.50 BMG for hunting?

[MrWesson]

I guess africa sized animals at long distances or you could shoot some pesky boar .

 

[Mark-Smith]

or you could shoot some pesky boar .

Feral boars are a pretty big problem down here. The wife had mentioned making sure to take something that'd actually stop one if I ever went hunting for them. I was thinking 30-06, but hey

 

[husker]

killed my first squirrel as a kid with a 50 bmg

 

[desidog]

Hunting what?

I hunted the most-dangerous-game with a .50BMG at the Fallujah Hunt Club - the meat wastage isn't bad with head-shots, but we weren't eating our kills anyway.

The 50 also works well for stopping a herd of horses in one shot....just aim for engine block.

For deer i also use a .50 - but RB not BMG, and with a rock-lock primed with FFFFg.

 

[Jonny V]

I heard of some Jackalopes in Wyoming and Colorado that are real tough.............

 

[withdrawn34]

Don't let the haters get you down, there is a lot of fun to be had with the big gun. As I read these threads I notice how many are not full supporters of the 2nd amendment. So many would lot lose a minute of sleep if they banned these guns. They would just keep justifying their "no good for hunting" stance, until they came for their dear old 06's, and then scream. Never knowing that they contributed to their own demise.

These threads really separate the open minded shooters from the close minded ones who think that their stuff is the only stuff that matters. Go get the gun you want, (and you can do it for less than $2,500) and enjoy the freedoms you currently have to pursue the sport as you choose.

This thread was about someone asking whether he could use a .50 BMG to hunt.

People in the thread said it's not very useful for hunting, which is a direct and cogent reply to the OP's question.

There's nothing anti-2A or about how .50 BMG is useless. Only that it is not useful for hunting.

 

[Kernel]

.50 BMG for hunting?

Yes. Once Texas opens a season on the BTR-60.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTR-60

 

[jerkface11]

They say El Chupa Cabra is bullet proof. I bet a 750gr A-max would beg to differ.

 

[husker]

It took at least 2000 rounds of 50 cal. To bring down KING KONG!
& even then. I think the fall broke his bloody neck
50 cal is useless against Wounder Woman & her bullet prof bracelets

 

[Zoogster]

They are one of few calibers permitted in killing whales by Native Americans.


That is what passes for a native hunt today. Whales that spend years peacefully being watched by boats along the coast, are protected, interact with friendly people, then surface near these natives and are in for a surprise.
When following the rules power boats transport them to the whale location, then they get into canoes and go after it. It is shot with modern harpoon guns with lines attached to large floats. Then they shoot at the whale a few times with something like the .50 BMG.
This is permitted under special exemption for certain native tribes who get an annual whale limit.



Of course that is when things are done as allowed and work out.


They don't always succeed in easily killing the whale:

First, they harpooned the whale four times. Then they shot it 16 times, possibly more, from at least one of three high-powered, large-caliber rifles, including one nicknamed "Tyrannosaurus."

The California gray whale lived for 12 hours before sinking to its death in 700 feet of water off Neah Bay.

They got prosecuted for actually doing the shooting from power boats when not allowed.

According to the indictment, Noel, then a member of the tribe's Whaling Commission, checked out three guns from the tribe for what he called "practice:" A .50-caliber rifle, a .460- caliber Weatherby rifle and a .577-caliber rifle, the gun the Makah call "Tyrannosaurus."


Although the whale's body has not resurfaced, prosecutors said shell casings and witnesses' accounts show that the men fired 16 to 18 rounds. Oesterle also pointed to a photo of bullet wounds lodged in the captured whale.

The ".50-caliber rifle" of the article is the .50 BMG, as the rifles kept on hand for whale shooting must be in .458 Winchester Magnum, .460 Weatherby Magnum, .50 BMG, or .577 Tyrannosaur as those are the permitted whale shooting calibers.

Obviously shot placement even with the .50 BMG is important when slaughtering whales.

 

[Full Metal Jacket]

people shoot whales with firearms?

 

[DeepSouth]

I've never seen a (civilian) 50 bmg bullet in anything other than FMJ, other stuff might be out there but I've never seen it. That said, hunting with FMJ isn't legal in most places.


BTW

I think it's silly, but there are people that think some of my hunting rifles are silly to. If it's legal, do what you want and forget about the people (like me) that you are being silly.

 

[Acera]

Only that it is not useful for hunting.

Just because you folks don't like it does not mean that I don't find it useful. To the first reply to my posting, yes I have hunted with my 50. I have shot a number of pigs that infest our property in East Texas with it. Not every hunt is where you have to tote the thing for miles and miles. Yes I hunt from a 4 wheeler, it gets me to the stand. It's a lot of fun to expose new shooters to the big gun. It is also very rewarding to crush the myths about the gun that many have. So for all of you detractors, how many of you own one?

