{"id":19252,"date":"2018-05-07T16:44:32","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T16:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/05\/07\/this-move-could-shave-20-pounds-off-a-belt-of-50-cal-ammo\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:45:39","slug":"this-move-could-shave-20-pounds-off-a-belt-of-50-cal-ammo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2018\/05\/07\/this-move-could-shave-20-pounds-off-a-belt-of-50-cal-ammo\/","title":{"rendered":"This move could shave 20 pounds off a belt of .50-cal ammo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your next belt of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/10\/10\/new-50-cal-round-fires-60-meters-under-water\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\" aria-describedby=\"popover634085\" style=\"\">.50-caliber ammunition <\/a>could weigh up to 30 percent less than it does now if industry representatives are able to meet the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2015\/09\/17\/marines-unveil-plan-to-modernize-their-small-arms-arsenal\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">needs of a recent Marine Corps<\/a> request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marine Corps Systems Command, the authority in charge of pretty much all the Corps\u2019 gear needs, put out a Request For Information in late April asking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2017\/05\/07\/new-rifle-bigger-bullets-inside-the-army-s-plan-to-ditch-the-m4-and-5-56\/\" title=\"\" class=\"selected-link\" target=\"_blank\" data-original-title=\"\" style=\"\">ammo<\/a>-making companies to lighten the load of the bullets that make the venerable \u201cMa Deuce\u201d .50-caliber machine gun sing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is one small move in a larger, decades-long effort to lighten the battle load across the board for Marines and soldiers \u2014 an initiative given new life by a secretary of defense-pushed task force on close combat lethality.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2017\/04\/27\/improved-50-caliber-machine-gun-hits-fleet\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/improved-50-caliber.JPG.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Improved .50-caliber machine gun hits fleet<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Changes to the .50-caliber machine gun speed up shooting.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A belt of 100 lightweight .50-caliber cartridges with 101 links needs to shave 15 to 30 percent, or more than 20 pounds to qualify for the RFI that Marines have put out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And any new cartridge configuration must live up to the same requirements of the current M33 projectile, according to the FedBizOpps posting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The posting doesn\u2019t tell companies what materials are required to shave off that fat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DOD_50-caliber-ammo-in-box_cal0518.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-42137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DOD_50-caliber-ammo-in-box_cal0518.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DOD_50-caliber-ammo-in-box_cal0518.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DOD_50-caliber-ammo-in-box_cal0518.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DOD_50-caliber-ammo-in-box_cal0518.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. Marines with Regimental Surveillance and Target Acquisition Company use .50 caliber ammunition to fire the .50 caliber sniper rifle during RSTAC live fire training at Fort Irwin, California. If the Corps gets what it wants, this ammo could look a lot different \u2014 and come in a lot lighter. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Alexa M. Hernandez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some companies have produced polymer cartridge casings rather than the traditional brass ones. Those give a substantial weight savings per cartridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many Marines already use a polymer magazine made by Magpul instead of the traditional metal magazine, which also shaves some ounces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Historically, there have been issues with polymer moldings in extreme cold weather conditions. Marines are shifting some equipment, training and troops to a cold weather fight in Europe, increasing partnerships and presence in Norway, specifically in the past few years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your next belt of .50-caliber ammunition could weigh 10 to 20 pounds less than it does now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":25959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":72,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[72,13],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3366],"class_list":["post-19252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gearscout","category-off-duty"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"3REZEMSTDBDBNELN2SYJATC2BU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/05\/07\/this-move-could-shave-20-pounds-off-a-belt-of-50-cal-ammo\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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