# You, a single-shot 50cal rifle, and an angry T-Rex. Hope? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375 "2011-04-14T15:57:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/1 "2011-04-14T15:57:20Z")
You are placed in hell’s colosseum against a T-Rex who is hungry But, you get one of those “voting from the rooftops” .50 cal rifles. Just one bullet though. You are ex-Ranger though. Hope? Where to aim: Brain? How big is that thing, enough to hit? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/2 "2011-04-14T16:00:56Z")
Never heard of “voting from the rooftops” before, kind of chilling turn of phrase. Oh, and that T-rex is going to eat you, no question. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/3 "2011-04-14T16:11:52Z")
Not knowing how thick the T-Rex skull is (although I guess that .50-cal can go through an engine block, so it probably doesn’t matter) or the size of the brain, I’d be tempted to shoot at the base of the skull and take out the spinal cord (although still a hell of a shot, but I’m a Ranger (at least in the scenario)). Assuming he’s charging me - aim dead center below the jaw and hope to take out the windpipe and the spine - one or the other would hopefully disable the big guy. But, voted for Rex wins. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/4 "2011-04-14T16:15:47Z")
The skull of the tyrannosaur is not a tank. In fact, it had large holes in the bones (fenestrae) and “honeycombed” bones in some places to reduce weight. A single .50 cal would kill it before it knew what was happening. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/5 "2011-04-14T16:17:55Z")
Im thinking leg, given it only had two, you dont have to kill it after all, just stop it getting to you. The big worry with a head shot would be deflection Id think. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/6 "2011-04-14T16:38:55Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > The skull of the tyrannosaur is not a tank. In fact, it had large holes in the bones (fenestrae) and “honeycombed” bones in some places to reduce weight. A single .50 cal would kill it before it knew what was happening. Yeah, a Tyrannosaur skull was lightly built, full of empty spaces. Which is why shooting it in the head has such a low probability of a killing shot. It’s not that the bullet will bounce off the thick skull, it’s that the bullet will pass through the skull without hitting the brain. The brain is really really small. Take a look at the image on this page: [http://www.sciencemag.org/content/310/5750/966.full](http://www.sciencemag.org/content/310/5750/966.full). Hitting the brain in that skull is going to be nearly impossible. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/7 "2011-04-14T16:41:02Z")
in his classic story _a Gun for Dinosaur_, L. Sprague de Camp has his hero insist on using an Elephant Gun: > [@](#): > > a Continental six hundred. That shoots a pair of Nitro Express cartridges the size of bananas. It’s designed for knocking down elephant – not just wounding them, but knocking them base-over-apex. The reason is that he earlier took someone who couldn’t handle the recoil, and took instead a > [@](#): > > Well, he took a fancy to my Manchester seventy, chambered for a three-seven-five magnum cartridge. That’s a little light for elephant and very definitely light for dinosaur, but we were in a hurry. The guy ended up as dino treats. I don’t know what exactly you need for dinosaur, or how de Camp made his calculations, but if I was shooting at a beast bigger than an elephant, I’d want an elephant gun. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/8 "2011-04-14T16:48:14Z")
Wiki suggests a .50 BMG can have over 50% more energy than a 600 Nitro Express. As in 8400 vs 14900. So Id stick with that unless someone knows more. Otara ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/9 "2011-04-14T16:51:01Z")
Unless that .50 is firing explosive shells, you’re dino-chow. Even then you’re probably lunch before he decides to die. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/10 "2011-04-14T16:56:11Z")
Turn the rifle around and force the Tyrannosaur to lick my remains out of the grass if he wants to eat me. That’s probably my best bet for ruining his day. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/11 "2011-04-14T17:13:51Z")
One shot? Right in the chest cavity. It would produce a sucking chest wound. No need to get fancy. (I would prefer a 7.62mm machine gun however, a T Rex is big, but it is just meat. I do not see a need for a huge round.) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/12 "2011-04-14T17:17:07Z")
Oh, one more point about shooting it in the brain. Have you ever chopped off a chicken’s head? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/13 "2011-04-14T17:21:59Z")
> [@sassyfras](#): > > Just one bullet though. Can it be [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raufoss_Mk_211) bullet? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/14 "2011-04-14T17:22:57Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Oh, one more point about shooting it in the brain. Have you ever chopped off a chicken’s head? Yeah. The chicken runs around and puts on a show before it dies. So what? The tyrannosaur would be harmless at that point, unless it fell on you. Also, regarding the tiny brain, and the difficulty of the shot - during “the surge” in Iraq, a U.S. Marine sniper piled up something like 15 to 20 kills over a couple of days by routinely making headshots on running human targets, moving across a narrow alley, from 400 to 800 yards out. A trained sniper could hit the tyrannosaur anywhere he wanted to, regardless of the size of the target. Brain, chest, _shrug_. It’s all barbecue after it stops twitching. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/15 "2011-04-14T17:28:21Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Can it be [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raufoss_Mk_211) bullet? One shot? I’d rather use [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Man). From orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/16 "2011-04-14T17:37:10Z")
Pshaw, **Folacin** got it right. I’ll be shooting that bitch under the chin and gnawing on leg of Rex. nomnomnom ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/17 "2011-04-14T17:40:38Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > Yeah. The chicken runs around and puts on a show before it dies. So what? The tyrannosaur would be harmless at that point, unless it fell on you. > > Also, regarding the tiny brain, and the difficulty of the shot - during “the surge” in Iraq, a U.S. Marine sniper piled up something like 15 to 20 kills over a couple of days by routinely making headshots on running human targets, moving across a narrow alley, from 400 to 800 yards out. A trained sniper could hit the tyrannosaur anywhere he wanted to, regardless of the size of the target. Brain, chest, _shrug_. It’s all barbecue after it stops twitching. Are you a US Marine sniper? Plus, a brain-shot is easy on a human because the head is all brain. The problem with a brain-shot on a Tyrannosaur is that the brain is a very small part of the head. It’s one thing to shoot a human in the brain by shooting them in the head. A comparable shot would be to consistently hit the pancreas when shooting someone in the abdomen. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/18 "2011-04-14T17:44:32Z")
I would have gone for the knee if I had a shot, chest if I didn’t. I don’t have the best awareness on where precisely the heart is on a T-Rex, and I’m unsure if it would bleed out from a through-and-through chest wound. So I’d try to just shatter the leg and let it die painfully. I figure if it can’t get to me, I’m good. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/19 "2011-04-14T17:46:50Z")
I’m a pretty good shot, and more importantly, very calm during an emergency. (I fall apart twice as hard afterwards, but you can count on me until it’s over.) So I picked slice and dice. I’m going for the neck shot, from the front, because if it doesn’t get the spine it will almost certainly stop the breathing, or if I miss in an upward direction disable the jaw. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375/20 "2011-04-14T17:49:06Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Are you a US Marine sniper? > > Plus, a brain-shot is easy on a human because the head is all brain. The problem with a brain-shot on a Tyrannosaur is that the brain is a very small part of the head. It’s one thing to shoot a human in the brain by shooting them in the head. A comparable shot would be to consistently hit the pancreas when shooting someone in the abdomen. More like hitting the gall bladder aiming at the chest. There are bones that could deflect, and it’s about the size of a walnut. And lest we forget - it’s not going to be in precisely the same spot on every speciman. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-a-single-shot-50cal-rifle-and-an-angry-t-rex-hope/578375.md?page=2)