laststandonzombieisland

Long before Smith & Wesson made the .500 S&W, a gunsmith in Wyoming cut down a .348 Winchester case to craft the first successful .50 caliber revolver/cartridge. Named the .500 Linebaugh after its inventor– John Linebaugh– the same six-gun smith went on to craft the .475 Linebaugh and follow-on .500 Linebaugh Max and .475 Linebaugh Max.

“Big Bore Handguns” author John Taffin, in his first review of the .500 Linebaugh in 1985, found a 260-grain bullet to clock in at 1,700 fps, punching through quarter-inch sheet steel and penetrating 10 inches into a solid wood block with ease, although he noted the recoil was “fierce,” even when shooting the 10-inch revolver from the bench and off sandbags.

However, speaking to “Gun Digest” in 2013, Linebaugh said his EDC piece was a .500 Linebaugh with a 4.25-inch barrel, saying, “That little gun doesn’t kick at all.”

Which is unsurprising for anyone who ever met the slim little cowboy.

Mr. Linebaugh passed at his home outside of Cody last week.

When it comes to services, a public visitation will be held at Ballard Funeral Home in Cody on Saturday, March 25, 2023, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a graveside service at the Bennett Buttes Cemetery in Clark on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. followed by a reception at the Clark Pioneer Recreation Center.