[33], The specified maximum diameter of an unfired .50 BMG bullet is 0.510-inch (13.0mm); while this appears to be over the .50 inch (12.7mm) maximum allowed for non-sporting Title I firearms under the U.S. National Firearms Act, the barrel of a .50 BMG rifle is only .50 inch (12.7mm) across the rifling lands and slightly larger in the grooves. We are using computer data that was compiled from the manufacturers websites as well as from trusted ballistic calculators. There are various types of weapons used for 50 caliber bullets. With the .338 Lapua Magnum vs .50 BMG, recoil takes on a bit more of an important role. 300 yds. [4] A skilled sniper can effectively neutralize an infantry unit by eliminating several targets (soldiers or equipment) without revealing his precise location. Both of these cartridges are capable of accuracy at extreme distances, and both have enormous stopping power. Some of them can also be semi auto-loading guns. Some notable companies that produce 50 BMG sniper rifles include Barrett Firearms, Accuracy International, Arms Tech Ltd, Armalite, Bushmaster, Desert Tech, Serbu Firearms, etc. Its tough for us in this situation because the 50 BMG is such as unique round and it makes it seem as if the .338 LM falls short in most categories and this is not the case. You can find an email form and contact information here. The higher the ballistic coefficient, the better the bullet can resist wind drag and wind drift which would make the bullet less likely to be pulled off of its flight path and, in theory, be more accurate. Reply. . . The guns that use these bullets were used to target troops to save from enemy guns. We are measuring the bullet drop (inches) from 100 out to 1,000 yards. With modern firearms, the majority of centerfire rifle cartridges can be tolerated with regards to the recoil. There are two to three inches difference between the highest performing 50 BMG round and the highest 338 LM round. A user can shoot easily from a distance of about two kilometers. Three distinct and non-compatible metallic links have been used for .50 BMG cartridge belts. Now, in this section, we are not looking technically at the actual felt recoil but instead at the recoil energy(ft.lb) that is generated when firing these rounds. On the other hand, 50 BMG is one of the various types of 50 Cal. By adding trajectories to the panel on the right you may produce charts and graphs that show the different trajectories side by side. Due to the high ballistic coefficient of the bullet, the .50 BMG's trajectory also suffers less "drift" from cross-winds than smaller and lighter calibers, making the .50 BMG a good choice for high-powered sniper rifles.[16]. Designed for long range training and target practice. To use either of these rounds, muzzle brakes and other support is needed to use rifles chambered for these cartridges. 50 BMG Ballistic Coefficient. Factory loads for civilian purchase are limited with most of the available rounds coming with bullet weights between 650 and 750gr. Sign up to receive new product announcements, special offers, and the annual product catalog. I want this to be the best ballistic trajectory calculator out there. The higher the velocity, the flatter the bullet will shoot, with less wind drift, more energy when it reaches the target, and an extended . We also see that all rounds for both cartridges leave the muzzle at more than 2,500fps and maintain supersonic speeds out to the 1,000-yard mark. Your information will never be shared and you can unsubscribe with one click at anytime. Most people who are using a .50 BMG are not hunting and are looking at extreme distance shooting. The TSX was introduced in 2003 and has become Barnes' most popular hunting bullet. They have various models for different cartridges. Heck, the BC of a bullet can change based on temperature, altitude, and pressure. In regards to ballistics, the .50 BMG has a bigger, heavier bullet that delivers a reliable killing shot at ranges up to 3300 yards and take down medium-sized game at these incredible ranges.. Ammunition is sold in 80-round cases. Price Per Round: $2.90. This ammunition usually contains Swedish brass and perfect military specifications. Unsubscribe at any time. All in all, 50 BMG is the best cartridge with great ballistic coefficient, diameter, and other features that expanded its use. The following improvements will be made: Please sign up for our newsletter so that you can be alerted the moment these new features are launched! [citation needed], The .50 BMG round was used as a sniper round as early as the Korean War. 500 yds. Today, there are various types of bullet rounds manufactured that are measured in 50 calibers. Use this ballistic calculator in order to calculate the flight path of a bullet