.416 Barrett
Encyclopedia
The .416 Barrett or 10.6x83mm centerfire rifle
cartridge is a proprietary bottlenecked centrefire rifle cartridge designed 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 Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
in late 2004. Its metric size is 10.6x83mm.
low-supersonic-drag equations to design the shape.
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 gr projectile; It is however of proprietary dimension. Because 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.
For some time, the only commercially-available rifle in this chambering was the single-shot Barrett Model 99. In August 2009, Zel Custom Manufacturing released the Tactilite .416 Barrett upper for AR-style rifles. Recently the Bohica Arms FAR-50 MK-II bolt-action, single-shot AR-15 upper receiver conversion became also available in .416 Barrett. Noreen rifles makes a rifle in .416 Barrett and other large calibers. Barrett now also chambers its semi-automatic M82A1 in .416 Barrett.
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
) engaged in a shooting competition with another sniper. Machowicz achieved a cold-bore first-shot "kill" at 2500 yards (2,286 m) using a .416 Barrett Model 99 rifle while his competition, using a .50 BMG, required three 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.
measurements). The solid brass .416 Barrett MSG bullet has an overall length of 56 mm (2.205 in) and derives its exceptional low drag from a radical LD Haack or Sears-Haack
profile in the bullet's nose area. Rifles chambered for this cartridge bullet combination, with a cartridge overall length of 116 mm (4.567 in), have to be equipped with custom made 1016 mm (40 in) long 279 mm (1:11 in) twist rate barrels to stabilize the .416 Barrett MSG projectiles and attain a projected 1032 m/s (3385 ft/s) muzzle velocity.
cartridge, but not the .416 Barrett.
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
cartridge is a proprietary bottlenecked centrefire rifle cartridge designed in 2005. It is an alternative to the .50 BMG
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
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 Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division is the principal tenant command located at Naval Support Activity Crane. NSA Crane is a United States Navy installation located approximately southwest of Bloomington, Indiana and predominantly located in Martin County, but small parts also extend into...
in late 2004. Its metric size is 10.6x83mm.
Design
The Barrett .416 cartridge was designed by Pete Forras, who recently retired from Barrett. The bullet was designed using NACANational Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958 the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and...
low-supersonic-drag equations to design the shape.
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
Wildcat cartridge
A wildcat cartridge, or wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and firearms are not mass produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge.Developing and using wildcat cartridges does not...
.50 BMG case, shortened to 3.27 inches (83.06 mm) and necked down to accept a .416 caliber
11 mm caliber
This article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the through caliber range.All measurements are in millimeters .-Pistol cartridges:-Revolver cartridges:-Rifle cartridges:-See also:...
, 400 gr projectile; It is however of proprietary dimension. Because 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.
For some time, the only commercially-available rifle in this chambering was the single-shot Barrett Model 99. In August 2009, Zel Custom Manufacturing released the Tactilite .416 Barrett upper for AR-style rifles. Recently the Bohica Arms FAR-50 MK-II bolt-action, single-shot AR-15 upper receiver conversion became also available in .416 Barrett. Noreen rifles makes a rifle in .416 Barrett and other large calibers. Barrett now also chambers its semi-automatic M82A1 in .416 Barrett.
Barrett 400 gr solid brass boattail spitzer bullet
The use of a lighter, narrower bullet results in a significantly higher muzzle velocity and superior ballistic performance to the .50 BMG, and the .416 Barrett is claimed to retain more energy than the .50 BMG at distances over 1,000 yards . Barrett claims that this cartridge is capable of propelling a 400 gr solid brass boattail spitzer bullet out of the 32 inches (812.8 mm) barrel of a Model 99Barrett M99
The Barrett Model 99 "Big Shot" is a single-shot sniper rifle first introduced in 1999 by the Barrett Firearms Company . The company is better known worldwide for its earlier .50 caliber rifles, the semi-automatic M82A1 and bolt-action M95. Like the M95, the rifle uses a bullpup configuration...
