50 BMG Rifles - Stats on Hunting?

[mljdeckard]

In Utah, for deer, the law says you must use a centerfire rifle capable of firing expanding bullets. No caliber or energy requirements. I have been told that the minimum for elk is a .243, but I have not personally read it in the proclaimation. This would mean that the .50 BMG is legal to hunt all big game in Utah. Scroll to the bottom of this page for one loading option. http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/rifle/tsx-bullet/

 

[50 Shooter]

There are hunting bullets made for the .50 BMG, Barnes makes a very effective one. Hawk bullets and Lehigh also make hunting bullets for the .50 BMG, you just need to search the right places.

Here's a handy little .50 BMG upper made by BOHICA and yours truely firing it offhand.

 

[deacon8]

Wow. I am truly a gun nut. However, at the same time hunting is sort of like a sacred thing to me. Please exuse my saying that people who shoot deer and elk with a .50 cal definitely defile the sport. However, from a gun ownership point of view I'm with you.

 

[Harve Curry]

50 BMG rifles for hunting;

I have tinkered with the idea. We have plenty of wide open mountainous terrain in the SW to use one. Carrying it would be the problem. I'd use a pack horse.
I've guided handicap/disabled hunters to elk that there was no way they could ever get close enough for a conventional rifle shot. Some were good shots though. One hunter I guided who had suffered a broken back and lots of surgery shot a 6x6 bull at a measured 306 yards with his TC inline using 150 gr of Pyrodex and a sabot 350gr bullet. One shot kill with the bull lying down in his bed, never got up. We had practiced
on my place a few days before out to 300 yards. He had a 6 inch group at that distance. I put a card with sight ups on the stock to remind him.
I know that is not a 50 BMG but it was a long rainbow shot that we knew could be done and did it. So there is a place for rifles like the all American 50 BMG.

 

[Fburgtx]

Wow. I am truly a gun nut. However, at the same time hunting is sort of like a sacred thing to me. Please exuse my saying that people who shoot deer and elk with a .50 cal definitely defile the sport. However, from a gun ownership point of view I'm with you

How do they "defile the sport"???? A .50 BMG is not a laser beam!!! The bullet drops and drifts in the wind, just like any other bullet. Maybe you think guys with "their fancy smokeless powder 30/06's" and "fancy Weaver scopes" are defiling the sport, too!

Maybe you and Ray Schoenke can start an organization for "American Hunters and Shooters"! Umh...... Wait.................Umh...........

 

[Art Eatman]

Some fifty or more years ago, a group of Virginia shooters got together with a hunter who'd become wheelchair-only. So, they got a van and some best-available WW II surplus range-finding gear. Made a portable shooting table. I vaguely recall that the rifle was a .300 H&H.

They'd set up at a roadside pullout. Then, glass the hillside across a valley. See a deer, get the range, and the wheelchair guy would hold appropriately and shoot. A fair number of kills out around 800 yards. And, IIRC, one-shot.

This was 1940s/1950s stuff. We have a lot better aids today to allow "way out yonder" shooting.

Looks to me that different folks have different strokes when it comes to the challenges in hunting. Some like to watch a special area all season, looking for one particular buck. Others like to walk, kicking Bucky out of bed and shooting him on the run. Others like to play Ma Bell. Some just want meat for the freezer.

Me? I like to sit in the truck and shoot Bucky at maybe 50 yards, close to the jeep trail. I'm lazy as homemade sin, in my old age.

 

[MT GUNNY]

MT 2008 Hunting Regs state;

Firearms :
General Season
. There is no Rifle or hand gun caliber limitation for taking of big game animals

Page 18 http://fwp.mt.gov/content/getItem.aspx?id=32378

 

[TexasRifleman]

Please exuse my saying that people who shoot deer and elk with a .50 cal definitely defile the sport.

This is .50 Caliber, does it defile hunting?

So you say the .50BMG defiles hunting but not other .50 calibers? How about .50DTC?