given the shooting parameters that meet your conditions. We have no desire to act as a moral compass, you do what you want, but the arguments are out there, and we wanted to address it. They all can kill any game animal in the world. The email address you entered is not valid. While it travels in the air, it causes a shockwave which is equally dangerous to make a severe wound. Looking at just the basic physics, a .50 bmg has a muzzle velocity of about 420 meters per second (1480 feet per second). More importantly, we are interested in how flat a bullet flies over a given distance. The .50 BMG cartridge is also used in anti-materiel rifles. So, here is a table below: During the war, 50 calibers were used against light armor vehicles and aircraft due to their penetration power. Aaronthal Weapon Systems The primer type specified for this ammunition is a boxer primer that has a single centralized ignition point (US and NATO countries). KelTec Sub 2000 [Review]: Best PCC Firearm? But a higher ballistic coefficient doesn't necessarily mean it is a better bullet. Coming up on wounded animals, especially if they are predators, can be dangerous and being able to drop them cleanly takes this risk away. Thank you. The minimum SD for hunting medium game is .210. You make up some cartridges and we'll do some shooting. Still, by looking at the sectional density (SD) of the rounds, we can get an idea of how well these different bullets can penetrate and gives us a basis for comparison. Your information will never be shared and you can unsubscribe with one click at anytime. The 50 caliber is a 5.5-inch length seated bullet. Because this is computer generated data and because each rifle has its own personality, the actual numbers that are going to come from firing one of these rounds from your rifle, the numbers shouldnt be too far off but we wanted to make it clear that these numbers are not set in stone. 50 Cal 647 Grain Ball pulled bullets. As you notice, the .50 BMG has nearly double the recoil energy than the .338 LM. Inside the cartridge consists of a core made of manganese molybdenum steel, a point filler, and a seal of the lead-antimony base. The .50 BMG cartridge is also produced commercially in a wide range of specifications, including armor piercing, tracing, and incendiary. The cartridge itself has been made in many variants from armor piercing to tracer rounds, though most factory loads that can be accessed by civilians are the typical bullets. They are widely used by civilians as well as military forces. Velocity is key for proper penetration and expansion, which is critical for hunting. Shots traveling 1,000 yards are much more prone to these environmental factors, and we would bet that 99% of them are very aware of the BC. It is a great investment if you want to get into long range shooting and will be especially useful if you handload. [30][31] The M15-series metal "push-through" links were used in the M85 machine gun. I doubt too many microbiologists discuss the BCs of ammunition! We think a flat trajectory also gives you a little more room for mistakes when it comes to judging distance quickly, as is sometimes the case when hunting. Hornady Manufacturing makes the best cartridges for 50 BMG Ammunition 10 Rounds. During wartime, especially WW2, the US coast guard, and military used 50 BMG rifles towards helicopters. The 408 CheyTac is a relatively new rifle caliber for sharpshooters. [4] The Barrett M82 rifle was developed during the 1980s and, along with later variants, has upgraded the anti-materiel power of the military sniper. Though they also carry quite a significant amount more powder and as we saw previously, you pay for it with the recoil. This includes the velocity, the BC, and the trajectory of the round. Barrel Length inches 36 Ballistics Coefficient (G1) 0.707 Ballistics Coefficient (G7) 0.350 Sectional Density 0.362. For assistance, contact customerservice@barnesbullets.com or by phone at 800-574-9200. It also has a strong recoil force as the cartridge is filled with powder. The .50 Browning Machine Gun (.50 BMG) was developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s as countries began producing armored vehicles leading up to WWI. If you have any feedback or question about my articles, please submit it here, it's always appreciated! 50 Caliber has different types of rounds, while 50 BMG is a particular one. They are intended mainly for long-range shooting. Apart from machine guns, snipers and anti-materiel rifles use this cartridge. Zero Range (yd) The 50 BMG is another caliber with . It has a thick casting of under 4 inches long with a primer end of 0.75-inch diameter. Different snipers have different ranges depending on their design. Trajectory follows a similar trend where both show very flat trajectories, though the 50 BMG excels in this category as well. Putting it all Together New reloading data must be opened as a PDF document in an up-to-date compatible PDF viewer. Videos published by DARPA show the guided bullet diverting to strike a moving target.