i ask what is the point of a 50 cal gun? i only ask because of my current location. i was riding and my horse spooked. So what is the point of a gun that break your wrists(or clavical and sterum and rib and fingers) Is a .44 mag not enough

I remember when they introduced the 50 caliber. Man, it was kinda funny looking, with the barrel so darn wide. It almost looked like a toy gun to me.

I think the answer to that one is "because they could," or "why the heck not?" I've shot 9mm, a colt and a magnum, and my friend showed me what a .44 could do to a 2 liter bottle of coke (filled with water). Exit wound was half the bottle, and the whiplash sucked.

So what would you have to do to shoot a .50? Kneel down, take aim, and hope no bones break?

got it
sometimes i hate texas

Hey, at least you have a horse and the space to ride him/her. I don't quite get your story though, were you riding, and the shot from someone else's .50 spook her? Did you try to fire a .50 and fall off your horse because it spooked? The horse is okay, right?

horse is fine. my neighbor thought it would be funny to sneak up behind me and fire the gun. he will replace me in my hospitail bed as soon as i can walk will out screaming in pain.

Yeegh, glad to hear the horse is okay, and get well soon regarding the injuries. And remember, love thy neighbor as... ah, forget it.

i plan to love my neighbor just as he did me. just with a rifle and in a evalted postion

Wait a minute. Is this a .50 handgun being discussed?

go ahead i'm just complaining

Your neighbor's a dumbass. A horse can spook at a funny-colored patch of sand, and he fires off a 50 cal?

the worst part? my first thought upon waking up was 'Ka-click'

If I had a 50 cal gun like that, I'd mount it to a car and use it to clear traffic. God knows I don't want to be holding it when it goes off.

I second the "dumbass neighbor" comments. Maybe you could steal the gun, sneak up on his children or loved ones, fire off a few rounds and see how funny he thinks it is then.

The explanation I've heard for the .50 rifle is that you have really good effective range. And you can destroy unarmored vehicles. So...unless your are a military sniper, the explanation is that you're just plain nuts.

Longest sniper shot ever was 2.4 km by a Canadian in afgainistan with a .50 rifle.

,50 caliber machine guns are also nice.

I'm pretty sure this is a handgun being discussed.

Apart from police, military and massive-overkill-home-defense uses, a .50 handgun has a number of uses in wilderness settings: specifically, in bear country. A full-sized rifle or shotgun is cumbersome and slow to bring to bear (no pun intended), which could make stopping a charging grizzly in a hurry a bit problematic. And you need a heavy, fast-moving bullet to crack a griz's skull or rib cage. There is a grizzly skull on display at the Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, and the thing's forehead is probably close to two inches of solid bone, and sloped back at an angle. This will make frontal penetration difficult for even a big round like a .357: if you're off just a little bit, the round will skip up the bear's skull and bury itself in the wall of muscle on its back. Hence, the big-bore behemoths of the .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, and .50 Action Express handgun rounds: enough stopping power to drop a griz with one quick shot at a dangerously close range. Of course, there's a excessive amount of testosterone that goes into the manufacture and purchase of these weapons as well, and from what I understand there are many souls who hunt with these weapons where such is legal. Though to my mind, using a half-inch bullet to kill deer or coyote is rather like swatting a fly with a Cadillac.

One can always argue that even this need for such weapons is avoided by simply staying out of the bears' home range, but that is another debate for another thread...


EDIT: Gorilla, what that guy did is just plain horrible. Both horseback riding and shooting require a great deal of care and maturity. I'm amazed that someone would be so stupid as to break the safety rules of two such inherently dangerous activities at the same time. Pity we can't legislate stupid gun owners instead of guns.

If it's any consolation, he'll be up for a Darwin Award within a few years if he keeps doing stuff like that.