Newbie suggestions?

[Wicked96SS]

Okay, I have seen the pictures, and now I want one... can somebody post some websites to get me started doing some research? What are some good rifles to start out with? I don't want to spend $10,000.00 right up front... is there an affordable "entry" model I could look at? I have seen some "affordable" AR50 rifles on gunbroker...

Any informaiton would be greatly appreciated.

[blueiron]

If you want inexpensive, stay out of this forum! The rifle is the cheapest part of the experience. Ammo, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, mounts, accessories, travelling to shoot the thing all add up and darn quick. Reloading is not cheap either.

I'd start with a bolt gun. The semis have sex appeal, but encourage recon by fire and empty wallets. Barrett, Armalite, L.A.R. and others build great guns and you shouldn't have a problem, but I'd suggest going to an organized shoot and trying out some guns. Bring your own factory ammo and most shooters will let you try their guns.

Start with going to the following website and visiting a match or shoot in your area: www.fcsa.org and ask lots of questions. Plenty of people want a .50 BMG caliber weapon, but not everyone can justify it. One has to have a reasonable use for the weapon such as match shooting, very long range hunting, or something like that. Its frankly ludicrious to buy one just to own a "most powerful" gun.

Places to shoot are hard to find [anything less than 500 yards isn't a challenge and is comparable to shooting a .44 magnum at seven yards]. Many shooting ranges don't want you. If you can find somewhere to shoot, bring an ATV to change targets or you'll do a lot of walking. One person has to be a Range Officer since you'll be dealing with such a large area. 2-way radios are just about mandatory. It is pretty much an all day affair to shoot it.

Fifty shooting is lots of fun, but do research first before you buy something you can't really use. Don't forget to start saving money too.

[blueiron]

Try these sites:

www.largrizzly.com

www.armalite.com/new/products.asp?caliber=50BMG

www.barrettrifles.com

www.robarguns.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=5&tabindex=3



For ammo:

www.qpg.com/T/tcci/

[.50bmg]

If you are willing to travel to Atlanta area I will let you shoot my Cobb FA50(T). It has the least amount of recoil of any .50bmg out there. I have shot as many as 300 rounds in a day and no shoulder bruise. :cool: ;f Cobb Rilfe Co. (http://www.cobb50.com) see the video from Blackwater (http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/blackwater2004)

[chevrofreak]

Originally posted by .50bmg
If you are willing to travel to Atlanta area I will let you shoot my Cobb FA50(T). It has the least amount of recoil of any .50bmg out there. I have shot as many as 300 rounds in a day and no shoulder bruise. :cool: ;f Cobb Rilfe Co. (http://www.cobb50.com) see the video from Blackwater (http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/blackwater2004)



How did you manage that without melting your barrel? ;P

[Wicked96SS]

Thanks for the information and websites, I have a lot of reading to do.

I am currently a member of the Quantico Shooting Club, and they do sponser (well, they did last weekend at least) .50 BMG matches on range 4 (1000 meter range). I believe that they are going to try to open up Range 4 for up to .50 BMG 3 or 4 times a year... sure, not a lot of shooting, but they are only 15 minutes from my house!!

Thanks again for the info!

[.50bmg]

Originally posted by chevrofreak
How did you manage that without melting your barrel? ;P

Well it has a Lothar-Walther barrel and its made to last for a long time. 300 rounds is nothing in one day, I was doing some testing so I had to get the barrel hot to see how it shoots after a 100 rounds of rapid firing. Cobb mfg has fired as many as 600 rounds in one day without cleaning just to document what it does, and the darn thing keeps working like a well-oiled machine.

[unixglocker]

That Cobb semiauto or work like a straight pull bolt? Couldn't quite figure this out looking at their site.

Edit I see now, watched the video, straight pull, looks nice.

[Ian_Cognito]

blueiron nailed it! "The rifle is the cheapest part of the experience."
Reloading components are ridiculous. For instance, Hornady A-max bullets are a buck+ a copy, CCI-35 primers are about $100+ per 500 count, a pound of powder only makes 28-30 rounds, Hornady or RCBS dies are over $200, and "cheap" commercial reloads are about a buck twenty per.