History
Barrett introduced the .416 in 2005. Take a .50 BMG case, shorten it, neck it down to .416 inch, and you get a cartridge that throws a high-BC solid flatter and with noticeably less recoil than the .50 while still running in a .50-pattern action. It also gave shooters in jurisdictions that restrict .50 caliber a legal door to the same extreme-range performance, and that was part of its early appeal.
C.I.P. standardizes it, not SAAMI, with the United States as country of origin and the alternate designation 10.4×83. This is anti-materiel and ELR hardware, with real factory match ammunition from Barrett behind it. It is not a general-purpose round.
Lineage
The parent case is the .50 BMG. It keeps the .804 inch head, trimmed to 3.27 inches and necked down to .416 inch (10.57mm) over a sharp shoulder, fed by a .50 BMG primer in a dedicated .50-pattern or single-shot ELR action. Its peers are the other big anti-materiel and ELR rounds: the .375 and .408 CheyTac, the .460 Steyr, and the .50 BMG it set out to beat on precision.
Specifications
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Case type | Rimless, beltless, bottlenecked |
| Bullet diameter | 10.57 mm (.416 in) |
| Neck diameter | 11.63 mm (.458 in) |
| Shoulder diameter | 18.54 mm (.730 in) |
| Base diameter | 20.40 mm (.803 in) |
| Rim diameter | 20.42 mm (.804 in) |
| Case length | 83.06 mm (3.270 in) |
| Overall length | 125.73 mm (4.950 in) |
| Case capacity | ~280 gr H2O (nominal) |
| Primer size | .50 BMG |
| Belted | No |
| Rifling twist (C.I.P.) | 1 in 12 in (305 mm) |
| Max pressure | C.I.P. 4,400 bar (440 MPa, ~63,800 psi) |
| Recommended barrel | 36 in, 1:9 twist |
Dimensions are taken from the C.I.P. TDCC datasheet for the .416 Barrett (cartridge maximum). C.I.P. headspaces on the shoulder and prints no datum circle, so the cutaway omits the datum line rather than draw a derived one.
Barrel Design
C.I.P. and the factory build around a 1:12 twist, which is what Hornady's 500 grain A-Tip wants. The baseline I'd recommend runs a little faster at 1:9 to hold a comfortable stability margin on the heaviest solids deep into the transonic range. Either shoots the factory loads; the faster twist is insurance for the longest bullets at the longest distances.
A case this big needs a long, heavy barrel to burn the charge and tame the recoil. The baseline I'd recommend is 36 inches, which collects velocity and keeps the heavy .416 solids supersonic past 2,000 yards. The rifle is heavy, the blast serious, the ammunition expensive. That is the tradeoff for roughly 9,000 ft-lb at the muzzle and a two-mile trajectory. The tables below run at that 36 inch barrel; the 452 grain range load is scaled up from its 32 inch factory figure, and since velocity tracks barrel length closely, confirm your own on a chronograph before trusting any dial.
Range Ammo Performance
Barrett · 452 gr Cutting Edge MTAC $9.06/rd
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Elevation (mil) | Energy (ft-lb) | Windage (mil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3053 | -0.3 | 9354 | 0.4 |
| 100 | 2944 | 0.0 | 8700 | 0.2 |
| 200 | 2838 | -0.3 | 8080 | 0.4 |
| 300 | 2733 | -0.7 | 7494 | 0.5 |
| 400 | 2630 | -1.3 | 6941 | 0.7 |
| 500 | 2529 | -2.0 | 6420 | 0.9 |
| 600 | 2431 | -2.6 | 5929 | 1.1 |
| 700 | 2334 | -3.4 | 5469 | 1.3 |
| 800 | 2241 | -4.1 | 5038 | 1.5 |
| 900 | 2149 | -4.9 | 4634 | 1.7 |
| 1000 | 2060 | -5.8 | 4257 | 1.9 |
| 1100 | 1972 | -6.7 | 3903 | 2.2 |
| 1200 | 1887 | -7.7 | 3572 | 2.4 |
| 1300 | 1803 | -8.7 | 3261 | 2.7 |
| 1400 | 1721 | -9.8 | 2971 | 3.0 |
| 1500 | 1640 | -11.0 | 2699 | 3.3 |
| 1600 | 1561 | -12.3 | 2446 | 3.6 |
| 1700 | 1484 | -13.6 | 2210 | 4.0 |
| 1800 | 1408 | -15.1 | 1991 | 4.3 |
| 1900 | 1335 | -16.6 | 1789 | 4.7 |
| 2000 | 1264 | -18.3 | 1603 | 5.2 |
| 2100 | 1196 | -20.1 | 1435 | 5.6 |
| 2200 | 1132 | -22.1 | 1287 | 6.1 |
| 2300 | 1088 | -24.2 | 1189 | 6.6 |
| 2400 | 1060 | -26.5 | 1128 | 7.1 |
| 2500 | 1037 | -29.0 | 1080 | 7.7 |
| 2600 | 1017 | -31.6 | 1038 | 8.2 |
| 2700 | 999 | -34.4 | 1001 | 8.7 |
| 2800 | 981 | -37.3 | 966 | 9.3 |
| 2900 | 964 | -40.4 | 933 | 9.8 |
| 3000 | 948 | -43.7 | 903 | 10.4 |
| 3100 | 933 | -47.1 | 874 | 10.9 |
| 3200 | 918 | -50.6 | 846 | 11.5 |
| 3300 | 904 | -54.3 | 820 | 12.1 |
| 3400 | 890 | -58.1 | 795 | 12.7 |
Muzzle velocity 3053 fps is estimated at 36 in from the 32 in factory figure of 3005 fps at about 12 fps per inch. Expect your own barrel to read a little differently. Velocity is color coded green supersonic, yellow transonic, red subsonic; treat transonic and subsonic rows as approximate.
