The .50 cal BMG round was originally designed by Charles Browning for use in his revolutionary .50 Browning Machine Gun.
BTTT
Drool thread
If you haven't finished the survey, a .50 is an anti-vehicle weapon. You'll hear the odd story about snipers taking out an enemy soldier with one but they were designed to be anti-vehicle.
BMG = Browning Machine Gun
Using depleted Uranium rounds, I've seen a .50 bolt action rip the door off of a car. No joke.
Besides a .50 Cal. BMG is there a smaller caliber that is accurate at 1000 yds?
It's popular mostly for competitive or just plain fun shooting - like tearing-up stuff like 55gal drums, old cars, etc. at long ranges, e.g., 1000 - 3000 yards.
Hands down, the best weapon going for shooting English sparrows off of bluebird houses. ;^)
lol.....did you get your answer? This was a 300+ post thread waiting to happen.
Fun
It shoots through schools.
This is going to be a very fun thread!!! I can't wait to read the entire thing...
Of course, it's been answered a zillion times by now, .50 BMG is the "Fifty Caliber, Browning Machine Gun" cartridge.
It's the cartridge fired from the Browning M-2 machine gun. The M-2 is the standard light anti-aircraft machine gun ("light" being a relative term, as most AA guns are actually cannons, rather than machine guns). In fact, most US WW-II aircraft used the M-2's or some variants for air to air combat. The fighters would usually have 2 or 3 in each wing, and bombers would have as many as 13 bristling from different positions.
It's a very large cartridge, with the projectile typically weighing in at 750 grains, or about 3 oz. That's HUGH, compared to the typical .30 projectile, which weighs between 147 and 180 grains. That weight, combined with an extremely high velocity coming out of the barrel, gives the projectile a very long range, and high resistance to being pushed off course due to wind.
The rifles that fire .50 BMG are for extremely long range shooting. The military uses them for sniping, and one other spec-ops role it was designed for was piercing the pressure hulls of submarines, to keep them from submerging.
The press and other assorted anti-gunners have latched on to the fact that the .50 BMG is used in anti-aircraft weapons, and have spread the lie that these will be used to shoot down airplanes. The odds of a well placed single shot hitting a flying airplane are astronomical, let alone shooting it out of the sky. To use a .50 cartridge as an AA gun, you really NEED a machinegun, not a semi-automatic rifle. Another half truth that they spread is that the Taliban, and hense, Al-Queda, is using these weapons. The fact of the matter is that the US government gave them to the Mujahadeen in Afgahnistan when they were fighting the Soviet Union. Finally, the lie that these weapons will be used by drug dealers and terrorists. These weapons are NOT small, being about 5 feet long, and weighing in at around 20 pounds. And if you happen to fire one in an urban setting, you will be alerting everyone in the neighborhood to your presence!
But again, there is a civilian use, in long range shooting. These are extremely accurate weapons, and frankly, alot of fun to shoot!
Mark
Here is my offer:
If any of you live within 100 miles of Detroit, or in the 13th Congressional District of Michigan, and would like to take me shooting, pop me an email.
I would like to learn more about rifles.
Thank you
| "The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them." Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story |
They are very loud. Everyone who wants one should have one. The Veterans like to give the casings to one another as gifts and awards.
BMG = Browning Machine Gun
50 caliber = 0.5" diameter round