The .950 JDJ is a popualar large caliber rifle cartridge developed by American gunsmith and weapon designer J. D. Jones the owner of SSK Industries. It is considered as the most powerful sporting rifle ever made in the history of shooting sports. There are very few guns that are as captivating as the .950 JDJ, or Fat Mac, as it is more dramatically referred weapon.
The .950 JDJ is not just any large-bore rifle, but it ranks among the most daring and unusual creations among the entire small arms history. It has recently proven at Rock Island Auction Company’s Sporting & Collector Auction in Texas, where it fetched near under $100,000, Lets, know what is the myth which keeps on attracting the collectors and enthusiasts towards the .950 JDJ.
The ammunition is largely the usp for the mysterious aura which surrounding the .950 JDJ. As, the .950 JDJ had to be in a new avatar with the Vulcan 20 × 110mm case, which was modified laterr. The design of JD Jones was to neck the cartridge and reshape it to fit a .950-inch bullet, thus creating a cartridge that outshines even the .50 BMG in terms of size. Each bullet weighs around 3,600 grains, that are about five times heavier than a regular .50 BMG round, and the cartridge itself is nearly four inches long. In layman’s language, this is a rifle that cannot be categorized with any other weapon available today in its category.
There was not a single issue apart from weight while making a gun that could hold such a damaging power. To sustain in the extreme pressures, rifles were designed with thick McMillan-style stocks and heavy Krieger bull barrels. The muzzle brake, which only weighs 18 pounds, is a must-have for this kind of violent recoil.
The Fat Mac reaches a weight between 61 and 110 pounds, depending on how it was made, and in any case, it is more from the rest of rifle of its category. And its recoil is also a nightmare, over 200 foot pounds, which is more than ten times stronger than that of a .30-06 hunting rifle. To safely shoot it, the shooter must wear the strong optics, a solid bipod, and a really good shooting position.
The figures it produces are equally impressive. 3600 grain bullets exit the barrel at a velocity of about 2200 feet per second, hence, the energy at the muzzle is around 38,000 foot-pounds. That makes it more or less equal to the shells discharged by the primary tank guns of World War I era, but it’s three times more powerful than one of these .50 BMG. However, the great size and power of the round have been a main difficulty of the .950 JDJ in getting athe military use. The reasons are that it is simply too powerful to be of any practical use.
From a legal point of view, the rifle is a very strangely made. Typically, firearms that have a diameter of more than half an inch and are categorised as Destructive Devices under the National Firearms Act, meaning they are heavily restricted.
However, the .950 JDJ is considered a normal rifle due to a Sporting use Exception granted to SSK Industries, that is, it is not a Destructive Devices category. This implies that any person who is legally qualified to possess a firearm can buy one without any major regulatory needs.
While the Fat Mac shows engineering excellence, the owner must have known that he had a unique weapon and, not just a regular tool that fires. It is definitely not a gun for the backcountry because of its weight, and the fire kick is severe even with a supported resting stand.
The price only adds to its rarity, as this rifles can cost well over $8000 while each custom made cartridge can sell for $40 or more. Thus, to the major part of its owners, that it is a showpiece, something that is fired at the range from time to time more for its range than for its purpose.
Still, in the world of guns, .950 JDJ has achieved the level of legends. The name says it all, and the one who doesn’t care about the boundaries and merely does it is exactly why it is sometimes called a monster truck of rifles with its noisy, huge, and magnificently higher fire and usage range.
And that is the only reason it is survives in collectable market. Not because it would have been in the front line of a battle, but because it was the purest definition of an assault weapon designed to be fired from the shoulder and which can be even broken by it.