Ammo, Inc Moving into .50 Cal BMG Production

Thousands of 50-caliber bullets were expended as U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from several companies in the 470th Movement Control Battalion, Elwood, Ill., attempted to qualify with a Browning M2A1 .50-caliber machine gun at a range on Fort McCoy, Wis., April 9, 2022. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Sgt. 1st Class Clinton Wood).

Arizona-based Ammo, Inc. says they are kicking off .50 cal BMG production in a big way at their newly opened 185,000 sq. ft. factory in Wisconsin. They are specializing at first in M33 High Accuracy ball ammunition, the most commonly used military type—vanilla if you will– which typically features a 660-grain FMJ bullet.

However, they say they have armor-piercing (“AP”) and armor-piercing incendiary (“API”) presently in the process of load development, loading, and testing, so those flavors are on the horizon. The company says the plant will be able to make 24 million .50 cal rounds per year when they are at capacity.

The destination for all these .50 cal rounds? Likely a nervous Eastern Europe, where the M2 heavy machine gun and lots of Barrett anti-material rifles are in widescale service and everyone has Russian expansion on their mind.

Should there be some leftovers, the U.S. domestic market will surely soak them up.

By Michael Crites

Michael Crites has served as executive editor of AmericanFirearms.org since 2016 and previously held positions as associate editor and range correspondent dating back to 2000. He discovered his passion for precision shooting at age 12 during his first visit to his grandfather's shooting range, eventually earning an Expert classification in three different shooting disciplines before age 18. During his studies at University of Wyoming, he earned four varsity letters on the collegiate rifle and pistol teams, serving as team captain for three consecutive years. He became the first UW student to complete the NRA Range Safety Officer certification while maintaining full-time student status. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Communications. His diverse career has included roles as Range Safety Coordinator for the National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry 2001; editor-in-chief, Precision Shooter Quarterly; series editor, Modern Firearms Handbook collection; managing editor, National Shooting Sports Foundation Newsletter; editor, Competitive Shooter Magazine; operations director for Western Arms & Ammunition Co.; senior editor for the Shooter's Reference Annual (Cheyenne); content director for The Firearms Report, published by the American Shooting Coalition in Billings, MT; firearms correspondent for Hunting & Shooting, produced by Outdoor Sports Media Group in Jackson, WY; and publisher for Wyoming Shooting Sports Journal in Casper. He has contributed as a regular columnist for American Rifleman (NRA Publications), technical editor for Precision, a publication of the National Bench Rest Shooters Association (Phoenix, AZ); and as firearms specialist for the Gun Owner's Annual. As a digital content creator, he has written more than 400 articles on AmericanFirearms.org, developed shooting technique coverage for the Brownells Shooting Blog (Montezuma, IA) and Federal Premium "Range Notes" platform (Anoka, MN), and served as lead content strategist for International Defensive Pistol Association (Berryville, AR). Beyond Tactical Firearms, his current endeavors include content development for the Wyoming State Rifle Association (Cheyenne, WY) and technical manual production for High Plains Publishing of Laramie, WY. He has contributed to the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of Modern Sporting Rifles Guide and edited The Complete Guide to Tactical Shooting and Competitive Shooter's Reference Manual (Gun Digest Books).

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