.50 BMG belts

[JS569]

Just watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fHE1yNk0js and I was suprised at the number of times he had to reload. Does anyone know how many rounds are on a belt of .50, the gunner seemed to whip through belts swiftly!

The rate of fire seemed higher than the usual 'thud thud' I've heard before when watch .50 bmg been shot

[Geordie bloke]

I think that there are only 100 rounds in a box of .50 cal.

[Matt]

Yep, 100

[M99]

Some of the older stuff comes in 220 round belts and very nice wooden crates!!

[johngarnett]

Do you see the way he was tossing those boxes away...............OMG!!!!!!!
JohnG

[Sandgroper]

Do you see the way he was tossing those boxes away...............OMG!!!!!!!
JohnG

I think he had other things on his mind at the time...

[Chapuis]

Do you see the way he was tossing those boxes away...............OMG!!!!!!!
JohnG

I think he had other things on his mind at the time...

Yes you would have thought that he would have shouted CREE and then dismounted and restacked them carefully before continuing with his war wouldn't you! :lol:

[rufrdr]

That's the right speed for a ground gun. The aircraft guns had a higher rate of fire. A can carries 100 rounds and it is heavy! Until pretty recently like the last couple of years ago the U.S. Army was still firing off WW2 ball for M2 .50 training. I shot a bunch of it in Germany late 70s/early 80s. Can you imagine how much .50 ammunition was loaded in WW2 to still have it around!

[Geordie bloke]

I was lucky to visit the FN Herstal factory in Liege on business to purchase about 30 x 0.50 M2/QCBs for the Challenger 2 MBTs for Oman contract some years back now whilst working for Vickers Defence Systems here in Newcastle.
On the second day they took us to the Zutendal ranges and it was like a sweety shop with all sorts of stuff.
They let us loose with the P90 machine gun in 5.7mm something or other and onto the ground model .50 cal on a tripod. Then they let me shoot the twin mounted .50cal which was brilliant. Finally they had 2 x .50 cals in a helicopter/aircraft pod. These fired remotely and at an exceptional rate and all the rounds were bright yellow tracer and after a few seconds the 20 figure 11s were bits of wood and paper. Not sure how they increased the rate of fire unless it just appeared that way because of having 2 machine guns going off at once.