Quick Question: What is a .50 cal BMG rifle?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I am filling out a survey about gun ownership and have been asked about a .50 cal BMG rifle.

Could you please explain to me what this is and what it's used for?

Thank you

[bigjoesaddle]

Do you know what GOOGLE is?

Do you know what "Hey, leave her alone, she wants a FReepers opinion on this, is that so wrong", is?

[Robert Taylor]

"So, no gangsta is going to plunk down four thousand dollars for a very heavy rifle that he can't tote or even shoot out of a car window. So ask yourself, why the screaming over banning them? Good question.

Do you really want the answer?

DANG RIGHT I DO, AND EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW.

[mvpel]

That's because it's not a free society yet, though it's getting there.

"...being necessary to the security of a free State..."

One might also consider that the Afghanis and their Kalashnikovs held off the Russian Army for many years.

[xsrdx]

I don't know , but I'm pretty sure John Kerry will take it away from you.

LOL, yup- in a Massachusetts second.

[spunkets]

Good Luck with the election!

[Atlas Sneezed]

I support the second ammendment, but before I can answer if the .50 cal BMG is a fine private citizen gun, I think that it's important to know it's practical usage.

---

If you support the the 2nd, you know that "practical usage" means militarily useful against any troops or indivuduals who are tyrannizing a free people. The least discussed but most critical words of the 2nd amendment are "the security of a free state."

A 50 BMG is important when the minutemen are facing redcoats who are coming over the ridge in an APC or other trucks, They work to put a hole in the truck's engine, so that the troops must evacuate in the wrong place, and get ambushed by other minute men around them.

Do you now see that the 2nd is not about hunting or target shooting (both of which build good riflery skills)? No, the 2nd amendment is about WAR. Rightful, moral, necessary WAR, waged by the people, to secure the freedom of their own state.

[TigersEye]

What you are saying doesn't quite square with the account in The American Hunter or Randy Weaver's own account.

The government sniper drew what he saw before he fired his shot at her, it was a woman holding a baby.

It was no accident whatsoever, a deliberate shot made at an unarmed woman looking out towards whatever unknown evil men were killing her dog, her son and shooting at them.

He may have drawn a picture after shooting her for a report but I don't see how he could have drawn it before shooting her. She was shot several hours after her son was killed. His body lay in a shed several yards from the house. Randy and the family friend had gone out to see it. (Why I don't know) They were running back to the house, Sandy was holding the door open for them, Randy ran through first and the friend was going through the door when Horiuchi shot hitting Sandy and the baby.

I agree with your legal points.

[Robert Taylor]

The lawyer defending that guy in that late '30s case was an ignorant idiot. Had he done any research at all he would have found that shotguns had been used in trench warfare in WWI. even shortened ones.

If the present court made a ruling based upon that case, it would overturn the 1994 gun ban because some of that list were military styled arms.

[bruoz]

"One might also consider that the Afghanis and their Kalashnikovs held off the Russian Army for many years."

Not to mention their .303 Lee-Enfields.

[bruoz]

"One might also consider that the Afghanis and their Kalashnikovs held off the Russian Army for many years."

Not to mention their .303 Lee-Enfields.

[ChefKeith]

My bad

[Robert Taylor]

The account came from the trial, where a book about it was written by the lawyer for the defense. In the book was a copy of the bar napkin that the government sniper sketched after the action of what he saw when he fired that shot that killed a mother holding a baby. He drew her.

It is damning evidence, and the rules were changed just for the occasion.

It was a government hit team that went on an ordered killing spree that day.

[El Gato]

Yes, 100 caliber means about a 1 inch projectile.

25 mm If it explodes the US military generally refers to it's caliber in mm rather than inches. Even 25 mm rounds, as used by the Apache helicopter and the Bushmaster cannon on Bradely fighting vehicles for example, pale in comparison to the 30mm rounds fired by the GAU-8 cannon on the A-10 (Warthog!) close air support/anti-tank aircraft. It's a gun with an airplane built around it.

[Shooter 2.5]

The old "Mix up the ammo to the gun" argument.

.45 Auto Revolver
.22 Long Rifle Pistol.

Shall I go on? I'm having a little fun with this.

[xsrdx]

Even 25 mm rounds, as used by the Apache helicopter and the Bushmaster cannon on Bradely fighting vehicles for example,

/ nitpick mode on: Apache cannon is actually 30mm, although a lighter weight cartridge than that used by the monster GAU8 Avenger cannon.

/nitpick mode off

[TigersEye]

... after the action of what he saw ...

My point exactly. Whether he intended to hit the friend or Sandy doesn't mitigate the action. The rule that was suspended was that they had to take fire first before returning fire. Definitely wrong. She wasn't watching them shoot her son and dog though. That happened much earlier and some distance from the house in the woods.

[TexasCowboy]

C., BMG stands for Browning Machine Gun.
It's the same round fired in .50 caliber machine guns fired in a single shot or semi-automatic "sniper" rifle.

The prototype rifle firing the .50 caliber BMG came into being in WWI as an antitank weapon.
It was developed by the Germans to counter the entry of British tanks onto the battlefield.
This was the 13mm Mauser T-Gewehr, which is technically a .503.

During WWII the Russians introduced the 14.5 mm Soviet PTRD anti-tank rifle firing a 930 grain round with a velocity of 3,230 fps. This is technically a .559 caliber.

The actual .50 caliber sniper rifle as we know it came into being in the 1950's through the modification of the PzB 39 for a .50 BMG barrel and receiver. This rifle saw limited service in VietNam, but it precipitated the development of two anti-personnel weapons - both firing the .50 BMG ammo.
The Marine Corps took the smart route with a bolt action for increased accuracy, and the Army went with a gas operated semi-automatic for increased rate of fire ("spray and pray").

Although no firm data supports the idea, rumor has it that the need of the Afghan rebels for defense against the Soviet Hind helicopters kept our heavy gun development and production alive during the years of that conflict.

You are no doubt familiar with the success of our sniper teams using these weapons in both Desert Storm and the ongoing conflict in Iraq so I won't expound on that issue.

It could be said that the .50 caliber is a military weapon, and that would be correct - so is the .30 caliber.
Outside of it's military uses, the .50 caliber sniper rifle is used by many gun enthusiasts for big game hunting and pure shooting pleasure.

One Mile:

Here's a Web address you might find useful:
Fifty Caliber Shooter's Institute

One thing I can add:
If you ever shoot one, you'll be hooked for life!

[BIGZ]

How about a mile and a half?

[El Gato]

The .50 is not a really useful hunting gun,

Unless you are hunting Rhino or Elephant, or the Moose that bit your sister.

[xsrdx]

Wow, that's the range I imagine in my dreams.

Idaho or Montana maybe?