The biggest thing I've ever shot is a friend's .44 Magnum with handloaded 300gr rounds. That kicked pretty hard but was fun to shoot! Even in daylight you could see flame come out of the muzzle. The "normal" .44 Remington Magnum load uses a 240 gr bullet. I also shot it with a light "special" load (185 gr I think) and recoil wasn't bad.

I still prefer a 9mm, .40, .38 Special or .380 for defense. Maybe a .357 or .45 if you are experienced and can handle the recoil. My "ex" could handle my Beretta with no problem and she was only like 5'5" 130. Also the bigger the gun--the harder it is to conceal. You know Clint dosen't have to carry that thing around with him all day--he just returns it to the prop department when the scene is over! LOL!

For my home, a 12 ga works well. I have a standard Remington 870 that I got at K-Mart. I have added a pistol grip and a shorter barrel. My AR-15 would most likely go through the walls and kill the neighbors but it looks awesome!

I think a lot of ranges would ban the .50. I know Don's used to only allow up to a .44 factory load. No handloads. Sounds like it would be a "blast" to shoot!

If ever any of you are in Indiana or Michigan look me up.