BrushChimp

I'm pretty sure .50 cal's are so heavy that they hardly have recoil... How could that guy "blow off his eyebrow"? Hmm.. I've seen a .50 cal at work for target practice. The tracers are real neat.Hunting elk between 1000 yardsto amile would not be overkill with the appropriate bullets.

shotgun31

Theextremely long-range shooting at big game, with a50 BMGround that just keeps going, and going, causesconcern to my estimation. There's discussion in anotherforum about people (I won't give them the courtesy of calling them hunters)cruising l the logging roads with these 50 BMG's, and shooting at elkat a mile 'srange. I can't imagine howthese shooters can effectly operatesafety when they arecontrolling territory out to the end of the mile, then1700 yards beyondtheelk in the event of a miss.I didn't hunt groundhogs in Pennsylvania with my 30-06 and 180 grain loads for a reason. Where's the bullet going after I fired it?I don't think this activity meets the definition of sportsmanship conduct. Just my humble opion.

bigbulls

I have shot my 300 WSM through 1/4" steel as well.

Just becasue it's a 50 doesn't make it magical. The bullet doesn't just hop over the mountain and travel for ever just because it was fired from a 50BMG. Gravity works on the 50 just like it does on every other bullet.


You guys really need to read up a little about this. Your 300 win mag will easily reach out to the same distances that the 50's are. The only difference is that the 50 still has enough retained energy, thanks to the 700+ grain bullet and its very high BC, to easily kill elk and moose at 1000+ yards. The bullets will still travel through the air witha huge arc, dropping 200+ inches at 1000 yards.A 50 bmg is only reaching 2800 fps with a 750 grain bullet at the muzzle. About the same velocity as a 30-06 with 165 grain bullets.

tsoc

I read the article.My take is that it is kind of odd.Not any thing I would have an interest in!

cherokee_outfitters

Sure glad we like adding fuel to the fire for anti's. What are the editors thinking? I know what the anti's are thinking.

I would like to have a 50cal just incase they cloned a T-Rex and opened season. Aww the age of super hunter has arrived. Forget skills, knowledge, and marksmanship lets just buy a gadget that will do all the work. Soon we will be able to buy flir scopes where the animal body heat shows up. Wouldn't that be cool to see every animal on the mountain. That sure would take all this stressful tension called hunting out of the equation. Yeah I'm being a smart ass. I could even rope a elk tie it to a tree, then we could back off 1000yds and see who hits it. I mean its not going anywhere you'd have days to eventually hit the critter.

PATHETIC

shotgun31

I've thought about this for a couple of days, and want to appeal tothe long range shooters, and responders that advocate the use of the 50 BMG for hunting. I will fight to the end to defend the right of the advocates to own them and use them. But why give peoplethe opportunity to attack our sport? I feel the advocates of this long-range shooting at gameare promoting the wrong thing, and I appeal to reasontoget it back to a sport.

I've firedhundreds of rounds of 50 BMG, and managed the training(read responsible for knuckelhead mistakes) forthousands more;and 20MM and rockets. The 50 BMG IS magical, in that with grazing hits the bullet remainsstable and it just seems to keep on going, and going. Lots of momentum and yes, trust me, at least 1700 yards beyond theelk that big roundwill still be going strong. I don't care if there's a mountain behind the elk, from my experience the 50 BMG round will figure out away of climbing out of the valley.The range fanis about 4 miles deep.

And to compare it's effectivenessto a 300 magnum at 1000 yards, I ask, why shootat an elk at 1000 yards?Contain the impatience;stalk, ambush, or simply wait for another day? Is shooting an elk that important, to risk breaking it'slegs, or make other poor hits?

I'm not an elk hunter yet;I'd like to be;sending the fees in to Wyoming this year to establish preference points.I'm a deer hunter, and I hunt with a muzzleloader. I'm going to learn to bugle, and probably go out there and hunt marmots to get the lay of the land. I'm going to learn how to hunt elk.

While I examine my capabilities from experience in High Power Competition,I have no doubtI can hit a critter at a 1000 yards. I'm also practical--realizingthat in a hunting situation some of the hits will be legs, jaw, guts,rump---maybe the elk or deer will lay down, maybe not.

SoI wouldn't shoot at that distance. I care about the animalandshooting at animals at these distancesdoesn't meet my standards of sportsmanship, nor can I be SURE of a good solid killing hit. Just asimportantly, I want to have some assuranceofwhere the bullet will end up if I miss the critter. A 1000 yard shotat a game animal, even with a 50 BMG, does not meetthese standards.

I think it's time to stand up to the long-range shooting crowdand voice the opinionthat it's not good for thesport. I suggest if there are any of the 50 cal cult reading this, just to reflect on how at least one otherhunter viewsthe use of the equipment and methods in the hunting field. I disapprove.

MinnFinn

Anyone who thinks that a 750 gr bullet shot out of a .50 cal rifle similar to what military snipers can use to take out armored vehicles or tear off the head of an enemy combatant and a 180 gr .30 cal rifle specifically designed to hunt big game is seriously misguided.
What do you think an Elk or anything else hit by that monster is going to look like?
It's one more example of "my weapon is bigger and badder than yours" mentality. I'm wishin' such guys would choose fishin' and get rid of their artillery.

SILVERTIP-CO

Long range shooting is a function of your income. More $$$ = longer range. It's a cool idea, legal, and ethical, and I would try it...if I ever hit the Powerball. For me now tho its impractical, but I wouldnt rain on some one elses 2500 yard parade just cause it's out of my league. So is SCI for that matter...

rather_be_huntin

I read many of the comments as well, this article was a real fire starter among "gun enthusiasts" and hunters. Have you ever been referred to as a "Fudd" before? That was strange and I've never heard that but my opinion is that if you want to use a .50 BMG to hunt it should be legal but how stupid it is. It's not practical nor needed. Get a lighter weight "hunting" rifle and hunt the animal. These idiots are just adding fuel to the fire. The rifle was designed for warfare and I wish people would have enough sense to keep it there and shooting targets. There has to be some serious meat damage which makes it borderline unethical right there. And how do you pratically carry the rifle and stalk anything. It's stupid is what it is.

Texasimport

A buddy back in Texas has some great stories about using his .50 to shoot feral hogs on his lease. Set up along a sandero and when they pop out at 500 yards or so all that you see is a big pink cloud. Not much left when you get a bit closer.