Big guns are just plain fun, collectors say

[MORTARDUDE]

Big guns are just plain fun, collectors say

Published April 27, 2003




I am at the National Rifle Association exhibit at the Orange County Convention Center. Now I know what Saddam did with his weapons of mass destruction.

I'm holding one of them: a Smith & Wesson Model 500 revolver. It weighs 5 pounds, one for each bullet it holds.

"It has three times the energy of a .44 Magnum," says its creator, Herb Belin. "I made a decision last year that we would develop a gun that reclaimed the position of most powerful handgun in the world."

Could it kill a grizzly bear?

"There is no question the energy level is sufficient for a grizzly," says Herb. He adds that it also could kill a "rhino or elephant."

Really?

"No question about it," he says. "You'd have to hit it right, though. If you shot it in the foot, you'd just have a mad elephant."

That's where I'd hit it if I didn't have help holding it up. I believe the Model 500 could even kill a damn dirty ape.

But what would you do with it if you weren't shooting huge mammals?

"It's a lot of fun to roll a steel target out at 100 yards and slam the hell out of it," Herb says. At $3 a bullet, though, that could get expensive fast.

Smith & Wesson has sold more than 10,000 Model 500s for $987 apiece since February. Good thing we ban assault rifles.

But I will say this. We have nothing to fear from the Model 500 because it is the most impractical handgun in the world for robbing or shooting anyone.

Neither should we fear Thompson Deluxe Semi-Auto Tommy Guns. They are made by Kahr Arms, which bought Thompson Submachine Gun and makes them for collectors.

"Carried by the gangsters in the '20s," says the brochure. "Trusted by the troops during World War II. Find out how it feels to hold a Thompson submachine gun!"

You can't find out how it feels to shoot one, however. Machine guns are illegal, thanks to those gangsters of the '20s. So these are semiautomatic .45-caliber carbines.

There has been a run on the model Tom Hanks used to take out a pillbox in Saving Private Ryan.

"Tom Hanks has been a good promoter of our product, whether he knows it or not," says Kahr's Frank Harris.

Not everybody here is selling something. There are lots of collectors with display booths. The biggest guns -- big surprise -- belong to the Alaska Gun Collectors.

How did you guys get these things past the metal detector?

"We didn't bring it as personal baggage," says club member Joe Koss. "It was sent freight -- 800 pounds."

Like everybody at this convention, Joe is friendly and eager to share his passion. He shows me the club's prize collection, a special-edition Smith & Wesson Alaska statehood commemorative .44-caliber Magnum.

"Guns are fun," says Joe.

Why so?

"It's hard to qualify," he says. "I enjoy owning them. I enjoy playing with them. I enjoy shooting them. I make my own ammunition. I like knowing I can hit a target I am aiming at."

Joe is the only person in Alaska who doesn't hunt.

"It is satisfying to feel the jump of the gun in my hand," he continues. "When it comes to guns and ammunition, there is never enough. My wife says the same thing about fabric.

"She quilts and I shoot."

Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 or mthomas@orlandosentinel.com.