Has anyone ever shot a 50 bmg indoors?

B

bluechip

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I have a building that is 32x106 with a removable panel in the back that is 12x12 inches and a target out in back that comes out to 100 yds. The entire outdoor area is not only fenced, but far out in the country. I have shot 6mm ppc and 222's many times and now have a 50. The winter here in Michigan really puts the damper on things and it would be great if I could use the 50 in a heated building from my shooting table. If I proceed with the idea I would probably start with the table 15 or 20 feet outside the building and gradually ease forward until I am just inside where I can close the overhead door. The building is full of machining equipment but I have a sufficiently wide path through the shooting area. I am open to criticism if anyone thinks it's crazy so let's have some opinions either way.
 
Put whatever you have for max hearing protection on and just go shoot the darn thing. That's the only way you'll know. Don't shoot twice if you have any belief that your hearing will be affected.
 
Be careful

I would be reluctant to shoot it even once if the area is even slightly confined. Even the usual roofs over benches reflect a lot of sound right back at you. Even with both plugs and muffs, I think you risk permanent damage from even one shot in a confined area. I miss hearing birds, crickets and spring peepers. I often wonder how much longer I'm going to shoot as I reflect on how much I'm missing out on - forever. Hearing aids suck, by the way. I have the best available. If you relieve yourself and you hit water and not porcelain it sounds like you're dropping marbles into a big stainless steel bowl. Everything I don't want to hear is too loud, and the things I want to hear I still can't.
 
It looks like possible hearing loss is the direction this thread went and probably rightly so. I was thinking about the possible damage to electronics in several of my machines. The CNC machines are over fifty feet from the muzzle and may experience the shock wave of the bullet's sonic crack. Possibly the direction I should go if I pursue this would be to sneak up on the fifty by trying other large calibers. A friend of mine has a .460 and several other in between large calibers. I am sixty seven and have enough hearing loss at this point to miss a lot of dialog on TV. I'll put more thought into this before moving on it.
 
We shoot .50BMG inside all the time, both M2 MG and M107 rifle and single shot EPVAT or accuracy barrels. We have 16'x16' tunnels 100 and 300 meters long. Besides the noise, we use double ear protection, you have an overpressure situation. We are required to wear ballistic vests and helmets to help stop damage. It feels like you got punched in the chest with each shot. If there is a muzzlebrake, M107, it is even worse. If possible we try to shoot remotely.
 
MilGunsmith said:
We shoot .50BMG inside all the time, both M2 MG and M107 rifle and single shot EPVAT or accuracy barrels. We have 16'x16' tunnels 100 and 300 meters long. Besides the noise, we use double ear protection, you have an overpressure situation. We are required to wear ballistic vests and helmets to help stop damage. It feels like you got punched in the chest with each shot. If there is a muzzlebrake, M107, it is even worse. If possible we try to shoot remotely.
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I want to thank you for giving me advice from an experienced indoor shooter of the bmg 50. I'll most likely abandon the idea unless it is a very long winter here in Mich and I get gutsy.
 
If you shoot indoors - make sure you have a really good backstop. Apparently, the late Skip Talbot ran some tests with "pseudo houses". (Wooden structures with the equivalent of a house's worth of material for the bullet to pass through.) Bullets (non AP?) went through six of them in a row.

Some .50 BMG competitors have taken to wearing full face motorcycle helmets to protect their sinuses and hearing. Doesn't do anything to protect your lungs though.

More info on shooting .50 BMGs can probably be found at the Fifty Caliber Shooter's Association (http://fcsa.org).

Hope this helps.
 
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