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I’ve been posting in the comments section of some of his videos that I thought some of what he was doing was dangerous and that I thought he was going to get injured.
But it wasn’t from a gun exploding. I thought he was going to catch a ricochet from a handgun. I’ve seen handgun rounds bounce off of railroad ties like the ones he uses for a backstop. |
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I don’t actively watch the YouTube’s so I’ve never heard of this guy but I watched this entire video. What a great job and quick thinking by him and his dad, and what an inspirational outlook on life that guy has. I’m so glad his faith in the lord has helped him to stay strong and optimistic during a trial that could easily ruin your life.
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As a suspicious old fart I have to wonder if these rounds that are so special and rare that the going rate is $100 a pop there is likely somebody out there faking it and cobbing together counterfeit rounds.
The guy himself didn't seem so sure of the source of these rounds. At any rate I am glad he was able to keep himself alive until he got to the good medical folks and apparently everything is on the heal. One tough lucky guy! |
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Quoted: I’ve been posting in the comments section of some of his videos that I thought some of what he was doing was dangerous and that I thought he was going to get injured. But it wasn’t from a gun exploding. I thought he was going to catch a ricochet from a handgun. I’ve seen handgun rounds bounce off of railroad ties like the ones he uses for a backstop. View Quote I shoot against railroad ties with everything I own, including 22lr and I've never had anything bounce off. Rest assured that if a round fails to penetrate wood and bounces back it may sting, but wont carry enough energy to hurt you. Same with bowling pins. |
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First off, I have not analyzed the gun design in this video nor do I have any professional association with Serbu Firearms. I admit to knowing Mark Serbu and we have discussed engineering/design on various gun projects (not this gun though) in the past.
So much misinformation about engineering and gun design in this thread.
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Quoted: Wow. To think the threads were cut clean from that steel cap. He just used all of his 9 lives. View Quote |
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Quoted: Per Mark Serbu over at WG: "Obviously I'm going to be doing a video on this incident as soon as I get the blown-up rifle from Scott. I think the culprit is counterfeit SLAP rounds, and that's pretty bad. But I guess when they're selling for almost $200 each you're going to get opportunistic scumbags taking advantage of that. As you can see in the pics the fake sabot (red) lacks the proper cuts and has a slightly different taper towards the front. Also, the case is not crimped and the tungsten penetrator looks "wrong". I would guess they either used pistol powder or something about that incorrect penetrator/sabot combination caused a momentary blockage that spiked the pressure. Really bad day all around..." Ammo that caused the Kaboom: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/SLAP1-1923983.jpg Genuine SLAP ammo ....pretty sure brown sabot is AP, red is Tracer. Notice the difference in the sabot material/design, and crimp. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/SLAP2-1923988.jpg Genuine 1991 Dated tracer.... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/slap3-1923990.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: As a suspicious old fart I have to wonder if these rounds that are so special and rare that the going rate is $100 a pop there is likely somebody out there faking it and cobbing together counterfeit rounds. The guy himself didn't seem so sure of the source of these rounds. At any rate I am glad he was able to keep himself alive until he got to the good medical folks and apparently everything is on the heal. One tough lucky guy! Per Mark Serbu over at WG: "Obviously I'm going to be doing a video on this incident as soon as I get the blown-up rifle from Scott. I think the culprit is counterfeit SLAP rounds, and that's pretty bad. But I guess when they're selling for almost $200 each you're going to get opportunistic scumbags taking advantage of that. As you can see in the pics the fake sabot (red) lacks the proper cuts and has a slightly different taper towards the front. Also, the case is not crimped and the tungsten penetrator looks "wrong". I would guess they either used pistol powder or something about that incorrect penetrator/sabot combination caused a momentary blockage that spiked the pressure. Really bad day all around..." Ammo that caused the Kaboom: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/SLAP1-1923983.jpg Genuine SLAP ammo ....pretty sure brown sabot is AP, red is Tracer. Notice the difference in the sabot material/design, and crimp. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/SLAP2-1923988.jpg Genuine 1991 Dated tracer.... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/slap3-1923990.jpg Ammo issue seems the most likely culprit. The sheer magnitude of the explosion speaks for itself. That was no normal failure, even when considering it involved a 50BMG. |
