The 5.6×50mm Magnum (designated as the 5,6 × 50 Mag. by the C.I.P. ) is a centerfire, rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge that was developed in 1970 by Günter Frères of the Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM).

Parent case

In 1968 Günter Frères developed the parent case, the rimmed 5.6×50mmR Magnum (designated 5,6 x 50 R Mag. by the C.I.P. According to the official C.I.P ruling, the rimless 5.6×50mm Magnum can handle up to 380.00 MPa Pmax piezo pressure, which is 40.00 MPa more than the rimmed parent case developed four years prior.

Uses

The 5.6×50mm Magnum and 5.6×50mmR Magnum cartridges were developed in Germany as legal hunting cartridges for small game, fox, chamois and roe deer at ranges up to and over 200 m. In North America it is considered a varmint hunting cartridge.

Related cartridges

This cartridge occupies a useful performance niche approximately halfway between the .222 Remington and the 5.6×57mm, similar to the slightly less powerful .222 Remington Magnum and the .223 Remington.