Broken Butterfly

The Broken Butterfly is the first Magnum to appear in Resident Evil 4. It is one of the few weapons that can be found instead of purchased. It appears as top-break revolver. The weapon is only featured in the maingame for Leon to use and not in any other mode.

Gameplay
The Broken Butterfly takes up 8 spaces (4x2) of inventory and uses rare Magnum Ammo. It can be bought from the Merchant for 38,000₧ first available in Chapter 3-1. However, one can be obtained for free in the locked room next to the fountain in the castle. Leon will need Ashley's help to retrieve it.

The Broken Butterfly has a starting firepower of 13.0, but further upgrades will strengthen it. The fully upgraded Magnum is 25 times as strong as a fully upgraded Handgun, but its ammunition is quite scarce and almost never dropped by enemies.

The Broken Butterfly's exclusive upgrade increases its firepower to 50.0. This makes it the third most powerful weapon in the game next to the Handcannon and the Rocket Launcher.

Strategies

 * The Broken Butterfly is a boss-fighting weapon, as it's ammo is rare, its damage is very high, and bosses often become immobile during combat to expose a weak point that can be slashed or shot. Using the Magnum here is advisable. Using this valuable ally on anything else can be highly regrettable.
 * Waiting for the free one will save inventory space, and by the time you get it, the Merchant will offer higher firepower for it.
 * The semi-automatic Killer7 is another Magnum that appears in the game, however it is advisable to obtain the Broken Butterfly first because the Killer7 cannot be obtained until late in the game.
 * A comparison between the Broken Butterfly and the Killer7 reveals that the revolver has the edge in firepower, while the semi-auto has an advantage in better stability, faster reload, and higher capacity.
 * Many bosses temporarily expose a weak spot that can be attacked contextually to deal minimal damage but waste no ammunition (slashing at the El Gigante's Plagas or stabbing Saddler's eye). Shooting these weak spots with a powerful weapon deals far more damage. The Broken Butterfly is especially effective here.
 * Once every round in the Broken Butterfly's cylinder is used up, upgrade it's capacity instead of reloading. Upgrading the gun's capacity fills it with new bullets, saving precious Magnum ammo.
 * While most players prefer the Broken Butterfly for it's 50.0 firepower, fully upgrading it requires 455,000 pesetas. Furthermore, without the exclusive upgrade priced at 150,000 pesetas, the Broken Butterfly is only 3 points stronger then a unupgraded Killer7. However, the game does provide sufficient funds and items to be sold, to fully upgrade all of the main weapons (Handgun, Shotgun, Rifle, TMP, Magnum) as well as purchase the Tactical Vest.

Tune up chart
Fire Speed and Reload Speed are given in seconds.

It takes a total of 493,000₧ to buy and fully upgrade the Broken Butterfly or 455,000 if you get the free one.

Comments
"A very powerful .45 magnum revolver. This will make anyone's day."
 * Examine Description:

""I see you have an eye for things. Gun's not just about shootin. It's about reloadin. You'll know what I'm talkin about."
 * Merchant comment:

Resident Evil: The Deck Building Game
The Broken Butterfly is introduced in the third expansion set of the card game: Nightmare. When played, this weapon gets an additional 20 damage boost if the player has 10 or more cards in their inventory. The ammo damage is 40 with a gold cost of 80.

Further Notes

 * If you look closely at the recoil shield on the Broken Butterfly, you'll notice that it has a small cutout on the right side similar to what is found on cap & ball guns in the middle of the 19th century.
 * The weapon also features a beaver tail grip tang. This is odd to find on any single action revolver, let alone revolvers of any type. Generally, this grip tang is used on semi-automatic weapons to prevent the firer from placing his/her hand in the path of the traveling slide and in recent years to protect the shooter from "hammer bite." The existence of the grip tang on this revolver could indicate that, instead of being single action like the weapons it resembles, it is actually double-action.
 * The skin when you pick it up and the way it appears in your inventory are very different. When seen while you are picking it up, it has a "Wild West" look to it, with mostly silver and a wooden handle. When in your inventory, it is black and very modern looking.
 * This weapon appears to be a Salazar family heirloom as one is seen in the picture Leon acquires the prison key from. This explain why Leon finds it in a chest in the castle.

Gallery
Broken Butterfly