I got a case of the yellow on top of red tip. These have a shallow hollow point. The other is a blue tip FMJ. These have S L 4 5 on the head stamp. One of the other head stamp is L C 42 and is a FMJ. The last is IK 50 98 and came as a "white box". I think the yellow on red is supposed to be a tracer? and the blue had something to do with it's impact? Any help on these rounds would be much appreciated.
How accurate is this .50 ammo?
- Thread starter CANNONMAN
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The yellow/red is spotter/tracer. It was probably reloaded by somebody, so use with caution. The tip is actually a primer that detonates on impact. It makes a big flash. It will also trace if not too old. It is a very heavy bullet and will not have the same trajectory as normal .50 BMG. In fact that bullet wasn't built for 50 BMG.
The blue tip is incendiary. It will also flash upon impact.
Either one will do a nice job to a propane can. Neither are "accurate."
The blue tip is incendiary. It will also flash upon impact.
Either one will do a nice job to a propane can. Neither are "accurate."
redbullitt
Member
Agreed, accurate enough to hit big things : )
Handloading is the only way to get it done with the 50... unless you buy the crazy match stuff.
Pulled FMJ has been under 3moa for me out of an AR50. It does better if the bullets are carefully sorted and sized. Not bad at all for cost. AMAX was sub MOA very easily, but man that was some painfully expensive load data to work up lol.
I can't stress the brass enough... LOTS of work getting the brass to be good. If you skip that step you will never get accuracy anywhere near what it should be.
Handloading is the only way to get it done with the 50... unless you buy the crazy match stuff.
Pulled FMJ has been under 3moa for me out of an AR50. It does better if the bullets are carefully sorted and sized. Not bad at all for cost. AMAX was sub MOA very easily, but man that was some painfully expensive load data to work up lol.
I can't stress the brass enough... LOTS of work getting the brass to be good. If you skip that step you will never get accuracy anywhere near what it should be.
Kp321
Member
Be careful where you use the spotter/tracer and incendiary (blue tip) rounds. They could potentially start a fire. If the rounds are original factory, not reloads, the primers are corrosive so clean your rifle accordingly.
RecoilRob
Member
If I were you and didn't know where and who loaded the Spotter-Tracers....I'd pull one down and see what kind of powder charge it contains. Reason is they weigh around 830 grains so you can't use anywhere near a normal 220-230 grain charge plus the fact that they are designed to run about 1700fps at most and will be VERY hazardous to fire if whomever loaded them tried to get normal velocity out of them. They're not designed for that kind of pressure and can (and will) detonate within the barrel or in the muzzle brake which is dangerous with shrapnel posing a real hazard to you and anyone near the firing line. They are very fun to shoot though!! If you prick a hole in the disc covering the base they'll trace more reliably and really put on a show...both flying through the air then exploding with a big BANG when they hit. Everyone always loves them!!
The Blue-Tips are Incendiary which is basically a steel shell filled with the compound and they make a huge flash with report when they strike. Proved to be less than ideal at setting fire to aircraft fuel tanks though as they tended to flash on the exterior rather than inside. This is good for us as they make a nice show but not ideal for military use. The later API are designed to flash on the second surface they strike and so tend to light up inside the tank which works better.
Neither Blue-Tip or Spotter-Tracer are going to give you superior accuracy but will be sufficient to nail 1lb propane cylinders at 100 yds which is highly recommended!
The Blue-Tips I've loaded over the years have worked fine but there is the possibility of them prematurely detonating in the muzzle brake which is dangerous so be very careful of who you let stand anywhere near the line. I have a can of Blue-Tips that I won't load because the bases are corroded enough to possibly allow the propelling charge into the incendiary mix which is where the muzzle detonations come from. Only load bullets with intact bases for best safety!! Might be worth pulling a couple of yours to check on the bases just to be cautious and if you find them corroded I'd not shoot them to be honest.
The Blue-Tips are Incendiary which is basically a steel shell filled with the compound and they make a huge flash with report when they strike. Proved to be less than ideal at setting fire to aircraft fuel tanks though as they tended to flash on the exterior rather than inside. This is good for us as they make a nice show but not ideal for military use. The later API are designed to flash on the second surface they strike and so tend to light up inside the tank which works better.
