3 ms·

Right, yet in real life we see effective use of those rounds out to double that 1200 yard range. And, of course, accuracy is only one part of effectiveness. S

by shpxnvz 14y ago

Right, yet in real life we see effective use of those rounds out to double that 1200 yard range. And, of course, accuracy is only one part of effectiveness. Stopping power is also important, especially in the military role, and varies greatly between cartridges; for instance .338LM is something like 5000 ft.lbs. at the muzzle vs. .308 which is somewhere around 2900. Regarding .50 BMG - I'm not sure there is such thing as overkill if you're one of those guys on a two-way range. ;)

hga 14y ago
Heh, but with 63% more muzzle energy than .338 LM ... well, I don't have to tell you this, but for the larger audience we're talking about a heavier weapon and more recoil, a lot more muzzle blast (more likely to be observed by the enemy), the rounds are heavier and bigger (pxlpshr has a point about the impracticability), etc. etc. Snipers have used it mostly because it was available, not because it was well suited for the purpose. And of course sometimes they're called upon to ... discretely destroy material. They haven't caught on yet, but Barrett and others have been working on cartridges with 400 instead of 600 grain bullets and noticeably less energy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.416_Barrett#Muzzle_velocity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.416_Barrett#Muzzle_velocity
- shpxnvz 14y ago
  All very good points. I don't really follow wildcat cartridge development, but the .416 does look like it fills a gap.
- monochromatic 14y ago
  I thought the .416 Barrett was basically designed to get around laws that explicitly prohibit .50 BMG, rather than to be a superior alternative. (It's possible I'm thinking of .408 Cheytac here though.)
  - hga 14y ago
    Partly, but since Barrett has a firm policy of not selling to jurisdictions like California that ban civilian use of .50 BMG only so much. It's also intended to be a superior alternative for the non-material sniping role,

by shpxnvz 14y ago

hga 14y ago

Heh, but with 63% more muzzle energy than .338 LM ... well, I don't have to tell you this, but for the larger audience we're talking about a heavier weapon and more recoil, a lot more muzzle blast (more likely to be observed by the enemy), the rounds are heavier and bigger (pxlpshr has a point about the impracticability), etc. etc. Snipers have used it mostly because it was available, not because it was well suited for the purpose. And of course sometimes they're called upon to ... discretely destroy material. They haven't caught on yet, but Barrett and others have been working on cartridges with 400 instead of 600 grain bullets and noticeably less energy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.416_Barrett#Muzzle_velocity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.416_Barrett#Muzzle_velocity

shpxnvz 14y ago
All very good points. I don't really follow wildcat cartridge development, but the .416 does look like it fills a gap.
monochromatic 14y ago
I thought the .416 Barrett was basically designed to get around laws that explicitly prohibit .50 BMG, rather than to be a superior alternative. (It's possible I'm thinking of .408 Cheytac here though.)
- hga 14y ago
  Partly, but since Barrett has a firm policy of not selling to jurisdictions like California that ban civilian use of .50 BMG only so much. It's also intended to be a superior alternative for the non-material sniping role,