[26][27][28][29]. Retail Price: $478.50. This is the best ballistic coefficient of any bullet to date. Usually, a 50 cal round has a diameter of 12.7 mm diameter. 400 yds. So, it is evident that the bullet is dangerous and needs care while in use. Ballistic coefficient is typically measured with a 3 digit expression. .338 Lapua Mag vs .50 BMG Cartridge Comparison. ?Ballistic Coefficient: 1.070?Sectional Density: 0.412?Special attention should . Description: Lake City 50 BMG ammunition consists of Lake City brass, boxer-primers and 660 Grain projectiles. A high number also means that the bullet will retain MORE velocity as it moves down range. By understanding these different parameters, we can not only better adjust to specific shooting conditions and be aware of our limitations, but we can also begin to tease apart certain situations each of these cartridges might be better suited. for the the South African 690gn. The .50 Browning Machine Gun (.50 BMG) was developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910sas countries began producing armored vehicles leading up to WWI. Basically, BC is a measure of how . 50 caliber refers to the bullet of this size shot by a gun, and not the casing. kilojoules). But, one can also survive the wound from a 50 BMG shot if it isnt fatal. Since 50 BMG cartridges are unique, these have a limited number of sniper rifles built with adequate quality. When it comes to hunting, there are great options for the .338 LM. We will bring this up several times throughout our discussion but keep in the back of your mind that your ultimate choice should consider all of these results together rather than focusing on one independent category. And like the 50BMG rounds, we will revisit this shortly. [9] The former record for a confirmed long-distance kill was set by U.S. Marine sniper Carlos Hathcock in 1967 during the Vietnam War, at a distance of 2,090 meters (2,290yd; 1.30mi);[10] Hathcock used the .50 BMG in an M2 Machine Gun equipped with a telescopic sight. And seeing the stopping power in action, we leave that to you. The two most important variables are the Initial Velocity and the Ballistic Coefficient. The caliber depends on the barrel diameter bore of the bullets guns. Get My Cartridge Comparison Handbook! Granted, if youre firing these rounds, you most likely have gear that aids in absorbing the recoil and stabilizing the firearm. Browning pondered the situation and, according to his son John, replied, 'Well, the cartridge sounds pretty good to start. Almost all rounds have a ballistic coefficient of less than 1.0, but large rounds like the 50 BMG can exceed this normal BC. Rifles chambered for the .338 LM are a bit heavy to haul around the backcountry for most people, but it is much more manageable than a rifle chambered for a .50 BMG. With that being said, we wouldnt recommend hunting the majority of game on planet Earth with a 50BMG; it seems pointless with the amount of damage it would cause to perfectly good meat. This justifies the strength of the snipers and their sturdy build for heavy operation. Be aware you may consider some of them unusable. The round is a scaled-up version of the .30-06 Springfield but uses a case wall with a long taper to facilitate feeding and extraction in various weapons. To measure the ballistic coefficient, we need the BC projectile that is equivalent to the ballistic coefficient in a point mass trajectory of below 20 degrees. Us has made 50 BMG the standard as the largest bullet round in terms of shell size. Lake City 50 BMG Ballistic Data. [1] It is inversely proportional to the negative acceleration: a high number indicates a low negative accelerationthe drag on the body is small in proportion to its mass. It has a ballistic coefficient of .730. 50 Cal is generally known as the bore and the nominal bullet diameter. Your email address will not be published. [17] However, some other countries produce the ammunition with Berdan primers that have two flash holes. Both of these cartridges are going to produce a tremendous amount of recoil. .510 diameter. The 7.62 is the "screw you way over there" round. This will differ with various models. In this way, the user can know how much recoil the 50 BMG round has due to impact. PMC X-Tac Match combines all the performance of world class ballistics with a price point that is friendly for your wallet. When dealing with more obscure cartridges that dont have a huge market and takes quite a lot more material to make and you have