.From: Gunfreak (
[email protected]) Subject: Shot my homemade .50 BMG for the 1st time today!! BOOOOOMM!!! Newsgroups: rec.guns Date: 1996/07/30 Today I fired my homemade .50 BMG single shot rifle for the first time. WOW! I've never been around a gun this big before and what a noise it makes!! The gun isn't completely finished, but it was done enough to fire so I couldn't wait any longer. Here's how the firing went: I put the gun on the ground and laid a spare car wheel (with tire) on top of it. I put a small log under the barrel, aiming it a large tree (aimed the barrel, not the log. By the way, sorry you tree-huggers out there-the patient died!). After putting on ears and eyes, I turned away from the monster and reached behind me to hit the temporary trigger with my hand. BOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!! WHAT A HUGE NOISE!!! A lot of sawdust was left at the base of the tree. (Didn't check the other side, it was in water.) The blast echoed through the Florida swamp and, poetically, the sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance just afterward. (A coincidence). The gun survived fine, and so did I. In case you're wondering why I took all the precautions on firing this gun for the first time, I'll tell you; I designed it myself. While I am a Mechanical Engineer, I don't have any "formal training" in gun design (which, it seems, can only come from working for a BIG gun company because there's NO real data out there for the little guy!) Anyway, this cartridge produces a lot of pressure, and puts that pressure over a large area (the cartridge base).