50bmg question

chris in va · February 16, 2015, 04:51 AM

I was watching a program about snipers in various conflicts and the narrator pointed out the 50 BMG fired from the Barrett would hit an 'insurgent' at one mile with "the force of a 9mm at point blank".

Now I'm a bit fuzzy on this, but how could a 750gr bullet hit anything with such little power? The slowest it could go would be terminal velocity for the projectile, so I'm guessing...300mph?

oldmanFCSA · February 16, 2015, 04:58 AM

50BMG

Trajectory
Input Data
Manufacturer: Hornady Description: A-Max®
Caliber: 0.510 in Weight: 750.0 gr
Ballistic Coefficient: 1.050 G1 (ASM)
Muzzle Velocity: 2700.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 15.0 ft
Sight Height: 2.25 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in
Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in
Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA
Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg
Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Speed: 0.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Height: 12.0 in
Temperature: 59.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg
Humidity: 17 % Altitude: 7200.0 ft
Vital Zone Radius: 5.0 in
Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes
Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: No Target Relative Drops: Yes
Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: Yes Include Extra Rows: No
Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA
Round Output to Whole Numbers: No
Output Data
Elevation: 27.435 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA
Atmospheric Density: 0.05848 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1116.5 ft/s
Maximum PBR: 362 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 306 yd
Range of Maximum Height: 170 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 10094.2 ft•lbs
Sectional Density: 0.412 lb/in²
Calculated Table
Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead
(yd) (in) (MOA) (in) (MOA) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (MOA)
0 -2.2 *** 0.0 *** 2703.4 2.421 12169.0 0.000 0.0 ***
100 24.1 23.0 0.3 0.2 2635.4 2.361 11564.6 0.112 0.0 0.0
200 45.4 21.7 1.0 0.5 2568.5 2.301 10984.5 0.228 0.0 0.0
300 61.4 19.5 2.3 0.7 2502.5 2.241 10427.5 0.346 0.0 0.0
400 71.9 17.2 4.2 1.0 2437.5 2.183 9893.0 0.468 0.0 0.0
500 76.5 14.6 6.6 1.3 2373.5 2.126 9380.1 0.592 0.0 0.0
600 75.0 11.9 9.6 1.5 2310.4 2.069 8888.2 0.720 0.0 0.0
700 67.0 9.1 13.2 1.8 2248.3 2.014 8416.6 0.852 0.0 0.0
800 52.0 6.2 17.5 2.1 2187.1 1.959 7964.5 0.987 0.0 0.0
900 29.9 3.2 22.5 2.4 2126.8 1.905 7531.6 1.126 0.0 0.0
1000 -0.0 -0.0 28.1 2.7 2067.5 1.852 7117.4 1.269 0.0 0.0
1100 -38.0 -3.3 34.5 3.0 2009.2 1.800 6721.5 1.417 0.0 0.0
1200 -84.6 -6.7 41.6 3.3 1951.9 1.748 6343.4 1.568 0.0 0.0
1300 -140.4 -10.3 49.5 3.6 1895.6 1.698 5982.9 1.724 0.0 0.0
1400 -205.8 -14.0 58.3 4.0 1840.4 1.648 5639.5 1.885 0.0 0.0
1500 -281.5 -17.9 67.9 4.3 1786.3 1.600 5312.8 2.050 0.0 0.0
1600 -368.1 -22.0 78.4 4.7 1733.3 1.553 5002.6 2.221 0.0 0.0
1700 -466.2 -26.2 89.8 5.0 1681.6 1.506 4708.6 2.397 0.0 0.0
1800 -576.7 -30.6 102.1 5.4 1631.2 1.461 4430.4 2.578 0.0 0.0
1900 -700.2 -35.2 115.5 5.8 1582.1 1.417 4167.9 2.765 0.0 0.0
2000 -837.7 -40.0 129.9 6.2 1534.5 1.374 3920.5 2.957 0.0 0.0
2100 -989.9 -45.0 145.3 6.6 1488.3 1.333 3688.2 3.156 0.0 0.0
2200 -1157.8 -50.3 161.8 7.0 1443.7 1.293 3470.5 3.361 0.0 0.0
2300 -1342.5 -55.7 179.5 7.5 1400.8 1.255 3267.2 3.572 0.0 0.0
2400 -1545.0 -61.5 198.3 7.9 1359.6 1.218 3078.0 3.790 0.0 0.0
2500 -1766.3 -67.5 218.2 8.3 1320.3 1.183 2902.5 4.014 0.0 0.0
2600 -2007.6 -73.7 239.4 8.8 1283.0 1.149 2740.6 4.245 0.0 0.0
2700 -2270.1 -80.3 261.7 9.3 1247.6 1.118 2591.8 4.483 0.0 0.0
2800 -2555.1 -87.1 285.2 9.7 1214.5 1.088 2456.0 4.728 0.0 0.0
2900 -2863.8 -94.3 309.9 10.2 1183.6 1.060 2332.6 4.979 0.0 0.0
3000 -3197.5 -101.8 335.7 10.7 1155.0 1.035 2221.3 5.237 0.0 0.0