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Quoted: Ammo issue seems the most likely culprit. The sheer magnitude of the explosion speaks for itself. That was no normal failure, even when considering it involved a 50BMG. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: As a suspicious old fart I have to wonder if these rounds that are so special and rare that the going rate is $100 a pop there is likely somebody out there faking it and cobbing together counterfeit rounds. The guy himself didn't seem so sure of the source of these rounds. At any rate I am glad he was able to keep himself alive until he got to the good medical folks and apparently everything is on the heal. One tough lucky guy! Per Mark Serbu over at WG: "Obviously I'm going to be doing a video on this incident as soon as I get the blown-up rifle from Scott. I think the culprit is counterfeit SLAP rounds, and that's pretty bad. But I guess when they're selling for almost $200 each you're going to get opportunistic scumbags taking advantage of that. As you can see in the pics the fake sabot (red) lacks the proper cuts and has a slightly different taper towards the front. Also, the case is not crimped and the tungsten penetrator looks "wrong". I would guess they either used pistol powder or something about that incorrect penetrator/sabot combination caused a momentary blockage that spiked the pressure. Really bad day all around..." Ammo that caused the Kaboom: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/SLAP1-1923983.jpg Genuine SLAP ammo ....pretty sure brown sabot is AP, red is Tracer. Notice the difference in the sabot material/design, and crimp. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/SLAP2-1923988.jpg Genuine 1991 Dated tracer.... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55482/slap3-1923990.jpg Ammo issue seems the most likely culprit. The sheer magnitude of the explosion speaks for itself. That was no normal failure, even when considering it involved a 50BMG. I wonder if someone with a lathe and such was trying to make something that looked like a real one and screwed up the powder charge. |
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Quoted: Love the t-shirt at the end. View Quote I bought the t-shirt. Never heard of the guy before this popped up, but I admire that he and his Dad remained collected and level headed if not calm, made good decisions and saved his life. He’s going to have a hell of a medical bill and he still is offering a decent product in exchange for help with them. I’ll toss him $30. Besides, it’s the kind of shirt I like, people read it and go :”Huh?” If you don’t know you don’t get it. Maybe it will become the new “ just rub some dirt in it...” |
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Now you throw a Barrett in there, WTF?
None of them have anything in common other than being chambered for 50 BMG. The Vulcan is a POS period! The RN-50 is a solid design, I've shot one, have you? The Barrett is a solid design also, I've shot them also. |
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Quoted: First off, I have not analyzed the gun design in this video nor do I have any professional association with Serbu Firearms. I admit to knowing Mark Serbu and we have discussed engineering/design on various gun projects (not this gun though) in the past. So much misinformation about engineering and gun design in this thread.
View Quote You're complaining about misinformation? Cite the incidences of people "gutted" by M2s and the failure rate. I own a M2 (and a M107A1 and M82CQ). M2 kabooms are not going to send the bolt through the chest cavity of the shooter. Nobody said that weight=safe alone, but if the inertia to resist a kaboom is the mass of a cap or small bolt, that makes them very good projectiles. Many guns do indeed have safety measures in case of a KB. They range from bleed ports near the chamber, to top covers / receivers designed to minimize damage in case of a KB. Nobody said ALL do. |
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Quoted: Now you throw a Barrett in there, WTF? None of them have anything in common other than being chambered for 50 BMG. The Vulcan is a POS period! The RN-50 is a solid design, I've shot one, have you? The Barrett is a solid design also, I've shot them also. View Quote Reread the thread please |
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As many have pointed out already:
Weak design without a failsafe. 4 threads actually engaged, on what 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" diameter? How many threads would a machine nut of that diameter and thread pitch have? What kind of dynamic load would that be designed to sustain? How many fatigue cycles? I see the fanboys are in here white knighting the design - guess what it failed. And launched the cap into his eye, and fragmentation into his jugular. You can make all the speculative excuses you want, but this is a firearm that fails lethally, at ~1.5x standard pressure. |
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Quoted: Almost all guns have threads at the highest pressure containing area, they are called barrel threads and they are usually between the barrel and the receiver or barrel extension. So when you say you would never shoot a gun with threads holding the pressure you are a dumb ass. View Quote Except those barrel threads are on the opposite pressure side, away from the users face , the other is locked by a bolt / receiver. The bolt and receiver typically will hold higher pressure and not fail before blowing a barrel or splitting it. Barrels typically have a better thread fit class, more thread engagement and are not hand tightened. |
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I really like his content, glad he survived. Bought a couple shirts.
