Description
Details
Made for Federal at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Lake City, Missouri, this cartridge is known as XM33. The M33 is a reference to the specific variation of .50 BMG this represents. The first.50 BMG ball ammunition was M2, which was slightly heavier at 707 grains. When M2 Tracer was replaced by M8 Tracer, the ballistics no longer matched, and therefore a new ball cartridge was born. The M33 is a lighter bullet than its M2 brother and has been manufactured since 1951 during the Korean War. As .50 BMG was used primarily in heavy machine gun platforms as an anti-aircraft round, ammunition belts included strategically placed tracer rounds to give the gunner a visual guide on their aim.
Now the M33 is one of the world’s best known sniper cartridges. It has a maximum range of 7400 meters, or about 4.6 miles. The 660 grain full-metal jacket projectile is loaded in a boxer-primed brass case.
