Reloading for the Barrett 95?

[G-20er]

I have been reloading for years; however, I'm new to reloading for the .50 BMG. Will be reloading for a brand new Barrett 95. Does
anybody have information on what may be required that is different from reloading any other rifle caliber? Meaning do you need a different press and powder measure due to the size and volume of the case? Also where is a good place to purchase supplies for the .50 BMG?

[50 Shooter]

Hornady & RCBS make a press, you can try to get a Hollywood Eng. press but the wait might kill you. Hornady has a larger powder measure for throwing 200+ grains at one time. Check Lock, Stock & Barrel, Bose's Guns or Midsouth Shooters Supply for prices.

River Valley Ord. carries surplus stuff, so does Pat's Reloading, Hi-Tech ammo, Watson's Weapons and some others. A good starting load is 210 grains, work up from there. I keep most of my stuff at 215 grains of powder and don't have any problems.

Join the FCSA also, their magazine VHP is worth the dues. www.fcsa.org

[G-20er]

Great links and great information thanks for your time.

There is so much to test and so many things to talk about, with this new gun so to narrow things down a bit, would you happen to know what bullet weight works the best with the Barrett 95 barrel rate of twist? Too heavy and bullet will not stabilze and too light the bullet will over rotate during flight. Due to the M95 having lose tolerances, I'm going to have to make everything else as perfect as posible to gain fair accuracy. I'll work on finding the sweet spot of distance bullet needs to be seated off the lands later. I first want to get the right components. Since I already have RCBS equipment I'll go ahead and stick with that brand press. I didn't even know RCBS made such a press.

Feel free to list what you have learned and what brands of components you prefer with accuracy being the first priority.

Trying to figure all this out will be half the fun. ;a

[50 Shooter]

Where do you live in Kali? I'm in SoCal (L.A.Area) if your local, we have a group of guys that get together once a month to shoot our .50's. We go out the 3rd Sunday of the month at Angeles Range, www.angelesranges.com

Your 95 should have the standard 1:15 twist barrel, this is good for everything that you'll find on the market. If you want the best accuracy stay with a match round like AMAX, AAA-Ammuntion solids, McMurdo solids, Lazzarini... The primer considered the best for .50's is RWS but you'll have to find them. Old Western Scrounger use to carry them and they weren't cheap. K&P ((505)445-1311) carries IMI primers that are somewhat reasonable or you can just stick with CCI 35's.

Check out this page for some good reloading tips for the .50, http://www.hevanet.com/temple/ and some other good links.

[G-20er]

I'm just north of Sacramento, so going to LA area for test firing is not an option. Plus I was just in Fontana watching the IRL race so to fly down again would be too costly. Thanks for the offer anyway.

I guess it's hard to be picky with weight of bullet when there are very few choices. :) The link you gave me with the reloading data and information for match grade reloading is awesome. That one web sight in itself (http://www.hevanet.com/temple/) just about has everything I need to answer all my questions. Should keep me busy for awhile. With my calculations, I'm figuring on paying about $3.65 per round for match grade ammo. Better than paying $5 per round (factory ammo) and not having the ammo custom fit for the riffle.

Thanks again.

[50 Shooter]

Keep us up to date on the M95, I'm currently working on my own reloading press. Hope to get it up and running and tested out by the end of the year. If it works out I'll be looking to sell them.

Glad you like the website, the guy put alot of time into putting it together so that others can benefit.

If your ever down here in SoCal for a few days bring your .50 along. Like I said, we shoot the 3rd Sunday of every month at ASR. We wont be there this month though, we're doing some long (2000 yard) range shooting elsewhere.

Have fun.;f

[Lot]

50 Shooter, any news on that press you're working on?

[50 Shooter]

The biggest problem with my press is finding a machinist that isn't busy. The plans are on paper, I have a couple sources but they are really busy so I'll have to check with a third. The third will probably be my best luck as he's local, hopefully he's not busy.