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Quoted: Except those barrel threads are on the opposite pressure side, away from the users face , the other is locked by a bolt / receiver. The bolt and receiver typically will hold higher pressure and not fail before blowing a barrel or splitting it. Barrels typically have a better thread fit class, more thread engagement and are not hand tightened. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Almost all guns have threads at the highest pressure containing area, they are called barrel threads and they are usually between the barrel and the receiver or barrel extension. So when you say you would never shoot a gun with threads holding the pressure you are a dumb ass. Except those barrel threads are on the opposite pressure side, away from the users face , the other is locked by a bolt / receiver. The bolt and receiver typically will hold higher pressure and not fail before blowing a barrel or splitting it. Barrels typically have a better thread fit class, more thread engagement and are not hand tightened. Exactly. |
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Glad he made it. Long time subscriber and he’s an awesome guy. Had to order a shirt too.
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Quoted: Glad to see he survived. One of my favorites for sure. Did the sabot act as a muzzle obstruction? I was under the impression that sabots of any kind were a no-no with muzzle brakes. View Quote I was thinking maybe the sabot separated and caused a barrel obstruction also. Not sure how old the ammo was but if the sabot material broke down over time could have left obstruction. |
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Quoted: Everything has a safety margin, but how much is enough? It would be fairly straight forward to identify the sheer strength of a thread lock versus a locking lug design. It would be interesting to know how the two compare between something like the Serbu RN-50 (the gun in the video) and the Armalite AR-50. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I didnt watch the entire thing but he remarks on it being a hot round... I really expect most 50s to be pretty over built. But I'm not surprised that something with that "royal nonesuch" guy's name exploded. Mark Serbu By all accounts it is a robust design. Having the recoil be absorbed by nothing but those end cap threads seems more than a little suspect. I wouldn't be too keen on trusting those even before seeing this video. Isn't there a theoretical maximum pressure a given caliber can physically have, given powder types and case volume? Why wouldn't they add a safety margin equal to that maximum? The guy said normal 50 cal pressure is 55,000psi and that this round was probably 85,000psi. I know over building has a cost but this guy almost died and by all accounts should have. Everything has a safety margin, but how much is enough? It would be fairly straight forward to identify the sheer strength of a thread lock versus a locking lug design. It would be interesting to know how the two compare between something like the Serbu RN-50 (the gun in the video) and the Armalite AR-50. |
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Quoted: No, Royal Nonesuch design, the kid who thinks headphones are earpro and builds pipe guns, sponsored by Mark Serbu View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I didnt watch the entire thing but he remarks on it being a hot round... I really expect most 50s to be pretty over built. But I'm not surprised that something with that "royal nonesuch" guy's name exploded. Mark Serbu By all accounts it is a robust design. No. Royal Nonesuch concept, Mark Serbu design. He's made that clear on camera. |
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Quoted: Video says it was likely 85ksi. The design clearly needs to be enhanced but if it was built to handle 110ksi (2x safety factor) it would have been able to handle that load without grenading and sending lethal fragments into the operator as happened here. Some damage yes, but not a catastrophic failure as demonstrated here. 50 caliber is an entirely different energy category from pistol and rifle calibers and should be treated as such. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: It's more or less understood in the engineering world that you build to 2x the anticipated stress. Say a rifle cartridge generates 55kPSI. Build an action to withstand 110kPSI and it'll last forever. Build a residential electric transformer to handle 50KVA and it'll handle a 25KVA load practically forever. Build a revolver cylinder to withstand 80kPSI and it'll withstand 40kPSI practically forever. But when you push pressures beyond that halfway point, you get on a sliding scale between 'lasts forever' and 'grenades on the next shot'. And it's really hard to predict the slope of that slide. It's entirely possible that the destruction in the OP video was the result of a single grossly overpressure shot, but it's also possible, and IMO more likely, that the rifle was being damaged by a series of overpressure shots, and the last one was the proverbial straw breaking the camel's back. The problem here isn't the factor of safety. This was so catastrophic that it looks the same would have happened even if it was built to handle 110ksi. The problem is that the cheap design has no additional safeguards in the event of catastrophic failure. Because there is no large bolt, all that energy is directed to accelerating a small cap, which essentially becomes a very good projectile. There is no receiver to contain the debris/projectile so it has a clear path to the shooter other than 2 small ears which also became projectiles. None of this is true with a proper 50 BMG design from M99 to M107 Video says it was likely 85ksi. The design clearly needs to be enhanced but if it was built to handle 110ksi (2x safety factor) it would have been able to handle that load without grenading and sending lethal fragments into the operator as happened here. Some damage yes, but not a catastrophic failure as demonstrated here. 50 caliber is an entirely different energy category from pistol and rifle calibers and should be treated as such. Please note the two very important words, "at least" in the text. Nobody knows at this point how overpressured that load was. |
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I've heard stories of 30-06 slap rounds being dangerous as they can yaw before leaving the barrel. I wonder if that applies to all slap rounds.