the trifecta for expensive rounds. And if you need the performance of the 50BMG, you are probably already aware of what you are in for and with todays modern gear, you are perfectly capable of using this cartridge efficiently. Due to the high ballistic coefficient of the bullet, the .50 BMG's trajectory also suffers less "drift" from cross-winds than smaller and lighter A.50 Caliber is a large bullet round with a 12.7mm diameter. Most of the cluster around the same amount of energy, but there is some variation. Obviously, this would be an advantage for shooting round out at 1,000 yards or more. The first 50 BMG ammunition was the 13.2mm TuF to attack against armored targets. In this cartridge comparison, we are going to take a look at two cartridges, the .338 Lapua and the .50 BMG, two rounds that separate the men from the boys. I enjoyed reading it. Of course, looking at averages might not be fair as there are .338 LM rounds that carry similar or even higher velocities than some 50BMG rounds. [11] Before that, a British sniper in Afghanistan held the record at 2,475 meters (2,707yd; 1.538mi) using a .338 Lapua Magnum (8.5870mm) rifle. We arrived at these numbers by using a 15lb firearm for the 338 LM rounds and a 30lb firearm for the 50 BMG rounds, which are common weights for rifles chambered for each cartridge. You would be surprised how many of them have never given their rounds BC a thought. Another factor that goes into a cartridges stopping power is the penetration of the bullet. Parks theorizes that the misconception originated in historical doctrine discouraging the use of the M8C spotting riflean integral .50-caliber aiming aid for the M40 recoilless riflein the antipersonnel role. The 50 BMG rounds are quite impressive with BCs all above the .7 mark and one round coming in with a 1.05BC. The SD comes from the diameter of the bullet and the weight of the bullet. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) contracted with Teledyne Scientific Company to develop the EXACTO program, including a .50-caliber guided bullet. 50 BMG 750 gr A-MAX Match Item #8270 | 10/Box We carefully select every component to ensure uniformity, then load to exacting specifications to provide pinpoint accuracy. If youre looking to choose between heavy, hard hitting, and far flying cartridges such as the .338 LM and 50 BMG we are pretty confident that you are well aware of the ballistic coefficient. To test the power, we see that a .50 BMG cartridge can cross the .9 mark, with a flat projectile motion. Any round from this bullet produces between 10,000 and 15,000 foot-pounds force muzzle energies. It is made a standard bullet for important army forces. Still, with the categories we have examined so far, we can infer some information in a roundabout way when it comes to the potential accuracy between the 338 Lapua Mag versus 50 BMG. A custom-made 12/70 slug shell with a shortened .50 BMG tracer bullet for 12 gauge shotguns. It will a produce a line graph showing the bullet drop and flight path of the bullet. The round you choose for hunting should be based on the type of game, and this is perfect for the largest animals with the thickest hides. [34], A 1999 Justice Department Office of Special Investigations briefing on .50 caliber rifle crime identified several instances of the .50 BMG being involved in criminal activities. While this is important to understand, its equally important to remember that the SD, while a good means for comparing two cartridges, only tells part of the story when it comes to penetration. Ballistic Coefficient - BC of 0.364 seems to be way low, standard BC for Ball Ammo should be in the 0.650-0.670 range. [36][37] California prohibits the private purchase of a rifle capable of firing the .50 BMG through the .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004. And this is simplifying the topic since we are leaving out expansion, which is also going to play a role in penetration. Before we get into the meat of the article with our comparisons, we want to briefly touch on how these two cartridges look up next to each other. He wanted the round to be used in a machine gun, and wanted the machine gun to be based on a scaled-up version of the M1917 Browning. [42] Maryland imposes additional regulations on the sale and transfer of .50 BMG rifles and other "regulated firearms", and limits purchases of any firearm within this class to one per month, but does not impose registration requirements or any form of categorical ban.[37]. If we take a closer look at the averages of the round, we see that the 50BMG rounds carry from 200fps (Muzzle-700yds) to 300fps (800-1,000yds) more than the 338LM rounds, which is quite remarkable given how much heavier the 50BMG rounds. Now I am curious about the comparison between the LM 338 and the 30-378 weathering magnum. Even if we had all of the rounds and a couple days to generate some MOA measurements it still might differ on another day in someone elses hands. Ballistic Coefficient is essentially a measure of air drag. