Incindiary rounds don't explode. There are HEAP rounds for the .50BMG caliber weapons, but the amount of explosive in them is very small. I've treated people who've been hit with the .50 (I have photos from my trauma room from Al Asad back in '03, but they are pretty graphic and not suitable for posting here). They make really big wounds (especially if the round is keyholing when it hits), but they don't tear limbs off. They DO require limbs to be amputated later. That being said, the .50 is perfectly acceptable as a weapon to use against infantry. Heck, we use 30mm Apache chainguns against infantry and those rounds are 3x the size and DO explode when they hit!

And provide a link to the video you saw. Many of those '.50cal sniper' videos are fakes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUzS3cmzPmQ it was on youtube.. so i was wrong about the hosting..

quote:

Originally posted by Levias:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUzS3cmzPmQ it was on youtube.. so i was wrong about the hosting..

That video is the fake ".50 cal" video that has been talked about numerous times in this thread.

That video was pirated from a legitimate site about hunting Rock Chucks.

quote:

Originally posted by Blywulf:
i served in the marines as a sniper for 12 years and i have used a .50cal rifle many many times and i have seen what happens when a round hits a person... for example when we were on a mission to stop a convoy we are trained to shoot out the engine block to imobilize the truck all together.... on this perticular mission we were shooting from a distance of 2000 yards, one of the other teams that was on the mission fired and missed their target of the engine block and it hit the driver through the windshield.... and lets just say that there wasnt much left of the guy driving the truck and everyone else in the truck was covered in their friend....

I am going to call BS as well. There is just way to much wrong with your post for it to be true.

quote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUzS3cmzPmQ it was on youtube.. so i was wrong about the hosting..

You were wrong about it being humans shot too.

If you go to the Rocky Mountain Varmint Hunters site, click on "scenes," find "Varmint Safari II," then click on "Rock chucks," you will learn that THIS is the true video that has been pirated and copied all over as shooting humans.

I have been in contact with the copyright holder, and he says that it just isn't worth the trouble anymore to pursue these pirates.

I'm beginning to think this thread should be locked to stop any more posts showing up, if that's possible...anyone else agree?

quote:

I'm beginning to think this thread should be locked to stop any more posts showing up, if that's possible...anyone else agree?

Not really, because if the thread is locked, people will still post hearsay and "I heard the 50 cal Baret will..." and other misunderstood things in other places, for example, the "Afghanistan sniper video" that someone just posted here.

At least if they post in this thread, they are not cluttering up the board with the same misinformed ideas all over the board.

quote:

Originally posted by Levias:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUzS3cmzPmQ

What is this video about? Who made it? Closes ting I have ever seen to it is a man shot from 20mm AA cannon and even then target wasn't thrown that far! .50 (12.7mm as we call it) haven't packed that much punch. I can not imagine that this much explosive can be packed in bullet of .50 size. It is big, but only relatively. Besides, this have to be explosive, target, whatever it was - you can not see it clearly from the video, had strange trajectory, when thrown, not one consistent with being shot. Other explanation could be that target is something smaller than human, but who would use .50 for shooting something small??? As for the previous post, you don't have to blow up man to splash him over someone standing nearby. Sewered neck artery (i don't know how to spell jagylar, obviously sorry) can make terrible mess all around.

Kurjak, please read my post, it explains what is being shot:

quote:

quote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUzS3cmzPmQ it was on youtube.. so i was wrong about the hosting..



You were wrong about it being humans shot too.

If you go to the Rocky Mountain Varmint Hunters site, click on "scenes," find "Varmint Safari II," then click on "Rock chucks," you will learn that THIS is the true video that has been pirated and copied all over as shooting humans.

I have been in contact with the copyright holder, and he says that it just isn't worth the trouble anymore to pursue these pirates.

They are Rock Chucks, (Marmots) being shot with a high velocity bullet from a .243 Winchester cartridge.

They are NOT human, and they are NOT being shot with a .50 cal. BMG bullet.

As I said, if you go to the RMVH site, you can find a clip from the true video.

quote:

Originally posted by Blywulf:
i served in the marines as a sniper for 12 years and i have used a .50cal rifle many many times and i have seen what happens when a round hits a person... for example when we were on a mission to stop a convoy we are trained to shoot out the engine block to imobilize the truck all together.... on this perticular mission we were shooting from a distance of 2000 yards, one of the other teams that was on the mission fired and missed their target of the engine block and it hit the driver through the windshield.... and lets just say that there wasnt much left of the guy driving the truck and everyone else in the truck was covered in their friend....

