No, that's not a starter pistol or flare gun. The revolver in the
picture is a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan chambered in the mighty
454 Casull cartridge... with a
2.5" barrel!!
The picture was taken at our gun club yesterday; Bruce, who's
holding the gun in the picture, had just purchased this little
monster the day before, and was shooting it for the first time with
full-powered 454 Casull hunting loads.
The concussion was painfully loud and the muzzle flash spectacular,
even in broad daylight, due to the short barrel. Bruce was visibly
wincing each time he let off a round. And Bruce is a big man.
Then he offered to let me shoot it. He loaded five rounds into the
cylinder and passed the Ruger to me. As I brought the gun up and
took aim, I noticed the other club members taking a few discreet
steps back from the firing line. This shouldn't be too bad, I
thought. After all, I am completely comfortable shooting my own 44
Magnum revolver and this shouldn't be that much worse, right?
Wrong.
With most long-barreled, large caliber handguns, the recoil pulse,
though intense, is spread out over a length of time and results in
the pulse being felt as a strong push or a shove, with much of the recoil being
absorbed by the sheer mass of the gun. Even the much-ballyhooed
Smith & Wesson 500 Magnum revolver is no more tiring to shoot
that a typical 44 Magnum revolver due to its incredible heft.
As I pulled the trigger on the Ruger and let off a round, my first
reaction was, so this is what
it's like to have a grenade go off in your hand. The recoil
felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer and swung it full-force
against my right palm. The incomplete combustion of the powder
within the short barrel resulted in a HUGE fireball ahead of the
muzzle.
Thinking that my shooting stance was perhaps not quite right, I
readjusted myself, took aim, cocked the hammer, and fired.
Again, sledgehammer, fireball, and this time, pain in my right wrist. I swung the
cylinder out, removed the two fired and three unfired cartridges,
and handed the Ruger back to Bruce.
Fun! 