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 1 in 15in (380mm), with eight lands and grooves. The max I have ever seen anyone run is around 3,000 and that is considered to be hot. Seriously, these are heavy duty rounds that fill a very specific niche in the shooting world. If the bullet passes through cleanly, remaining relatively intact, not all of the energy is transferred to the target. Important: Since there are thousands of bullet shapes the Ballistic Coefficient calculations made below are not 100% accurate, if you are shooting out past 400-500+ yards your going to need to get the exact BC from the bullet's manufacturer. Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy; 647 gr (42 g) Speer: 3,044 ft/s (928 m/s) 13,310 ftlbf (18,050 J) 655 gr (42 g) ADI: 3,029 ft/s (923 m/s) You will be sent the quantity of bullets that are ordered. The M2 and M9 links, "pull-out" designs, are used in the Browning M2 and M3 machine guns. In ballistics, the ballistic coefficient (BC) of a body is a measure of its ability to overcome air resistance in flight. These are used by both civilians and military forces for various purposes. Join 212,000 avid gun enthusiasts and claim your print-at-home shooting drills. My problem is that the upper came with a 30 minute rail. The average chamber pressure in this round as listed in TM43-0001-27,[18] the U.S. Army Ammunition Data SheetsSmall Caliber Ammunition, not including plastic practice, short cased spotter, or proof/test loads, is 54,923psi (378,680kPa). Military use 50 caliber in machine guns and snipers, as well as regular shooters. Like most cases, there are better performing rounds for each cartridge type, but on average, the 50 BMG rounds excel in this category, and that distinction becomes clearer the greater the distance. To put this into perspective, the 750 gr A-MAX load has essentially the same kinetic energy at 1,500 yards as a 300 Winchester Magnum has at the muzzle. According to the American Rifleman: "Actually, the Browning .50 originated in the Great War. The following improvements will be made: Please sign up for our newsletter so that you can be alerted the moment these new features are launched! The auctioneer claims that it is only one of twelve built and the only other known example resides at the Ford Benning sniper school. To begin, these selected rounds all have excellent BCs that most would be more than happy with. Since the mid-1950s, some armored personnel carriers and utility vehicles have been made to withstand 12.7mm machine gun fire, restricting the destructive capability of the M2. Before we wrap up the article, we wanted to pick a round from each cartridge that we really like for certain applications. and long-range bullets generally range from 0.5 all the way up to 1.0 with the .50 BMG! But thats the case with just about every round and is one of the many reasons that a lot of us have fallen in love with the sport. . And we know we have harped on this several times throughout the article, but we are going to talk regarding cartridge versus cartridge rather than round to round. The 338LM rounds under our specifications have recoil energies ranging between 29 and 33ft.lb. Due to the high ballistic coefficient of the bullet, the .50 BMG's trajectory also suffers less "drift" from cross-winds than smaller and lighter calibers, making the .50 BMG a good choice for high-powered sniper rifles. On the other hand, talk to F-class competitive shooters, and the trend is the opposite. We carefully select every component to ensure uniformity, then load to exacting specifications to provide pinpoint accuracy. ", "How Will Illinois Law Banning Some Firearms Affect Gun Owners? We will shortly look at the averages of these cartridges, but want to point out again that while some of the numbers might seem like drastic differences, and technically they are, its critical to observe the individual rounds, specifically the .338 LM. The standard projectile on which all Hornady Bullets were compared was the G1 Model, based on work begun in France and refined at the U. S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratories, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The price for both is about equal per 20 rounds, though the 50BMG factory loads often come in boxes of ten rounds. With two rounds that are extremely popular in long distance shooting, accuracy is, of course, going to be a category that generated a lot of interest. This bullet is 0.50 in diameter and typically 2.25-inch long.