Match Ammo Performance
Hornady · 500 gr A-Tip Match $13.90/rd
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Elevation (mil) | Energy (ft-lb) | Windage (mil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2850 | -0.3 | 9017 | 0.4 |
| 100 | 2760 | 0.0 | 8457 | 0.2 |
| 200 | 2672 | -0.3 | 7925 | 0.4 |
| 300 | 2585 | -0.9 | 7418 | 0.6 |
| 400 | 2500 | -1.6 | 6937 | 0.7 |
| 500 | 2416 | -2.3 | 6480 | 0.9 |
| 600 | 2334 | -3.0 | 6048 | 1.1 |
| 700 | 2254 | -3.8 | 5639 | 1.3 |
| 800 | 2175 | -4.7 | 5252 | 1.6 |
| 900 | 2098 | -5.5 | 4887 | 1.8 |
| 1000 | 2023 | -6.5 | 4542 | 2.0 |
| 1100 | 1949 | -7.4 | 4215 | 2.2 |
| 1200 | 1876 | -8.5 | 3907 | 2.5 |
| 1300 | 1804 | -9.6 | 3614 | 2.8 |
| 1400 | 1734 | -10.7 | 3338 | 3.0 |
| 1500 | 1665 | -11.9 | 3078 | 3.3 |
| 1600 | 1597 | -13.2 | 2832 | 3.6 |
| 1700 | 1530 | -14.6 | 2600 | 4.0 |
| 1800 | 1465 | -16.0 | 2383 | 4.3 |
| 1900 | 1401 | -17.5 | 2179 | 4.7 |
| 2000 | 1338 | -19.2 | 1989 | 5.1 |
| 2100 | 1277 | -20.9 | 1812 | 5.5 |
| 2200 | 1219 | -22.8 | 1648 | 5.9 |
| 2300 | 1162 | -24.7 | 1499 | 6.4 |
| 2400 | 1113 | -26.9 | 1376 | 6.9 |
| 2500 | 1082 | -29.1 | 1299 | 7.4 |
| 2600 | 1059 | -31.6 | 1245 | 7.9 |
| 2700 | 1040 | -34.1 | 1200 | 8.4 |
| 2800 | 1022 | -36.8 | 1160 | 8.9 |
| 2900 | 1006 | -39.7 | 1124 | 9.5 |
| 3000 | 991 | -42.7 | 1090 | 10.0 |
| 3100 | 976 | -45.8 | 1058 | 10.6 |
| 3200 | 963 | -49.1 | 1029 | 11.1 |
| 3300 | 949 | -52.4 | 1001 | 11.7 |
| 3400 | 937 | -56.0 | 974 | 12.2 |
Muzzle velocity 2850 fps is the factory figure from a 36 in test barrel. Expect your own barrel to read a little differently. Velocity is color coded green supersonic, yellow transonic, red subsonic; treat transonic and subsonic rows as approximate.
Trajectory
FAQ
What barrel length and twist should I run?
A 36 inch barrel to collect velocity and hold the heavy .416 solids supersonic past 2,000 yards. For twist, the C.I.P. and factory standard is 1:12, which the 500 grain A-Tip is built for; I'd run a slightly faster 1:9 for stability margin on the heaviest bullets. Either works for factory ammunition.
Is the .416 Barrett a SAAMI cartridge?
No. The .416 Barrett is standardized by C.I.P., with the United States as its country of origin and the alternative designation 10.4×83. The dimensions on this page come from the C.I.P. TDCC datasheet. Because C.I.P. headspaces on the shoulder, there is no published datum circle, so the cutaway omits the datum line rather than draw a derived one.
How does it compare to the .50 BMG?
It drives a lighter, higher-BC bullet faster, so it shoots flatter, drifts less, and recoils less than the .50 BMG. That makes it the better precision choice at extreme range. The .50 still carries more raw energy and a wider projectile selection, and the .416 fills the gap where .50 caliber is legally restricted, delivering comparable reach without being a .50.
What is it good for?
Extreme long range and anti-materiel work, where roughly 9,000 ft-lb at the muzzle and supersonic flight past 2,000 yards justify the size, recoil, and cost. For any practical shooting inside a mile, a .338 or .375 on a smaller case does the job with far less expense and abuse to the shooter.