Reply #12: A couple of points

[Vladimir]

Umm, .50 BMGs aren't regulated any more than a hunting rifle because they are simply, rifles! And usually bolt action at that.

How is this fact pertinent? You are not going to be shooting at a fast moving target anyhow, so rate of fire is fairly unimportant.

Someone needs to notify the US military. They abandoned the .50 BMG as an anti-aircraft round after WWII. Even then it was used as a close quarters weapon aboard bombers.

In fact, almost every US fighter during WWII was equipped with the .50 and nothing else, and this was not only sufficient firepower but in many respects superior to the German preference for large calibre cannons. The P-47 was considered one of the most heavily armed airplanes of the time, and it carried eight 0.50 calibre machineguns. And was extensively used against ground targets too. And of course the .50 remained in use during the Korean war. Moreover, a commercial jetliner lacks either self-sealing fuel tanks or an inert gas system to prevent the same tanks from igniting, so it would be less than shocking if a 0.50BMG round placed squaely into one of its fuel tanks would send it up in flames. As for helicopters, an Apache is protected against 0.50 caliber rounds, but most transport choppers are not - they tend to be protected against 7.62mm rounds at best. Which is for example why most main bttle tanks are still equipped with a 0.50 calibre machinegun on top of the turrett (in addition to the gun's use against infantry targets on the ground).