.577 Caliber Bland-Pryse Stopping Revolver 

I believe there was a Victorian era Scotland Yard detective that carried one of these, they called him "Disheveled Henry." "Do you feel fortunate, me old son?"

" With this revolver you can stop a tiger." " The king of the jungle? " " No, I meant the tank. "

"It only has 5 shots" You know if it isnt dead after shooting it with 5 shots from that thing then its probably not meant to die

"Break action for rapid reloading" Needing to rapidly reload a .577 is like needing to rapidly reload Enola Gay

"This is a Pryse stopping pistol." Good thing I'm not named Pryse.

But Ian, THAT IS a reasonable handgun! You carry .577 because they don't make a .6!

This gun will stop tigers, elephants, tanks, battleships, glaciers, continental drift, the expansion of the universe, time ...

i feel like this gun came with one of those old timey safari hats

6:44 _"If you're a collector of British small arms..."_ Isn't this at least "medium arms"?

Does it come with spare wrists?

_HellBoy has entered the chat_

American: "I carry a .45 because Samuel Colt doesn't make a .46." Brit: *coughs politely*

**Thoughtfully lights pipe** **Aims** **BOOM!!!** **Monocle plops out into sherry glass** "I say! That's somewhat lively. The bullet skimmed the entirety of Lake Windemere! Cuthbert, do have a go!""

"..eject and reload the gun". That's...optimistic.

"I know what you're thinking. 'Did he fire Five shots or only Four?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I lost track myself. But being as this is a .577 Bland-Pryse, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow a hippo's head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do you, old chum?"

"I'm looking for a sidearm that will make a charging lion go away." "A .45 will scare away anything." "No, no, no, you misunderstand. I mean erased from existence." "Ah, the Bland-Pryse for you then."

Bullet go flying that way 👉... YOU go flying that way 👈...

My new concealed carry. I'm gonna need a bigger coat

Big iron, big iron, Oh he tried to match the ranger with the big iron on his hip, Big iron on his hip

“Take possession of my wine and observe my immediate actions.”

Everyone knows about Dirty Harry Callahan and his .44 Magnum, but not many people know about Filthy Harold Callaghan III, Esquire and his .577 revolver. ... xD

My father was issued one of these in the navy for guard duties in Malaysia during WW2 he said even the clip down holster was huge. Fortunately he never needed to discharge it so his wrists survived the war

"I will name him George, and I will hug him, and pet him, and squeeze him.."

A stopping pistol? Is it for stopping tanks? Or time? Ooh, the rotation of the planet maybe?

"For everyday carry, I personally prefer the .577, but the more limp-wristed among you might be more comfortable with a .44 magnum."

Ian, up until the 1st World War British officers were required to supply their own side arms. At the time the .577 pistols were produced the British Army was transitioning from the Enfield P 53 to the conversions for the .577 Snider. Manufacture's promoted the idea of the .577 revolver to officers being assigned to India and Africa as "sensible" sidearm as components for reloading would have been available, and, as your pointed out it could serve as a stopping gun for dangerous game, as well as for combat against tribesmen on either continent.

Me: I want it Brain: NO Wallet:NO Bank Account: OH FOR THE LOVE OF-

American Pistols: ".45 ACP. Take it or leave it." French Pistols: "Isn't that a bit much already? I mean 9mm is already sufficient at-" British Pistols: "If it don't start with five, it'll stay alive."

6:55 "If you live in Texas, and have a need for a .577 revolver." -- Is this a stab at Demolition Ranch and his fascinations with 50 caliber guns?

For those rare occasions when one need apply several extra coats of overkill to their overkill. The volume in that cartridge would've been comparable to many 2 stroke engines.

4:00 "That's a lot of oomph coming out of the end of this gun" It's also a lot of smoke coming out of the end of this gun, so take a shot and instantly sidestep 3' for the next shot while the wild animal rushes into the cloud.

Australian goes: "Thasts not a knife. THIS is a knife" British goes: "Thats not a revolver. THIS is a revolver"

Years ago, 37 years ago or so I had a friend who collected all manner of firearms for over 60 years here is the UK, legally on his firearms ticket and this was one he was lucky to own. Plus he had two boxes of .577 for it. It was a wonderful firearm and lucky for me, he was an a wealthy but very down to earth kind chap who was a firearms enthusiast and loved those who were also enthusiasts and he wanted his firearms in his collection to be used, enjoyed by other enthusiasts and he liked to fire them and watch others enjoying firing them just for the joy from snaphance, wheellock to modern weapon and being a good pals to him I was lucky to fire this one pistol on our local Gun Club range. Boy it was nice and the powerful cartridge looked like an lead egg cup placed in the brass cartridge. Days after Dunblane he knew that all pistols even historical ones were gong to be destroyed so he donated it free of charge to a museum. He was correct and the collection he had built up all those years were split up and many of the mre modern and thus, useless were cut up or melted before his eyes. I hope most of historical firearms were saved.

