[anodes]

Just a small definition of terms here... I hear and read about people that think thier .35 Wheelen, .350RemMag or .338 anything is a "Big Bore". BS. Big Bores START @ 9.5mm! Medium bores:.270" to <.375 and small bores 4.5mm to .270". Right?
anodes.

 

[Rich Z]

Well, just for the record, this forum was originally entitled ".50 BMG Stuff", but I thought Overture would have a hissy fit over it. But that's what I have in mind.

Do you want to have this forum defined as 50 caliber and above? Or set a lower limit, such as .460 and above?

I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Guest]

The proof is in the targets hit, downed

The 308 will do for anything that walks, period, if the right bullet is used, and the shooter is up to the task. The other stuff is just chest-beating, by Neanderthals.

 

[Darin Chappell]

I see a theme here . . .already.

 

[Rich Z]

Oh, I don't know about that. A few years ago a friend of mine gave me a round inch thick round stainless steel plate to try out some armor piercing ammo on. I had loaded up the 165 grain bullets pulled from old .30-06 ammo into .308 cases. I took my FAL out to my field and set the stainless steel plate out about 50 yards and took a shot at it. I thought I had missed it completely, because I had just stuck it into the ground without any sort of support.

I was VERY surprised when I walked up to the plate and saw that I had certainly hit the thing, dead center even, the steel penetrator just barely breaking through the back of the plate. This plate weighs about 20 pounds (rough guestimate), was hit dead center with a .308 that dumped ALL of it's energy into it and it didn't even wiggle when hit.

Now, I tried the same thing with a .50BMG using regular hardball ammo. Now as far as I know, all hardball .50BMG ammo has a mild steel core (except for the specially designed ammo), so it already has a sort of penetrator. Anyway, one shot dead center on that same plate at 70 yards knocked the plate up into the air and back about 10 feet. The bullet put a jagged hole right through the plate like it wasn't even there.

A friend of mine brought over some old cast iron weights from his weight lifting set to use as targets. He wanted to shoot a .50 BAD! One hit completely shattered those 25 pound weights. All my friend could say after every shot was "impressive!".

I do believe there will be jobs that a .50BMG can do that a .308 couldn't even dream about doing.

 

[Guest]

Not REALISTIC jobs there aint. LOL.

As I once told Jeff Cooper, after he came out with his "Lion Scout" 358, the first time I am attacked by men carrying .5" thick steel shields, I will be sure to have a BAR in 338, with 10 rd mags. One can have a bolt action, 3 shot mag .50 bmg on the AR15 lower, you know.

 

[Rich Z]

Man, you are overlooking the FUN part of this hobby. It doesn't have to be all work and no play, you know.....

Have some fun with this stuff every once in a while....

Nobody NEEDS a .50BMG! But everyone who has one I have talked to loves the hell out of shooting it.

 

[Guest]

fun is beating other men at the matches

If all I want to do is make noise, and watch things move, firecrackers suffice. Personally, I prefer guns that make little or no noise at all. They are a lot more useful, and a lot easier to hit with, swiftly.

 

[anodes]

RichZ, Oh, I dion't know... The .50BMG is a rather exclusive club. One I've been tempted to jion on occasion! One that may severly limit posting by those otherwise interested. Still it would be hard to argue that .375" and up isn't "big bore". My only point. Thanks for the forum.
anodes.

 

[anodes]

Re: fun is beating other men at the matches

If all I want to do is make noise, and watch things move, firecrackers suffice. Personally, I prefer guns that make little or no noise at all. They are a lot more useful, and a lot easier to hit with, swiftly.

Seems that you won't have much interest in posting here, then would you?
anodes.

 

[Rich Z]

To each their own, then. Personally I prefer the fun of shooting and the appreciation of fine workmanship in the guns I own. Sure they can be used for defensive and offensive means, but in reality, how many times will such situations occur in an average person's lifetime?

I used to practice the martial arts a VERY long time ago, but even back then I was smart enough to realize that the effort wasn't worth the practical chances I would ever need to use it without going out looking for trouble. That and the fact that I used to play keyboards in a band, and I had to choose between one or the other when we got to the hand toughening exercises.

Yes, certainly self defense is one of the reasons to have one or more guns, but in reality, it's like auto insurance: We have it, but hope to hell we never need to use it.

 

[Guest]

we'll see. Sometimes a few "invites" to

selected people from other forums will really liven up a previously moribund site. If you go at the hand conditioning correctly for karate, it needn't otherwise effect your hands. For instance, it didn't bother my draw speed at all. In fact, it probably helped my speed a bit. If one trains and competes at realistic challenges, he is doing what he can to prepare, and can be having a ball besides. The 2 are not mutually exclusive. The most fun I've ever had was in GRUELING training, sometimes 14 hours a day.

 

[jamullins]

If you want big, the .50 fat mac has it all, or how about the .585 Nyati? But as for the .308 being insufficient, ask all those dead enemies of ours when you meet them in hell. Snipers know the truth. As for not big bore .308s, what about the Cody Express, 250 grainers at 4100 fps, sounds big to me. Especially when your BK101 actioned, 26 pound rifle delivers just over 159 lb.s of free recoil. The .338 Lapua will knock your block off at a mile and ask for that your car be next, sounds big to me. As for making noise,
anything that burns 100 grains of powder or more is a sure crowd pleaser, .416 Rigby, .460 Weatherby, .50 BMG, so on.

 

[WebSlave]

As mentioned before, this forum was originally entitled ".50BMG Stuff" or something thereabouts. I changed it when I was haggling with Overture to get them to accept my ads for this site.

I think I'm going to change it back, and see what happens. Yeah, I know, probably won't get much traffic, but this is just a pet topic of mine, and I don't mind. But I will add "and other Big Bores" in the title, just for the heck of it.

 

[anodes]

Webslave, I noticed that. But I'm not done yet!

jamullins, My point exactly! Your wrong, but my point exactly! Recoil, case volume, action type, bullet wieght, "noise", distance to target and overall rifle wieght have nothing to do with the former or current title of this Forum! "BORE" has everything to do with it. And when you take a .33 cal bullet and stick it on a .378Wea case all you've done is turn a true "Big Bore" cartridge into a Medium Bore cartridge!

It is my assertion that the term "Big Bore" starts with a bore @ or greater than 9.5mm or .375" regardless of case volume, recoil, projectile wieght, action type, report, distance to target or even the quantity of "dead enemies"! And a .33" or .35" aint it!
anodes.

 

[Aslan]

I find it very funny that GunKid will post in a forum like this one. He has no interest in big bore guns, but by golly can't have a forum that isn't about him, can we?

I think the .50's the cat's meow. I want one!

Oh well, I really like my .338, but there's just something cool about the .50!

 

[jamullins]

wrong huh, want big bores, fine, i toss down my gauntlet and draw my rapier to you sir! Let's start with the various incarnations of rifledom that fire the soviet 14.5mm anti-tank cartridge of RPTD fame. Then there are the various Swiss, German, and Japanese 20mm rifles used to shoot up early tanks.
Next we'll move along to the venerable .600 nitro express, the .50-170-660, and the good ol' jeager rifle in .85 cal or so.
Nothing makes noise like black powder.

 

[Garand]

Apparently back in the day, Melvin thought highly of the .30!

 

[Dorobuta]

OMFG! this is hilarious!

Unregistered is the wunderkind!