Neither Blue-Tip or Spotter-Tracer are going to give you superior accuracy but will be sufficient to nail 1lb propane cylinders at 100 yds which is highly recommended!
The Blue-Tips I've loaded over the years have worked fine but there is the possibility of them prematurely detonating in the muzzle brake which is dangerous so be very careful of who you let stand anywhere near the line. I have a can of Blue-Tips that I won't load because the bases are corroded enough to possibly allow the propelling charge into the incendiary mix which is where the muzzle detonations come from. Only load bullets with intact bases for best safety!! Might be worth pulling a couple of yours to check on the bases just to be cautious and if you find them corroded I'd not shoot them to be honest.RecoilRob
Member
The base on the tracers are covered with a thin copper cup that's supposed to be burned away during firing which then exposes the tracing compound to the fire and it lights. The problem with the Spotter-Tracers are the reduced loads they require sometimes don't make enough fire to reliably light them...hence helping them out with a little hole.
It's not Rocket Science.....whatever you have handy with a sharp end on it, like a finishing nail or ice pick and just lightly tap until it breaks through. You don't need or want to drive the thing deep into the bullet!!! Just enough to make a hole and they'll go from maybe 50-50 to 95-5 lighting or not.
It's not Rocket Science..
...whatever you have handy with a sharp end on it, like a finishing nail or ice pick and just lightly tap until it breaks through. You don't need or want to drive the thing deep into the bullet!!! Just enough to make a hole and they'll go from maybe 50-50 to 95-5 lighting or not.RecoilRob
Member
To get into 50 BMG loading you ARE looking at an investment for sure. The press is huge and dies a bit pricey, then throw in the collet puller you need to yank projectiles it all adds up. But when feeding an expensive rifle, even a low-end 50 is pricey, it's OK to spend the money as the BMG is such a HOOT to shoot!!
Back when we could buy inexpensive pull-down powder and projectiles it wasn't so bad to shoot them if you could roll your own. I'm hoarding a few boxes of Spotter-Tracers upstairs along with AP and API and a couple cans of Blue-Tips. Since they changed the laws regarding demilling Military ammo it's really cut down on us having fun for cheap.
You have come into quite a treasure trove of ammo there!!! By the way...what are you going to be shooting them out of? Enjoy and have fun.
Back when we could buy inexpensive pull-down powder and projectiles it wasn't so bad to shoot them if you could roll your own. I'm hoarding a few boxes of Spotter-Tracers upstairs along with AP and API and a couple cans of Blue-Tips. Since they changed the laws regarding demilling Military ammo it's really cut down on us having fun for cheap.
You have come into quite a treasure trove of ammo there!!! By the way...what are you going to be shooting them out of? Enjoy and have fun.
OldmanFCSA
Member
I'm interested in the IK-98 50BMG brass, as loaded or as empty brass.
I reload 50BMG and enjoy using IK-98 brass as it is slightly thicker than most others and is usually very consistent weight wise.
Incendiary is blue tipped and takes a major hit to light it off. (I have only 91 left - be sure to shoot in a safe condition.)
The other yellow-red I would not shoot.
I reload 50BMG and enjoy using IK-98 brass as it is slightly thicker than most others and is usually very consistent weight wise.
Incendiary is blue tipped and takes a major hit to light it off. (I have only 91 left - be sure to shoot in a safe condition.)
The other yellow-red I would not shoot.
50 Shooter
member
Other then the IK ammo, everything else is a reload. More then likely Talon, two ways to tell is the primer and the lack of crimp on the primer.
Blue tip were known to air burst about 10ft out of the barrel, not in the muzzle brake. The consensus was that when they were resized the jacket seperated a little bit and allowed the hot gasses to get into the bullet and detonate the incendiary mix. They're fun to shoot and put on one heck of a light show when they hit. Just be careful, keep fire danger in mind, bring something to put out fires if you shoot these.
