.50 Cal SLAP Rd Explosion Video

[MSW2]

Yep. That thing with good eye protection was enlightening and humbling at the same time.
I alway wear glasses, but mostly just my correction glasses. Now I'm always thinking about that video and am starting to wonder if I should always wear the safety ones.
They are so uncomfortable if you wear glasses underneath and also wear ear protection other than plugs.

You can get safety glasses with your prescription lenses in made. I got my current ones issued by a place I worked for years ago. My ear protection also - two perks in an otherwise not so nice company.

[Ovidio]

I was starting to think about that myself.
Now that I just changed prescription lenses might be the right moment. I should be ok for a while...

Where in good old RSA are you, if I may ask?

[ssgross]

They are so uncomfortable if you wear glasses underneath and also wear ear protection

I use ess suppressor glasses.
https://www.esseyepro.com/en_us/ball...-hi-def-copper
They are affordable, combat tested (they had or do have a contract with US military), and the model above has thin arms to comfortably fit under comm gear...or hearing protection.
I wore them with contacts before I had Lasik a few years ago. But now, I sometimes slip reading glasses with thin arms under them too...works wonders with tiny peeps on 1903's and Krags, or tiny thin front posts on my trapdoor Springfield.

[MSW2]

I was starting to think about that myself.
Now that I just changed prescription lenses might be the right moment. I should be ok for a while...

Where in good old RSA are you, if I may ask?

You may. Vaal Triangle, Gauteng. A couple of km outside the town with the steel mill that was the reason for me getting prescription safety glasses.

[old tanker]

He later stated it was OLD ammo. I don't blame the firearm, his ammo should never have been chambered. Who knows how that ammo was cooked before he got hold of it?

50 caliber SLAP ammunition was developed by the Marine Corps during the mid/late 1980s. The stuff was only finally type classified in 1993. How old could it be?

M903 Caliber .50 Saboted Light Armor Penetrator (SLAP)

Used by M2HB machine gun. The SLAP is used in combat against current and future light armored targets and Armored Attack Helicopters (AAHs). The M903 offers the capability to defeat these targets at ranges two to three times that of currently available ammunition.

Armor Penetration.
500 meters: 1.34 in (34 mm)
1,200 meters: 0.91 in (23 mm)

Projectile diameter: 0.30 inches (7.7 mm)

The cartridge consists of a heavy metal (tungsten) penetrator that is sabot-launched at a much higher velocity than standard rounds. The sabot, which is designed to break up at the muzzle to release the penetrator, must also survive the gun environment until launch. It is injection molded of special high strength plastic and is reinforced with an aluminum insert in the base section. The cartridge is identified by an amber sabot (Ultem 1000).

Type Classification: STD. Type Classification Date: 31-MAR-1993
Unit cost: $8.87 (Fiscal Year 2005)

A fixed price contract for initial production of 3.5 million rounds of 4/1 linked M903/M962 for the U.S. Marine Corps use was awarded 1QFY94. Contractor for this activity is Olin Corporation. Cartridges are being loaded, assembled and packed by the Winchester Division, East Alton, IL. M962 tracer projectiles are charged at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (LCAAP). Production of 0.6 million rounds for Army use began 2QFY96.

How many tons of WW2 cal 50 have we slung down range in training without trouble?. We did have the advantage of breaking the seals on the crates. We did not shoot loose rounds from shady sources.

[browningautorifle]

How many tons of WW2 cal 50 have we slung down range in training without trouble?.

I can tell you lots. We would procure from US supply at Ft Lewis or more to the point, Yakima Firing Range and I know the ammo was WW2 AP, APIT and so on. I was the only guy looking at headstamps. It would have been stored correctly though. That was back early and mid '80's.

[ssgross]

We did not shoot loose rounds from shady sources.

I gathered from the video and comments that these rounds are not available as you would find other surplus ammo...still in its packaging or sealed crates.
Looked to me like there is no comparison...he bought loose rounds at ~$100 each from lord knows where to make a one-of-a-kind video for his channel. Well, it was one-of-a-kind for sure!

[Ovidio]

Just south of Joburg.
I hope I’ll be able to come down and see customers after summer.
I really miss South Africa. Always felt at home there.

[Gilevi]

No one I have talked to in the Army remembers having any issued during the Gulf War.

We had some in iraq 2005. We also were shooting 50cal ammo dated from the 50s. And some of the snipers had 40mm buckshot rounds.

[old tanker]

I can tell you lots. We would procure from US supply at Ft Lewis or more to the point, Yakima Firing Range and I know the ammo was WW2 AP, APIT and so on. I was the only guy looking at headstamps. It would have been stored correctly though. That was back early and mid '80's.

You and the guys issuing would have been all through SB742-1 to make sure the lots drawn were approved for use. Most civilians have no clue how stringently ammo samples are tested during storage to ensure it will perform as intended. That's one of the reason they won't take back any ammo the lot identity has been lost. Once you break the seal it's easier to shoot it up than try to turn it back in.