.50 BMG

Also known as .50 Browning Machine Gun, 12.7×99mm NATO, 50 Browning, 12.7 x 99 mm

rifle cartridge designed by John Moses Browning

Key facts

Type: Heavy machine gun , Anti-materiel rifle
Place of origin: United States
In service: 1921–present
Used by: NATO
Designer: Winchester Repeating Arms Co. and Frankford Arsenal
Case type: Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter: 0.511 in (12.98 mm)
Land diameter: 0.498 in (12.65 mm)
Neck diameter: 0.560 in (14.22 mm)
Shoulder diameter: 0.714 in (18.14 mm)
Base diameter: 0.804 in (20.42 mm)
Rim diameter: 0.804 in (20.42 mm)

~21 min read

Article

Test barrel length: 45 in (1.1 m) Source: Ammoguide.com

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., 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. The cartridge itself has been made in many variants: multiple generations of regular ball, tracer, armor-piercing (AP), incendiary, and saboted sub-caliber penetrator rounds. The rounds intended for machine guns are made into a continuous ammunition belt using metallic links.