Question....

[GSD17]

Ok, Just out of curiosity, what does the average .50bmg rifle run price wise? just on average, what is the cheapest you can expect to find and most expensive....

[50 Shooter]

Cheapest would be the Watson's Weapons .50 upper (about $1,000) for the AR-15 style lower receiver, the most expensive would be the Accuracy International AW50 (10K+). This doesn't include any of the accessories like a bipod, scope...

[GSD17]

ok, thanks, i just wanted a round a bout to know where they start ya kwow, luckily, i have an AR :)

[limeyyank]

I guess the price depends on what you want... I custom built my .50 for $4000 (without glass). But mine was built for 50 cal shooters "heavy" class..

[Ian_Cognito]

There are a lot of .50 manufacturers out there; Serbu, Armalite, Cobb, Viper, State Arms, Barrett, and many others. Some people can afford top of the line rifles, but most of us can't. Based on that, I'd say the "average cost" of most complete rifles (Not an AR type upper or custom built rig), is about $2000 - $3500.

[dwebb210]

Don't forget, you will spend at least $1000 for a
BMG quality scope.

BMGs have muzzle brakes that impart a recoil force
different from non braked guns. Seems that most
scopes can't handle it.

The most popular scope is a NightForce that costs
around $1350.

People who use cheaper scopes usually rate their
life expectancy between 1 and 200 shots fired.

(but some of these people take advantage of the
manufacturers lifetime warantees, and abuse them)

Dave

[HotGuns]

Hey limeyyank...

Tell me about your custom gun that you built. Did you do it from scratch or from parts ?

[limeyyank]

Built from parts..
McBros long action right hand bolt,left hand port,single shot fluted bolt

K&P 40" barrel with my custom contour, I have built a tension tube for the barrel

Lee Six Carbon fiber"heavy class" stock,to which I added delrin bag runners.

Jewel 3oz trigger

K&P MK2 clamshell brake

Brownells ajustable shoulder stock (cant and length)

"deselarator" butt pad

custom made front sandbag rest
custom made rear stock rest
Both rests are worm drive ajustable for hight and horizontal movement

custom made case

Night force 8-32x56 scope (mil-dot iluminated)

Hope that lot helped...lol

Mark

;z

[HotGuns]

Sounds good.

I've built a few myself.

Got any pics ?

[limeyyank]

afer I lug 49lbs of rifle, then a can of ammo, cleaning supplys,spotting scope,and stool to the line.... I am too tired to take pics...lol
But next time I'm at the range or out back here I will take a few.

Mark

[limeyyank]

Hotguns.. What are you shooting now? and are you loading your own?

Mark

[HotGuns]

Im shooting a Maddi Griffen clone that I made. I also made the reloading press and the dies. I've got pics here...

.50 stuff (http://community.webshots.com/user/bob102759)

being a machinist does have its advantages... ;f

I'm in the process of building a Bill Holmes design that Im going to adapt to function with a 10 shot Barret Magazine.

[limeyyank]

Nice looking gun! I love the rest.. makes mine look like crap...lol
How effective is your brake? does it have a reversing cone? If your useing 1"x14 threads you should get a K&P clamshell they are the best brake on the market.. well they were 5 years ago when I built mine..lol


Mark

[limeyyank]

How accurate is your powder measure? does it chop grains? Looks like your loading Hornady A-max bullets? who's cases? RWS primers or CCI?
what powder and load? how long is your barrel and what kind of velocitys?
Your press looks really sweet! same Idea as my RCBS..

Thanks

Mark

[HotGuns]

The brake works very well. It has one inch holes facing back at 45 degrees. The hole is sized down in three increments, forcing most of the gas to go out the 45 orifces.

Out of all the commercial brakes Ive tried, mine works the best. One of my friends got a Serbu "sharkbrake" and put it on his gun. The general consensus is that his gun is not only louder, but kicks more. In fact, my .300 Mag Sendero hurts me worse to shoot.Its a Maddi Griffen so its pretty close to the same gun as mine weightwise..which is 29 pounds.

The powder measure is accurate to +/- 2grains.From what I've seen, when you are stuffing over 200 grains off powder in the case, thats about all you can hope for.

The bullets in the picture are Military API. I got an ammocan of 500 pulled bullets for 70 bucks at a gun show. I've been loading them with 215 grains of 5010 using CCI primers.The barrel is 40 inches long.I have several hundred cases of Military brass. A friend of mine just gave me 100 rounds of linked ammo from Spain, so'll I guess I'll use that too.

We generally shoot out to 750 yards at a 9 inch dimaeter gong.The API works great, it really easy to spot with that basketball sized fireball when it hits. You've really got to pay attention though, it will start a fire if its dry out.I lovee shooting the thing. After shooting the .50, even a .300 mag kind of seems puny.
;Y

[limeyyank]

I am useing WCC 91 cases for my target loads the cases are cleaned weighed and CC'd then sorted by smallest cc and heaviest weight (smallest case volume). Turned to lenght and then neck sized only. The flash holes are reamed to make them all the same size. I use RWS primers because they are hotter that cci. I use VVO 20 n41 powder with a load weight of 251grains I shoot A-max 750 gr bullets that are all weighed to within 1 gr. I seat very long, with the bullet .002" from the lands. Out of my barrel this round is going 3100fps.
The best I have shot with the barrel tuned the way it is.7.89" for a 5 shot group @1000yds. this summer I am going to add another 200ftlbs to the barrel tension and see if that tightens up the group.

After lookin at your loading pics again I can see they are API as some of the silver paint is off a couple of them. But at first glance they look just like the alloy noses on the A-max bullets.
;a ;a ;a ;a

[HotGuns]

Thats a good group at 1000.^c
I havent tried any match grade stuff and to tell you the truth, Im not sure my barrel is even capabale of shooting that tight. I used a new never fired surplus M2HB that a friend of mine gave me, so Im stuck with the military chamber.The best Ive measured so far was right at 11 inches at 1000 with my once fired reloaded ammo.

Im right at 2700 FPS, a mild load by some standards but it seems to shoot well. I do ream the flash holes and I do long load my bullets to just touch the rifling.

With military stuff I have no problem keeping all of the shots on the 9 inch gong at 750, but I think thats about all the military stuff is going to do.

On the other design that Im working on, Im going to break down and by a good barrel. I'll probably have it at 32 inches long and I think I'll keep the muzzle brake the same design. I m going to try for light wieght on this one and one that is a bit easier to carry.
;g

[limeyyank]

Well if I can knock 5+" off my group I will be competative...lol
the record stands at 5 shots in 3.29" @ 1000yds (or it was last time I checked!)

[Old School]

Not to hi-jack the thread, but I'm also interested in buying a .50. To be honest, the Barrett 82 (semi-auto) caught my attention, but that 'lists' for $7,500. What does it go for in the real world. Any other semi-autos that are more affordable without a dramatic drop in quality?

[50 Shooter]

The only other semi that's out there that's close in price to the M82 is a M2. The prices are going up on M2's, TNW use to sell them for around 6K. They're going for about $7,500-9,000 right now, even the kits (if you can find one) have doubled in price.

As far as real world prices on the M82, that's about where it's at. You might be able to find a used one for about a grand or so less.