9mmLuger

Trajectory
Input Data
Manufacturer: Hornady Description: HP XTP®
Caliber: 0.355 in Weight: 124.0 gr
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.165 G1 (ASM)
Muzzle Velocity: 1300.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 15.0 ft
Sight Height: 0.75 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in
Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in
Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA
Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg
Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Speed: 0.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg
Target Height: 12.0 in
Temperature: 59.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg
Humidity: 17 % Altitude: 7200.0 ft
Vital Zone Radius: 5.0 in
Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes
Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: No Target Relative Drops: Yes
Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: Yes Include Extra Rows: No
Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA
Round Output to Whole Numbers: No
Output Data
Elevation: 8.138 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA
Atmospheric Density: 0.05848 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1116.5 ft/s
Maximum PBR: 154 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 130 yd
Range of Maximum Height: 70 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 297.0 ft•lbs
Sectional Density: 0.141 lb/in²
Calculated Table
Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead
(yd) (in) (MOA) (in) (MOA) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (MOA)
0 -0.8 *** 0.0 *** 1312.1 1.175 473.9 0.000 0.0 ***
100 -3.6 -3.5 3.7 3.5 1111.5 0.996 340.1 0.250 0.0 0.0
200 -34.6 -16.5 14.0 6.7 990.3 0.887 270.0 0.537 0.0 0.0
300 -100.9 -32.1 29.5 9.4 909.0 0.814 227.5 0.854 0.0 0.0
400 -209.3 -50.0 49.6 11.8 845.3 0.757 196.7 1.196 0.0 0.0
500 -366.4 -70.0 74.0 14.1 791.3 0.709 172.4 1.564 0.0 0.0
600 -579.2 -92.2 102.8 16.4 743.3 0.666 152.1 1.956 0.0 0.0
700 -855.3 -116.7 136.0 18.6 699.6 0.627 134.7 2.373 0.0 0.0
800 -1202.9 -143.6 173.9 20.8 659.8 0.591 119.8 2.817 0.0 0.0
900 -1631.4 -173.1 216.6 23.0 622.9 0.558 106.8 3.288 0.0 0.0
1000 -2151.2 -205.4 264.5 25.3 588.7 0.527 95.4 3.789 0.0 0.0
1100 -2773.8 -240.8 317.8 27.6 556.9 0.499 85.4 4.321 0.0 0.0
1200 -3512.6 -279.5 377.1 30.0 527.2 0.472 76.5 4.886 0.0 0.0
1300 -4382.9 -322.0 442.8 32.5 499.8 0.448 68.8 5.488 0.0 0.0
1400 -5402.1 -368.5 515.3 35.1 474.4 0.425 62.0 6.129 0.0 0.0
1500 -6590.5 -419.6 595.3 37.9 451.3 0.404 56.1 6.812 0.0 0.0
1600 -7971.5 -475.8 683.5 40.8 430.3 0.385 51.0 7.542 0.0 0.0
1700 -9572.7 -537.7 780.7 43.9 411.6 0.369 46.6 8.323 0.0 0.0
1800 -11426.6 -606.2 887.8 47.1 395.3 0.354 43.0 9.160 0.0 0.0
1900 -13571.8 -682.1 1006.1 50.6 381.4 0.342 40.0 10.061 0.0 0.0
2000 -16055.2 -766.6 1136.8 54.3 369.9 0.331 37.7 11.032 0.0 0.0

chris in va · February 16, 2015, 06:33 PM

Thanks, that's what I figured...ten times the force. I have no earthly idea why they would say that.

Scorch · February 16, 2015, 07:11 PM

They say it because it sounds soooo gooood!

And because they have no idea what they are talking about.

precision_shooter · February 16, 2015, 07:40 PM

Scorch summed it up....

The .50bmg has more energy at 1-mile than a .308 does at the muzzle...

madmo44mag · February 16, 2015, 08:34 PM

There is noting good about being on the receiving end of a 50 BMG.
I had a live round ejected from the gun and hit me in the temple once and it dang near knocked me out.

Thunderkiss · February 16, 2015, 10:29 PM

I was watching the same thing Chris and I thought he said .357 magnum at point blank. I didn't think it sounded right either.

CCCLVII · February 17, 2015, 11:29 AM

Ive seen a Deer hit with a 50BMG at a range of about 200 yards.

The effect is very similar to shooting a tree squirrel with a 223.

James K · February 19, 2015, 08:56 PM

I was nearly injured at the other end of a Ma Deuce. I unscrewed the buffer cap without watching what I was doing. ZAP! Luckily, I wasn't in the way. The cap went through the arms room window, through the screen and was found beside the next barracks. Those darned things can get you at both ends.

Jim

Surculus · February 19, 2015, 10:20 PM

Hey, .35 Remington is a "9mm." Maybe they got confuzzled?

btmj · February 20, 2015, 03:02 PM

9mm... yeah right... 375 H&H is closer to the truth.

February 16, 2015, 04:51 AM	#1
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	50bmg question I was watching a program about snipers in various conflicts and the narrator pointed out the 50 BMG fired from the Barrett would hit an 'insurgent' at one mile with "the force of a 9mm at point blank". Now I'm a bit fuzzy on this, but how could a 750gr bullet hit anything with such little power? The slowest it could go would be terminal velocity for the projectile, so I'm guessing...300mph?

