other than cool...Why 50 bmg

[Stomper]

Other than being cool as you know what .....why own a 50 bmg. I have shot the barret several times and enjoy them. It just brings a smile to my face. I can think of no practical reason to have one except I want one. Anyone buy one and wish they hadn't.
I am running out of reasons why I shouldn't get one.

Here's your answer....

 

[Certaindeaf]

Reason #2, Solothurns are no longer $200.

 

[The Heretic]

I think it just depends - as you say, a matter of chance.

The mass of a .50 BMG projectile combined with a hard core penetrator, greatly increases the chance of the projectile penetrating a hard target, but nothing is certain. Given the choices for a civilian who doesn't want to go the NFA route (e.g., 20mm, etc.), a .50 BMG seems the best choice to me for trying to stop vehicles - but nothing is certain and a lot depends on where the vehicle is hit and what the ammo is. My preference would be a shot from the front, dead on; the timing chain/etc. is crucial to the engine continuing to run and often the casing for that is aluminum or thin steel not thick iron like some older engine blocks.

Even on my truck with a Cummins diesel, the timing cover casing is mostly cast aluminum with a thin steel plate inside - a head on shot to that area would probably stop it - not sure about the block from the side as that is thick and strong iron.

Today's car engines are mostly aluminum so vulnerable. Truck engines, not so much - especially diesels.

 

[The Heretic]

Reason #2, Solothurns are no longer $200.

The tax stamp is.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

For me, 50BMG is reserved for an anri-materiel role or squishy targets behind light armor. Unarmored squishy targets get dealt with by smaller calibers determined by range.

 

[The Heretic]

For me, 50BMG is reserved for an anri-materiel role or squishy targets behind light armor. Unarmored squishy targets get dealt with by smaller calibers determined by range.

Went to college with a guy who was shot in the leg with Soviet 12.7 AA while in a helo. Permanent limp. Leg messed up. He was alive though.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

While the .50BMG or the Soviet 12.7 is not instant death ...
It will turn most vehicles , buildings , trees , rocks , etc...into something you no longer can use for cover or concealment.

The cases where folks or vehicles survive are out there for sure...
But...
In my in experiences with these rounds on giving end is that most do not survive...
When on the receiving end , the best answer is to take out the gun or gun operator quickly.
Andy

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Despite the misfortune, sounds like a lucky guy. I've seen firsthand what 50BMG rounds will do to the human body, and surviving a hit qualifies as lucky in my book.

 

[Dinglenutz]

Other than being cool as you know what .....why own a 50 bmg. I have shot the barret several times and enjoy them. It just brings a smile to my face. I can think of no practical reason to have one except I want one. Anyone buy one and wish they hadn't.
I am running out of reasons why I shouldn't get one.

Brother had one, sold it while I was in California. They are a hoot but now really costly to feed, and also one of the only ones I know of that's an actual PITA to reload. I might get one someday just because 'reasons' but yeah, not seeing the practical uses. Might not be a Barrett M85/117 though, probably some sort of high precision bolt gun.

 

[Dinglenutz]

California outlawed them so..

Fun fact - CA outlawed RIFLES in 50 BMG specifically, so if it's not a rifle, or if it's a wildcat based on 50 BMG .... still good to go last I knew.

 

[The Heretic]

Fun fact - CA outlawed RIFLES in 50 BMG specifically, so if it's not a rifle, or if it's a wildcat based on 50 BMG .... still good to go last I knew.

So, a pistol with a brace?

 

[Dinglenutz]

So, a pistol with a brace?

I guess that would be OK, but the examples I was shown were "other". CA defines a rifle as a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, essentially, so things like the semi-auto M2 things are completely safe in CA, according to CA, last I checked.

 

[The Heretic]

I guess that would be OK, but the examples I was shown were "other". CA defines a rifle as a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, essentially, so things like the semi-auto M2 things are completely safe in CA, according to CA, last I checked.

There you go. I've always wanted a belt-fed, and one in .50 BMG would be great, especially if mounted on the back of one or both of my trucks. If I won the lottery I would go for it.

 

[Dinglenutz]

The other CA option was to get a rifle barrelled in a 50 BMG based wildcat, such as the 50 DTC. Having gun laws written by people who don't know much about guns and are too lazy or dumb to learn has occasional advantages.

 

[MrTwentyTwo]

...

1) Long Range Accuracy
2) Projectile Diameter and Weight
3) Velocity and Energy (Foot Pounds of Force)
4) Devastating Penetration, Expansion, etc.

... and yes the...

5) The Cool Factor!

 

[bolus]

Firearms not not just for hunting or your own protection, they are deterrents.

They are there so that your government thinks twice before doing something like North Korea does to its citizens. If the government is going to march the national guard down the street firing pepper balls at random people standing in their doorways, they need to know that someone on that street also has a 50 bmg and might object to them taking a step further and walking right into their house.

yeah it wont take out a tank, but its not a tank or jet that kicks your door in.

 

[EHJ]

Velociraptors.

 

[The Heretic]

Velociraptors.

T-Rex

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I buy all my firearms from T-Rex....He is a small arms dealer...
Andy

 

[BlackLight]

Because you can have a badge like this: