.50 cal bmg for big game

Idaho has a weight limit on the gun you can use to hunt with? What idiocy! The way I see it if someone wants to hunt with a 40lb gun let them! Its not my back and shoulder that'll be hurting at the end of the day. Heck I'd bet there's some guys out there with AR rifles that weigh close to 20lbs after all the crap they've bolted on lol!

Wisconsin has no limit on the weight of the gun nor the caliber (well you have to hunt deer with a centerfire cartridge larger than .22 but no max). We also don't have an ammunition capacity limit either when it comes to all hunting aside from waterfowl/migratory birds. I believe that restriction is Federal and not state.

If I wanted to go hunting with a 50BMG that holds 100 rounds and weighs almost 100lbs overall it wouldn't be illegal in WI. I might get more than a few strange looks and maybe a rolling laugh from the local warden but its still not illegal.

Personally I won't be hunting with a .50BMG because I simply just don't want to a) pay for the bugger and the ammo to go in it and b) lug that weight around with me in the woods.

Aside from that I highly doubt it'll cause deer to explode or anything like that when hunting medium to large game. What it WILL do though is most likely kill the target effectively and fairly quickly - so effectively the game may not even know it'd been hit before it dies.

Just a note I DO hunt with a fairly heavy gun - 16lbs with scope and ammo. I use a DPMS LR-308 for my deer hunting. My daughter uses an AR frankengun in .223 although this year I'm going to graduate her to a 6.8SPC. I don't consider either rifle an "assault weapon."
 
They make hollow points for hunting. I shoot a 50 monthly and there is NO way I would hunt with it. My 660 gr ball ammo averages about $2.25-2.50 a round, the A-Max's are about $6 a shot. I think the hollowpoints are $5-6 a shot too.
 
robhof

I know for a fact that the Wart Hog pilots at England AFB used to take hogs and cattle that roamed near the target areas, as I was a medic in one of their units and got to watch their target shooting from the Clayborne tower. Those were 30mm rounds and the remains looked like ground meat with bone slivers, pigs practically disappeared, except for a smear. It used to knock down their score as the wildlife wasn't counted as hits. Of course this was in the good old days; pre-pita.:D:D:D:D:eek:
 
I watched one of those African hunt shows on TV where a guy used a .50 BMG on an elephant. The elephant was just standing about 50 yards, or less, from the shooter. He had to get on the ground in prone position and use a bi-pod to shoot. Of course, the elephant dropped in it's tracks. Everyone congratulated him on being a great hunter (not IMHO :mad:). Then they walked the 25 yards back to the truck while the natives cut up the animal. Shooting a cow in my pasture would have been more adventursome.
 
We used one in Texas on Feral hogs just for fun. I would love to take it to prarie dog town and blast em at long range. All the 22 centerfire guys would be envious especially on a windy day.
 
When the debate over gun control gets heated, it's guys like the ones in the above video that I despise. Including them as individuals who's rights I am trying to defend is difficult at best.

And of course they post their "exploits" on you tube.
 
Who needs to hit a deer with 13K FtLbs? Children playing at doing things out of the ordinary because it's "cool".

I have more respect for the guy who takes a 257 Roberts & a 87 gr bullet after Elk than I do for the guy who takes a 50 cal BMG. Going light with surgical precision is more impressive to me.
 
Some of you senior citizen may remember the 'cheap' exotic gun ads in all the magazines back in the 60's...One I have never forgotten was for a SKI/Sled-Runner Finnish anti-tank rifle in 20mm. It looked like a cross between a Bren-Gun and a Boyz Bolt Action. The text had a cartoon image of a Bugs Bunny way out in the distance, with the text saying "Kill that Jackrabbit at 2000 yards, with a hit or even a near miss !".
I recall the ammo going for a dollar a round, but don't recall how much the gun sold for (Mail order coupons in the magazines had the sale prices) .. This would have been in the early 1960's (pre-68 ban)
 
Assuming I could afford it (and that's a huge assumption,) I could see myself setting up a blind on a hill somewhere and popping wolves as far away as I could see them...

Tony
 
It has been mentioned earlier how much damage a 338 Win Mag does. Though I have tried to convince him to use his 270, my best friend has used a 338 on blacktail deer, not all that big, for years. To my surprise, it does not seem to do more damage than a 30-06. With bullets designed for elk, it does not seem to expand as rapidly and punches on through.
 
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