.50 BMG

.50 BMG
From left: .50 BMG, .300 Win Mag, .308 Winchester, 7.62×39mm, 5.56×45mm NATO, .22 Long Rifle
Type	Anti-materiel rifle, heavy machine gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1921–present
Used by	NATO and many other countries[vague]
Wars	World War II Korean War Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Falklands War Persian Gulf War The Troubles Global War on Terrorism Iraq War War in Afghanistan Mexican drug war Syrian Civil War Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) Yemeni Civil War (2015–present) Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Saudi–Yemeni border conflict (2015–present) Sri Lankan Civil War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Production history
Designer	Winchester Repeating Arms Co. and Frankford Arsenal
Specifications
Parent case	.30-06 Springfield
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	.510 in (13.0 mm)
Land diameter	.498 in (12.6 mm)
Neck diameter	.560 in (14.2 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.735 in (18.7 mm)
Base diameter	.804 in (20.4 mm)
Rim diameter	.804 in (20.4 mm)
Rim thickness	.083 in (2.1 mm)
Case length	3.91 in (99 mm)
Overall length	5.45 in (138 mm)
Case capacity	292.8 gr H2O (18.97 cm3)
Primer type	#35 Arsenal Primer
Maximum pressure (TM43-0001-27)	54,923 psi (378.68 MPa)
Maximum pressure (EPVAT)	60,481 psi (417.00 MPa)
Maximum pressure (C.I.P.)	53,664 psi (370.00 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 647 gr (42 g) Speer 3,044 ft/s (928 m/s) 13,310 ft⋅lbf (18,050 J) 655 gr (42 g) ADI 3,029 ft/s (923 m/s) 13,350 ft⋅lbf (18,100 J) 700 gr (45 g) Barnes 2,978 ft/s (908 m/s) 13,971 ft⋅lbf (18,942 J) 750 gr (49 g) Hornady 2,820 ft/s (860 m/s) 13,241 ft⋅lbf (17,952 J)[2] 800 gr (52 g) Barnes 2,895 ft/s (882 m/s) 14,895 ft⋅lbf (20,195 J)
Test barrel length: 45 in (1,100 mm) Source(s): Ammoguide.com [1]

The .50 BMG (.50 Browning Machine Gun), also known as 12.7×99mm NATO, and designated as the 50 Browning by the C.I.P.,^[1] is a .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber cartridge developed for the M2 Browning heavy machine gun in the late 1910s, entering official service in 1921. Under STANAG 4383, it is a standard service cartridge for NATO forces, as well as many non-NATO countries.^[vague] The cartridge itself has been made in many variants: multiple generations of regular ball, tracer, armor-piercing (AP), incendiary, and saboted sub-caliber rounds. The rounds intended for machine guns are made into a continuous ammunition belt using metallic links.

The .50 BMG cartridge is also used in anti-materiel rifles. A wide variety of ammunition is available, and the availability of match grade ammunition has increased the usefulness of .50 caliber rifles by allowing more accurate fire than lower quality rounds.^[3]