Is it possible to survive a .50 cal shot?

[possom813]

Are you serious? You think soft lead is more destructive than FMJ in this caliber?

Depending on the load, a .50BMG muzzle speed starts at >2,800 ft/s, generating energy of 11,000-15,000 ft/lbs force.
A smoothbore musket has ~850ft/s velocity and 500-850 ft/lbs energy.

If you think about it in terms of human targets, yeah, soft lead is going to do a lot more damage.

The bmg round in fmj is pretty much going straight through with the force, it'll knock you down from the force.

The soft lead ball is going a lot slower, it's a lot softer, and it's going to leave a helluva an exit wound.

 

[starkadder]

One of my Grandfather in law's buddies he flew with in WW2 took a 20 mm API round from a German FW-190 and survived and was actually back in the cockpit three months later.
The German fighter came in on him from above and behind, the bullet past through the rear of the cockpit, intered the left side of his back just above his shoulder blade, exited beneeth his collar bone, and then passed through his right thigh just behind his knee.
I would never have believed this story but I have seen the scars (looks like someone shoved a peice of 2" pipe through him)


This is this! It's not something else, it's this

Don't pull it if you don't plan to use it, and don't use it if you don't plan to kill!

ALWAYS REMEMBER OUR MEN AND WOMEN OVER THERE.

 

[Zoogster]

....

 

[W L Johnson]

Check out Saburo Sakai.

He took a .50 to the head.

He was hit by a rear gunner of an SDB (the link mistakenly states it was an Avenger) which would make the hit from a .30 but the SBD did have forward firing .50's but never the less it is one of the most epic flights you can imagine. If he was still alive today and I meet him I would buy him as many drinks as he wanted, former enemy or not.

 

[Dr. Fresh]

If you think about it in terms of human targets, yeah, soft lead is going to do a lot more damage.

The bmg round in fmj is pretty much going straight through with the force, it'll knock you down from the force.

The soft lead ball is going a lot slower, it's a lot softer, and it's going to leave a helluva an exit wound.

 

[jad0110]

what caliber did bob dole take?

I think he was hit by fire from German machine gun nest, which probably means either an MG-34 or MG-42. Both fire 7.92 x 57 mm Mauser.

The bmg round in fmj is pretty much going straight through with the force, it'll knock you down from the force.

.50 BMG is no laughing matter, but the force by itself will not knock one down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCzD5uhSViY

 

[ljnowell]

I have a picture of a supposed .50bmg headshot. I will post it if a mod approves, otherwise not.

 

[Nero_Atrum]

I think most 50 BMG rounds will just go straight through someone doing less damage than some would think it would.

 

[crazy-mp]

When I was in Afghanistan, I know of one Taliban fighter who was shot with a .50 Cal in the calf by a SF guy. He no longer has a leg from about 5 inches below his hip. The report said he was shot in the calf, the SF medic placed a tourniquet on his knee because that was all that was left. I guess they had to amputate the rest.

Sorry I don't know impact pressure, grid locations, bullet tumbling effect, rotation speed, serial number of the weapon it was fired from or the powder charge that was used.

 

[unspellable]

survival

I know of a case where a guy survived an accidental shooting from a 20 mm. It went through his hand, so his survival is not too surprising.

On the other hand, I've seen jackrabbits keep going after getting hit fair and square with every thing from a 30-06 to a 455 Webley.

During WWII there was a case of a Russian soldier getting shot through the brain. I don't know what with, but the German 8 mm service rifle round seems likely. After recovery, he could make vocal sounds but could neither speak nor understand anything said to him. On the other hand he could still read and write. Illustrates the point that various functions are located in different parts of the brain.

 

[Quilbilly]

Anything is possible. You can get shot by a cannon and live if it hits you in the finger!

 

[Boba Fett]

Is it possible to survive a .50 cal shot?

