.50 Action Express

The .50 Action Express (AE) (12.7×33mmRB) is a large-caliber handgun cartridge, best known for its usage in the Desert Eagle. Developed in 1988 by American Evan Whildin of Action Arms, the .50 AE is one of the most powerful pistol cartridges in production.<ref name="COTW">Template:Cite book</ref>

Overview

The actual cartridge has a Template:Convert 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 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 Template:Convert rather than the original Template:Convert<ref name ="Taffin">Taffin, John (2005), The Desert Eagle of Magnum Research. Guns Magazine</ref>Template:Sndthus 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,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the LAR Grizzly Win Mag, the Magnum Research BFR,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Freedoms Arms Model 555.

Performance

SAAMI specifies a maximum chamber pressure of Template:Convert for the .50 AE. Available factory loads can produce nearly Template:Cvt of muzzle energy.<ref name="MR50specs01">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Images

• Hornady50AE.jpg

  Box of Hornady .50 AE 300-grain jacketed hollow point ammunition

• Desert-Eagle-p1030134.jpg

  Desert Eagle Mark XIX (Mark 19) in .50 AE

• BFR, .50, Revolver.jpg

  Magnum Research BFR in .50 AE

• AutomagV.jpg

  AMT AutoMag V in .50 AE

See also

• Table of handgun and rifle cartridges

External links

• The Reload Bench: .50 Action Express