This is really more like a fire extinguisher than a firearm in terms of application. You have it just in case, you don't want to ever have to use it, but if the day comes you'll have more to worry about than the unpleasant act of using the damn thing.

"Stopping revolver." A gun big enough to pistol whip a charging hippopotamus or a polar bear into submission should you somehow fail to obliterate them with the actual shot!

*Resides in Texas.* *Gains intrinsic need for large, powerful firearms.* *Does not complain.*

Not gonna lie. When theres no upload by 0830 Eastern time, I'm just sitting here refreshing RU-vid waiting hahaha

The auction house might be disappointed with the rather bland-pryse this pistol will sell for.

Funniest line I've ever heard from Ian..."....or if you are from Texas..." I almost spit out my sammich at lunch listening. Rofl I do, indeed live in Texas and was admiring this revolver. My second favorite Ian quote "we considered fair and decided against it" Much love Ian and hi to Karl

Mid century British Army rifles were 0.577, that continued to the brass foil cartridges in the 1870s. Probably the reason for this.

I think my uncle talked about his father during ww1 using one as his sidearm while in the royal artillery, called it his personal cannon... Its still sitting in a case on my mantel

Sir Hammerlock's favorite hand cannon. It even has a matching Jakobs grip! It's also similar to Hellboy's Samaritan. "If it took more than one shot, you weren't using a Jakobs."

"Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!"

Looks like a good little backup gun. -Texas

hmmm those clever Brits invent an anti tank gun before they invented the tank.

That is a bloody huge calibre sir, Well ofc Harold, we are hunting Big Cats!

3:05 Break action frame for rapid reloading? In case of more than 5 tigers charge at you and you need some more stopping power fast.

I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen Ian actually dry-fire anything... I’ve seen him de-cock a few hundred guns, but never dry-fire. Kinda cool... he’s not just a gun historian anymore, he’s obviously a real human who couldn’t resist feeling that big-ass hammer drop. 😂😉😎

Found a gun that fits hickok45's hands!

Talk about a pocket howitzer, god damn!

According to a book I've had for years, written by Major Frederick Myatt M.C. the Bland-Pryse was made along side the Webley No 1. It was also a product of the colonial era battles that were going on at the time. There was an accompanying caption written alongside a picture in this book which read "Like the Webley No 1, the Bland-Pryse was chambered to take the massive 577in cartridge, which was guaranteed to stop the most determined assailant - dead!" I wonder how much this piece went for during the auction.

I love the way this guy presents these videos, he TALKS about the gun itself and handles it gently not like other videos I've seen were they WAVE the gun or weapon around in the air and around their head and face with a loud voice almost shouting at the camera 😬😬. This guy is a professional and a credit to gun collectors and a pleasure to watch and listen to😁😁 well done keep up the good work 👍

Finally, info on the legendary .577 revolver. I was thinking that none of these pieces survived into the modern day.

I bet that monster would flip a spinner target in two shots, Ian!

That's a genuinely amazing revolver. It reminds me of the Samaritan from Hellboy, which is always a good thing. I kinda hope someone makes a modern reproduction.

Who else is imagining a British bobby or detective saying "Do you feel lucky punk?" in a cockney accent

When you reallllyyyyy wanna make sure that tiger is dead.

Safari hunter: good for emergencies American: just right for an every day carry.

Never heard of these specifically. I have heard of other .577 revolvers over the years, from the same era. Reputedly some army officers (who had to buy their own sidearms) carried them for use against drugged up natives. The completely non-PC term in those days was 'wog-smashing'. When i saw the ballistics in the description, my immediate thought was the .50GI. Man's inventions are fascinating. Before smokeless powder, one had to go bigger to get more power. Great video as always. Thank you

I worked on Bland-Pryce .577 for a well known writer, while at BCA for many years... and these are delightful to shoot, however, webly did indeed build .577 revolvers in 2 models the NO.1 and the NO.1 1/2 both solid frame beautiful revolvers similar in pattern to the RIC.. A morphed Tranter.... We built an Omage piece in .577 on a Ruger Redhawk many years ago At BCA...2 copies exist I know of577 No.2 cal. These are quite gentle to shoot really compared to other large bores very similar to the .50 special in handling qualities. The reason for these was that there was a limit to bullet speed with black powder in hand gun barrel lengths, so to get energy you needed bullet mass (from this comes kinetic energy), but there is not enough speed to get reliable expansion... so the solution go big on the bore. The projectile was already expanded! The slug was a flat nose hollow base similar to a mini ball the flat nose was approx.. .5in dia. They are a machine that REALLY dumps its energy Quickly and Effectively.These were magnum hot rods of their day and require a do up by skilled hands pretty regularly if they are shot much... actually they were built lightly given their power and available materials.Simply one of the most wonderful handguns ever built.... I dearly loved the old Bland Pryse

*in a Gurney Hallack voice* "God's what a monster !"