I wont call this one B.S., because there might be explosive of some sort involved, that was a military convoy, I hope. As for the rest, Serbian military doctrine is that single sniper doesn't engage target that is farther than 1000m (1090 yards I believe). On longer distances, in cases like this post describes , complex fire from 2 shooters, minimum, is used. For the last part I wrote something in my previous post.

But who shot groundhog whit high power rifle, and why. Wasn't it more appropriate to use shotgun for this game. In my country it is illegal to use this type of ammunition against small game (not that I ever hunted rodents). There is whole range of lows governing, which type of ammunition can be used to hunt what game. If you use inappropriate ammo you can be baned for a year, or, if you really overdo it, you can be baned from hunting ever again and lose your weapons. Isn't it the case in USA???

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Isn't it the case in USA???

In a word, no, at least as it pertains to varmints in the states that the videos were filmed in.

Of course, states have laws on what ammunition can be used for what type of game, but this varies from state to state.

Migratory waterfowl, you have to use non-lead shot nation-wide, though.

If you go to the Rocky Mountain VARMINT Hunters site, there are many videos of various varmints being shot.

There are even competitions to see how many Prairie Dogs can be shot, as they are very harmful to crops, and the farmers welcome people to come and get rid of them.

Much better than the Prairie Dogs being poisoned, and dying with a belly full of pain.

Here is the site:

http://www.rmvh.com/

Check it out.

What they are doing is perfectly legal here in the USA.

quote:

There is whole range of lows governing, which type of ammunition can be used to hunt what game. If you use inappropriate ammo you can be baned for a year, or, if you really overdo it, you can be baned from hunting ever again and lose your weapons. Isn't it the case in USA???

The people in the videos ARE using appropriate ammunition for the game they are shooting, but, yes, if you use the wrong type of ammunition or caliber of ammunition, you can get into trouble.

It depends on what and where you are hunting.

For instance, in Washington state, you have to use at least a .24 caliber bullet in a centerfire rifle to hunt deer, but right across the border in Oregon, you can use a .22 caliber centerfire rifle.

Thanks... I read this in hopes to contradict the blog with facts from a soldier that has just returned from Iraq and he said that when he was firing the 50. he saw people loose arms and limbs off there body from misses up to six inches away. Anyone else here with personal experience in combat???

Okay, I'm not a trigger-puller, so I've never shot anyone, let alone with a .50cal. However, being a trauma nurse, I've taken care of many folks who've been shot, to include .50cals. Yes, they do a lot of nasty damage, especially to limbs, but they won't blow limbs off. Not by a long shot. They WILL do enough damage that the only treatment to save the wounded person is amputation.

I hate to add ANOTHER potentially idiotic question to this thread, but it's something I want to get right.
Some of you guys might remember me as the would-be writer who posted the "VTOL Prison Breakout" thread. I came across another problem in another, earlier piece I'm working on due to my absolute lack of knowledge of firearms: the native humanoids on the planet this is all set on are, on average, a bit larger than a Kodiak bear, and I've decided that the .50 BMG round is approximately as powerful to them as a 9mm is to a human. Is this a bad idea, or should I run with it?

quote:

Originally posted by Blywulf:
for example when we were on a mission to stop a convoy we are trained to shoot out the engine block to imobilize the truck all together.... on this perticular mission we were shooting from a distance of 2000 yards, one of the other teams that was on the mission fired and missed their target of the engine block and it hit the driver through the windshield.... and lets just say that there wasnt much left of the guy driving the truck and everyone else in the truck was covered in their friend....

I can absolutely verify this.

Except that: 1) It comes from a Hollywood movie; 2) It's BS; and 3) You sure as heck weren't there.

I saw the very same movie. It's called Shooter, starring Marky Mark.

Really, when you start believing that you are living the silly stories in Hollywood fantasies, you just gotta go outside and get a life. A real one. One not provided via electronic media. Really.

quote:

you just gotta go outside and get a life. A real one. One not provided via electronic media. Really.

But that's hard :C

DOES NOBODY WATCH FUTURE WEAPONS AROUD HERE HE PLAYS WITH THE NEW 50CAL SNIPER RIFLE AND TELLS YOU NEARLY EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW AND JUST A QUESTION I THINK THE NEW LIGHT FIELD CANNON HE TRIES OUT IS FAR BETTER THAN THE 50CAL ANYWAY CANT REMEMBER WHAT ITS CALLED BUT IT OUT DOES ANY OTHER WEAPON IVE SEEN TO DATE. LOVE THE CAPS LOCK

Nardoon,
there are a lot of people on this forum who are ex-military - violent_storm2000, formermarine0341, etc. - and who will tell you not to trust Future Weapons to give an objective view of things; just look at the whole Dragonskin armour thing and you'll see what they mean.