Do we get Christopher George’s hat, or Eric Braeden’s goggles?
with apologies to Jack Handy the title inspires:
Some say the most dangerous thing is a T-Rex, some say a gun. I say it’s a T-Rex with a gun, eating and shooting everything in sight.
Bu I maintain it would cease to hunt us as soon as it encountered any previously unknown painful stimuli.
The main time predators risk injury is in territory and mating disputes. They do not risk injury for food, but will risk injury for territory that might contain a long term supply of food, potential mates, and space to raise offspring. By analogy with bears, the most dangerous T-rexs might be females with young. Female bears are plenty aggressive. but they attack to frighten and dominate, not to kill. They will give up in the face of a few scary and loud dogs backed up by bean bag rounds. Surely the less smart T-rex will back off from something actually injurious.
So if you wanna kill a T-rex you have to have a vehicle that can chase it. A couple of Somali-style “technicals” would be a cheaper choice that a quad .50 or a Bradley if the terrain was favorable.
While killing a T-Rex by shooting at it may be hit or miss, a little known fact is that the T-Rex’s anatomy makes it extremely susceptible to being knocked out through being punched on both sides of the head at the same time, like in the temples. All you need is a ladder and you’re golden.
And an equally brave/idiotic assistant.
Oh, need a couple of guys to hold the ladders.
Does one of these guys often say “Nyuk nyuk nyuk”, “Woop woop woop” or “Soitenly”? Because if so it isn’t much of a feat. He can also withstand blows to the head with a giant sledgehammer, being stretched to more than twice his original size, having his tonsils removed with ice tongs, or being shot point blank with any of the guns discussed in this thread.
Dude. The .50 BMG drops over 80 feet from point of aim at 1500 yards (.85 miles) and retains “only” 1500-1800 ft.-lbs. of energy. That’s less than your grandad’s .30-30. At 2 miles you might as well shoot him with a BB gun with your eyes closed. 3-4 miles as originally stated is flat-out ridiculous. Maybe you can start a new thread “Fifty Caliber vs. T-Rex vs. Aliens vs. Predator”
Wait one damn minute.
Are we talking about an erstwhile if not overly intelligent assistant, or the Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Well, we sho’ don’t want to Piss Him Off…
But Hell, I’d start shooting the Ma Deuce at ten miles.
You know, the best solution may be one espoused by a US Marine stationed in Alaska.
When told that an M16 would not stop a polar bear, he responded, “He won’t catch me. He be slippin’ on shit.”
So use tracer and incendiary loads. Drop wouldn’t be a problem with 12 minutes to work with. But let’s say 1/2 mile - you would still have a minute and a half of continuous fire before he reaches you, with 1/3 of those shots hitting with ideal energy.
The real problem is there isn’t a factual answer to the question. **Cecil **took a good crack at it, and the possibilities and implications were all discussed at length in the CoCC thread. (My original answeras to how you can kill a t-rex with a 9MM handgun.)
Fair to say, but we really don’t know shit about how a rex would behave. We don’t even know how sophisticated it’s neuro system was. You could make the case that it’s more likely to behave like a great white than a bear. How easy is it to drive off a shark? I really don’t know.
It’s pretty easy to drive off a shark of any kind. San Luis Pass in Texas is a hot spot for sharks. It’s also a good place to drown at sea because of its strange tidal currents. But San Lius attracts lots of surf fishermen who are hoping to catch the same fish the sharks are wanting to eat. All this is fed by the low tide washout from Laguna Madre and West Bay.
Most shark attacks are “investigation bites”. They bite us knowing we are not their usual prey, but they have to check out what we are. They usually swim away after the bite. Alas, their bites are severely injurious and sometimes lead to radical amputations if you make it back to the beach. Some die at sea by drowning.
T-rex is smarter than a shark and dumber than a bear. Sharks let humans go most of the time, bears are more interested in territory than killing. I think a T-rex will run from the unknown.
I’d hit it over the nose with a rolled-up newspaper and scold it with a stern voice. Works every time.
You’re assuming you’re in a clearing, or on a hill, or something. If you have trees or other obstructions in your immediate vicinity, it doesn’t matter how big the T-rex is, you won’t be able to see it, nevermind shoot it.
Wow, that is one depressing story.
Ergo the qualifying statement:
Since t-rex roamed the plains, and a number of the available fossils were found in this area of New Mexico I don’t think finding a suitable vantage point would be the biggest challenge in this hypothetical lizard hunt.
If we’ve completely given up on using a gun that can be shot on the move then forget about the .50 Barrett, let’s use an Anzio 20mm rifle:
-the Anzio next to a mere Barrett:
http://www.anzioironworks.com/images/20mmwith50a-1.jpg
-Another view to give you an idea of the size:
-The 20mm Vulcan round the Anzio fires next to a .50 BMG:
http://www.hightech-edge.com/wp-content/uploads/50-browning-and-20mm-cannon-rounds-550x412.jpg
I want one!
Now we do not have a T REX but it’s weight is estimated at around 13 tons, so double the size of a big elephant. That places it’s vitals roughly about 1.25 times deeper.
In addition being a reptile due to nervous system Peculiarity it should be VERY HARD TO STOP!!!
Nevertheless it is probably possible with help of a party (YES!!!) of say 6-8 individuals all armed with rifles/ guns fully adequate in stopping the charge of any of the pachyderms etc, namely 577 Nitro exopress, 600 Nitro express, 460 weatherby and similar.
Some of these rounds are even approved by the whaling commission . They will all have adequate or near adequate penetration and the joint impact of several projectiles will PROBABLY increase the chances that their wives will not become all widows.
There is no guarantee they will kill it with one volley but who knows.
Fortunately for the potential hunters this is a purely theoretical example…
Don’t shoot the Rex. Shoot the herd of apatosaurs behind it and start a stampede.