The myth that a .50 caliber bullet being able to hurt you by passing by is an urban legend that likely developed from the loud cracking or bang noise as the cartridge is fired and the power of the impact as it reaches its target. There is an assumption that the .50 caliber can either create a shockwave that causes damage if it passes by, or it can create enough air displacement that it works as a vacuum and causes damage.
As this rumor spread throughout the community so did the tall tales about it. You’ll find conspiracies that a .50 caliber bullet ripped limbs like arms off a person just by passing by, and when hunting with one it sucked the eyes out of the animal like a deer upon impact. But could there be any truth to these myths? We’ll try to debunk them for you.
It starts with the amount of energy and force that comes with a .50 caliber. According to Wikipedia the PSI (pounds per square inch) is going to range from 53,664 to 60,481. According to the University of Tennessee, a 55,000 PSI (ABJ) water jet can cut through 4 inches of titanium. This leads to the speed and ballistics part of the urban legend.
Then comes the sound. Decibel Pro App and the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing which has been around since the mid-1960s say the .50 caliber with black powder comes in at 159.7 which is less than a 7mm magnum. That may come as a shock unless you’re familiar with both, but also puts some of the myth into reality.
Firing a .50 caliber is going to have a large kick, and the size of the firearm adds to the mystic compared to a rifle which uses your shoulder to handle some of the recoil. The visual difference in firing and maintaining control may be one of the reasons some people assume the .50 caliber cartridge can harm you by just passing by. That’s where the two potential possibilities come from.
Air Displacement
The first aspect is air displacement. There are three common associations with the .50 caliber bullet rumors:
- The displaced air also creates compressed air
- A blast effect takes place that temporarily displaces the air
- Vacuums are created
Creating compressed air is done through a machine and the firing of a cartridge is not likely going to compress enough and keep it streamlined to do any damage. This part of the rumor comes from air guns and air canons. With that said, as a cartridge is fired, the combustion of the propellant does create a massive amount of compressed air. This compressed air is what fires the cartridge forward. In addition it compresses the air around the muzzle creating a small shockwave. Now you can see how the rumors continue to lead into one another.
Air displacement is another part of the rumor. Firing a .50 caliber firearm is not going to displace enough air to actually damage your body, even when it passes by. Vacuums can harm a person by destabilizing the pressure outside of the body from the pressure inside of the body.
When you dive into a swimming pool and go deeper, you feel the pressure against your body and ears more because of the change in pressure. In space where there is no air and you’re in a complete vacuum, the air would likely be ripped from your lungs. You can read more about this at Scientific American here.
The displaced air from firing the .50 cal will likely not be able to displace enough air to create a vacuum, and the displacement likely wouldn’t last long enough to do damage. According to space.com, you could survive for 10 to 15 seconds before going unconscious in space. The chances of a single cartridge taking all of the air away from the region around you for a second, let alone 10 or more is highly unlikely. But what about the shockwaves?
Shockwave Power
Yes, firing .50 caliber bullets create a shockwave. Shockwaves are formed when an object moves faster than the speed of sound creating a loud boom. When we think of the word shockwave we think of rippling air because of Hollywood trying to get us to visualize a trajectory.
This could be a bullet firing in slow motion like in the movies, or a fighter plane given ripples for dramatic effect. In reality the shockwave can absolutely damage a human, but it is your ears from the loud noise created by firing the gun that will get damaged, not the bullet flying by you. Yes, it will disrupt the air around you, but that isn’t the shockwave, that is air displacement while the projectile is in motion.
We cannot say for sure if there has ever been a case where a .50 caliber cartridge has ever hurt someone by just passing by them, but from our research at the sources above, we believe it is highly unlikely and just a rumor.