February 16, 2015, 04:58 AM	#2
oldmanFCSA Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Location: WISCONSIN Posts: 283	50BMG Trajectory Input Data Manufacturer: Hornady Description: A-Max® Caliber: 0.510 in Weight: 750.0 gr Ballistic Coefficient: 1.050 G1 (ASM) Muzzle Velocity: 2700.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 15.0 ft Sight Height: 2.25 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg Target Speed: 0.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg Target Height: 12.0 in Temperature: 59.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg Humidity: 17 % Altitude: 7200.0 ft Vital Zone Radius: 5.0 in Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: No Target Relative Drops: Yes Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: Yes Include Extra Rows: No Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA Round Output to Whole Numbers: No Output Data Elevation: 27.435 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA Atmospheric Density: 0.05848 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1116.5 ft/s Maximum PBR: 362 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 306 yd Range of Maximum Height: 170 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 10094.2 ft•lbs Sectional Density: 0.412 lb/in² Calculated Table Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead (yd) (in) (MOA) (in) (MOA) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (MOA) 0 -2.2 * 0.0 * 2703.4 2.421 12169.0 0.000 0.0 * 100 24.1 23.0 0.3 0.2 2635.4 2.361 11564.6 0.112 0.0 0.0 200 45.4 21.7 1.0 0.5 2568.5 2.301 10984.5 0.228 0.0 0.0 300 61.4 19.5 2.3 0.7 2502.5 2.241 10427.5 0.346 0.0 0.0 400 71.9 17.2 4.2 1.0 2437.5 2.183 9893.0 0.468 0.0 0.0 500 76.5 14.6 6.6 1.3 2373.5 2.126 9380.1 0.592 0.0 0.0 600 75.0 11.9 9.6 1.5 2310.4 2.069 8888.2 0.720 0.0 0.0 700 67.0 9.1 13.2 1.8 2248.3 2.014 8416.6 0.852 0.0 0.0 800 52.0 6.2 17.5 2.1 2187.1 1.959 7964.5 0.987 0.0 0.0 900 29.9 3.2 22.5 2.4 2126.8 1.905 7531.6 1.126 0.0 0.0 1000 -0.0 -0.0 28.1 2.7 2067.5 1.852 7117.4 1.269 0.0 0.0 1100 -38.0 -3.3 34.5 3.0 2009.2 1.800 6721.5 1.417 0.0 0.0 1200 -84.6 -6.7 41.6 3.3 1951.9 1.748 6343.4 1.568 0.0 0.0 1300 -140.4 -10.3 49.5 3.6 1895.6 1.698 5982.9 1.724 0.0 0.0 1400 -205.8 -14.0 58.3 4.0 1840.4 1.648 5639.5 1.885 0.0 0.0 1500 -281.5 -17.9 67.9 4.3 1786.3 1.600 5312.8 2.050 0.0 0.0 1600 -368.1 -22.0 78.4 4.7 1733.3 1.553 5002.6 2.221 0.0 0.0 1700 -466.2 -26.2 89.8 5.0 1681.6 1.506 4708.6 2.397 0.0 0.0 1800 -576.7 -30.6 102.1 5.4 1631.2 1.461 4430.4 2.578 0.0 0.0 1900 -700.2 -35.2 115.5 5.8 1582.1 1.417 4167.9 2.765 0.0 0.0 2000 -837.7 -40.0 129.9 6.2 1534.5 1.374 3920.5 2.957 0.0 0.0 2100 -989.9 -45.0 145.3 6.6 1488.3 1.333 3688.2 3.156 0.0 0.0 2200 -1157.8 -50.3 161.8 7.0 1443.7 1.293 3470.5 3.361 0.0 0.0 2300 -1342.5 -55.7 179.5 7.5 1400.8 1.255 3267.2 3.572 0.0 0.0 2400 -1545.0 -61.5 198.3 7.9 1359.6 1.218 3078.0 3.790 0.0 0.0 2500 -1766.3 -67.5 218.2 8.3 1320.3 1.183 2902.5 4.014 0.0 0.0 2600 -2007.6 -73.7 239.4 8.8 1283.0 1.149 2740.6 4.245 0.0 0.0 2700 -2270.1 -80.3 261.7 9.3 1247.6 1.118 2591.8 4.483 0.0 0.0 2800 -2555.1 -87.1 285.2 9.7 1214.5 1.088 2456.0 4.728 0.0 0.0 2900 -2863.8 -94.3 309.9 10.2 1183.6 1.060 2332.6 4.979 0.0 0.0 3000 -3197.5 -101.8 335.7 10.7 1155.0 1.035 2221.3 5.237 0.0 0.0 9mmLuger Trajectory Input Data Manufacturer: Hornady Description: HP XTP® Caliber: 0.355 in Weight: 124.0 gr Ballistic Coefficient: 0.165 G1 (ASM) Muzzle Velocity: 1300.0 ft/s Distance to Chronograph: 15.0 ft Sight Height: 0.75 in Sight Offset: 0.00 in Zero Height: 0.00 in Zero Offset: 0.00 in Windage: 0.000 MOA Elevation: 0.000 MOA Line Of Sight Angle: 0.0 deg Cant Angle: 0.0 deg Wind Speed: 10.0 mph Wind Angle: 90.0 deg Target Speed: 0.0 mph Target Angle: 90.0 deg Target Height: 12.0 in Temperature: 59.0 °F Pressure: 29.92 in Hg Humidity: 17 % Altitude: 7200.0 ft Vital Zone Radius: 5.0 in Std. Atmosphere at Altitude: No Pressure is Corrected: Yes Zero at Max. Point Blank Range: No Target Relative Drops: Yes Mark Sound Barrier Crossing: Yes Include Extra Rows: No Column 1 Units: 1.00 in Column 2 Units: 1.00 MOA Round Output to Whole Numbers: No Output Data Elevation: 8.138 MOA Windage: 0.000 MOA Atmospheric Density: 0.05848 lb/ft³ Speed of Sound: 1116.5 ft/s Maximum PBR: 154 yd Maximum PBR Zero: 130 yd Range of Maximum Height: 70 yd Energy at Maximum PBR: 297.0 ft•lbs Sectional Density: 0.141 lb/in² Calculated Table Range Drop Drop Windage Windage Velocity Mach Energy Time Lead Lead (yd) (in) (MOA) (in) (MOA) (ft/s) (none) (ft•lbs) (s) (in) (MOA) 0 -0.8 * 0.0 * 1312.1 1.175 473.9 0.000 0.0 * 100 -3.6 -3.5 3.7 3.5 1111.5 0.996 340.1 0.250 0.0 0.0 200 -34.6 -16.5 14.0 6.7 990.3 0.887 270.0 0.537 0.0 0.0 300 -100.9 -32.1 29.5 9.4 909.0 0.814 227.5 0.854 0.0 0.0 400 -209.3 -50.0 49.6 11.8 845.3 0.757 196.7 1.196 0.0 0.0 500 -366.4 -70.0 74.0 14.1 791.3 0.709 172.4 1.564 0.0 0.0 600 -579.2 -92.2 102.8 16.4 743.3 0.666 152.1 1.956 0.0 0.0 700 -855.3 -116.7 136.0 18.6 699.6 0.627 134.7 2.373 0.0 0.0 800 -1202.9 -143.6 173.9 20.8 659.8 0.591 119.8 2.817 0.0 0.0 900 -1631.4 -173.1 216.6 23.0 622.9 0.558 106.8 3.288 0.0 0.0 1000 -2151.2 -205.4 264.5 25.3 588.7 0.527 95.4 3.789 0.0 0.0 1100 -2773.8 -240.8 317.8 27.6 556.9 0.499 85.4 4.321 0.0 0.0 1200 -3512.6 -279.5 377.1 30.0 527.2 0.472 76.5 4.886 0.0 0.0 1300 -4382.9 -322.0 442.8 32.5 499.8 0.448 68.8 5.488 0.0 0.0 1400 -5402.1 -368.5 515.3 35.1 474.4 0.425 62.0 6.129 0.0 0.0 1500 -6590.5 -419.6 595.3 37.9 451.3 0.404 56.1 6.812 0.0 0.0 1600 -7971.5 -475.8 683.5 40.8 430.3 0.385 51.0 7.542 0.0 0.0 1700 -9572.7 -537.7 780.7 43.9 411.6 0.369 46.6 8.323 0.0 0.0 1800 -11426.6 -606.2 887.8 47.1 395.3 0.354 43.0 9.160 0.0 0.0 1900 -13571.8 -682.1 1006.1 50.6 381.4 0.342 40.0 10.061 0.0 0.0 2000 -16055.2 -766.6 1136.8 54.3 369.9 0.331 37.7 11.032 0.0 0.0 __________________ OldmanFCSA = "Oldman" at www.fcsa.org FCSA Member, SCSA Member, NRA Member, & AMA Member "Oldage & Treachery will overcome Youth & Skill" Last edited by oldmanFCSA; February 16, 2015 at 05:08 AM.

