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Bullets

L to R: 750gr. Hornady Amax, AP,647gr. Ball, 773gr. LRBT 'J40', 705gr. AAA-ammo 'Harlow', .357 ProLoad


Here is miscellaneous info regarding various .50 bullets. Pics and whatnot as I have 'em.

There's probably an exception (or two) out there, but most .50 BMG bullets are .510" in diameter, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2-3" long and weigh 600-800grns.

  • Hornady AMAX

  • The basics:
  • weight:750gr
  • BC:1.050


    • The AMAX (Advanced Match Accuracy) is arguably one of the most popular 'match' bullets produced for the .50, and one of the first jacketed bullets produced for non-military use.

  • The AMAX bullet features an aluminum tip and a lead core.


  • There have been multiple 'generations' of AMAX (at least two, perhaps three.) Here is a visual comparison between gen1 & 2, courtesy of Craig R.:


  • Barnes LRS Borerider

  • weight: 750gr.
  • BC: 1.070


  • Barnes LRS Borerider

  • weight: 800gr.
  • BC: 1.095


    • A 'solid' or monolithic bullet.

  • Barnes LRS Standard Throat

  • weight: 750gr.
  • BC: 1.070


    • A 'solid' or monolithic bullet.

  • Barnes LRS Standard Tangent

  • weight: 750gr.
  • BC: 0.766


    • A 'solid' or monolithic bullet.

  • Barnes-X

  • weight: 600gr.
  • BC:


    • A 'solid' or monolithic bullet.

  • AAA-Ammo "Harlow"

  • weight:705gr.
  • BC:


    • A 'solid' or monolithic bullet. AAA Ammo bullets are neatly turned, with a very fine finish.

  • Lost River Ballistic Technologies J40

  • weight: 773gr.
  • BC:1.06


    • A 'solid' or monolithic bullet. The J40 is also a turned bullet. The surface is a bit rougher than the Harlow, but consistent. Watch for a review of these bullets.

  • BoreRiders

    • This isn't really a brand, it's a style. Barnes makes 'em, AAA-ammo makes 'em (I think), and some others. I don't use 'em, and if you didn't know what they were, you probably won't either, but I'll 'splain:
    Boreriders are thinner (around .5015" as opposed to .510") for most of their length, with a 'normal' diameter (.510") band at the rear. This design lets the bore center the projectile (in theory, anyway) a little better, reducing precession, nutation, and some other 'tions' that have negative affects on accuracy. Rifles that use boreriders have special chambers for this particular type of bullet, so if you're shooting an "off-the-shelf" rifle (as I do.) you needn't concern yourself with them.

  • Sabot

  • weight: varies 125gr - 220gr typical. (.308 cal projectile)
  • BC:


    • Another 'style' Sabot rounds use a plastic (or light-weight, in any case) 'sabot' to accelerate relatively light, relatively small projectiles to higher-than-normal velocities. In the .50 BMG this means that you might achieve velocities of ~4000 fps! I'll post a pic eventually. There are multiple disadvantages to sabot rounds: The sabot could potentially get caught by the muzzle brake (assuming such exists),they aren't very accurate, they're painfully tedious to reload to anything resembling accuracy, and they won't feed well from a magazine. That said, a lot of folks need to fire at least a few, just so they can say they did. The only supplier of Sabots for the .50 that I knew of is now out of business. (BeastWerks) but there's still a bit of info on his page while it lasts.

  • Military Bullets



  • M33 Ball

  • weight: 647gr.
  • BC: 0.670
  • ID:none


  • M2 Ball

  • weight: 700gr.
  • BC: 0.670
  • ID:none


  • Tracer

  • weight: 630gr.
  • BC:
  • ID:


  • Armor Piercing (AP)

  • weight: 708gr.
  • BC:
  • ID: Black Tip


  • Armor Piercing Incendiary (API)

  • weight: 649gr. / 622.5gr.
  • BC: 0.650
  • ID: Silver Tip


  • Armor Piercing Incendiary Tracer (APIT)

  • weight: 619gr.
  • BC: 0.650
  • ID:


  • SLAP / SLAP - T

  • weight: 355gr.
  • BC:
  • ID:


  • Raufoss MP

  • weight:
  • BC:
  • ID:


  • Spotter / Tracer

  • weight: 828gr.
  • BC:
  • ID:


    • The Spotter/Tracer was not really made for the .50 BMG, but shooters who like a little puff of smoke downrange are enthralled with them, so the projectiles are often loaded into .50BMG cartridges.