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Holy balls. With a slice like that across his neck I'm guessing he's damn lucky to be alive.
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Quoted: Sounds like someone was using spotter rounds in a semi. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: This one detonated in the magazine. The guy shooting said it was like having his hand crushed with a hammer. He was fine. https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooting/Organized-Gatherings/Upcoming-2014-APRC-Machinegun/i-j9WjKZP/0/cb25d605/L/20140517-GUNS3062-L.jpg Sounds like someone was using spotter rounds in a semi. What's a spotter round and why would it blow up in a semi? |
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Quoted: Having the recoil be absorbed by nothing but those end cap threads seems more than a little suspect. I wouldn't be too keen on trusting those even before seeing this video. Isn't there a theoretical maximum pressure a given caliber can physically have, given powder types and case volume? Why wouldn't they add a safety margin equal to that maximum? The guy said normal 50 cal pressure is 55,000psi and that this round was probably 85,000psi. I know over building has a cost but this guy almost died and by all accounts should have. View Quote There's a max pressure for in spec powder and projectile but you can easily dramatically exceed that. |
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Quoted: Yeah, that guy is lucky. Serbu build save firearms. This was more of a freak occurrence then the norm. Firearms blow up all the time. I don't doubt that Serbu will be dong a bit of modification to the design. I've had conversations with Mr. Serbu on a firearm that is in the works. One based on the Russian PTRD-41. But in .50BMG. Bolt is S-7 and the receiver extension is 4140. One aspect of the Russian design is that during recoil the bolt opens as the upper recoils back. It's buffered by a spring in the lower butt stock. Very clever design. Mr. Sebu is no dummy but a very intelligent and knowledgeable man. BTW, anybody know what holds the barrel to the receiver? Yep. Threads. So theoretically an overpressure round could blow the barrel out of the receiver. Which it probably has with soem rifle. In any case as far as the RN-50 there is an 18 month wait for one. So I guess a lot of dumb fucks are buying those cheap rifles. View Quote I've got one of these on my 'to buy' list. Even after watching the video. The design has been around for years and selling like crazy, but this is the first kaboom I've heard about. I'm not worried. OTOH, I now have a greater respect for the selection of safe ammo. |
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Quoted: What's a spotter round and why would it blow up in a semi? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: This one detonated in the magazine. The guy shooting said it was like having his hand crushed with a hammer. He was fine. https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooting/Organized-Gatherings/Upcoming-2014-APRC-Machinegun/i-j9WjKZP/0/cb25d605/L/20140517-GUNS3062-L.jpg Sounds like someone was using spotter rounds in a semi. What's a spotter round and why would it blow up in a semi? They have a charge in the bullet that goes off on impact. Originally designed to match the trajectory of a recoilless rifle so you weren't wasting the big rounds. Projectiles were available over the years and many people loaded them in 50 bmg and other rounds for fun. |
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Glad he’s survived that... fucking crazy story if you haven’t watched the video.
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Holy shit, dude is lucky.
I've never fired a .50, and it's on my list of things to do. But it'll probably be a one-and-done thing just to experience it. They definitely scare me a little, compared to just about all other small arms. |
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Quoted: You're complaining about misinformation? Cite the incidences of people "gutted" by M2s and the failure rate. I own a M2 (and a M107A1 and M82CQ). M2 kabooms are not going to send the bolt through the chest cavity of the shooter. Nobody said that weight=safe alone, but if the inertia to resist a kaboom is the mass of a cap or small bolt, that makes them very good projectiles. Many guns do indeed have safety measures in case of a KB. They range from bleed ports near the chamber, to top covers / receivers designed to minimize damage in case of a KB. Nobody said ALL do. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: First off, I have not analyzed the gun design in this video nor do I have any professional association with Serbu Firearms. I admit to knowing Mark Serbu and we have discussed engineering/design on various gun projects (not this gun though) in the past. So much misinformation about engineering and gun design in this thread.
