Snowdog
Member
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2002
- Messages
- 4,608
While recently in the thinking room reading a hunting magazine, I came to the realization that the mighty (circa 700gr) .50BMG may not do a considerable amount more damage to a human target than a 150gr .30-06.
Would an FMJ .50BMG really lay down a much heavier dose of "umph" against a human target than an FMJ .30-06? As I understand it, the .50BMG was intended against equipment, be it vehicles or the like, but we see it all the time in Hollywood. Typically, the protagonist uses a .50BMG of some make to blow an evil doer in half, etc.
The common theme: if shot with a .50BMG, you'll have a convenient new location to carry your bowling ball, assuming you're miraculously still in one piece. I think this carries over to the mentality of everyone, including us. However, is that really the case?
I was just running the likelihood through my head... that .50BMG certainly isn't going to tumble in a medium as shallow as the human body, whereas a .30 caliber may. Therefore, much of that mind-boggling 15,000 pounds(circa) of energy isn't likely to be transferred after impact.
So, the only thing the .50BMG really has working in its favor is its greater surface area to deliver any additional energy. However, being that it's hovering around the same velocity of a .30-06 (2900fps if I'm not mistaken), it doesn't appear to have an advantage there.
So say hypothetically, you've got a heavy .50cal projectile that penetrates nose-first through and through, and a much lighter .30cal projectile at roughly the same velocities that yaws and tumbles slightly before exiting, which would really be more effective against a human target (not taking any other condition such as weather, personal armor or distance into consideration).
Just something I thought I'd toss around before going to bed.
Would an FMJ .50BMG really lay down a much heavier dose of "umph" against a human target than an FMJ .30-06? As I understand it, the .50BMG was intended against equipment, be it vehicles or the like, but we see it all the time in Hollywood. Typically, the protagonist uses a .50BMG of some make to blow an evil doer in half, etc.
The common theme: if shot with a .50BMG, you'll have a convenient new location to carry your bowling ball, assuming you're miraculously still in one piece. I think this carries over to the mentality of everyone, including us. However, is that really the case?
I was just running the likelihood through my head... that .50BMG certainly isn't going to tumble in a medium as shallow as the human body, whereas a .30 caliber may. Therefore, much of that mind-boggling 15,000 pounds(circa) of energy isn't likely to be transferred after impact.
So, the only thing the .50BMG really has working in its favor is its greater surface area to deliver any additional energy. However, being that it's hovering around the same velocity of a .30-06 (2900fps if I'm not mistaken), it doesn't appear to have an advantage there.
So say hypothetically, you've got a heavy .50cal projectile that penetrates nose-first through and through, and a much lighter .30cal projectile at roughly the same velocities that yaws and tumbles slightly before exiting, which would really be more effective against a human target (not taking any other condition such as weather, personal armor or distance into consideration).
Just something I thought I'd toss around before going to bed.