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
Future Weapons
Future Weapons, sometimes also written as FutureWeapons and Futureweapons, is a documentary television series that premiered on April 19, 2006 on the Discovery Channel. Host Richard "Mack" Machowicz, a former Navy SEAL, reviews and demonstrates the latest modern weaponry and military technology...
the host (Richard Machowicz
Richard Machowicz
Richard "Mack" Machowicz, a former Navy SEAL, was the host of the Discovery Channel and Military Channel show Future Weapons. According to the program's introduction, he spent ten years as a U.S. Navy SEAL and now searches for new weapons and military technologies used in modern warfare. He is also...
, a former Navy SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
) engaged in a shooting competition with another sniper. Machowicz achieved a cold-bore first-shot "kill" at 2500 yards (2,286 m) using a .416 Barrett Model 99 rifle while his competition, using a .50 BMG, required three 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.
.416 Barrett MSG bullet
Improvement beyond this standard while still using standard .416 Barrett brass seems possible, but the bullets have to be specially designed. An example of such a special .416 Barrett very low drag extreme range bullet is the German CNC manufactured mono-metal 27.5 gram (424 gr) .416 Barrett MSG (G1 BC ≈ 1.103 – this Ballistic coefficient (BC) is calculated by its designer, Mr. Lutz Möller, and not proven by Doppler radarDoppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
measurements). The solid brass .416 Barrett MSG bullet has an overall length of 56 mm (2.205 in) and derives its exceptional low drag from a radical LD Haack or Sears-Haack
Sears-Haack body
The Sears–Haack body is the aerodynamic body shape with the lowest theoretical wave drag. Aircraft designed to operate at high subsonic or supersonic speeds have their cross-sectional areas designed to match as closely as possible the proportions of Sears-Haack body.By Whitcomb's area rule, the...
profile in the bullet's nose area. Rifles chambered for this cartridge bullet combination, with a cartridge overall length of 116 mm (4.567 in), have to be equipped with custom made 1016 mm (40 in) long 279 mm (1:11 in) twist rate barrels to stabilize the .416 Barrett MSG projectiles and attain a projected 1032 m/s (3385 ft/s) muzzle velocity.
Muzzle velocity
- 25.9 g (400 gr) solid brass projectile: 990 m/s (3250 ft/s); 9380 ft·lbf (~12,717 J).
| Cartridge | Bullet weight gr | Muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns... ft/s (m/s) | Muzzle energy Muzzle energy Muzzle energy is the kinetic energy of a bullet as it is expelled from the muzzle of a firearm. It is often used as a rough indication of the destructive potential of a given firearm or load... ft·lbf (J) |
|---|---|---|---|
| .338 Lapua Magnum | 250 | 2970 (905.2) | 4893 (6634.0) |
| .338 Lapua Magnum | 300 | 2717 (828.1) | 4919 (6669.2) |
| .408 Chey Tac .408 Chey Tac The .408 Cheyenne Tactical is a specialized rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire cartridge for military long-range sniper rifles that was developed by Dr. John D. Taylor and machinist William O. Wordman... |
305 | 3500 (1066.8) | 8298 (11,250.5) |
| .408 Chey Tac .408 Chey Tac The .408 Cheyenne Tactical is a specialized rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire cartridge for military long-range sniper rifles that was developed by Dr. John D. Taylor and machinist William O. Wordman... |
419 | 3000 (914.4) | 8376 (11,356.3) |
| .416 Barrett | 400 | 3250 (990.6) | 9380 (12,717.5) |
| .50 BMG .50 BMG The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge... |
700 | 2978 (907.7) | 13,971 (18,942.1) |
Legality
A few jurisdictions in the United States, most notably California as well as a few nations such as Australia, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands restrict or prohibit civilian ownership of rifles chambered to use the .50 BMG.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
cartridge, but not the .416 Barrett.
See also
- List of firearms
- List of rifle cartridges
- 10 mm caliber10 mm caliberThis article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the caliber range.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge.All measurements are in mm .-Pistol cartridges:...
- .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004.50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004The .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004 is a law in the state of California that effectively banned all .50 BMG-caliber rifles from being sold in the state...