So you want to shot the .50 cal..ok

Every time I look at that video, I can't help but think what a lucky son of a gun he was.

I was curious about how far the target was from the shooter so I took the video and ran it through a sound editing program for a down and dirty estimate.

If I am correct, from the report of the rifle to the target was about .38 seconds and from the target back to the shooter another 1.31 seconds. The target was about 358 yards away.

That is with an initial speed of 2831 feet per second, which I took from averaging the fastest and lowest speeds listed on Wikipedia for .50 BMG in bullet weights of 647 grain through 800 grain, the fastest speed being 3044 fps and the slowest 2618 fps.

Someone might want to double check my math just in case.

Personally, I think a .50 BMG at so close a range is more than a little stupid, but then, not everyone gets a chance to see what this round can do on a really distant target before they run out and get one of their very own.

eli, if you are correct at 385 yards I'd not be so hard on the boys. That's a good long distance away. You could quibble for them having shot at solid steel in the first place but I would not. This kind of thing at nearly a quarter mile is not really all so dangerous. (video aside) I really think what was captured here is like catching lightening in a bottle. A true oddity that does not prove the rule of bad safety practice with the .50 BMG. This kind of stunt at 50 yards might be truly dumb but not 385 yards. I wouldn't blame the men shooting in the manner that they were.

I've seen many people, myself included, get hit by lead splatter at close range while shooting handguns against steel reactive targets. I even saw a man get hit in the ribs with the base of a .40 S&W bullet that bounced back from a steel plate in a handgun competition and draw serious blood along with raise a welt. He actually had to get x-rayed to make certain no real penetration occurred or metal was left inside his skin. This is common at pistol shooting competitions.

The soft pistol bullets just about explode on the plates and send most of the fragments out at 90 degree angles to the line of fire. Sometimes the bullet's base stays in one piece and can bounce back. It's never deadly but can be dangerous to your eyes and face and on this one occasion, the shooter's ribs.

I liked your forensic sound work. Like some guy on a TV cop show. I just hope you're not a geek like they always are on the tube. LOL

OT

OT, not a geek, just a bubba with an old Macbook hiding from the heat and cable-tv!

As far as range distance and proper targets, all that is relative, so we'll have to differ here.

A 100 plus yards out is ok for your run-of-the-mill milsurp or sporting round, but, IMHO, the .50 BMG is a monster in fancy dress and deserves nothing less than a 1000 yards of respect. Sure, lots of folks don't have access to firing lanes that long with adequate backstops but when you're dealing with this much power, good enough is rarely safe enough.

You know... the first clue that something bad was gonna happen was the fact they were not in a US Military uniform... Posterchilds..lol

eli, you take the fun out of being a country moron. Lose the laptop, get out of the AC and go hurt yourself a bit. Do ya some good!!

Only kidding. It's a wonder my sister and me didn't end up dead, hurt bad, or arrested growing up as we did shooting guns and blowing things up while running laughing through the glades with blue lights flicking in the background.

Huck Finn is my kind of guy.

Old Town

OT, you're right, I do need to get out of the house, this summer has been the worse with the heat and now heavy storms with lighting.

As far as being a moron, believe me when I say I've made my own contributions to that tradition, and how!