Who Hunts Varmints With .50 cal Rounds?

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230 fpe, ft-lb, ft/lb, or how ever this forum chooses to communicate KE, is minimum. Hardly a competitor for a center fire of just about any variety. It is just barely legal in my state for game or fur bearing animals. Yes fur bearing. Skunks, beaver, nutria, musk rat and a host of other small to very small varmints fall into the category. Must be hunted with at least 30 caliber @ 800 fps or a minimum combination to create 215 FPE. I didn't make the rule and don't think it was thought out very well in some areas, but there it is.

A 50 cal air rifle is not a 50BMG, and never will be. Have fun thinking it may be though.
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Wow Texas requires a .30 @800fpe to hunt small fur bearing animals? Wow thats crazy especially since here in California they allow air rifles to be used on small game, turkey and coyotes and they only say it has to be at least a .177 size. To me a .177 would be fine for squirrels and animals of that size but I would think a racoon and coyote needs a bigger size round with that can carry more energy. 

I have friends in idaho and they said you can hunt deer and elk with air rifles and they just say .357 for deer and .45 for elk with a recommended 300fpe. 

I find it interesting that different states have such vastly different requirements.
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Yea, kinda nuts, especially for the smaller. I can see a beaver or nutria, but most of the rest, not so much. Small game can use smaller caliber. Coyotes are pests and can be taken with just about any means, including booby traps and explosive charges. Those are very regulated for the means, not the critter.

There is a lot of gray area for smaller fur bearers, and many just aren't mentioned. A call to the TPW would probably be in order, but for pesky pests, it is a bit over kill. Game animals have to meet the above, turkeys are game animals, and even then in some places can only be hunted with shotgun.

We run in to some dandy and confusing game laws around here at times. We aren't as "Open Range" and Wild West as many internet experts would have folks believe.

I'm new to much more than a back yard encounter for pests. It seems we are only a few years into main stream air gunning, here is one of the articles I've found. https://www.palestineherald.com/sports/outdoors-tpwd-approves-rules-regarding-air-guns/article_b8656a4c-ac58-11e8-b744-134c0beb5e07.html
 
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Guest said:
I wouldn't even know that lead could deform when shot over about 1800 fps except the Lyman Black Powder Handbook that I bought a freakin; life time ago has some images of it happening. Seems like it was in that range that pure lead started to flatten out in flight (only a little but observable). That volume is long gone (It had a black cover). I have a second printing now and it does not contain that information (or I just now missed it looking for it). They show loads up to about 2500 fps for the really small calibers like .32. They would have to be hardening that a little to shoot it that fast. Anyway.
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I remember that book also. IIRC the 2,500 fps loading was for a patched ball in a 32 long barrel rifle with something like 60 grains 3F powder. The patch protects the bore from leading at those velocities.
 
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KatoKevin454 said:
Why put a 800 HP engine in a car or truck, "Because you can", I Shoot 50 Cal roundballs from my slingshot, is that too powerful?...... as to 50 cal, it's not a 50 BMG, air gun only gets 230-600 FPE depending on the gun, Black powder 50's have been used for several centuries for varmints and they develop a bit more FPE than an air gun, most of the 50 cal Air guns are being used for larger prey than what you think they're being used for, most people use .25- 357 for coyotes and smaller Varmints, 50 cal ammo is to expensive to waste on small Varmints these days and it doesn't do as much damage as you would think since it is only traveling at speeds under 900 fps, what the manufacturer is stating is what the gun can be used for to get ethical kills, the guns are adjustable power for the type of Prey you are hunting so I don't see any problem as long as it is a ethical kill, caliber has nothing to do with the size of the animal, beside the list of varmints are mostly not edible animals to most people..... Just my opinion of the Manufacturers explanation. 👌
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Since you mentioned 50 BMG I can't resist. Back in the 80's I was at a friends farm to do some long range target shooting and to do some fun shooting. I was helping him unload his toys putting them on a couple tables and a deer walked out just over 100 yards away. There was one day left in deer season, I had two tags in my wallet, and I wouldn't complain having a little more meat in the freezer. Out of the 12-15 firearms already out, only one was legal for deer hunting there. A bolt action 50 BMG. All the others were machine guns, he owned over 100. He didn't mind if I shot it, so of course I did. My advice is never shoot anything you want to eat with a 50. Probably at least 30% of the meat was bloodshot and wasted. I didn't have 4 wheel drive so my car was 200 yards away on the other side of a creek, along with far more appropriate firearms.
 
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Old muzzleloaders were often .50 or thereabouts. Modern ones are anywhere from 900 to 1,500 fpe at the muzzle. down to more like 750-1,000 at 50 yards. I'd assume "back in the day" they were tamer.

A Dragon claw with only 1/4 that energy isn't really overkill for most of what was listed.

And NO ONE is going to use a 250 fpe to take a bison, are they?
 
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