Weapon of Mass Destruction

Ever since it entered service in 1921, the .50 Browning Machine Gun (BMG) cartridge has changed warfare altogether. With unprecedented power and accuracy, it blasted its way through world records and still stands against the test of time. The bullet and the guns capable of firing it have become legendary and, like any legend, have experienced embellishment as word passed from person to person. Fear emerged. Suddenly the capabilities of the fifty caliber rifles transformed into a list of threats. Now vast numbers of preconceptions surround the mythic cartridge. However a very proud few fully understand and respect these instruments, knowing which notions are preconceptions and which are misconceptions.

John Browning developed the cartridge based on a scaled up .30-06 design for use in vehicle mounted machine guns. Sometime later, portable rifles were developed to fire it, placing the rounds not only in new aspects of battle, but also in the hands of any civilian who had the desire and the money. Public outcries screamed that these tools of war should only be used for and by our military. Conversely, the argument raged that to deny these guns to the public would be a violation of our second amendment rights. Regardless, the unique capacity of the fifty caliber has caused it to undergo attack in several states and banned in the state of California.

The .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004 banned .50 BMG rifles, calling them a terrorist threat as well as a threat to the "health, safety, and security of all residents" of California. As of this year, no terrorist attacks involving a .50 BMG have been committed or even attempted. Actually it has never been used to harm or kill anyone in California; there is no record of a .50 BMG rifle ever being used in the United States to commit a crime. Hollywood blockbusters often display the opposite scenario, only aiding to cultivate an atmosphere of worry and doubt. In reality the number of crimes committed using a .50 BMG may have something to do with the cost of the actual firearm.

Cost is one aspect in which many Americans are delightfully ignorant. Having been told once from someone who knew a guy who was friends with another guy who delivered mail to this other guy… a lot people tend to believe the first figure they’re told. One can enter the world of the fifty for less than two thousand dollars, but if you want to conquer that world a single rifle can cost you over ten thousand dollars without a scope. Generally the population accepts and believes the truth when told. Where real confusion rears its head surrounds the price of ammunition. Perhaps criminals are warned first that a single round costs upwards of ten dollars on the low end. With all of the ridiculous figures being thrown around, gun owners wind up paying closer to two dollars and fifty cents for military surplus ammo. Specialty bullets can cost quite a bit more.