That's a hand held artillery cannon.

IIRC these monster guns were also very valuable for emergency stopping of people charging you with spears in their hands. It does look very Webley-like in its lines and aesthetics (break-open, octagonal barrel), which is probably why Ian V Hogg's "Guns and how they work" describes this as a Webley revolver. When I was but a kid, I used to fantasize about a version of this adapted to the Webley-Fosbery action. It would be a natural for a speedloader, but I think that only came later (the Prideaux for the Webley-Fosbery IIRC).

Until now i thought of the howdah pistol as borderline insane..... Until now indeed.

Tiger, I know what you are thinking, did he fire 5 shots or only 4? Do you feel lucky?

For when you go T-rex hunting and you're out of elephant gun ammo.

Amazing piece of history in excellent condition. Wish Uberti would make a replica.....lol.

I had a Webley Tempest air pistol, in the box there was a leaflet giving some Webley history which mentioned a .577 Webley "Boxer" pistol.

Murderer: “Any last words?” Me: *Pulls out this thing* “Yours, not mine.”

I so need one of these! "It can kill a tiger" "I believe it - but how can you get him to try and shoot it?" (Quote attributed to a man who had just fired a .577 double rifle for the first time).

"I'm not a very good shot, but this thing fires _really_ big bullets."

I remember reading a artical on this back in the 80's. It was a manstopper more than a animal one. You could Evan get the old Brit hollow point manstoper load for it.

Understandable, coming from a nation that has Dragons. God save the King!!!

The reveal at 1:20 is one of my favorite forgotten weapons moments

the revolver embodiment of "it's dangerous to go alone, take this"

That is a cool gun. I expect that the recoil is on the harsh side, to say the least. It reminds me of the huge revolver used by the comic book character, 'Hellboy' I wonder if this real gun is the basis for that? Whatever, it's awesome, and I love the term 'Stopper'. It's so understatedly British.

I need one of these on a Call of Cthulhu game, y'know, for stopping elder gods

I both collect British Victorian artifacts and live in Texas. I need this.

I’ve been doing research on this era of firearms and you have no idea how much I’ve tried to find more information on this gun, and caliber. You have, as you always do, help find the most absurd odd firearms I’ve been looking for

*adjusts pith helmet* *lights old pipe* *takes aim* *BOOM* *big grin energy* “Crusow I do say come over here and try this contraption out. My wife will be disheartened to hear my good hand is now broken”

The British Dirty Harry gun! I say old chap, do you feel lucky?

I say Jeeves that rhino coming this way seems a tad miffed. Do hand me my revolver. Yes sir. BOOM! Oh dear,bit of a hole through the beastie. Yes sir. Beg pardon sir but I believe your arm has gone all squiffy. Hmmm. So it has. Tea?

The two pin locking system is quite interesting. I have never seen it particularly with two separate levers that work independently. Thanx Ian, love the show.

Good gun candidate for the Jurassic Park trails. Who needs 577 revolver.

I'd love to see Paull Harrell do a meat target test with this and compare it to, say, a 300gr .454 Casull at 1500-1600fps and others.... ;-)

i would love to see this thing shoot, would it be like a mobile old west saloon? everything disappears in a puff of smoke within a 10 metre radius upon firing? - that would be awesome

In my opinion the period 1870-1940 is the golden age of quality revolvers. Quaint beauty, Victorian elegance, combined with fine meticulous craftsmanship represents a lost art.

That is an absolute unit!

The British; Doing .50 cal handguns before they were cool.

Ok this comment section is officially a comedy writing class . 👍 keep it up . Loving the jokes

If this revolver weighs at least 60oz, which I think is very likely, shooting it would actually be a fairly pleasant experience. I've shot an identical load (400gr around 700fps) out of a 6" S&W 500 magnum (which is around 60oz and doesn't have the big brake of the other models) and it was very comfortable to shoot, it felt more like a 38 special +p out of a 3-4" revolver. I'm saying this to put things in perspective for people who never shot big bores. And also to point out that a handgun that shoots a very large caliber bullet without too much recoil (which inevitably leads to more accuracy) is a very smart choice for dangerous game protection.

I like that you're getting back into the forgotten ones. Very nice to see the strange and rare again.

This is a massive Bullet that travels about the same speed as a Volvo with a 4 cylinder engine in the right hand lane. Getting hit by it would be.... not fun.

Stops the threat and breaks every bone from your wrist to your shoulder at the same time😂

I do live in Texas, and you're right, I do need one of these.

Excellent review of a fabulous beast, thank you 👍.

Little known fact, this gun is still in service in the British army, but it's being replaced by the .655 BollockWalloper in December.

Misnomer I think : The Bland looks rather spicy to shoot.

Good lord that thing is a genuine hand cannon, For when you absolutely positively need to shoot something dead and break your wrist in the process.

It's like an old school S&W 500! I want one I don't care if I have to have my ammo custom made! 😀