These are some of the most amazing things people have done with .50 caliber firearms.
Perhaps no other firearm round is more American or has become more iconic since its inception than the .50 caliber. This versatile round has found uses both on the Army battlefield as one of the longest-range sniper rifles ever. It has also found use in hunting as a knock-down round for the biggest game.
The round has also been the subject of many crazy and amazing tests on the target shooting range and stunts on popular social media shooting channels.
Today we're looking at 10 of the craziest things people have done with a .50 cal. For sake of simplicity, when talking about 50 cal ammo, for this list we're focusing just on the 50 caliber rifle round. You know it better as the 12.7x99mm NATO round or .50 Browning Machine Gun, aka the .50 BMG.
1. Shooting indoors
YouTuber Eric Pettway caused quite a stir when he uploaded this video of himself shooting his Barrett M107 .50 cal off a glass coffee table in his living room. His nervousness is palpable and probably warranted in this situation considering all the foot-pounds of energy a rifle like this puts out. He actually forgets to chamber the round on his first attempt! But a huge suppressor and subsonic rounds allow him to pull off a stunt that could only be done here in the United States.
2. Testing how long it takes a bullet to fall back to earth
Have you ever wondered how long it will take a bullet fired straight up to return to earth? That is what YouTuber Edwin Sarkissian wondered too. In one of the most dangerous things ever filmed with a .50 cal, Edwin points the barrel of this awesome semi-automatic rifle skyward and then runs for cover. The sound the bullet makes returning to earth is simultaneously awesome and terrifying.
3. 200 Rounds in the course of seconds
Depending on the type of round you buy, a .50 BMG cartridge can cost anywhere from $2-$8 a round. Which makes the demonstration in this video quite costly. Using a water-cooled .50 caliber machine gun in an anti-aircraft mount, this guy empties some ammo cans and probably someone's wallet while target shooting in a real hurry!
4. Destroying a car
This quick video in beautiful super-slow motion shows the awesome destructive capabilities of BMG weapons from a safe distance. It is little wonder this versatile round was one of the ones that helped turn the tide of World War II when you watch how easily these armor-piercing rounds shreds this car.
5. Shooting through a $250,000 sports car
Keeping in mind what you just saw in the last video, it makes this trick shot by Edwin Sarkissan all the more crazy. He uses a semi-automatic BMG rifle to attempt a shot through the cab of his grandfather's $250,000 McLaren sports car at some propane tanks on the other side. To make things even more difficult, he pulls off this feat while free-handing the rifle!
6. 1,000 yards off hand
Probably the biggest advantage of the BMG is simply the range it provides. It is little wonder Marines and other branches of the military depend on .50 cals to make some of the longest sniper kills ever documented. Shooting legend Jerry Miculek using an M107 and a 750 grain Hornady A-Max round to nail an unbelievable 1,000 yard shot OFF HAND on a balloon in just two seconds. It is jaw-dropping. There is a reason this video went so viral!
7. .50 cal vs fire extinguishers
Here's another Edwin Sarkissan video, because this guy has done a ton of .50 cal videos. This time he tests a Serbu rifle against a bunch of fire extinguishers. This is probably not a safe thing to do at all. In fact we're certain that was not a safe distance to be at, but it made for a spectacular video!
8. Steel plates and concrete
There is a good reason the 50 is so popular for military applications. Commercial brick walls, concrete cinder blocks and even steel plates are no match for a .50 caliber armor-piercing round. This test shoot by Jerry Miculek is simple, but you really get to see the destructive anti-personnel power of this round on full display here.
9. McMillian Tac 50 vs steel plates
In 2002, Canadian Army Corporal Rob Furlong used a bolt action McMillan Tac-50 in the Afghanistan war to make what was at the time, the longest confirmed sniper kill ever at 2,657 or just over a mile and a half! The McMillian isn't quite as popular as the Barrett for 50 cals, but this video by Eric Pettway demonstrates the rifle's power against a tough target, a 1-inch steel plate.
10. Dry Ice
We can't have a video about 50 caliber videos without including popular YouTuber Demolition Ranch in the mix. In this video Matt fires at a huge chunk of dry ice and the results are nothing less than spectacular. The craziest thing about this video is the pristine shape of the bullet after the shot
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Youtube channel.
NEXT: 11 TIMES PEOPLE TOOK JUNK AND MADE INCREDIBLE RECYCLED KNIVES
WATCH
