new to 50 cals, need some education!

[brighamr]

*The forums wont let you search '50'*
allright. so now, that I'm officially leaving the craphole of the earth and will be able to buy real firearms, I've decided the first gun I want is a semi-auto 50. I've already researched the as50, which is near impossible to aquire, so I'm asking for suggestions. What I'm looking for is a semi-auto, shoulder fired, accurate and customizable 50 cal rifle.

In addition to your suggestions for the actual gun, what brand of ammo do you use? What accessories do you recommend? Where would you recommend buying said gun\ammo\and accessories?

Do you know of any books or sights to help me get aquainted with long range fire? So far, I've shot a few bolt action 50's at up to 1000 yards, but I'm not nearly as good as with a Saiga at 300 yards... like I said, I need some education

thanks in advance!

 

[DnPRK]

Load your own ammo using a 750 grain Hornady AMAX over Hogdon H50 BMG powder. It is much more accurate that cartridges from de-linked machinegun belts.

 

[goalie]

Unless you want to spent a whole lotta dough, I would listen to the poster above. The Lee .50BMG classic cast kit is a good way to start if you want to go inexpensive, and, with a .50, the sky's the limit for how much you can spend on reloading gear.

I have had good luck with these bullets myself:

http://www.lehighbullets.com/

 

[SpeedAKL]

Some semi-auto models include the granddaddy of the them all, the Barrett M82, and the somewhat harder to find Cobb FA50.

 

[brighamr]

I just searched on barrett and found a slew of threads. Mods please delete.

 

[50 Shooter]

Cobb FA50 isn't semi auto, it stands for Fast Action bolt.

There are only two semi auto rifles available right now, those would be the Barrett M82 and the Pauza by Freshour http://www.freshourmfg.com/gunbuild/p50/specs_r.html

Mark Serbu is suppose to have his semi .50 out this year, it's been almost 3 years in the making. He does have a working prototype and has said that he won't sell until he's got it 100%. You can check out his site at www.serbu.com and then take a look around.

EDM ARMS is also making a copy of the Pauza www.edmarms.com and is suppose to be out this year also.

None of these are cheap, Serbu says that he's trying to keep the cost of the BFG-50A around 5K. Don't forget that you can also get an M2 if you want a belt fed .50.

 

[Wes Janson]

Is there even any evidence that the Pauza is available? I've yet to see a single one for sale, anywhere, ever. Or even any reviews/mentions of anyone owning one.

 

[brentn]

Who sells .50 brass and primers btw? Does remington or winchester?

 

[50 Shooter]

Winchester does but not directly to the public, you can get their brass from The Hunting Shack ($1.75 each and they come primed). I think Thunderbird sells it also, price is probably the same. https://www.tbirdammo.com/catalog/

You can find primers (CCI 35) from most of the major online retailers, check around as prices do vary.

Wes,
Yeah there's Pauza's out there but they're rare and the early ones had issues. Not sure how the Freshour one is and still haven't heard much about the EDM copy. Plus the price is even more then an M82 that has a proven track record.

 

[brentn]

Thanks shooter.

It would seem that reloading would defenitly be in your favor for 50bmg. I was thinking if it was easy for one to get brass/primers and bullets they could start making them and sell them to gun stores in boxes of 100. Use some quality powder and calculate exactly how much its going to cost you for a single cartridge. Throw in a little markup, and go to town. It seems that everyone is sold out of 50bmg, on backorder, etc.

I have a feeling though that the bullets and/or the brass are just as hard to get.....

 

[MachIVshooter]

For a semi-auto .50 BMG, you have about 3 choices, only one of which is readily available and *somewhat* affordable. The Barrett M-82 runs about $8k and should take no longer than 3 months to get.

That said, there are many bolt action .50's around for a lot less money. I love my AR-50.

 

[CWL]

...first gun I want is a semi-auto 50.

Are you sure this is the caliber you want to start with? For the same amount in outlay, you can get an excellent semi rifle of a smaller caliber, really nice optics, loading equipt., bullets, AND precision rifle training.

Here's a .50BMG retailer and their price list.
http://www.50bmgstore.com/50bmgcurrentprices.htm