[Ronaldus Magnus]

This article has that urban legend feel to it.

Assuming this was 454CASULL -- 300gr JSP at 1,650 fps, my momentum balance shows the maximum free velocity of the 53-1/2 oz. Ruger Super Redhawk (neglecting rotational effects) would be:

.662/53.5*1650 fps = 20.4 fps = 13.6 miles/hour

I might have done the math wrong, but I don't think that this kind of recoil could cause the fatality described here. If there was a death, I think that there is far more to the real tragedy than is in the article or the police report.

[spunkets]

You need to consider the powder and it's v.

mass(lead ~0.046 lbs) * 1650 ft/sec +
0.0093(lbs powder) * ~4000 ft/sec(gas v) = 113 slugs * ft/sec * g(32ft/sec^2)

113/3.3(lb gun)= 34ft/sec gun

Energy of gun recoil = 3.3/32 * 34 * 34 = 120 ft-lbs

That's significant! Prayers for the kid.

[spunkets]

AH, forgot the 1/2 in 1/2*m*v². That's 60 ft-lbs. It's like being hit on the head with a 15 lb weight dropped from 4ft up.(mgh=E)

[Smokin' Joe]

I didn't do the math, but I have put several hundred rounds of .44 mag (granted, it is tamer) downrange and this did not add up for me, either.

No one else seems to be addressing whether or not the recoil could have caused the pistol to rotate fast enough to cause a fatal blunt force trauma (without medical negligence).

Sounds like a poster child for banning high-powered handguns like the S&W .50 to me. (are the Brady Bunch behind this?)