Friday, May 10, 2013

BANG!

The Armalite AR-50 that languished on the shelf of the shop at which I worked back in '03 had its accessories displayed on the shelf next to it. Among those accessories was a little 2-pack of Advil tablets.

"Hey, that's 'cause your shoulder's gonna hurt so much after shootin' it, right?" was the usual comment when someone noticed the foil packet.

No, like most .50 BMG rifles, the weight and the muzzle brake combine to make felt recoil not noticeably worse than, say, heavy slug loads from a twelve bore fowling piece. The Advil is for the effects of the muzzle blast after you've fired more than a handful of rounds.

It's bad enough on a conventional fifty, where the long barrel places the muzzle brake in a separate ZIP code from the shooter; it's positively ferocious on a bullpup.
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17 comments:

Firehand said...

I seem to remember Carlos Hathcock mentioning he sometimes used a small cloth to spread below/in front of the muzzle to keep dust down to help hide his position; with these things you'd need a small tarp.

9:43 AM, May 10, 2013
og said...

As a guy who has ruptured an eardrum due to the shock wave of a large forging press, this doesn't surprise me at all. As much of a recoil junkie as I am, I would prefer the long barreled variety.

10:07 AM, May 10, 2013
Matt G said...

Remind me never to take that guy's reviews seriously. He shoots a short .50 with a giant muzzle break, without muffs. Plugs (if such he wore) are insufficient.

I've shot .50 BMGs in bullpup configuration and in full-length Barrett configuration. The wave front from the muzzle break hurts your head. (though not as badly as it hurts those on either side of you.)

11:10 AM, May 10, 2013
Tam said...

Matt G,

I am assuming that the plugs he uses now are better than the ones they issued him in Iraq.

I think I'd double up for a fitty-cal, but that's me.

11:18 AM, May 10, 2013
Anonymous said...

Suppressor?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlhrMKyLz1Q

11:22 AM, May 10, 2013
Bram said...

Maybe you should just stick the tablets directly into your ears before putting muffs on.

11:50 AM, May 10, 2013
mikee said...

I distinctly recall a warm spring day in the late 1990s at an outdoor range north of Baltimore. I was alone there, plinking away with my mighty .22LR Ruger Mark II at the yellow PEEPS marshmallow bunny "reactive targets" I had arrayed across the 25 yard berm.

A new arrival set up what looked like an antitank weapon. It was the first time I ever saw a Barret M82 .50 BMG. The guy shooting it said hello, told me what it was, set up targets at 100 yards (max distance at that range) and warned me it was loud and messy to shoot.

I watched fascinated as he fired it. The muzzle blast deflector made the wave of hot gas extend across about 6 shooting stations to either side, and the concussion of each cartridge going off was magnificent.

When he had shot about $50 of ammo in a few minutes, he asked if he could pop a few of my bunnies with his "other gun" and I said yes.

I was delighted to see him remove from his range bag a Ruger Mark II .22LR pistol (albeit with a very long custom barrel on it). He proceeded to nail several bunnies to the dirt.

I got to shoot both that day, and enjoyed the heck out of it.

TW: shall shakfur. After shooting a .50 BMG a few times, you shall shakfur about half an hour.

1:19 PM, May 10, 2013
Blackwing1 said...

When I first got started in competitive bulls-eye shooting 20 years ago I noticed that almost all of the old farts would come off the line and hold their conversations at shouting level, even after taking off their hearing protection. It was at that point, even shooting light .45 loads (200 gr semi-wadcutters, lightly loaded with a 13-lb. recoil spring) that I decided to use BOTH plugs and muffs when shooting anything more than a .22.

Now that I"M the old fart, I find that my hearing has deteriorated somewhat, but I don't have to have folks shout at me in regular conversation.

I can't imagine shooting a bullpup .50 BMG without (as you say) "doubling-up" on the protection. I don't care how good those plugs might be, adding another layer of protection can only help preserve what little hearing you'll have left.

1:45 PM, May 10, 2013
Gewehr98 said...

In a fit of stupidity, I gave myself a concussion during an IHMSA silhouette match with my 10" 7-R Wichita Silhouette Pistol, shooting Creedmoor position. (The 7-R is a .30-30 Winchester necked-down to 7mm) Of course, we were firing from a concrete shooting house, with concrete benches on either side of me to channel the muzzle blast that much better towards my brainpan. I remember feeling really dizzy and nauseous on the ride home. My buddy and driver said, "Of course, you idiot, you gave yourself a concussion with that beast!"

He was correct. I've since modified my technique a smidgen...

3:38 PM, May 10, 2013
Andrew Tuohy said...

The earplugs I was using have a higher noise reduction rating than earmuffs.

6:41 PM, May 10, 2013
Matt G said...

Too much transmission through the bone, though, Mr. Tuohy. I've shot with good quality plugs, and with muffs, and with both at once.

Eh, you're the one who will deal with the result. Sadly, despite my efforts, I've got pretty bad tinnitus. I must've liked it, 'cuz my ears put a ring on it.

8:12 PM, May 10, 2013
Jay Dee said...

Brings back fond memories of a rifle I owned once. It was a beautiful Siamese Mauser in a hand made Missouri walnut stock chambered in .45-70.

With commercial ammunition loaded for antique Trap Door Springfields, recoil wasn’t too bad but the Siamese Mauser action could stand a whole lot more. Think low .458 Magnum loads in a 6 ½ pound rifle.

The impact was impressive. Foot long length of railroad ties would tumble end over for several feet. It would break the cast iron railroad tie plates in half.

Recoil was equally impressive as were the resulting bruises. A day at the range was 3 to 5 rounds followed by a week of painkillers while limping around the office looking like Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein.

It didn’t take too long to decide I should share this fun with someone else. I sold the gun after firing less than 50 rounds.

8:53 PM, May 10, 2013
Andrew Tuohy said...

As have I.

12:58 AM, May 11, 2013
Will said...

IIRC, the Army(?) restricts training to 25 rnds/day in the Barrett .50bmg, due to recoil/blast effect. Operational limits are unregulated.

Having observed the lack of muzzle effects of a Ma Deuce with suppressor, that is what I would go with, if I had a 50.

2:12 AM, May 11, 2013
Anonymous said...

.50s do more than damage your ears. The shock wave from the brake can also move the organs around inside your body. Too much of that can not only make you physically ill, it can cause real internal damage. At Boomershoot, they advised everyone NOT to stand in the path of the muzzle blast from the brake.

BSR

3:53 AM, May 11, 2013
Kristophr said...

When I was shooting my Lahti at an Albany Rifle range MG shoot, I got moved out past the end of the .50 cal ghetto for being too loud.

I was still setting off car alarms in the parking lot ...

12:19 PM, May 12, 2013
J.R.Shirley said...

I managed a M2 range last week. My 3M Push-ins were actually quite sufficient...but of course I always wear double protection at indoor ranges.

9:29 PM, May 12, 2013

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