You're complaining about misinformation? Cite the incidences of people "gutted" by M2s and the failure rate. I own a M2 (and a M107A1 and M82CQ). M2 kabooms are not going to send the bolt through the chest cavity of the shooter. Nobody said that weight=safe alone, but if the inertia to resist a kaboom is the mass of a cap or small bolt, that makes them very good projectiles. Many guns do indeed have safety measures in case of a KB. They range from bleed ports near the chamber, to top covers / receivers designed to minimize damage in case of a KB. Nobody said ALL do. Yeah, I can’t pull up the mishap reports but I’ve read them. M2HB’s do KB from time to time and blow a lot of stuff downwards into legs and abdomens. Hell, people are crying about threads and the m2 doesn’t even lock shut except with a cam. |
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Quoted: Yeah, I can’t pull up the mishap reports but I’ve read them. M2HB’s do KB from time to time and blow a lot of stuff downwards into legs and abdomens. Hell, people are crying about threads and the m2 doesn’t even lock shut except with a cam. View Quote Yep, a KB from a M2 will spray shards to legs and draw a little blood but nobody is getting "gutted". There is a breech lock that moves up and down that holds the massive bolt in place though. |
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lets see who passed strength of materials...
The video states mark serbu said the pressure must be over 85kpsi to blow the cap off which means he must test it to that pressure. Not that the round that went of was 85kpsi The threaded cap design is quite safe and does indeed have more surface area than a regular lug design. Someone mentioned torqueing the cap down. This does not matter in this case as long as the cap is not loose and the inherent design of the lock up will not allow it to close if the cap is loose. Do a calculation on thread shear strength and tell me where the torque value of the fastener is accounted for. watching the weird stuff the previous rounds were doing i would guess some goobers own reloads. I know sabot rounds are not accurate but that was something else. heres an old post with gale mcmillan talking about shooting it out of a braked rifle https://yarchive.net/gun/rifle/50bmg_sabot.html |
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Quoted: Yep, a KB from a M2 will spray shards to legs and draw a little blood but nobody is getting "gutted". There is a breech lock that moves up and down that holds the massive bolt in place though. View Quote There are 2 cases I know of with civilian M2HB guns at MG shoots where one was being fired from a standing position at a downward angle and caught shrapnel in the gut, the other was on a M3 mount and his legs extended under when it went shrapneling them. As for your barrel thread comment, the AR15 threads hold the pressure in the same orientation as the 50 in question. Ever gun with a barrel extension pretty much are likewise. |
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View Quote Im glad.scott survived, and im glad i saw the vid, but TFM is correct here. He should have posted it to full30 or rumble.But i also know he needed the youtube exposure to sell the shirts that hes gonna need the money from to even put a dent in the hospital bills. This is gonna fuck over mark surbu. Those tabs should have been full reciever length. I know not his fault but that would have prevented that. Lesson learned. Exotic ammo is not to be fucked with when it can be counterfitted. Shitty |
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Quoted: There are 2 cases I know of with civilian M2HB guns at MG shoots where one was being fired from a standing position at a downward angle and caught shrapnel in the gut, the other was on a M3 mount and his legs extended under when it went shrapneling them. As for your barrel thread comment, the AR15 threads hold the pressure in the same orientation as the 50 in question. Ever gun with a barrel extension pretty much are likewise. View Quote That shrapnel was far from "gutting" a person. Certainly not like sending a chunk of steel through a man's chest and into his lung like the RN50 did here. Dust off that rusty engineering degree (or get a real one like I did) and look at the clamping force required for a 5.56 round vs a 50 BMG. Also look at the surface area of both threads and take a guess at the shear stresses involved. And on top of it all, dust off your English and realize I'm talking about additional safeguards with other guns. If the lugs shear on a M99, it has to push a lot more mass and then it would have to shear the handle, and either penetrate the receiver or buttplate before ever touching the shooter. The RN50 has no barrier other than little ears which only proved to be easily snapped and also become very good projectiles which lodged into the shooter's lung. |
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I swear half of you didn’t even watch the video. It wasn’t the rifle. It was the SLAP rounds of unknown origin/condition.
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