Overview
The Arcadia Machine and Tool AMT Automag V was the first handgun chambered for the .50 AE. The actual cartridge has a base, with a rebated rim. The rim diameter of the .50 AE is the same as the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge. A Mark XIX Desert Eagle in .50 AE can be converted to .44 with nothing more than a barrel and magazine change. The introduction of the .50 AE in the US was met with a rocky start. US laws state that non-sporting firearms may not be over 0.500" in bore diameter (measured land to land) to meet Title I regulations. The original .50 Action Express bore diameter was .500" with conventional rifling, but the switch to polygonal rifling on production Desert Eagles allowed the gauge plug to drop through, rendering the gun a destructive device under Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) regulations. Actual bullet diameter was reduced to the current rather than the original .510"Taffin, John (2005),The Desert Eagle of Magnum Research.'' Guns Magazine'' – thus the noticeably tapered case. Recoil of the .50 AE in the Desert Eagle pistol is substantial, although only marginally more severe than the .44 Magnum, as the auto mechanism and weight of the gun smooth the recoil somewhat. Other firearms chambered for the .50 AE include the AMT AutoMag V, the LAR Grizzly Win Mag, the Magnum Research BFR, and the Freedoms Arms Model 555.Performance
SAAMI specifies a maximum chamber pressure of for the .50 AE. Available factory loads can produce nearly of muzzle energy.Use
Like other handgun cartridges of such magnitude, the principal uses of the .50 AE are metallic silhouette shooting and medium/ big game hunting. Like the .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, .460 S&W Magnum, and .500 S&W Magnum, it is also well suited for defense against large predators, such as bears. With heavier bullets, such as the TII Armory 410 grain loading or the Buffalo Bore 380 grain Outdoorsman offering, the .50 AE closely matches the performance of the .480 Ruger and approaches the ballistics of the .500 Linebaugh.The .50 AE as a parent case
The .50 AE is the parent case for the .440 Cor-Bon (1998) by Cor-Bon and .429 DE (2018) by Magnum Research (a division of Kahr Firearms Group). Though similar, they are not interchangeable. Desert Eagle magazines for .50 Action Express cartridges can feed the derivative cartridges but need to use a barrel bored for 0.429 caliber 0.89 mm(.44 Magnum).Images
See also
* Table of handgun and rifle cartridgesReferences
External links