The .50 Action Express (AE) (12.7×33mmRB) is a large-

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

cartridge, best known for its usage in the

Desert Eagle The Desert Eagle is a trigger (firearms), single-action, Gas-operated reloading, gas-operated, semi-automatic pistol capable of chambering the .50 Action Express, the largest centerfire cartridge of any magazine-fed, self-loading pistol and a nu ...

. Developed in 1988 by American Evan Whildin of Action Arms, the .50 AE is one of the most powerful pistol cartridges in production.

Overview

The actual cartridge has a base, with a

rebated rim A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped, or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. Thus, rimmed cartridges are sometimes called "flanged" cartridges. Almost all cartridges feature an extractor or headspaci ...

. The rim diameter of the .50 AE is the same as the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge. A Mark XIX

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 United States was met with a rocky start. Federal firearms statutes state that non-sporting firearms may not be over 0.500 inches in bore diameter (measured land to land) to meet Title I regulations. The original .50 AE bore diameter was .500 in, with conventional rifling, but the switch to

polygonal rifling Polygonal rifling ( ) is a type of gun barrel rifling where the traditional sharp-edged "lands and grooves" are replaced by less pronounced "hills and valleys", so the barrel bore has a polygonal (usually hexagonal or octagonal) cross-sectional ...

on production Desert Eagles allowed the gauge plug to drop through, rendering the gun a

destructive device In the United States, a destructive device is a type of firearm or explosive device regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934, revised by the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and Gun Control Act of 1968. Examples of des ...

under

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

(BATFE) regulations. Actual bullet diameter was reduced to the current rather than the original Taffin, John (2005), The Desert Eagle of Magnum Research. ''

Guns Magazine ''Guns'' is a magazine dedicated to firearms, hunting, competition shooting, reloading, and other shooting-related activities in the United States. First published in 1955, it is one of the oldest periodicals about firearms in continuous public ...

''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 automatic 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 The Magnum Research BFR is a single-action revolver manufactured by Magnum Research. Modeled after the Ruger Blackhawk, it is constructed of stainless steel and chambered for a number of powerful handgun cartridges, such as .460 S&W Magnum and . ...

, and the Freedoms Arms Model 555.

Performance

SAAMI The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several A ...

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 Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rif ...

shooting and medium/

big game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for Trophy hunting, trophies, taxidermy, meat, and commercially valuable animal product, animal by-products (such as horn (anatomy), horns, antlers, tusks, bones, fur, body fat, or special o ...

. 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 400-grain and 460-grain offerings, 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 the .429 DE (2018) by Magnum Research (a division of Kahr Firearms Group). Though similar, they are not interchangeable. Desert Eagle magazines for .50 AE cartridges can feed the derivative cartridges, but should be paired with barrels appropriate for their cartridge and caliber.

Images

File:Hornady50AE.jpg, Box of Hornady .50 AE 300-grain jacketed hollow point ammunition File:Desert-Eagle-p1030134.jpg, Desert Eagle Mark XIX (Mark 19) in .50 AE File:BFR, .50, Revolver.jpg, Magnum Research BFR in .50 AE File:AutomagV.jpg, AMT AutoMag V in .50 AE

References

External links

The Reload Bench: .50 Action Express
{{DEFAULTSORT:50 Action Express Magnum pistol cartridges Pistol and rifle cartridges Action Express cartridges