Could a Barrett .50 cal rifle drop a T-Rex?

Question

just thinking about bullet energy vs target mass and density...distance notwithstanding

Answer 1

Well most estimates for the size of the T. Rex vary from 6-7.5 tons. A typical male African elephant weighs about 5 tons. The most common elephant rifle cartridge is the .458 Winchester Magnum, which fires a 500-grain bullet at about 2100 feet per second, good for about 5000 ft-lbs of energy. The .50 BMG cartridge fired in Barrett rifles fires a 700-grain bullet at just under 3000 feet per second, developing around 13,000 ft-lbs. Over 2.5 times the muzzle energy of a .458 for an animal which may weigh 50% more than an elephant. So yes, the Barrett .50 should be a useful rifle for shooting T. Rex if you happen to catch one eating your cattle.

Answer 2

Barrett 50 Cal Bmg

Answer 3

Kill yes, from most hunting angles. The problem is whether you could stop a charge if something went wrong.

Even puny 1 tonne buffalo when heart or lung shot with a 50cal can run 25-100 yards or so till they bleed out.

As any big game hunter will tell you the only reliable way to kill them or elephants etc in time charging is brainshots .

Going off our only large reptiles, crocodiles etc. they are not that hard to kill with brain shots, given reptile skulls have a lot of open spaces, and 'thinned areas' to keep the weight down.

So side on you could take the Trex with even a light calibre.

The main problems are if the animal is facing you or even worse charging at you, you then have to shoot through 4-5 feet of bone and teeth while trying to predict where the brain is at the same time.

There is probably no 100% to stop a charge with any gun I would say, unless maybe leg shooting would work. Since a two legged animal that size is not going anywhere on one leg.

Safer to have the 50 cal mounted on a jeep :)

Answer 4

Here we go again, another question about the capabilities of the supposedly "unstoppable" 50 BMG, here is my take on it, I saw a hunting show once, where two men were hunting bison with an Armalite AR-50, they made a clean shot on the buffalo, and it still ran 80-100 yards after being shot. It wasn't blown in half, it wasn't disintegrated on the spot, the 50 BMG was no more effective on the bison than any other cartridge. In fact, for all the hype about the power of the big 50, it looked quite ordinary. So now to your question, the 50 BMG is NOT enough gun to go after a T-rex. If the dinosaurs still existed, you would see much larger, and more powerful cartridges than we have today.

Answer 5

Since all we know about the T-rex is its skeletal structure, there is no real way to know. If the t-rex has very thick skin, maybe not too much damage. On that note however, the 800 grain bullet generates almost 15,000 ft lbs, so there is a really good chance that if you don't miss ur shot, the T-rex would be dead.
The next problem would be trying to get it on the back of your pickup truck to bring home :)

Answer 6

I dont know about the T rex but a Canadian sniper team took out a Taliban terroist leader with a Barret .50 from a range of over a mile. They say the bullet drop was something like 140ft!!

Answer 7

A T-Rex would probably be far more valuable alive than dead.

Do you know the exact target mass and density? I'd think you would want to be at a fairly good distance from your imaginary target. And the target's teeth.

Answer 8

Well, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah science stuff blah blah blah blah elephants blah blah blah blah blah blah yes it would kill a T-rex.

Answer 9

I would not rely on a bolt action or semi-automatic in .50 BMG for something as big as a T-Rex.

I might try it with a Ma Duce, if it were mounted in the back of a good fast truck, and there was plenty of running room.

If I were going T-Rex hunting, I'd want, at a minimum, a Krupp Model 1907 5cm Mountain Gun. I'd want a mix of HE and AP ammo, and I'd still want a fast truck handy in case I missed the first shot.

Doc

Answer 10

I would say yes, if you shoot the T-rex in the head and get a good brain shot them it would be curtains.... or a heart shot too.... The .50 cal is no joke and I fire these kinds of weapons in the Army..... some of these weapons are unbelievable like the M2 Browning 50 cal also.... anything within 1000 meters of that will get destroyed.... good question... I like questions like this.... questions like... can I kill a bear with an airsoft rifle.... are good one too :)