Can a .50 cal sniper rifle blow apart the target before it hits?

Question

I heard that the Barrett .50 cal can tear apart a human target before the actual round strikes because there is gas and shat now traveling so fast around/ in front of it. Is this true?

Answer 1

It is not "gas".....it is a shock wave.... while the shock wave does impact the body it is not sufficient to dismember a body.... a moot point because the impact of the slug will do the job very efficiently..... I have seen arms and legs spinning off into space after a single hit.... you do not want to be on the receiving end of a 50 cal. .....the shock of being hit anywhere on your body is potentially deadly

Answer 2

Negative.

Answer 3

No...If it imparted that much energy to the air, it would slow down very quickly.   If you look at wounds cause by a .50 cal bullet, the entry wound is clearly, unmistakably smaller than the exit wound, meaning that all the expansion goes on inside the target,  which is part of it's lethality.

In fact, some of the highest velocity bullets actually do less damage than you would expect because they go through the target so quickly that they don't expand very much.

Answer 4

It's not true at all. They do make an UGLY hole in things though.

Answer 5

From what I've read it would make a hole in you about the size of a grapefruit, but I don't know if that was FMJ or Hollow/Ballistic points.  

Answer 6

no but a sabot round passing by you would tear you apart.

Answer 7

i don't think so, those bullets are SUPER sonic, that means it goes faster than sound, and the gases.  and gasses can't blow apart a human body in the first place... i think

Answer 8

NO but it may impact a little and the guy above me, a grapefruit????

h**l no this thing well blo a whole of about 14-16 inches