See the problem? Once you start down that road of trying to ban certain classes of firearms, there is no end to it.

That is why trying to tie hunting and gun laws together is a bad idea. If a state wants to place in their hunting law some kind of caliber restriction that is one thing, but to say that the entire class of guns should be banned from use or subject to special restrictions does not protect hunting in any way.

And in the case of the AHSA it's even worse, they dont' even argue that you shouldn't be allowed to hunt with a .50BMG, they just want it placed under NFA restrictions. How does THAT help hunting since you'd still be allowed to use one, even if it was NFA?

It's nothing but gun control disguised. Lipstick on a pig as it were.

 

[Harve Curry]

I know what you mean TexasRifleman.
It's some more of the jim zumbo mentality.

 

[jerkface11]

A left handed flintlock???

 

[deacon8]

Hey, you guys are right. You should be able to use whatever you want. A .50 BMG just seems a little extreme to me because I'm ignorant and know nothing about guns or hunting. Forget the fact that I've used them in combat. Gee, I didn't even know there were other guns that had a barrel diameter of .50! I think I am going rabbit hunting with my 30/06 this weekend. I just want to make sure I use enough gun.

And don't act like I am someone who doesn't know what I am talking about based on the number of my posts. And yeah, It's people like you who are going bring negative attention to MY favorite pastime.

 

[deacon8]

And no I don't think ANY guns should be outlawed! I don't even there should be regulations for hunting! I DO feel that it is the hunters responsibility to be senseable, and not bring negative attention to a sport I love and use to "get by."

 

[mljdeckard]

There is absolutely legitimate hunting of big game with heavy rifles, especially at extended ranges. No matter where YOU PERSONALLY draw the line, someone else thinks it's too much or too little gun.

 

[Acera]

deacon8, whatever. You happy to get that off your chest. Now please tell us how much smarter than the rest of you are.

Gee, I didn't even know there were other guns that had a barrel diameter of .50

That statement let me know how much an expert you are

 

[deacon8]

HAHA! Whatever.

 

[rbernie]

I had assumed that the 50 BMG was not used for hunting, and some folks who know more about hunting than I do have assured me that 50 BMG are used for things like long distance elk hunting.

It's also used by PacNorWet tribes for whale hunting.

http://www.makah.com/1999whaling.html

 

[deacon8]

Hey acera, how did that sarcastic statement of mine prove your point?

Look guys, I really like a 7X57 Mauser. I am confident that I could take ANYTHING in North America with it. I have quite a bit of experience with a .50 BMG and just don't understand why someone would use it for hunting. But, to each his own! Sorry I if I made everyone go crazy here. You know, most people argue whether or not "Ultra Mags" are overkill. I guess the .50 BMG is off limits. haha! Don't mind me.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

Hello Deacon8 I enjoy using the 50 for late season in Nebraska. This season is for does only. Most of my shots are made inside of .243 Winchester range. I enjoy using the 50 because I enjoy using non conventional firearms for hunting. I really do not need the meat, but I enjoy getting some jerky from a friend that has 2 hungry boys, and need the meat. I enjoy hunting with handguns, military style rifles, and the .50 cal. To me it is about the hunt, and what makes it enjoyable for me. Is it non sportsmanlike to hunt deer with a 50 caliber rifle, no way, whats more it is totally legal. It is definitely more work than using a 30-30.

The point is to KILL the animal, Yes?

I beleive in letting others do as they wish as long as it is within the letter of the law, and without harassing them about there preferences.

 

[deacon8]

I agree with you completely-people should do what they want. I just find it interesting because it sounds so taboo to me. Have fun! I have obviously distracted the point of this post. I will say that the .50 BMG is one helluva round. See ya'll later!

 

[shiftyer1]

I think .50 cal is more then I would use to hunt with. I don't head shoot and I don't know for sure but feel this round would decrease the amount of meat in my freezer due to damage. But thats just me if u want 2 use it go for it.

