.950 JDJ Rifle. You Gotta Be Warped

[BarryinIN]

Video of shooting a .950 JDJ, made by SSK (J.D. Jones). But first, some info on the .950 JDJ. It helps to know that first, in order to get a full appreciation.

I have three words: Not this kid.

2400 grain bullet (standard .458 Win Mag or .460 Weatherby bullet is 500 or 510 grains).

240 grains of powder (458 Win gets around 75 grains; 460 Weatherby, 110-125).

Or, put another way, a .50 BMG burns about the same amount of powder as the .950 JDJ but three .50 BMG bullets wouldn't weigh as much as the .950 JDJ's bullet.

And they make heavier bullets. A lot heavier. 3600 grains, or half a pound.

The 3600 grainer travels 2,200 fps, which computes to 38,685 ft/lbs of muzzle energy. Yes, enough energy to move almost 20 tons one foot.

The case is made from a 20mm case, shortened to about .50 BMG length. The loaded round looks like something they sell in shops with no windows and fences around the parking lot.

They made three .950 JDJ rifles. Ever. This one is the first and lightest, at 50 pounds. That was too light, and they kept getting heavier. The other two weigh 80 and 110 lbs.

Price of the rifle is a bit steep, at $8,000. But I suppose it's not that much more than a Barrett 82. It's $40 a shot though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xohy9gWz7kk&feature=player_embedded

I don't mind shooting my .45-70 Marlin with pretty stout loads. I rather enjoy shooting my 7.5 lb .375 H&H Mag (one accurate rifle). I'd really like to have a .470 Nitro double rifle, but knowing that's out of reach, I might get a Ruger in .416 Rigby some day.

But this...

No way.

I wouldn't touch it.

Edit-

I ran some numbers through a recoil calculator.

Rifle 1 is a 9 pound .30-06 with 180 grain bullets;

Rifle 2 is a 10 pound .458 Win Mag with 500 grain bullets;

Rifle 3 is the .950 JDJ with 3600 grain bullets:

Recoil Impulse: Rifle 1: 3.21 lb/sec Rifle 2: 6.12 lb/sec Rifle 3: 39.40 lb/sec

Recoil velocity: Rifle 1: 11.48 fps Rifle 2: 19.71 fps Rifle 3: 25.37 fps

Free Recoil Energy: Rifle 1: 18.41 ft/lb Rifle 2: 60.35 ft/lb Rifle 3: 499.7 ft/lb

[wwillson]

If I was standing right there and had the opportunity to shoot that beast, I wouldn't do it on a bet. I have no qualms saying that I don't like recoil and don't need to learn to flinch.

Wayne

[BarryinIN]

I don't usually pay much attention to great big rifles. So often it's just someone trying to make a bigger one than they saw somewhere. I'm sure someone saw this and is adapting a 30mm Vulcan cannon barrel to an action, and someone else has a WWII German 88 barrel set aside for this purpose.

But this was different to me.

Maybe it's because of how I think SSK went about making it. I doubt they just bored and rifled a big hole un a barrel and said "looky there". I bet they planned it out carefully, right down to what case length and shoulder angle worked best, and what rate of twist excelled.

[BarryinIN]

I still wouldn't shoot it.