50 cal ballistics
im watching a show on the history channel where they just claimed that a m82a3 shooting a 50cal api round at a target 1 mile away is still going over 2500fps.
i know the 50 cal retains its speed and energy bettr then about any other cartridge going. but its only being launched at around 2800fps no? wouldnt it loose more then 300fps speed in a miles distance?
i know the 50 cal retains its speed and energy bettr then about any other cartridge going. but its only being launched at around 2800fps no? wouldnt it loose more then 300fps speed in a miles distance?
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I suspect your right. I have a MA Duce .50 but have never chrono'd my ammo. I think the only way to tell for sure is try to shoot a round thru a chrono at 1 mile and see what you get, but it would be a difficult shot.
They have ballistic tables that they derive their figures from but I agree with you, it seems the bullet would loose more than 300 fps in a mile.0 -
At 500 yards that bullet will lose about 50% of it's speed, moving at about 1400 fps. At 1000 yards it should be dropping to 700 fps. At the remaining 760 yards my figures say it'll be going about 350 fps. as gravity will be acting on it because it's not going horizontal anymore, but falling headfirst toward the earth, not losing speed quite as fast as before.
There's gotta be someone here that has a different view of this subject!!!
These figures are from the ballistic tables in Cartridges Of The World, 7th edition.0 -
With a muzzle velocity of 2900 fps a 660gr. boattail is around 1700 fps at 1000 yards. Heavier bullets will have a better BC and retained velocity but 2500 fps at 1 mile ain't likely.
Jim0 -
While the media is incorrect as usual, they are not to far off.
The 50 BMG firing a 750 grain bullet(1.05 BC) at 2700 FPS has over 2200 FPS remaining at 500 yards, and 1900 FPS remaining at 1000 yards. So no...that bullet WILL NOT loose half of its speed by the time it hits 500 yards! Also, GRAVITY starts acting on the projectile as soon as it leaves the barrel...not when it gets to 1000 yards or one mile. Please keep in mind that the longest sniper shot confirmed is over 2600 yards...with a 50 BMG.
The 30-06 with a 180 grain bullet(.426 BC) at the same 2700 FPS muzzle velocity, has 1754 FPS remaining at 500 yards, and 1150 FPS remaining at 1000 yards.
The big heavy HIGH ballistic coefficient bullets have something to say for themselves...they do hold velocity well.
Something really strange happens when you start them out subsonically. That same 750 grain bullet started at 1050 FPS, still retains 881 FPS at 1000 yards...84%Hmmmm......Check out JD Jones list of proprietary cartridges in "Cartridges of the World"...they are called the Whisper Series...we know one of them as the 300 Whisper...used in Contenders, and such. The biggest sofar is the 500 Whisper...the one listed above.
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All this is not to hard to find, instead of guessing. Go to www.hornady.com they have loaded ammo and a ballistics calculater, that you can use for the external ballistics...just enter the BC, bullet weight and muzzle velocity. That is where the BC's and numbers came from in the post above. One more thing...I am sure they used a very sophisticated chronograph to obtain their numbers, in conjunction with a computer software package that is not part of their ballistics calculator.0 -
I understand a true military round comes out the bbl. at 5700 fps. mayby i read it wrong, or heard it wrong. but someone that has a crono. needs to check out both.lets think about it, what kind of energy does one need to peneatrate 1-2-3 inches of steel at 3/4 mile or 1 mile? am i wrong or am i right? the truth will set you free.
A gun in hand is better than a cop on the phone.[8D][^][:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by NOAH
I understand a true military round comes out the bbl. at 5700 fps. mayby i read it wrong, or heard it wrong. but someone that has a crono. needs to check out both.lets think about it, what kind of energy does one need to peneatrate 1-2-3 inches of steel at 3/4 mile or 1 mile? am i wrong or am i right? the truth will set you free.
A gun in hand is better than a cop on the phone.[8D][^][:D]
the only "gun " im aware of the will launch a bullet at 5,700fps is smooth bore artillery. the bullet is actually a arrow-like projectile in a sabot if i remember correctly.0 -
quote:Originally posted by NOAH
I understand a true military round comes out the bbl. at 5700 fps. mayby i read it wrong, or heard it wrong. but someone that has a crono. needs to check out both.lets think about it,
Mil. surplus 660gr. FMJ chronographed at ~2800fps from my 32" barreled Barret M99.
Jim0 -
there you go folks laytonj1 has the answer. Good job.
Noah0
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