.416 Barrett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| .416 Barrett | ||
|---|---|---|
| Type | Rifle | |
| Place of origin | United States | |
| Production history | ||
| Designer | Ronnie Barrett | |
| Designed | 2005 | |
| Specifications | ||
The .416 Barrett centerfire rifle cartridge is a proprietary bottlenecked centrefire rifle cartridge designed by Ronnie Barrett in 2005. It is an alternative to the .50 BMG in long-range high-caliber rifles. It was designed in response to a request for a medium/heavy rifle/cartridge combination that was issued from Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center in late 2004.
Contents |
[edit] Design
The cartridge was designed as an improvement to the .50 BMG cartridge, a common machine-gun and rifle cartridge. It is similar to a wildcatted .50 BMG case, shortened to 3.27 inches (83.06 mm) and necked down to accept a .416 caliber, 400-grain (26 g) projectile;[1][2] It is however of proprietary dimension.[3] Due to the fact that the two cartridges, the .50 BMG and .416 Barrett, have identical base dimensions, all that is needed to convert a rifle to use one or the other cartridge is a relatively quick barrel swap. Currently, the only commercially-available rifle in this chambering is the single-shot Barrett Model 99. The Bohica Arms FAR-50 MK-II (a bolt-action, single-shot AR-15 upper receiver conversion) is also available in .416 Barrett.
[edit] Performance
The use of a lighter, narrower bullet results in a significantly higher muzzle velocity and superior ballistic performance to the .50 BMG, and is claimed to be even more powerful than the .50 BMG at 1,000 yards (though its power deteriorates below the BMG's after that).[4] Barrett claims that this cartridge is capable of propelling a 400gr solid brass boattail spitzer bullet out of the 32-inch (810 mm) barrel of a Model 99 single-shot rifle at 990 m/s (3250 ft/s), giving it a ballistic coefficient between .943-.989 and keeping the projectile supersonic out to 2286 metres (2500 yards).
In a second season episode of Future Weapons the host (Richard Machowicz, a former Navy SEAL) engages in a shooting competition with another sniper. "Mac" achieves a cold-bore first-shot "kill" at 2,500 yards (2,286 m) using a .416 Barrett Model 99 rifle while his competition, using a .50 BMG, required 3 shots to achieve a "kill". The .416 Barrett Model 99 rifle Mr. Machowicz used during this competition was equipped with a Barrett Optical Ranging System (BORS) module attached to the telescopic sight.
VideoLink: http://www.guba.com/watch/2001011740 (11mins22sec into episode)
[edit] Muzzle velocity
- 25.9 g (400 gr) solid brass projectile: 990 m/s (3250 ft/s); 9380 ft·lbf (~12717 J).
| Cartridge | Bullet weight gr | Muzzle velocity ft/s (m/s) | Muzzle energy ft·lbf (J) |
|---|---|---|---|
| .338 Lapua Magnum | 250 | 2970 (905.2) | 4893 (6634.0)[5] |
| .338 Lapua Magnum | 300 | 2717 (828.1) | 4919 (6669.2) [6] |
| .408 Chey Tac | 305 | 3500 (1066.8) | 8298 (11250.5) [7] |
| .408 Chey Tac | 419 | 3000 (914.4) | 8376 (11356.3) [8] |
| .416 Barrett | 400 | 3250 (990.6) | 9380 (12717.5) |
| .50 BMG | 700 | 2978 (907.7) | 13971 (18942.1) |
[edit] Legality
A few jurisdictions in the United States, most notably California and other areas of severe urban agglomeration as well as a few nations such as Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands restrict or prohibit civilian ownership of rifles chambered to use the .50 BMG cartridge, but not the .416 Barrett. Other jurisdictions, including Mexico, forbid .416 weapons.
[edit] Synonyms
- 10.5 x 83 mm
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ cartridge picture
- ^ "Barrett FAQ"
- ^ "Barrett FAQ"
- ^ Airborne Combat Engineer's article on the .416 Barrett
- ^ Lapua product brochure .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition
- ^ VihtaVuori Reloading Guide, 2006
- ^ Cartridges of the World 11th Edition, Book by Frank C. Barnes, Edited by Stan Skinner, Gun Digest Books, 2006, ISBN 0-89689-297-2 pp. 265,541
- ^ Cartridges of the World 11th Edition, Book by Frank C. Barnes, Edited by Stan Skinner, Gun Digest Books, 2006, ISBN 0-89689-297-2 pp. 265,541
[edit] External links
VideoLink: http://www.guba.com/watch/2001011740 (11mins22sec into episode)
