Are there any recorded instances of .50 cal rifles shooting down choppers ANYWHERE? I know the CIA sent some to A-stan in the 80's to shoot down Hinds, but did it ever work? And I know insurgents had .50 cal rifles in Iraq, but I don't remember reading about any choppers being shot down by them. You have armed men with access to .50 cal rifles in A-stan, Iraq, Mexico and Colombia going against people with helicopters, and I don't recall any shootdowns. Am I missing something?

So back to the collection: do you actually shoot the PTRD?

No recorded shoot downs that I know of. A civilian or police helicopter isn't going to be very tolerant of holes being poked in it regardless of the caliber, but I find it doubtful that one could have an easy time downing a flying tank like a Hind or Apache with a 50. I don't know about the former's armor rating, but I know the fuselage of the latter can withstand a hit from a projectile up to 23mm.

I think that 23mm number only applies to the rotor blades (and possible the cockpit tub), most of the helicopter is only rated to 12.7mm, whilst I think the cockpit itself will only stand up to 7.62mm (although there are sliding boron carbide shields that can be brought forward for additional protection).

Barrett thought it was possible to shoot helicopters down with a high caliber rifle, that is the role that the M82A2 was originally designed for (hence how it is designed to be shoulder fired and as standard used a 1x red dot sight). Regardless of whether it is realistically practical, if it was to happen in a war zone insurgents wouldn't be targeting Apaches, they would be going for "soft" transport helicopters as they are coming in for a landing, potentially killing dozens of people rather than the two in an Apache.

As a matter of fact, I finally shot my PTRD for the first time last month. I was using somewhat reduced charge reloads using plain lead softpoint bullets (just, you know, 14.5mm). Here's the video:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps37ab260c.jpg

And here's what it did to 1 1/2" steel plate:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...psc5556ae7.jpg

How much does 14.5mm cost?

Were you using a reduced load because of the lead bullets? I heard that you can't use lead bullets with full loads because they fall apart, is this true? The person who told me this said he used to make his owns bullet for reloading out of solid brass that he turned down on a lathe.

Very nice Nyles. You're ready for the Zombies.

I actually didn't load them myself, they came with the gun. I assume they used a reduced charge due to the lead bullets, but also to reduce recoil. In spite of the huge blast it's actually not unpleasant to shoot. Which was nice since I brought out my 110lb young lady friend who actually took a turn with it.

14.5mm ammo hasn't been available in Canada in about 6 years, but when it was it was selling for about $30-$40 a round, which was actually about the time the PTRDs disappeared off the market (there was an import of about 100 of them 8ish years ago). Probably more now that those of us with PTRDs (and even a few PTRS rifles made it in in the same import) are getting desperate for ammo!

I snapped some pictures of other stuff from my new house that IMFDB might find interesting, even if only loosely gun related.

My Afghan war rug, purchased at the market in Kandahar. I think almost everyone that did a tour there brought one of these back.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...psb9ddbc52.jpg

Bookshelf in my dining area, containing among other things my gun library.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps141d7e39.jpg

My collection of WW2 Canadian regimental cap badges, hanging in the living room:
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps2d78f9ef.jpg

After buying a proper safe for my handguns, which had the added bonus of freeing up space in my old Sentry cabinets so I can lock up my ammo, I finally completed my gun room to my liking. So, without further ado, I present the Guntorium:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps4ef81540.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps78336d3d.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps59273d3a.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps450813a5.jpg

More to follow on the next page...