It is about the 2md amendment whether you want to admit it or not. The anti hunters and anti gunners love to hear this dissent, and will use the division to further their cause. As soon as they can have a bunch of hunters say the 50 is not good, they can use that as leverage for legislation against it. Thanks guys, you small minded thinkers will be never see what damage you do, or will ever admit to it. Think Zumbo was right? Yeah, he got his mouth shut up for his small minded thinking. Thank goodness Bill Ruger's company is able to see beyond his vision and close mindedness. The battle is being fought on all fronts, and many of you seem to be sleeping with the enemy.

Want hollow point bullets for the 50 BMG, check out Barnes.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=694907

 

[788Ham]

You think maybe this guy had nothing better to do than trip your trigger? He might not even own one.

 

[Spec ops Grunt]

That really makes me angry Zoogster!

Some Native hunt there.

 

[Leaky Waders]

It would probably be too heavy to lug around and be really practical. I've shot one and carried one (not professionally) and they are heavy but neat.

Someone mentioned that they only come in fmj...it's 50 cal...who cares if it expands?

I'd be more concerned about what the bullet did after it hit a the game/

Oh well, maybe a 50 cal zip gun for personal defense would be possible Shoot once and see who's left standing?

 

[david58]

Yes you can do it if you want to.

In the past century, the ethics of hunting have normally been considered to involve some degree of "fair chase." Even the long shots romanticized in F&S or OL or other mags wander away from those concepts. Again, if you are shooting from beyond a distance where a stalk or a hunt is required, is it hunting or target practice?

Another part of the ethic is a clean kill. The further away you are when you shoot, the more luck rather than skill starts to factor in. Plus, if you twitch when you should have jerked, you wound the critter.

If killing something is what you want to do, why not varmint hunt with the gun? And I would consider hogs in that category. But to hunt game from the hundreds of yards we're talking about here just isn't sporting, is it?

Again, differing points of view on proper guns to hunt with are not anti-2A. Just differing points of view. But I would think of it this way - how does the photo look with you next to a whitetail or muley with your 50BMG to the unwashed? I liken it to strapping the deer to the hood of your rig and driving thru town - the image we portray is our advertisement to the nonhunting or undecided public (the antis are antis).

Again, you can do it. Is it the right thing to do is the question.

 

[W L Johnson]

When is wild APC hunting season in most states?
(for those who don't know APC = Armored Personnel Carrier)

killed my first squirrel as a kid with a 50 bmg

Brought the tree down on him?

Seriously, this kind of suff gives hunters and shooters an even worse image in the eyes of most anitis It gives the impression that all you want to do is spatter blood and guts everywhere.

 

[Zoogster]

That really makes me angry Zoogster!

Some Native hunt there.

It must be kept in perspective though. What Japan does every year is far worse than what the Washington and Alaska Native Americans do.

Modern commercial whaling uses explosive grenade tipped harpoons.
Which is basically RPG whale hunting.

Japan also has a large scale mobile factory whaling boat and several smaller scale whaling boats.
Japan calls its commercial RPG whaling "research" to get around the prohibition on commercial whaling.


So small scale local .50 BMG whale hunts look like nothing compared to grenade tipped harpoon whaling and factory processing ships traveling the oceans slaughtering thousands annually. Many times more are killed along the coast when struck by large container ships and oil tankers than by natives. ( example http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-17/bay-area/24008512_1_dead-whale-minke-whale-ship)

Knowing some people in shipping I have heard only a fraction of those struck are ever reported because of the required paperwork involved, if they even realize one was struck (which they often don't.) Plus they have to go slower around whales, so if they acknowledge them in the area they must deliver things slower which means less profit. If they report them in shipping lanes they may lose quick use of the lanes for awhile, so large numbers are silently killed on a regular basis. (Most don't get stuck on the ship.)



They now know some of these whales live well over 100 years, because some of the patented tools used to kill them have been lodged in their bodies complete with known dates when such things were manufactured and last in use (along with photographs of known identified whales spanning 80+ years.) One is believed to have been around 125 years old when killed in Alaska.


The modern .50 BMG whale hunts are also quite a bit more 'humane' (for something inhumane) than even those done in the 1960s in Alaska. For example here is the details of one: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3089/is_3_62/ai_89816670/pg_2/

After an hour or more of
tracking, with more than 100
rounds of ammunition spent, the
whale is usually fatigued enough
to allow the dory to come within
harpoon-throwing distance.

So they used to open up with a lot more rifle fire on those whales than in their current hunts.