YES! IT IS TOTALLY POSSIBLE TO SURVIVE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ABGIJwiGBc

Just make sure you're wearing your ear protection!


(scroll down to 06-27-07 for the full story - http://www.madogre.com/Archives/June 2007.htm)

 

[209]

A friend of mine, since deceased, survived at least one .50-cal wound though he lost his leg as a result. A Korean vet, his unit was strafed by a US plane as they were on a road movement. He was always a bit bitter when the USAF came up in a conservation.

 

[Arbor]

I think most 50 BMG rounds will just go straight through someone doing less damage than some would think it would.

I have seen firsthand the results of a .30 caliber FMJ through a man-sized deer, and it did not just poke a hole. That is a complete and utter MYTH. It tore a 4-6 inch wide crater when it exited through the right shoulder, no laughing matter. Mind you, this is a much smaller, lighter, and slower moving bullet than a .50BMG (7.62x54r).

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

If you think about it in terms of human targets, yeah, soft lead is going to do a lot more damage.

The bmg round in fmj is pretty much going straight through with the force, it'll knock you down from the force.

The soft lead ball is going a lot slower, it's a lot softer, and it's going to leave a helluva an exit wound.

On a more serious note, I once read an article where the author shot a big horn sheep in a zoo that was grievously injured with a .50 BMG, and while it perforated the sheep, it did not result in immediate death.



AHA!

found it:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_180_30/ai_n16034744/

 

[gloucestergarand]

Used to work for a guy that was a HOG rider, retired Portsmouth motorcycle cop and retired Navy CPO, who survived several .50 cal shots, whilst a crewmember aboard USS Liberty.

 

[Sav .250]

As the shot placement was not located.............sure.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Quote:
Check out Saburo Sakai.

He took a .50 to the head.
He was hit by a rear gunner of an SDB (the link mistakenly states it was an Avenger) which would make the hit from a .30 but the SBD did have forward firing .50's but never the less it is one of the most epic flights you can imagine. If he was still alive today and I meet him I would buy him as many drinks as he wanted, former enemy or not.

I stand corrected. SBDs did not have .50s in the rear.

Sakai was still one of the toughest men that I would like to have met.

 

[possom813]

Ya know, everyone can do the capt. picard bs. I don't really give a damn, I mean seriously, I work in a prison, your internet crap is childish.

If you have a better point, then make it.

The way I see it, a .50 caliber fmj bullet is just that, full metal jacket meant for piercing. A soft lead bullet, not going as fast, seems like it's going to expand a helluva lot more than a fmj and leave a lot bigger exit wound.

If you don't agree with that, or you know some law of physics that I don't, let me know.

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

lol, Physics?

This from the guy who claimed that the "force" from a .50bmg FMJ will "knock you down."

No need to get so wound up.

In the words of Guillermo "Is a yoke"

 

[possom813]

Yep, from me. Read the following quote and tell me what you see.

The bmg round in fmj is pretty much going straight through with the force, it'll knock you down from the force.

In that entry, I suppose I didn't type it out the way I was thinking. Not the force from the muzzle energy, the force of the bullet from the bmg hitting a person.

 

[Dr. Fresh]

Possom, if a bullet could knock you down from the "force," it would also knock down the person that fired the weapon. Simple physics, my friend.

 

[Hk Dan]

Cassandra--I believe Bob Dole was hit by a 20mm.

And Saburo Sakai took a head shot from a .30 cal tunnel gun on a TBF Avenger, not a .50 (still an impressive man!)

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

In that entry, I suppose I didn't type it out the way I was thinking. Not the force from the muzzle energy, the force of the bullet from the bmg hitting a person.

I tried explaining it, at least.

 

[W L Johnson]

And Saburo Sakai took a head shot from a .30 cal tunnel gun on a TBF Avenger, not a .50 (still an impressive man!)

Most sources state it was an SBD, one source even says TBF then calls it a dive bomber. I seem to recall an interview with him and he referred to it as an SBD.