I finally got around to seeing the Jurassic World last night. I know, I know, it came out 4 months ago, but I have a baby so the only way I get to enjoy a movie with the wife when it gets to On Demand.
It was enjoyable, not as good as the Jurassic Park, better than Jurassic Park III, on par with The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Having seen all four movies now, and knowing that the studio had consulted with paleontologists and biologists, I wish they had consulted with a couple of gun guys and maybe a professional safari guide too.
I get that having a bunch of bad ass, ex-military, Blackwater types for security is really cool looking but I don’t think that hunting terrorists (which I haven’t done) employees the same techniques as hunting dangerous game (which I have done). It’s not like lion or Nyati (Cape Buffalo) use IED’s. Also, when what you are hunting is 50 feet long and weights 6 tons, I don’t think belt fed 5.56 has enough stopping power. The Raptor-Whisperer (Chris Pratt) did have something big bore, but I just don’t think .45-70 really cuts it.
They did this in every movie. Muldoon, the game warden in Jurassic Park, was packing a SPAS-12 shotgun, and the dinosaur capture crew from The Lost World was carrying a mix of HK G3’s, M-16’s, etc. The ONLY character who brings enough gun was Roland the professional hunter from The Lost World who was packing a double gun in 600 NE. And he never gets to torch it off.
I can see the advantage of a .308 semi auto against Velociraptor. Of course, when hunting something that can hunt you back, there is no such thing as “too much knockdown power.” Since Velociraptor are pack hunters and human size, I think a semi auto .308 with a 20-25 round mag would make up in volume of fire for what it lacks in single hit knockdown.
Anything bigger than that though – which is most of the non-human population of the park – it’s time to break out the big guns. Nothing less than .375 H&H at and ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. I’m partial to the .500 Jeffery since ammo and brass are relatively easy to find. Other calibers in the family of Dino-stoppers that come to mind as being available in factory bolt guns: .460 Weatherby, .505 Gibbs, .458 Lott. Then there are the other proprietary cartridges for stopping a charging elephant. The .500 A-Square, .600 Overkill, .585 Nyati, and .577 T-Rex.
The later three I’d steer clear of. Too much recoil to be controllable by all but the most experienced shooters and they lack penetration. The British discovered that smaller diameter, faster bullets penetrated better on dangerous game. The 4 bore and 8 bore gave way to the .700 and .600 Nitro, which were eclipsed by the .500 NE 3 inch and .470 NE.
If I had to bring something into play that required more than the 6,800 ft-lbs of energy that the Jeffery had, I’m going full bore 50 BMG. Some of the lighter ones are pushing 20-21 lbs, which is heavy but doable (you’re not humping it around in the filed all day). Also a 647 Barnes Triple Shock loaded to 2,900 FPS will carry 12,000 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle. That should stop a T-Rex.
Maybe I’m over analyzing this. But how many people need to get eaten over 2 years on two Islands and the city of San Diego before they get their act together. Seriously? For a lot less than the cost of some Blackwater-esque mercenary company, I bed they can get a couple of redneck hunters who would mop up a rampaging dinosaur problem for nothing more than the cost of the guns, ammo, and taxidermy rights, and they would fare a whole lot better.
We watched it Friday night (No kids, I just dislike going to the theater with a bunch of idiots texting and carrying on everything but watching the film)
As a gunnie, I agree they weapons selection SUCKS. When Pratt appered with the lever action, the words coming out of my mouth were “Dude, not even in 44-100”
Perhaps a 4 bore shooting full jacketed rounds may have done something,
Then again, if they made sense weapon’s wise, Big Bad DNA Dino would have been taken care off 5 minutes after breaking containment and the movie would be over.
Just do like David Drake and pack an M79 with low-fragmentation HEAT loads.
I’m thinking a couple Dillon Aero M134Ds mounted on HumVees. Taxidermy be damned, at 3000 RPM, it’s going to be stopped.
They used the M134 in the movie to no effect. Granted I don’t think a single round hit the I-Rex, but still, it’s 7.62. If you’re gonna go after a dino with anything belt fed, good ol’ M2 would be perfect.
I have a hard time believing a minigun would have no effect. 7.62 at 3K rounds a minute is going to tear the shit out of flesh and bone, no matter how big.
I don’t disagree that the M2 would be ideal. I just think the rate of fire (even with smaller rounds) would be sufficient. They’re not armored, just thick and heavy.
In a static situation, sure. Mythbusters used an M134 to cut down a tree.
But this was mounted in a helicopter, that was moving, fired at a dinosaur that was also moving. That is not concentrated fire. Dillon Aero in one of their vids uses a helicopter mounted M134 to shoot a 4×8 sheet of plywood. In 10 seconds of continuous fire, it hit the target 110 times. That’s out of 1,000 rounds fired. And the plywood was in a fixed position.
(around he 9 min mark) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRSk6iLwK_g
Under those circumstances, the M134 won’t be the flesh stripper that I think you think it will. 50 cal will have more energy per hit. If you want to improve the hit probability, I’d go to the GAU-21, which is the M2 upgraded for aviation roles, boosting the rate of fire to 1,200 rpm. This is your helicopter mounted dino slayer.
