Assault rifle vs. T-Rex?

Jack · February 13, 2009, 09:18:48 PM

I don't know how many movies I've seen where soldiers were firing automatic rifles at a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and it almost always has no effect at all. What do you think would happen in "real life"? I would think a larger caliber rifle like an AK-47 would be fairly effective against a large dinosaur. Multiple shots in the head/neck area, or even the upper torso, would probably bring it down. Don't know about the smaller caliber US rifles but I'm inclined to think it would at least do a lot better than what we see in the movies.

Opinions?

indianasmith · February 13, 2009, 11:48:30 PM

We don't know a lot about the skin/muscle density of dinos, but I am inclined to agree with you . . . a sustained burst of fire in the head/neck area SHOULD bring down a 45 foot animal. However, that depends on the shooter being able to shoot straight and level against a giant beast with six in incisors bearing down on him at 35 mph . . .

so the problem may be operator error!

akiratubo · February 14, 2009, 12:49:14 AM

This is how I see it.

A spine shot should take down any animal. It might not necessarily kill it, but it should at least temporarily paralyze the T. Rex. Keep in mind the T. Rex isn't going to just be standing still letting you shoot it. After the first few rounds, it's either going to run away, attack you directly, or start snapping wildly in the air trying to get whatever's hurting it. You'll have a really hard time placing shots where you want them. If nobody can get a CNS or heart shot, it'll come down to shooting the T. Rex until it bleeds out. That could take awhile.

I don't put very good odds on one soldier with a 5.56 or 7.62 NATO rifle vs. one T. Rex in an open space. Move the battle to terrain that would hinder the T. Rex or provide a spot for the soldier to snipe in relative safety and the odds start looking better for the soldier. Depending on how many shots it takes to bring the T. Rex down, he could easily run out of ammo or his gun might overheat.

Step it up to one platoon of soldiers and the odds for the T. Rex don't look so good no matter what.

Ash · February 14, 2009, 01:00:30 AM

I posted this thread a couple of years ago.

Wanna take down a T-Rex?
Use this gun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQJSZs-euZU&e

It looks like it'd take your shoulder off if you held it wrong.
I wonder what country they're in?

Jack · February 14, 2009, 08:06:57 AM

LOL, definite Burt Gummer weaponry there

WingedSerpent · February 14, 2009, 10:48:02 AM

Well, I can't say for certain how effective an assult rifle would be against a Tyrannosaurs Rex. I've never been in that situation...yet. However I have a much better time believing that a dinosaur would be able to shrug off gun fire then some other movies I've seen were a human-sized monster (vampire, werewolf) is somehow able to survive being shot point blank.

I guess realistically since we have guns for bringing down elephants and other large animals, it's not out of the question that there are guns that would be capable of killing dinosaurs.

Eyesore · February 14, 2009, 12:34:29 PM

All speculation and theory here: As Indy said, we don't know the muscle/skin (or bone) density of a T. Rex, nor do we have an exact knowledge of vital internal organs location.

But this much we do know: The AK 47 round is 7.62x39, and operates at a comparable level as the common .30-30 Winchester (except the AK round uses spire point bullets) whose ballistics limits are best realized in the deer and smaller black bear sized game (sure, .30-30's have taken larger game, but there are plenty of rounds better suited for that).

Poachers in Africa do use this round to bring down large animals, but use a lot of rounds to do so. And these dirty bastards know exactly where to shoot them for the best effect.

In short, in an optimal situation where you were the first guy to know that a T. Rex was around and that was ALLyou knew about it, you'd be better served using a round and rifle developed for the largest African game. I believe that hunting permits issued today in Africa for the larger and more dangerous game require a .375 H&H as a minimum round to hunt with. Burt's right on this one! I'd have to be a desperate fool to use an AK.

Dennis · February 15, 2009, 01:25:55 PM

My opinion on this is that attempting to take out a large (4-7 ton) predatory dinosaur like a T-Rex or Allosaurus with a weapon designed to take out human sized targets is a bad idea, unless you got real lucky and caused enough pain to drive it away, all you would do is make it angry. A much better choice would be something like a .50 caliber Browning machine gun.

akiratubo · February 15, 2009, 04:53:07 PM

Quote from: Dennis on February 15, 2009, 01:25:55 PMA much better choice would be something like a .50 caliber Browning machine gun.

Try carrying one of those around. A .50 BMG bolt-action rifle would suffice. A .338 or a .375 should do the trick, too.

Andrew · February 15, 2009, 05:47:20 PM

Quote from: Eyesore on February 14, 2009, 12:34:29 PM
But this much we do know: The AK 47 round is 7.62x39, and operates at a comparable level as the common .30-30 Winchester (except the AK round uses spire point bullets) whose ballistics limits are best realized in the deer and smaller black bear sized game (sure, .30-30's have taken larger game, but there are plenty of rounds better suited for that).

M-14 rifles and US medium machine guns (M240G and M60) use the much more powerful 7.62X51, and they are comparable to a .308 catridge. They are not as powerful as a .30-06, but still quite lethal.

element19_98 · February 15, 2009, 10:44:06 PM

i own several clones of the ak-47 and akm,and i highly doubt such a small caliber would cause much damage to a large animal such as that,ive read lots of information on people who have taken shots at bears and even an animal that size is tough to actually kill with out a hunting size caliber and good shot placement. and one more thing these are not "assualt" rifles the only feature that seperates them is a pistol grip instead of a stock grip its purely cosmetic and operation is the same as any other semi-automatic rifle,so it should really be more of a caliber discussion in my opinion.