[MzTT]

I thought T Rex was a scavenger?

[Dstyeglm]

I thought T Rex was a scavenger?

Hey! just like Drake!

[gusecrync]

Supposing you were to contend with an attack from one of two dinosaur species: Tyrannosaurus Rex or Deinonychus Antirrhopus. Which would you prefer to face? Note that this is a fairly open-ended question; you might be attacked in the city, the suburbs or the wilderness, while armed or unarmed, by one or more dinosaurs--for fairness' sake, imagine a number of deinonychuses (deinonychi?) equal in mass to the number of rexes.

For the sake of the present discussion, assume each rex weighs about 5 metric tons and has a top speed a little under 25 mph, which is about as fast as a pretty damned quick human being. However, they cannot speed up, slow down, or turn with any speed. They have reasonable binocular vision, an excellent sense of smell, and incredibly powerful jaws. Assume a sense of hearing about equal to a human's and cognitive abilities around the level of a lion or other apex predator. Finally, bear in mind that their bone structure is extremely robust and even the heaviest bullet is unlikely to break a bone.

Deinonychus is relatively unknown by name, but it's basically the dinosaur called a "velociraptor" in Jurassic Park. Actual velociraptors were about the six feet long, but half of that was tail. The actual dinosaur wasn't much bigger than a cat and would be reduced to clawing your shins. Anyway, deinonychus was about eleven feet long (again including tail), 2' at the hip, and 160 pounds. Also (not that it's relevant) it was almost certainly feathered, not scaled. JP exaggerated their intelligence considerably; given their brain size, they're unlikely to have been smart enough to open doors, which they lack the manual dexterity for anyway. Probably they weren't abysmally stupid either, though. The actual speed of a deinonychus (screw it, I'm just going to call it a "raptor" from now on for ease of typing) is a matter of debate, but it's pretty agile and very likely hunts in packs. Also, it has a stronger bite than a hyena's, and a vicious claw on each hind leg.

My thoughts: raptors are far more dangerous in wide-open spaces, where they can circle around and use their numbers and there are no effective barriers to hide behind. Rex is less of a threat if you can see him coming, and his speed is less impressive when there's room to dodge. In an urban or suburban environment, rex takes the advantage due to the more cramped conditions of a street. Also, while almost any wall or even a car could substantially slow down raptors, a POed rex would be able to bash through anything short of solid brick. I'm not sure if a rex even has a weak spot, given its bone mass. Ideally, I'd aim for the upper leg, which is a pretty big target and would make it harder to run. However, when the rex is charging you its leg would be basically impossible to hit. Of course this depends on what kind of gun you've got, and so on. Raptors, by comparison, would go down from a single shot above, say, .22 caliber. However, they come in pretty big groups...really, there's a lot to consider here, so let the discussion begin.

Look, if there are dinosaurs about then anybody with any sense has already procured himself some serious weaponry. I'm talking rpgs and vehicle mounted 50 cals at the least. With this kit, I'd rather face the trex. It's unlikely to sneak up on me, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't last long in the face of that firepower.

[Sthjrderfida]

I would rather face the t rex because he is bigger and slower. I would be shooting at him with a shotgun, laughing and saying, eat steel *****

[mirzaterak]

T-Rex. In a heartbeat.

Did you even watch Jurassic Park?

Yes, but like I said, certain details weren't entirely accurate; size, speed and intellect were exaggerated, for example. This is a scientifically respectable discussion about modern humans fighting long-extinct animals, TYVM.

[BartRonalds]

When I was a kid I used to have a recurring nightmare about being chased by a T-rex. I feel that that would have prepared me for such a situation. That and maybe I've shared too much.

[Axxflcaj]

Look, if there are dinosaurs about then anybody with any sense has already procured himself some serious weaponry. I'm talking rpgs and vehicle mounted 50 cals at the least. With this kit, I'd rather face the trex. It's unlikely to sneak up on me, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't last long in the face of that firepower.

Right now, considering I don't have an M2 or any other heavy weapons, I'm more comfortable facing the Deinonychus. Assuming that the existence of dinosaurs would restore our God-given right to autocannons, I'd favor the M242. With that, even large game like the T-Rex would be easy to handle.

[xT0U3UGh]

Thanks, I'll take 1500 rounds a minute of 800 grams at a kilometer a second over some shitty buckshot any day of the week.

Who says you're firing buckshot from that shotgun? You can get slugs too, I think. Although I guess those wouldn't be rifled...

[occafeVes]

I stumbled across a mention of that on Wiki while doing important research for this thread. I think the dino in question was T-Rex. Can't be arsed to look it up again, though.

[ballingham]

What circumstance? You heard Andy Dufresne in the movie. The raptors will eat you alive. If the T-rex gets you at least it will be over quick.

