"Dinosaur guns" Topic

Here's a fun article from Outdoor Life in which the author describes what modern weaponry he would use to bag dinosaurs, should he be trapped in Jurassic Park: link

Sadly, he limits it only to the carnivores. But what if you are being charged by a Triceratops? Or a Brachiosaurus? Trikes would be particularly tough, I think, given the thickness of their skulls and the sheer mass surrounding their internal organs.

Anyway, there was interesting thread from a couple years back about this very subject: TMP link

The stegosaurus famously has a brain the size of a walnut. You better be a darn good shot.

Seriously, wouldn't an Elephant gun take down a dinosaur? If the slug could punch through Elephant hide, it should be able to go through dinosaur hide.

An elephant gun? Probably in many cases. But a reptilian hide would be harder than an elephant hide, I think. Plus some dinosaurs were larger than elephants. Technically, you could use something with less firepower if you knew exactly where to shoot. (Such as behind the ear with an elephant.) And, granted, any decent military-grade machine gun would probably do the trick. But what if you wanted to take a trophy? In that case, you would 1) Need something with stopping power, and 2) something that would take the dinosaur down in as few shots as possible.

Dinosaurs were not reptiles.
I thought I should point that out.

Flakvierling

And thought this would be about a weapon using dinosaurs as ammunition. Damn.

Trebuchet launching T-Rex's with a parachute.

Seriously, wouldn't an Elephant gun take down a dinosaur? If the slug could punch through Elephant hide, it should be able to go through dinosaur hide.

Has no one read Shooting an Elephant?
link

In any case, an elephant gun still needs to hit the right location. WDM Bell, a professional elephant hunter did most of his work with a rifle firing 7mm Mauser because it was more accurate than any "elephant gun."

Pity the elephants:

link

The .460 Weatherby magnum has always been touted as a fine gun for hunting large game, dinosaurs and light helicopters.

Personally if I were to hunt a dino it would be with something like this.

Or if you need a trophy.

Rocket propelled grenade.

Kindness.

I thought maybe Mr. Meier had sculpted some heavy weapon support for this figure:

link

Dinosaur Hunting Guns: Taking Down T-Rex and Other Extinct Reptiles

If they're extinct, won't pretty much any weapon do?
On the other hand…

Ron

P.S. .55 in. Boys anti-tank rifle

Ron,
I was thinking something in 14.5 would be appropriate, given that it started as an AT rifle round it seems suitable. On the other hand couldn't overpenetration be an issue?

Do they make hollow-point loads in .55?

Ron

1. Elephants actually have reasonably soft heads, the bone is spongy – filled with voids (sinuses). This enabled knowledgable hunters to take them down with calibres as small as 6.5x54.

2. .700 Winchester aka .700/300/900, based on a 12 gauge solid brass case necked down, possibly chambered in a Winchester 1888 lever action shotgun with a rifled barrel. Needs a decent muzzle break tho'.

Interesting fact: The gun in JP: The Lost World was a .600 Nitro Express: "the gun was made by Butch Searcy, a well regarded California gun builder who specializes in high end hunting rifles, mostly bolt actions and double rifles."

I see a lot of suggestions for mounted weapons, but I don't think those would be very effective. Against herbivores, sure. But what about elephant-sized carnivores? You would need something portable, because what if they come up behind you? You'd need a gun you could swing around.

Why not give several characters RPGs for a very short, boring game. I like making things more fun (for the dinosaurs), by having the players roll randomly for weapons. Maybe you'll get that elephant gun, or maybe you'll end up with a revolver. I follow along with old books and movies that typically have the characters unexpectedly discover the mysterious mist-shrouded island, subterranean realm, or isolated jungle plateau.

a 50 cal sniper rifle would do .

Ask Burt Gommer.

Claymore mines mounted on a 4x4 with a 20-25mm bushmaster and a mk 19 grenadelauncher in a ring turret.

Baring that an Anzio 20mm anti materiel rifle. link

Not me… But hopefully ONE DAY…