Home › Browse Calibers › .50 BMG
Common uses: Long Range, Tactical
| Type | rifle (centerfire) |
| Typical load | 750gr Hornady Match A-MAX |
| Muzzle velocity | 2815 fps |
| Muzzle energy | 13200 ft-lb |
| Published G1 ballistic coefficient | 1.05 |
| Published G7 ballistic coefficient | 0.524 |
| Case length | 99.3 mm |
| Overall length | 138.4 mm |
| SAAMI max pressure | 54800 PSI |
| Common twist rate | 1:15" |
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Energy (ft-lb) | Drop (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2815 | 13194 | -1.5 |
| 100 | 2726 | 12371 | 0 |
| 200 | 2638 | 11590 | -3.2 |
| 300 | 2553 | 10851 | -11.4 |
| 400 | 2469 | 10149 | -24.9 |
| 500 | 2387 | 9483 | -44.1 |
At 1,000 yards, .50 BMG (750gr at 2815 fps, 100 yd zero, standard conditions) has a modeled come-up of about 23.4 MOA / 6.8 MIL, retaining 1961 fps (supersonic).
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | State | Drop (in) | Elev (MOA) | Elev (MIL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 2540 | Supersonic | -11.4 | 3.6 | 1.06 |
| 400 | 2452 | Supersonic | -25.1 | 6.0 | 1.74 |
| 500 | 2366 | Supersonic | -44.4 | 8.5 | 2.47 |
| 600 | 2282 | Supersonic | -70.0 | 11.1 | 3.24 |
| 700 | 2199 | Supersonic | -102.3 | 14.0 | 4.06 |
| 800 | 2118 | Supersonic | -141.8 | 16.9 | 4.92 |
| 900 | 2039 | Supersonic | -189.1 | 20.1 | 5.83 |
| 1000 | 1961 | Supersonic | -244.6 | 23.4 | 6.80 |
Extended predictions beyond 500 yards are modeled from the same G1 engine — useful for initial DOPE, but outside the 500-yard manufacturer-table validation audit. Confirm with observed DOPE, especially near transonic.
The listed uses do not identify an explicit big-game hunting role, so deer- and elk-sized energy references aren't shown. Evaluate the named load using its available source data and any displayed trajectory, then verify the result for the listed target, competition, defensive, tactical, or duty context.
Your barrel, ammunition lot, and conditions will differ — always verify against the manufacturer's data and your own rifle.
The .50 BMG is the definitive heavy machine gun and anti-materiel cartridge of the Western world, prized for delivering usable energy and a flat trajectory well past a mile. In bolt-action and semi-automatic rifles it is used to disable vehicles, equipment, and unexploded ordnance, for extreme long-range precision, and by civilian shooters for ultra-long-range target work. Its heavy, high-BC bullets buck wind and retain velocity far better than smaller rounds, making it one of the few chamberings routinely stretched beyond 2,000 yards. The tradeoffs are severe: brutal recoil, punishing muzzle blast, very heavy rifles, expensive ammunition, and legal restrictions in some jurisdictions. It has no practical hunting role and is not a general-purpose cartridge, but for reaching targets at distances where lesser rounds run out of energy, it is in a class of its own.
The .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) was developed by John Browning and Winchester near the end of World War I, prompted by General John J. Pershing's call for a heavy machine gun cartridge with far greater range and armor-piercing power than the .30-06. Prototypes were ready around 1918, and the round entered U.S. service in the early 1920s. It went on to be paired with the M2 Browning machine gun, which remains in front-line use more than a century later. Though conceived for aircraft and vehicle defense, the cartridge found a second life from the 1980s onward in long-range anti-materiel and sniper rifles such as the Barrett M82, and it is also known internationally in its metric designation, 12.7x99mm NATO.
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