Development of .50 BMG Ammo

The idea of the .50 Browning developed during World War I and was said to be inspired by Germany’s Mauser 13.2mm TuF (Tank und Flieger, which translates as “tank and aircraft”) anti-tank rifles and ammunitions. The 13.2mm TuF was the first ammunition that was intentionally made to attack armored targets and drew attention from those who witnessed its forces.

To create their own armor-attacking ammunition, the Army went to John Moses Browning, the renowned gunsmith, to discuss their needs. They wanted a machine-gun fired, heavy projectile that could reach a velocity of up to 2,700 feet per second (fps).

Browning agreed with the military’s need and has even been quoted as saying: “Well, the cartridge sounds pretty good to start. You make up some cartridges and we’ll do some shooting.”

Army officials then contacted Winchester Arms for ammunition, which later joined forces with Frankfort Arsenal to complete the round, while Browning worked on the firearm. Winchester and Frankfort Arsenal scaled up the .30-06 casing to a much bigger size and loaded it to the max.

By the end of WW1, Browning, with the help of Colt Manufacturing Company, had the prototypes ready for testing. The Army opted for the M1921 Browning machine gun, an expanded version of the earlier machine guns, the M1917 and M1919(50 bmg ammo).

This gun eventually became known as the M2HB Browning, where HB stands for heavy barrel. It has proven itself to be an anti-aircraft, anti-vehicular, armour-piercing machine gun that’s still extensively used to today, mounted on tanks, helicopters, and more, in both the U.S. and many other NATO countries.

Military Uses of the .50 BMG

As its development started at the end of the Great War, the .50 BMG and the machine guns chambered for it were prevalent and influential in all areas of the Armed Forces – including the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corp, and the U.S. Air Force.

Although there were various adaptations of the weapon, two models were the most prevalent – a lighter-barrelled version designed to use in aircraft (M2) and a heavy-barrelled ground version (M2HB).

The M2 and its variants have been fired from vehicle-mounted weapons, including WWII fighter aircraft, and are still being used today on tanks and other ground vehicles. Machine guns have also led to the global air supremacy of the U.S. Armed Forces and these guns are often seen on helicopters, aircrafts, and more.

The cartridge is also fired from sniper rifles. It’s accurate and deadly at great lengths. These bullets can travel well over a mile and can be used to eliminate threats and neutralize an infantry while avoiding detection and relationation.

This ammunition has the ability to penetrate most commercial brick walls and it can blow through concrete cinder block. When fired into an engine, it can completely disable a vehicle.

There is no living thing on Earth that cannot be killed by the .50 BMG.

To help put the .50 caliber and M2 into perspective, here are a list of wars they were used in:

• World War II
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• Cambodian Civil War
• Falklands War
• Persian Gulf War
• Global War on Terrorism
• Iraq War
• War in Afghanistan
• Syrian Civil War
• Iraqi Civil War
• Yemeni Civil War
• Saudi-led Invasion of Yemen

Civilian Uses of .50 BMG Ammunition

Beyond the American Armed Forces, the .50 Browning has also found its place with the U.S. Coast Guard, the New York Police Department (NYPD), and the Pittsburgh Police.

Among the general public, the .50 BMG has found a home in competition shooting. There’s even a Fifty Caliber Shooters Association (FCSA), which holds annual 1,000 yard events (1,000 yards is .568 mile).

With five shots at 1,000 yards, top shooters can achieve six-inch groupings. With mild, known wind conditions, they can hit (and explode) a 55-gallon barrel a full mile away.

Legality Surrounding .50 BMG Ammo

While the average American is not allowed to possess fully-automatic weapons, making the M2 inaccessible to the majority, the .50 BMG is chambered in a handful of rifles and carbines available for civilians.

But that doesn’t mean all American civilians. The ammunition and the firearms chambered for it are highly regulated or banned in:

• Washington, D.C.
• California
• Connecticut
• Maryland

It should also be noted that the bullet of the .50 BMG measures above the half-inch threshold for defining destructive devices in the United States National Firearms Act. Per Section 5845(f)(2), Title 26 of the United States Code, weapons are classified as “destructive devices” if the following occurs:

“…Any type of weapon by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, the barrel or barrels of which have a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter, except a shotgun or shotgun shell which the Secretary or his delegate finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes.”

Now some ammunition, including the big bore revolver .500 S&W round, have been forced to stay under that half-inch margin. But notice the language in the law. It doesn’t say that a bullet can’t be beyond a half inch – it says that the firearm’s barrel can’t have a bore larger than a half inch.

In firearms chambered for the .50 Browning (308 vs 556 ), the barrel measures exactly half an inch across the rifling lands. In the rifling grooves, the measurement is slightly larger. The bullet has such force behind it upon firing, that it’s forced through the smaller rifling, in a process known as swaging. Swaging allows for full engagement of the barrel’s rifling and forms a tighter seal around the projectile.

Swaging allows the .50 BMG’s .510–inch bullet to remain legal in most of the country.

308 vs 556

Types of .50 BMG Rounds

The standard .50 BMG military load fires a full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet weighing 647 grain (gr) and travels at a velocity just more than 3,000 feet per second (fps) when fired from the M2 heavy machine gun, with a barrell length of 45 inches. Heavier bullets weighing 800 gr and reaching 2,900 fps have also been used.