February 16, 2015, 07:11 PM	#4
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	They say it because it sounds soooo gooood! And because they have no idea what they are talking about. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

February 16, 2015, 07:40 PM	#5
precision_shooter Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 2,475	Scorch summed it up.... The .50bmg has more energy at 1-mile than a .308 does at the muzzle... __________________ "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." - Thomas Jefferson, 1776

February 16, 2015, 08:34 PM	#6
madmo44mag Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2008 Location: Ft.Worth, Texas Posts: 1,522	There is noting good about being on the receiving end of a 50 BMG. I had a live round ejected from the gun and hit me in the temple once and it dang near knocked me out. __________________ Texas - Not just a state but an attitude! For monthly shooting events in DFW visit http://www.meetup.com/TexasGunOwner-DFW

February 16, 2015, 06:33 PM	#3
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Thanks, that's what I figured...ten times the force. I have no earthly idea why they would say that.

February 16, 2015, 10:29 PM	#7
Thunderkiss Member Join Date: November 17, 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 97	I was watching the same thing Chris and I thought he said .357 magnum at point blank. I didn't think it sounded right either.

February 17, 2015, 11:29 AM	#8
CCCLVII Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2012 Location: Idaho Posts: 432	Ive seen a Deer hit with a 50BMG at a range of about 200 yards. The effect is very similar to shooting a tree squirrel with a 223. __________________ Always looking for a good hunt!

February 19, 2015, 08:56 PM	#9
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	I was nearly injured at the other end of a Ma Deuce. I unscrewed the buffer cap without watching what I was doing. ZAP! Luckily, I wasn't in the way. The cap went through the arms room window, through the screen and was found beside the next barracks. Those darned things can get you at both ends. Jim

February 19, 2015, 10:20 PM	#10
Surculus Member Join Date: February 11, 2008 Location: Lo-Cal So.Cal. where the money is plastic & the people are too Posts: 31	Hey, .35 Remington is a "9mm." Maybe they got confuzzled?

February 20, 2015, 03:02 PM	#11
btmj Senior Member Join Date: November 1, 2011 Location: Near St. Louis, Missouri Posts: 864	9mm... yeah right... 375 H&H is closer to the truth.