John Linebaugh is an American gunsmith who has gained international renown for creating custom revolvers in the largest calibers in the world.  He is inventor of the .500 Linebaugh caliber — the first successful .50 caliber revolver (and cartridge) which he created in 1986. He is also credited with inventing the .475 Linebaugh cartridge, which he perfected in 1988.

 

Linebaugh crafts handguns that defy convention. For instance, he made a .45 Colt capable of shooting 250-grain bullets at 1,700 feet per second — an increase of about 350 feet per second over its peers. When heavy loads were employed, the measured case expansion of the cartridge case was no greater .001" in diameter above the base of the cartridge. Very tight chamber dimensions accomplish this.  

 

John sums up his philosophy:

 

"We are a custom sixgun shop dedicated to the old school sixgunner. We follow the theories of Elmer Keith and John (Pondoro) Taylor. Theirs was one of big bullets, so is ours. Bullet weight and caliber are constants in external ballistics; velocity is a constantly diminishing variable. I believe high velocity to be a superb killer if placed with exact precision, and if it reaches the inside of the animal. But without exact placement, it lacks the penetrating qualities and thus it wastes its energy in flesh wounds. The big bullet does not have these shortcomings. It will penetrate fully from any angle, thus letting the hunter take shots with confidence that he would otherwise pass up with a 'little' gun. I for one do not like big guns, just big bullets. With this in mind we offer models and ideas to the old school sixgunner.

Remember, old school to us is powerful, practical, and packable."