AZ: .50 BMG Ammunition at Wal-Mart

Gun Watch ^ | 17 August, 2015 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

To any fair minded observer, gun ownership, the familiarity with and acceptance of guns, and the embracing of guns by American society, has been in a decades long resurgence.

I spotted an indicator of this reality in a local Wal-Mart a few days ago.  I often stop by the Wal-Mart ammunition counter to see what is happening.  While .22 ammunition is starting to appear on the shelves of dedicated gun stores, it is absent from Wal-Mart in Yuma, Arizona.

But .50 Browning Machine Gun ammunition is there.  The .50 BMG has been gaining popularity with American shooters for decades.  It offers long range potential at just about the limit of easily carried ordnance.  A few people have hunted with the caliber.   It makes most "elephant" guns look anemic in comparison.  But it is primarily used for ultra-long range target shooting, and of course, has military potential.  It is precisely the sort of thing the Second Amendment was written to protect.

.50 BMG, 9mm for comparison

It is tremendously fun to shoot.

I have often thought of purchasing a .50.  I have property where it could be shot at range without having to worry about bothering other shooters.  I have managed to resist the urge so far.

Seeing .50 BMG in the Wal-Mart ammunition section shows how far the celebration of American gun culture has advanced.  It is a speciality product that is hated by disarmists who wish to ban it, even though it is virtually never used in crime.  .50 caliber rifles are so large, long, and unwieldy that they would be relatively hard to commit suicide with.  I have never heard of it being done with one.

Why do the disarmists hate the .50 BMG?  Simple, really.  It is a symbol of freedom, a symbol of power in the hands of the citizen.  It is refreshing to see it prospering.

Definition of  disarmist

©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

Now if only President Obama will stop giving people reason to buy up all the .22 ammunition in sight!

[riverrunner]

Now if could only see cartons of 22rf back on the shelves we well know we have made over the hump.

[W.]

The elitist liberals in power hate the thought of the .50 punching through the glass of their armored limousines...

[enraged]

4 bones a round. Too rich for my blood.
I tend to throw 200 + rounds down range per visit. On a slow day.

[marktwain]

“The elitist liberals in power hate the thought of the .50 punching through the glass of their armored limousines...”

Didn’t Charles Schumer say exactly that? Or am I confusing him with another disarmist?

[Farmer Dean]

Swat teams hate the thought of a .50 too.Body armour is useless with a .50 around.

[Red in Blue PA]

Swat teams hate the thought of a .50 too.Body armour is useless with a .50 around.

I think that also holds true for the "lowly" 308 and 30-06.

[Squantos]

Yeah I thought my M82A1 was chambered in 50 BMG ..... apparently its chambered in 5 dollar bills ......:o)

This is a funny read......The great wall of mart has 50 BMG but no .22 long rifle..... “MERICA”...!!!

[W.]

Me too. I bought a 5-foot belt of .50 bmg blanks, and accumulated enough live rounds to make a proper wallhanger out of it. Nor cheap, the paint markings on the tracers and APIT rounds were cool. A 12 gauge pump kicks enough, I couldn't imagine going 200 rounds of .50. Forecast for tomorrow: PAIN! :)

Back in the day, you could make an afternoon out of a $10 brick of .22lr, as well as the centerfire stuff. That's why I got into reloading, shoot a lot more for a lot less! The used Herter's turret press I got for $5 didn't hurt, either...

[Azeem]

Unless they are wearing Level III+ rifle plates, any 5.56mm, 5.45x39mm, 7.62.39mm will punch through armor. At close range, some will even go through Level III plates.

Even the hot 7.62x25mm Romanian Tokarev ammo will go through some rifle plates. It’s all about the speed coming out of the muzzle.

[W.]

I thought Jeff Cooper making a ventilated limousine comment, but it’s been so long I cannot remember, though I recall Chuckie Smegma whining against the big Browning ages ago...

[W.]

Yes, but all body armor is useless against a precise marksman.

[CapnJack]

You won’t be throwing 200+ rounds of 50 down range in a day. I can tell you that just 20 or 30 is enough form me.

It takes a toll on your sholder after a while.

I reload for about $2 or less a round. Though a lot of the old 40’s and 50’s brass only lasts about 2 or 3 shots before the necks crack, then I have to find some more brass.

[W.]

I had a batch of 7.62x39 that was steel core, it zipped through a ½” steel plate backstop angled towards us at 45° and boy, was my face red... OOPS!

[W.]

Have you tried annealing your case necks with a propane torch? It’s an old cure from way back when...

[Farmer Dean]

I’m a long time 7.62x51 shooter,but you should see what some .22-250 loads penetrate under 100 yards.YouTube has some videos available.

[Renegade]

.338 is nothing to laugh at either.

[Farmer Dean]

Nothing lowly about a .308,one of the best calibers ever developed.

[Farmer Dean]

That is a serious caliber,for serious shooters.Another weapon that’s better than you’d think is the 6.5x55 Swedish.I’ve got an M41 sniper that’s astoundingly accurate.

[Sawdring]

I saw a package of 1000 M-22 Winchester .22 LR shells on the shelf when I went to Wallyworld the other day. They looked so lonely and sad that I just had to purchase them and bring them to a good home.