, said Roy G. 
     Jinks, the company's historian.
       The weapon, developed at the behest of hunters, gained 
     favor with police during the mobster era because it could 
     shoot through a car's engine block, he said.
       In 1956, Smith & Wesson introduced the even more powerful 
     .44 Magnum, the gun made famous years later by Clint Eastwood 
     in his crime-fighting movies as ``Dirty'' Harry Callahan, a 
     San Francisco cop.
       With Thursday's unveiling the company now leapfrogs ahead 
     of its competitors, which had surpassed the .44 Magnum with 
     more potent weapons.
       The Model 500 uses a bigger frame, takes a new .50 caliber 
     Magnum Smith & Wesson bullet and packs a muzzle force of 
     2,600 foot-pounds.
       Though there are single-shot, custom pistols that use 
     larger ammunition, the new gun is the largest production 
     revolver or semiautomatic pistol.
       At .50-caliber, the bullet is about half an inch wide but 
     is more powerful than other such ammunition because it is 
     longer and can pack more powder, said Garen Wintemute, a gun 
     expert and director of the Violence Prevention Research 
     Program at UC Davis.
       He said the gun's cartridge has about twice the muzzle 
     energy of most rounds for common semiautomatic assault 
     weapons used in America, such as the AR-15, a civilian 
     version of the military's M-16.
       Wintemute predicted that it would be a smash with gun 
     enthusiasts who can order one with a barrel as long as 10 
     inches.
       One such enthusiast is Marc Halcon, owner of American 
     Shooting Center in San Diego.
       He said the allure of the weapon ``has something to do with 
     the artistry of creating a mechanism that will do something 
     that no other will do. It's another step in science and 
     engineering.''
       On a personal level, Halcon said. ``I already own the most 
     powerful handgun on the market, and if they build a more 
     powerful one, then I want to buy it.''
       Sam Paredes, executive director of the Gun Owners of 
     California feels much the same.
       ``I can't wait to shoot one of these things,'' he said.
       Paredes acknowledged that the Model 500 could be portrayed 
     as the ``boogeyman of all guns.''
       He said its recoil would pack such a wallop that it would 
     be virtually impossible for criminals to rely on it--a 
     sentiment shared by Lt. Bruce Harris, the firing range master 
     for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
       ``It's a little tough to have one of those under your 
     shirt,'' Harris said, adding that he didn't believe it would 
     become the weapon of the street because ``gangbangers don't 
     have $900 to spend on a Smith & Wesson revolver.''
       Proposed legislation regulating the sale of .50 caliber 
     rifles is scheduled for consideration in the state Assembly 
     and the Los Angeles City Council, said Tolley of the Brady 
     Campaign. But government officials said Thursday that they 
     had no plans to include the new revolver in the restrictions.
       Still, Tolley said, his group will work to bring the Model 
     500 under some kind of control because, despite Smith & 
     Wesson's intentions, the weapon is bound to end up in the 
     wrong hands.
       ``They're marketing this weapon to people who get off on 
     the idea that they have the biggest, baddest gun on the 
     block,'' Tolley said.
       ``Unfortunately a number of them are going to juvenile gang 
     members and people who have an unhealthy fascination with 
     fire arms.''

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