The red yellow or spotter tracer were from the smaller .50 round used on the 106mm recoiless, the gunner would fire the ST's which would trace out to the target. The primer in the tip would set off a small smoke charge in the tip. When the gunner was satisfied of where the rounds were hitting he would fire the 106mm round and take out the target.
When loading them into a full size 50 BMG cases you need to download load the charge. Most guys use 175-190 grs of powder with 190 being max. I will say this, they can be pushed faster but I don't advise it! I have seen those pushed so hard that they shot flat out to the target. After finding out the charge, myself and another friend made sure to take a few steps back from the shooter!
The IK ammo is good shooting stuff, brass is some of the better stuff for reloading. You can shoot this without worry as it's factory ammo but a little on the warm side. If the person you got the ammo from confirms the other stuff is Talon, shoot it up and save the brass to reload. Talon popped the old primers out and put new ones in, so no worries about them being corrosive. The powder is pull down from when the ammo was broke down.
If it's reloads from an unknown source, you're going to have to break them down to be safe. Lee's press for the .50 works just as well as the larger presses. You can find a collet puller on eBay for about $20 that will fit on the Lee. I can't remember the exact one but if you go over to the .50 forum on ar15.com one of the guys will tell you the one to get.
Any other questions just ask, there is brass, bullets and ammo to stay away from. So be safe.
Blue tip were known to air burst about 10ft out of the barrel, not in the muzzle brake. The consensus was that when they were resized the jacket seperated a little bit and allowed the hot gasses to get into the bullet and detonate the incendiary mix. They're fun to shoot and put on one heck of a light show when they hit. Just be careful, keep fire danger in mind, bring something to put out fires if you shoot these.
The red yellow or spotter tracer were from the smaller .50 round used on the 106mm recoiless, the gunner would fire the ST's which would trace out to the target. The primer in the tip would set off a small smoke charge in the tip. When the gunner was satisfied of where the rounds were hitting he would fire the 106mm round and take out the target.
When loading them into a full size 50 BMG cases you need to download load the charge. Most guys use 175-190 grs of powder with 190 being max. I will say this, they can be pushed faster but I don't advise it! I have seen those pushed so hard that they shot flat out to the target. After finding out the charge, myself and another friend made sure to take a few steps back from the shooter!
The IK ammo is good shooting stuff, brass is some of the better stuff for reloading. You can shoot this without worry as it's factory ammo but a little on the warm side. If the person you got the ammo from confirms the other stuff is Talon, shoot it up and save the brass to reload. Talon popped the old primers out and put new ones in, so no worries about them being corrosive. The powder is pull down from when the ammo was broke down.
If it's reloads from an unknown source, you're going to have to break them down to be safe. Lee's press for the .50 works just as well as the larger presses. You can find a collet puller on eBay for about $20 that will fit on the Lee. I can't remember the exact one but if you go over to the .50 forum on ar15.com one of the guys will tell you the one to get.
Any other questions just ask, there is brass, bullets and ammo to stay away from. So be safe.
50 Shooter
member
All the talk of the ammo and I forgot about the original question that you had.
As far as accuracy goes, out of a bolt gun the best you might get is about 1 1/2-2 MOA. Out of a semi you'll probably get anywhere from 2-5 MOA depending on the gun. Surplus ammo isn't known for its accuracy, hand loading it helps for sure. AP is more accurate than ball, problem is AP hasn't been made since WWII. So once it dries up its gone for good.
Of course you can find some foreign stuff but it's all loaded and not cheap. I paid $5 for a Canadian AP round just to have it for my collection. Then throw in all the people that have been buying .50's lately and it's not making things any better.
As far as accuracy goes, out of a bolt gun the best you might get is about 1 1/2-2 MOA. Out of a semi you'll probably get anywhere from 2-5 MOA depending on the gun. Surplus ammo isn't known for its accuracy, hand loading it helps for sure. AP is more accurate than ball, problem is AP hasn't been made since WWII. So once it dries up its gone for good.
Of course you can find some foreign stuff but it's all loaded and not cheap. I paid $5 for a Canadian AP round just to have it for my collection. Then throw in all the people that have been buying .50's lately and it's not making things any better.
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