 

[GregGry]

my opinion:

I don't see a reason that someone would need to hunt with a .50bmg. With that said as long as a person is minding their backstop, and not taking shots that they can't make, I don't see a problem. A dead animal from a properly placed .30-06, .308, etc shot isn't going to be "deader" or in more pain from a well placed 50 shot. I would be worried about what would be left after the shot.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

Be careful going down that road^^ It may fork into, "I don't think people need to own "assault rifles", Or "Sports Cars".

Why souldn't someone hunt with a 50:? Isn't it also important to know what is beyond your target when shooting a .22, 30-06, or even a BB Gun.

We aren't talking about RPG's or ICBM's here, just a 50 cal rifle.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Art, as MT Gunny has pointed out, there is no caliber or rifle weight restriction in MT for general big game season. The only restrictions placed on the weapon you use regulate ammunition and are pretty vague, stating mainly that the rounds must be expanding and can not be explosive or poisonous. I believe the incident you are referring to, if it is the one I remember, occurred in Wyoming and didn't involve .50s, but rather custom target rifles chambered for some .338 wildcats.

There will always be simple, narrow-minded fools who try to enforce their own views of what constitutes ethical hunting, and will attempt to extrapolate their own limitations on others. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people will challenge the quality of hunter and the quality of human someone is when they violate some personal arbitrary range limitation or use a caliber they seem to feel is too anemic or excessive.

I am not one of those people and I absolutely feel like if you have the cash to buy the rifle and the optics, and to develop a load and practice with it, and if you are willing to then pack all this equipment into the field, pick your shots, and hike over to the next mountain or whatever to tag and retrieve your kill, then more power to ya.

 

[GregGry]

(((Be careful going down that road^^ It may fork into, "I don't think people need to own "assault rifles", Or "Sports Cars". )))))

My argument delt with the hunting end of things, not the possesion of big caliber rifles. The truth is people don't need .50bmg rifles to hunt with, people have hunted with half power or less forever now. Which is why its dangerous to even base any part of an argument as to why people should be able to own a 50 only on its ability as a hunting rifle. Remember, anti-gun people often don't understand (or even belive in) why the 2nd even exists. I don't think that a person should be restricted from using one when hunting provided they are capable of shooting one with precision and have an area where they can safely do it.

Trying to convince anti gun people that the 50bmg should be legal because it does have a sporting (as in hunting) purpose is a argument that isn't going to work. Its not a common caliber used to hunt in this country, and many states have restrictions on such a caliber. Not to mention telling people who are against them "they aren't anything like they think they are" is going to be hard. Its in the same class as the AK47 as far as bad media attention. Any attempt to portray a .50bmg rifle as a sporting (hunting gun) is going to be looked at by anti-gun people as nonsense that pro-gun people are saying to try to legitimize a death machine.

Rather then trying to feed anti-gun peoples incorrect fears about 50s by saying things like "Well people hunt with them so there is a use for them", "the 2ndAM lets me own this", and other things that anti-gun people view as crap comming "straight from the NRA" (which seems to be a normal response around here) we should try to educate people on what the rifle actually is. Its nothing more then a scaled up rifle that shoots a big caliber. Sure it has a lot of power, sure it has a long range, but its not some rapid fire death machine that will kill people on its own. It meets the BATFE's guidelines for caliber and etc, and its not a gun criminals really use. There is no point wasting money restricting them because its not going to affect anything.

You have to attack the reason why a person doesn't think people should own 50s (or any gun for that matter) and its going to have to be a hell-of-a-lot better of an attack then "well 1 out of a million hunters uses one for hunting", and "the 2nd supports me owning such a firearm". You don't have to justify why you own guns to people that understand and support the 2nd and firearms in general, but you will have to justify why you own guns to people that choose to ignore/dismiss/not understand the 2nd. The best way I have found is to take them shooting and educate them.

 

[deacon8]

Very well put.