Watch Out For Nosebleed If He’s Shooting Near You

Craig Taylor of Vancouver, Wash., is a believer in the big bang theory.

That is, the bigger the caliber, the bigger the bang.

The two .50-caliber rifles Taylor custom made for himself have set a world record, tied another and set an unofficial world record for the relatively new .50-caliber shooter.

The .50-caliber was used on the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber in World War II and Navy battleships. Today it’s used on the turret of U.S. tanks.

But when Taylor says his guns are the biggest and the loudest rifles around, it’s still a shock.

Shooters must wear both earplugs and earmuffs for adequate protection. The guns are so powerful, bystanders have been known to suffer from nosebleeds and blackouts.

That’s because Taylor’s guns generate 15,000 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. To put the .50-caliber rifle into perspective, a typical hunting cartridge generates about 2,500 foot-pounds.

“Shooting these things takes a lot out of you,” Taylor said. “But you get used to the power and learn to just sort of grimace. Compare it to the feeling of standing next to an M-80 firecracker. Take that feeling and multiply it about five times and that’s about what it’s like.”

Taylor joined the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association and started shooting a little over a year ago.

He finished making his first gun just before last year’s international competition in July and walked away with the world record, after only his second match with a 3.2395 inch measurement between shots.

In competition, shooters must fire three strings, (in one string, five shots must be fired in 10 minutes), at a target that’s 1,000 yards away - the length of 10 football fields.

Taylor’s two .50-caliber rifles are treated like members of the family - he’s even named them.

His heavy gun, weighing 48 pounds and standing 5 feet from butt to muzzle, was Taylor’s tool when setting the heavy-gun world record. His light gun, Floyd, weighs 31 pounds. Both guns shoot a .50-caliber Browning machine gun bullet. One round costs about $4.

“Once you’ve shot a .50, nothing else is a challenge,” Taylor said.