If you're shooting $100/round ammo, meh, you can probably splurge.
At least my life would be worth that, idk.
50 Cal Explodes
- Thread starter 4WHLDRFTN
- Start date
At least my life would be worth that, idk.
holdover
.475 A&M Magnum
depends who you ask I guess. 
kev74
20×102mm Vulcan
Shoots100
.357 mag
Three lessons here ;
Always wear eye protection.
Never shoot questionable Ammunition.
Budget and 50BMG don't belong in the same sentence.
Having been around, shooting and testing 50Bmg rifles and ammunition most of my life, I have seen my fair share of failures and malfunctions.
Luckily most of the F&M's have caused more injury to egos + firearms, than life.
As was seen in the latest video and noticed by the trained eye, the Slap rounds that were being fired are/were fakes.
If they don't have any of the rounds left, or they weren't able to acquire more from the seller before the incident was publicized, we are only making educated/uneducated guesses as to the actual cause of the detonation.
Thankfully no one died and it was recorded.
That dude had someone else but his father watching over him that day.
Always wear eye protection.
Never shoot questionable Ammunition.
Budget and 50BMG don't belong in the same sentence.
Having been around, shooting and testing 50Bmg rifles and ammunition most of my life, I have seen my fair share of failures and malfunctions.
Luckily most of the F&M's have caused more injury to egos + firearms, than life.
As was seen in the latest video and noticed by the trained eye, the Slap rounds that were being fired are/were fakes.
If they don't have any of the rounds left, or they weren't able to acquire more from the seller before the incident was publicized, we are only making educated/uneducated guesses as to the actual cause of the detonation.
Thankfully no one died and it was recorded.
That dude had someone else but his father watching over him that day.
kev74
20×102mm Vulcan
camper4lyfe
.308 Win
Just came here to post this. I guess I'm behind the ball a bit.
gun_slinger_boy
.338 Win Mag
Question is... if it's found that the rifle is at fault will this guy admit to it.
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
wasn't designed for slap rounds .. had a muzzle brake
spat
.700 Nitro Express
That would shower spectator in sabot bits, not blow out the breech.
I thought the consensus was they were counterfeit SLAP rounds.
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
counterfeit SLAP rounds that too .. from a vide i watched . id have go back in this thread i think i posted it .. in the manuals for shooting the slap round .. no muzzle brake ..
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
50 Cal Explodes
From the pictures the round was quite full. Maybe that's normal maybe not. If normal then maybe KB's issue was it was actually loaded with the wrong powder. Or maybe too much of a powder that doesn't take a full case to work. Double charge possibly. Possibilities are endless. Thanks for the...
nygunforum.com
my post #50 video
spat
.700 Nitro Express
Yea, muzzle brake is a no no for SLAP rounds. But it's not going to blow up the rifle.
The sabot will hit the brake and possibly damage it, and likely get broken into pieces and thrown out the side to the great chagrin of everyone else at the range.
But it wouldn't blow out the breech of the rifle.
Now some counterfeit SLAP rounds some guy put together in his kitchen OTOH. I don't think I have to say that you probably don't want to trust the guy defrauding you on the rounds to have properly loaded them with the right powder and charge.
The .50bmg case is huge, there is room for *way* more powder than any gun could survive if he's just loading it with his wife's measuring spoons instead of properly weighing the charge.
And that's even assuming it's the correct type of powder.
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
i posted photos of a 50 i had i tore down and saved the orig powder .. it does fill the case in the round i had .. back on page 1
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
id have to go back and re watch Rex's video ,. but i remember someone saying ,, maybe him .. not enough powder 1/2 charge . detonation ..
i wish the maker of the gun would have showed the bore after removing the case .. was the bullet still in the bore ??
i wish the maker of the gun would have showed the bore after removing the case .. was the bullet still in the bore ??
kev74
20×102mm Vulcan
There's some speculation that a build up of sabot material in the muzzle break could cause a spike in pressure enough to blow out the breach.
My guess is that some of the sabot material fouled the barrel like leading and caused the pressure spike.