So, is this going to be the new “caliber wars” debate? LOL
50 cal will have more energy per hit.
Absolutely true. I don’t argue that, and it would probably be my first choice if available, because Ma Deuce. I agree that the quality of the hits are better. But I also think it’s a case arguing of quality vs quantity over a period of time.
The very same video you gave points out the number of hits from the M240 (a single barrel, automatic weapon) at range (I don’t remember them saying what the range is and it’s hard to guess based upon the video). The comparative number of hits from a multiple barrel automatic is, as the video is trying to prove, nearly 10 times more, in a ten second span. (BTW, according to Dillon, the rate of fire is 3000RPM, so the M134 shoots 500 bullets, not 1000, for a ten second burst)
The M240 rate of fire is at best 950 RPM. The video claims 10 seconds/130 rounds(= 780 RPM ). The M2, depending upon the configuration is typically 485-850, unless we’re talking the electric fed (1200RPM). So, using the non-electric fed rate of fire at its maximum, we’re talking about 140 rounds fired in a 10 second span. The likelihood is pretty darn good that the number of hits achieved with the M2 is going to be similar to the M240, assuming all other factors are similar.
Even if we use the GAU21 (electric fed) rate of 1200RPM, that’s 200 rounds in 10 seconds. Again assuming a similar hit ratio to the previous M240 demonstration, we’re looking at around 20-24 hits in a second span.
More than 110 7.62 vs about 24 .50 cal. The M134 is going to tear flesh faster, by sheering volume of bullets. Yes, quality of hits with the M2 will be better, but the sheer quantity from the M134 would be devastating. It’s all about hits over a period of time. (yes, I know that in the movie the minigun didn’t work. But when have movies ever accurately portrayed guns and what they can and can’t do? Isn’t that sort of the point of this very post?)
Honestly, I don’t think you could go wrong with either choice.
Unfortunately, either way, all that ammo is heavy, and is gone in a hurry.
You know, all we really need is a couple of these:
Amazingly mild recoil! ;o)
In A Gun for Dinosaur by L. Sprague de Camp, the hunting guide won’t allow anyone to time travel and hunt in the Cretaceous or Jurassic periods that can’t handle a rifle similar to his Continental .600.
Personally, I preferred the 3rd movie over the 2nd one, but then they made the guy who was responsible for nearly every human death in the movie(Eddie, the idiot who brings a baby T-rex back to the camp WHILE ITS PARENTS ARE STILL ALIVE AND LOOKING FOR IT) out to be a hero. The book(in which Ian and Sarah berate the guy for it) was way better.
I enjoyed Jurassic World. I actually have the 5-round variant of the Marlin that Chris Pratt’s character was carrying around. I think my comment was “I would want something bigger when hunting dinosaurs.”
Personally, I think a semi-auto .308 with a 25-round magazine would be pretty bad underkill when hunting raptors. They’re man-sized, yes, but more agile and with scaley hides. If you’re in an open field, they’re faster than you, if you aren’t, then they’ll sneak up on you, they’ll have a numbers advantage, and they’ll specialize in ambush tactics. I’d expect 25 rounds of full-auto to be enough to take down 1 or 2. IF I could get off the first shot, and was only fighting 1 or 2, I’d be willing to wager my Marlin against raptors. Anything bigger, though, and I’d be asking for anti-vehicle weaponry.
I do think they should have tossed out the idea of recapturing it way earlier than they did. Once you’re looking at possible guest fatalities, you need to start weighing the long-term costs of image loss vs. exhibit replacement. Existing zoo animals are put down for far less than what a typical containment breach at a dinosaur park could cause.
I wouldn’t be too sure about the Cape Buffalo not using IEDs.
First, you’re going to want some proper armored cars. They should be able to pick up a few old Brit Ferrets or similar pretty cheap. Next, mount with a 25mm chain gun in the turret, a few M240’s in the coaxial positions, and stick an M-2 on top.
Some sort of thermo sight is a must- something that large and active will have a thermo signature like a neon sign (or will be dead from heat stroke).
Redundant implanted GPS transponders are also a must. If you want to get fancy, add a coded lethal capsule. Program the GPS to trigger the capsule if the critter visits a “red zone”.
There, problem solved!
Since I found out velocirapors were a couple of feet tall and covered in feathers I just can’t watch Jurassic Park movies anymore.
Chicken soup!
…I bed (sic) they can get a couple of redneck hunters who would mop up a rampaging dinosaur problem for nothing more than the cost of the guns, ammo, and taxidermy rights …
You forgot the beer … never forget the beer.
I’m just happy that dinosaurs managed to be killed by people with guns in this film. Seriously, go back and watch the first 3 movies. Not a single dinosaur is killed on screen by a person with a gun, or even noticeably wounded. This despite the fact that in each film there were people presumably competent in their use.
Also, the .45-70 that Pratt carries would be perfectly adequate against his primary focus: The raptors. That’s his job at the park, raptor wrangler, so a handy gun capable of rapidly killing or disabling a velociraptor is entirely appropriate.