.50 CAL myth

**jt0311** · June 6th, 2009, 10:58 PM

did anyone ever hear of the myth about a 50cal where if it passes you within 7 inches of your body it will cut your skin due to the amount of air it displaces? This is an old wives tale that i heard when if was in the marines and i would love to hear a little feedback from 50cal owners.

**JoeWilliams** · June 6th, 2009, 11:02 PM

You should email that to Mythbusters. They'd have fun testing it, and it would be neat to see.

**Legion_Prime** · June 6th, 2009, 11:19 PM

It's bullshit, same as the myth about it being antimaterial only and being required to aim at an enemy's equipment in order to be able to use it.

**Mr White** · June 6th, 2009, 11:23 PM

It IS a myth because the real truth is that a .50 cal bullet will KILL you if it passes within a foot of your body, due to the shock wave it creates.

Either that or Chuck Norris will kill you just because he can.

Seriously though, it just doesn't sound plausible.

**Carnes** · June 7th, 2009, 03:06 AM

Are you mixing up the .50 cal with a 130mm AP round?

I would guess that it could be possible that a projectile that was .50 cal could have some kind of effect like you are talking about, but it would have to be something completely different than std .50 military ammo.

I've heard the same story about 130mm tank main-guns having that kind of effect, but I've not seen any conclusive evidence. Sounds like a good excuse for myth-busters to get their hands on an Abrams!