.50 AE Handgun Cartridges

Learn more about .50 AE Handgun Cartridges

Looking to find out more about firearms before you apply for your SAPS firearm licence? Learn all there is to know about .50 AE Handgun Cartridges right here.

This cartridge was developed in 1988 for the IMI (now IWI) Desert Eagle semi-auto pistol, exclusively marketed by Magnum Research. Just like the pistol, this is a mammoth round and is considered one of the world's most powerful semi-automatic cartridges. This cartridge is almost exclusive to the Desert Eagle semi-auto pistol, although AMT produced the Automag V in this caliber for a while, and now Magnum Research is also marketing a revolver in this caliber.

.50 AE Handgun Cartridges

Cartridge Specifications
Case Type:	Rebated, straight
Introduced:	1988	Made For:	Semi-Auto
Cart Len:	1.595-in	Case Len:	1.285-in
Case Dia:	0.543-in	Bul Dia:	0.502-in

Ballistics measured with:
6-inch pistol barrel

Cartridge Variants:
	Weight	Velocity	Energy
From:	300 gr	1450 ft/sec	1475 ft-lbs
To:	325 gr	1475 ft/sec	1570 ft-lbs

Cartridge Used in Database
Weight	Velocity	Energy
300 gr	1500 ft/sec	1499 ft-lbs

Rankings for Cartridge Used in Database
PF:	450000	TKO:	32.271

**See below for further reference regarding the power rankings listed in the tables above:

MV-Muzzle Velocity
Muzzle velocity when fired from a typical handgun. Measured in feet-per-second.

ME-Muzzle Energy
Muzzle energy when fired from a typical handgun. Measured in foot-pounds.

PF-Power Factor
In shooting competition the Power Factor is used to determine the competitive division in which a particular handgun/cartridge can be used. A simple calculation of the bullet's mass times its muzzle velocity.
PF = bull. mass x muzzle vel.

TKO-Taylor Knock Out Formula
Developed by big-game hunter John Howard Taylor in the 1940's. Calculates the relative effectiveness of bullets for hunting game.
TKO = (bull. mass x muzzle vel. x bull. dia.)/7000

Link back to the main table listing of handgun and rifle cartridges HERE.