How long is 50 caliber bullet

There's a reason that the M2. First, the M2 and its ammunition can be legally used to target enemy personnel, despite a persistent myth that states it can only be aimed at equipment. That said, it isn't designed solely for anti-personnel use. An anti-personnel specific weapon usually has smaller rounds that are more likely to tumble when they strike human flesh.

See, there are three major effects from a metal round hitting flesh that are likely to cause severe injury or death. First, there's the laceration and crushing from the round's traversal through the flesh. As the round travels through the body, it's crushing the flesh and pushing it out of the way very quickly.

That flesh maintains its momentum for a fraction of a second, billowing out from the path of the bullet. The flesh can tear and cells can burst as the tissue erupts outward and then slams back. Finally, there's the shock wave. That temporary cavity discussed above? The flesh all around it is obviously compressed as the cavity expands, and that's where the shock wave starts. The cavity pushes outward, compressing the flesh and the energy in the compressed flesh keeps traveling outward until it dissipates.

This can also cause separations and tears. In extreme situations, it can even cause damage to nerve tissue, like the spinal cord and brain. Typical rifle rounds generally aim to maximize the first two effects, laceration, and crushing and cavitation. They are also used in anti-tank rifles, aircraft machine guns, and vehicle-mounted machine guns.

In most cases, when people mention the 50 Cal, they are usually referring to the. Although the. However, many countries still use the cartridge widely. When ranking long-distance and sniper rounds the. However, the. The bullet is quite weighty, and the cartridge is large to propel rounds of that weight and caliber down the barrel. It seems around grains is the average with quite a few rounds at exactly this weight. Heavy bullets weighing grain are also available albeit uncommon.

The muzzle energy of a 7. Raufoss Multipurpose Armor-piercing, explosive, incendiary Ammunition. The crown jewel of 50 caliber sniper rifle ammunition is the Raufoss multi-purpose round, developed by a Norwegian company and manufactured under license by several companies, including Winchester.

Said by experts to be the most popular round with U. Designated the MK by the U. It is used in anti-armor and anti-aircraft cannons, often with an explosive charge. How the Raufoss 50 caliber multi-purpose round works. The armor-piercing bullet penetrates the armor. Then a delayed action fuze sets off the explosive part of round, producing fragmentation and incendiary fire-starting effects. Availability of Specialized 50 Caliber Ammunition on U.

The implications of the potential uses to which a terrorist might put 50 caliber armor-piercing, incendiary, SLAP, or Raufoss ammunition can only be described as frightening. Yet all of these types of ammunition are available on the U. SLAP is less frequently offered than ball, armor-piercing, and incendiary variants, and Raufoss is rarely offered publicly.

Yet the VPC has documented public offerings and apparent sales of all the varieties discussed above in the civilian market again, aside from leakage from military stocks worldwide. Ball, armor-piercing, and armor-piercing incendiary are routinely sold through a variety of Internet web sites and mail order catalogs, and at least one site has also offered SLAP. Finally, SLAP and Raufoss have been offered for sale through postings on a popular 50 caliber Internet bulletin board.

In sum, the most destructive types of ammunition for the 50 caliber sniper rifles are freely available in the U. The BMG stands for Browning machine gun, one of the earliest weapons using the round. Ammunition size is commonly expressed in terms of the approximate diameter of the bullet, measured either in inches e.

Although the dimensions of 50 caliber rounds vary depending on the type i. Dimensions from: Dean Michaelis, The Complete. See, e. The trigger of a semi-automatic firearm may be pulled rapidly, but it must be released between each round.

This differs from the fully automatic weapon, or machine gun, which continues firing as long as the trigger is held down until the magazine is exhausted. See discussion in Section Four. While it's impossible to predict every kind of danger that will be present on a future battlefield, enough is known to The responsibility for preventing future calamities will rest largely with ship commanders, officials said.

A report has concluded there were failures by commanders and crew members that fueled the July arson fire that destroyed Equipment Ordnance. My Profile News Home Page. Latest Equipment Videos.