[MineOffedOvex]

I'm frankly terrified of the bananaraptor.

Felch: Further gun question. I think I read somewhere that shotgun slugs can be rifled themselves, so they are precise even in a shotgun which is smoothbore. Also, slugs are enormous. a) is this true and b) could they kill something huge like a T-rex?

[@Aerodyno@]

There are rifled slugs, and rifled shotgun barrels. It's pretty simple to change out barrels, at least on my Mossberg 500. Rifled shotguns slugs are slow and heavy, and they are sometimes used in hunting where rifles are prohibited. They tend to be less likely to overpenetrate, since they're big slow slugs instead of tiny fast bullets. It would not be a reliable way to take out a T-Rex.

Here are some charts to give you an idea.

Rifled slug

30-06

If you look at those, you'll note that they both start with ~2500 ft-lbs, but after 100 yards the 30-06 has nearly twice the energy.

EDIT: One more thing. If the barrel is smoothbore, than the rifled slug won't help accuracy. The rifling on the slugs has something to do with barrel wear.

[aLZ9zKsO]

KH, you're assuming that there are enough RPGs and heavy machine guns to go around. This does not necessarily apply in a...dinosaur apocalypse scenario. Under such circumstances, the price of massive firepower will go up substantially, and in a densely populated, already pricey neighborhood like NYC, it's unlikely that your income would buy enough (assuming no gov't. regulation of dinocidal implements). And if you're planning to procure them without money by one means or another...there are going to be a number of people ahead of you.

Also, *somebody* has to be the poor bugger who discovers the dinos are back. Maybe the dinos suddenly reincarnated at your place of work because they felt it was a good spot for aggressive and hyper-dominant animals to be.

A few points here:

1) Dinosaur defense is a public good. Having neighbors who are armed to the teeth is good for me
2) Selection effects. By construction I am still alive to fight dinosaurs. Assuming any kind of shortage of weaponry, people will kill each other to steal it or die trying. Within a relatively short period of time, this will have shaken itself out and thus I will have weapons sufficient to fight dinosaurs (duh).

You need to learn economics and Bayes' theorem.

The Ma Deuce is the only reliable way to survive a T-Rex attack.

[L8fGLM4d]

No one's suggested homemade flamethrowers yet, by the way. I've heard you can put gas in a super soaker and a lighter on the end and get a decent one that way.

[Abnorttrano]

There are rifled slugs, and rifled shotgun barrels. It's pretty simple to change out barrels, at least on my Mossberg 500. Rifled shotguns slugs are slow and heavy, and they are sometimes used in hunting where rifles are prohibited. They tend to be less likely to overpenetrate, since they're big slow slugs instead of tiny fast bullets. It would not be a reliable way to take out a T-Rex.

Here are some charts to give you an idea.

Rifled slug

30-06

If you look at those, you'll note that they both start with ~2500 ft-lbs, but after 100 yards the 30-06 has nearly twice the energy.

EDIT: One more thing. If the barrel is smoothbore, than the rifled slug won't help accuracy. The rifling on the slugs has something to do with barrel wear.

Well, I have a Mossberg 500 and it isn't rifled. If they are now, that's something that's been sneaked in. I suppose there are good and bad points, but it's a tightening on gun control.
As far as the edit, a Mossberg 500 isn't made for accuracy, mine isn't, more than being able to hit greater area in home defense. I don't think slugs have anything to do with barrel wear. If you were going to hunt bear,and insisted on using a shotgun, you should probably use slugs.

[DenisMoor]

What were those little dinosaurs that attacked the fat I.T. guy in Jurassic Park?

[EHjEjdqe]

Well, I have a Mossberg 500 and it isn't rifled. If they are now, that's something that's been sneaked in. I suppose there are good and bad points, but it's a tightening on gun control.
As far as the edit, a Mossberg 500 isn't made for accuracy, mine isn't, more than being able to hit greater area in home defense. I don't think slugs have anything to do with barrel wear. If you were going to hunt bear,and insisted on using a shotgun, you should probably use slugs.

Mine isn't rifled either, but they do sell rifled barrels. Rifling a barrel ****s with shot spread, so they're typically an aftermarket addition.

[Erwtbimp]

What were those little dinosaurs that attacked the fat I.T. guy in Jurassic Park?

The ones that spat acid were Dilophosaurus, although the movie was creative in their portrayal.

[arindiruppya]

HC prefers getting eaten by slightly singed and pissed off dinosaurs

Well, I was more thinking that they would be pre-barbecued.

[Promalada]

You think the Army gives a ****? It doesn't matter if your MOS is in engineering or artillery, everybody I know wound up humping a rifle or driving a truck. Once you're in, you belong to them, to do with as they please.