Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Before Taurus and Smith & Wesson struck gold with their hybrid Judge and Governor hand cannons, California’s MIL Inc. concocted an idiosyncratic .45-caliber six-shooter in 1992 that foreshadowed the duo. Dubbed “Thunder Five,” MIL’s hefty double-action wheel gun was no mere revolver. Its cylinder alternately hosted massive .45 Colt rounds or 3-inch .410 shotgun shells, spewing a tempest of lead from one devastating package. Bracketing the unlikely pairing was Thunder Five’s laundry list of innovations, from swappable sub-caliber cylinder sleeves to sport 9mm or .38 Super to a rare manual safety on a revolver. But its groundbreaking versatility couldn’t shield Thunder Five from market indifference – production capped in 1998 after barely denting popular culture beyond sci-fi flicks like 1993’s Robocop 3. Yet today its discontinued legacy prospers courtesy of the Judge and Governor legitimizing its unusual .45-shotgun formula.
“Manufacturer: Mil Inc
Model: Thunder Five
Type: Pistol
Gauge: 45/410
Barrel: 2 1/8 inch round
Finish: parkerized
Grip: rubber”
Lot 532: Three Double Action Revolvers – A) MIL Inc. Thunder Five Revolver. (n.d.-n). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved December 17, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/2029/532/three-double-action-revolvers.