Acer-m14
20×102mm Vulcan
Rex was saying that in the video ..
also that some of the sabots didnt look right .. no grooves for it split apart ..
there a lot of what if .. to this puzzle ..
spat
.700 Nitro Express
I think even if you had sabot parts stuck in the muzzle brake they wouldn't be able to produce a pressure spike like that.
By the time the bullet reaches the brake you are well past the peak pressure at the breech. Even if the pressure did spike it would be well below the peak levels the rifle is designed to handle.
gun_slinger_boy
.338 Win Mag
I don't think if there was an entire sabot sideways IN the barrel it would be enough to make what happened happen. I'd want to say a serious barrel obstruction but he went in from the muzzle end to get the stuck case out. He would have also immediately made that known. To me that leaves the rounds. He'll have to demil the remaining rounds and see if it derives some clues. Maybe the shmo that sold them to him reloaded them and ran out of proper powder towards the end and loaded 300 grains of titegroup or something.
kev74
20×102mm Vulcan
I'm thinking more like plastic smeared in the barrel almost like leading in a pistol barrel. If its near the chamber near the start of the rifling and prevented the bullet from moving for a fraction of a second, it could definitely blow up the gun.
Just some pre-coffee supposing on my part.
spat
.700 Nitro Express
I suppose in theory, but I don't think the plastics they make sabots out of does that. I don't think it is ductile enough to smear like that, and I don't think it adheres to metal like that either.
spat
.700 Nitro Express
If you think this can't happen to an M99 with the same bad ammo you're setting yourself up for a very bad day.
Sure. You can also die in an Abrams tank.
But as I make that left onto MLK Blvd., I'd prefer to be in the Abrams over the Smart car.
spat
.700 Nitro Express
The difference between a Serbu and a Barrett is more like a Chevy vs a Cadillac not an Abrams vs a Smart Car.
You can pay extra for the name if you want, it's your money.
kev74
20×102mm Vulcan
Depending on the design and metallurgy involved, that threaded breech cap might be stronger than locking lugs.
kev74
20×102mm Vulcan
If you can find a blueprint of a Barrett bolt, I'll calculate the shear strength of the lugs.
#math!
spat
.700 Nitro Express
So buy the bolt action Serbu (BFG-50) that is like the M99.
Or the semi-auto Serbu (BFG-50A) that is like the M82/M107
He makes more than one model.
You can't say Ford is much better in an accident than Chevy, then compare an F150 to a Chevette.
I am not a fan of the shell holder designs like the RN-50, but that isn't a Barrett vs other manufacturer thing, or a build quality thing. That's like saying you don't want to buy a Colt AR because you want to buy from someone who *doesn't* also make wheel guns.
Also, as Kev pointed out, the threads on the RN50 are likely to be stronger than the lugs on the Barrett. In any case they are plenty strong enough for what they are intended to do.
If he had an M99 he likely would not have been as severely injured. But I can say the same for the BFG-50.
There are some 50 cals I would stay away from.
Vulcan/Hesse for instance you wouldn't catch me pulling the trigger without a long piece of string.
Serbu is a very reputable manufacturer with decades of experience making .50's. Barrett has made more rifles, but I think Serbu has more torture tests from guys on YouTube shooting random weird crap out of them.
I saw one video where a guy tapped the end of a barrel and threaded a bolt into it. It was sufficient to stop the bullet. The gun did not explode. I'll see if I can find it and I'll add it here.
Plus, when NY passed SAFE and then the NYPD wanted to buy his semi-auto .50 he told them no, because he can't sell it to the general public in NY, so he won't sell to them. That's got to count for something.
kev74
20×102mm Vulcan
I can't imagine a 1 - 2 lb. bolt coming back out of a kaboomed 50 cal would have a better result for the shooter than an 8 oz. breech cap.
Just for fun, the breech of a 16 inch gun on the USS Alabama. Notice the lack of locking lugs and only 80% or so thread engagement, verses Serbu's 100% thread engagement (I know, apples vs. oranges, but you get the point).
Just for fun, the breech of a 16 inch gun on the USS Alabama. Notice the lack of locking lugs and only 80% or so thread engagement, verses Serbu's 100% thread engagement (I know, apples vs. oranges, but you get the point).