Buying a .50, questions.

I don't have any .50 BMG experience to offer but just from the looks of it I would guess that it probably kicks significantly harder than a lot of other .50s out there. Just look at the thing, there's practically nothing to it! It's little more than a barrel and a firing pin!

I'd love to get a .50 BMG one of these days before they're banned. I have a serious grudge against groundhogs.

Vulcan = Hesse = RUN AWAY!

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=159604

There are several 50's out there that are decent..Just remember, they arent that accurate.. It takes alot of work to get them to go 1MOA ...

We routinely watched guys miss a 5 gallon bucket at 500 yards...I got out my 338 Lapua and drilled some golf balls,lol.. he was getting pissed...

Record-holders...

The owner of Ferret50.com alleges to hold several records. These uppers run in the $1,850ish range, and the recoil = 12 guage.

http://ferret50.com/

Doc2005

Join the Fifty Caliber Shooting Association -- F.C.S.A

The most informative source on the 50 bmg.


50 guns not accurate !!! What-----------

Just like other rifles, they will shoot better then most owners.
Its the shooter---------not the rifle/caliber.
The world record ( set by a women for unlimited is right around 2 7/8 at 1000 yards.

Now I might agree that military surplus ammo is not that accurate, but with handloading they are very accurate.

This also includes basic factory guns like the Armalite AR-50 which retails around $2900.00.
(Can be bought for $2600.00 )
There are many other good choices .
You can add uppers for $1800.00 and up or start with complete guns like the great State Arms for $1800.00 and up.

Like I said----go to the best source with guys that have real world shooting experience and join the F.C.S.A to get the real scoop.

There are certainly satisfied owners of the Hesse or later Vulcans like this fellow who has his own site.

http://www.outlawperformance.com/myhessearms50bmgrifle.htm

I've heard the hearsay too. It does remind me of all who say every Glock will go Kaboom. The story gets bigger down the line...urban legends do.

I have heard some people did not like the threaded bolt version and had problems with rotating those after firing,especially if dry. You oil your guns and no problems. The story of the broken bolt handle involves a out of spec shell in the gun, lets face if you use a hammer to open the gun you are going to break a bolt handle. Mine has the three lug bolt and has had no problems. Shooting mine has been fun and I have had no issues. Accurate and primer indents are solid. Nor did my buddy that owned it before me have problems. It is just that around the part of Ohio I live in there is no place to shoot over 200 yards and that is no challenge with a .50 BMG cal rifle.

I'd be a bit concerned about putting a .50 BMG upper on an aluminum AR lower. I wonder if the recoil could do damage to the takedown pin area over time. The Ferret has a steel lower available, which should eliminate that concern.

For a relatively inexpensive .50, the Serbu is also well worth considering:

http://www.serbu.com/

I've shot their single-shot model, and it appeared to be of high quality. The owner was happy with it.

.50bmg will get very old to shoot very quick. I know of about 20 guys who bought them here aand ALL of them ended up back in the gun stores around town used and had to take a BIG hit on money to sell them. I don;'t know one guy who kept his .50BMG canon. I do know that litterly no shooting ranges will let you shoot a .50 anymore except clubs that have a .50 range, and even at that, there are limited hours you can shoot them because of the noise.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that NO clubs will allow you to shoot a .50. Even my gun club, which is pretty anal about a lot of things, allows the .50 BMG on the 200 yard range (I'm not sure about the 100 yard range).

As already said, Vulcan is the same as Hesse and it's not something worth owning. There's reasons why this owner keeps changing names fo the company. It's garbage.
Besides that, if you're gonna spend the $$$$ for a .50 do it right and buy a quality model. Why skimp on such a gun to simply say "hey, I got a .50". Do it right! Heck, a worthy scope will run in the $1000 range. Find a .50 cal shooters forum and that's the place to get the info a nd opinions from. I think biggerhammer.com is a popular one.

Like Doc mentioned, I will look at the ferret .50's when I get a .50cal.

A lot of gun for the money.

Ferret50

Let me know whether you contact anyone at Spider about the Ferret. I've been trying to contact them about getting one of their SuperComps. I might just break down and put my $ in a Barrett.

I considered getting a .50...until I (luckily) tried to find a place where I could legally shoot it. Found one 100-yd range that would accept them...south of Savannah, only five hours away...but shooting one at 100-yds strikes me as patently rediculous! Not even the Fort Benning Rifle and Pistol Club with its 450-yd range will accept them. I guess the guys out west with wide open spaces and few people are luckier in that regard...

Decided my Savage 10 in .308, with Choate stock, Harris bipod, and 8 x 24 x 50-mm illuminated mil-dot scope, and my .308 CETME with target stock, bipod, and 6 x 24 x 50 Leupold scope will just have to do...

Jake,

Didn't have time to scribble all this earlier, just wanted to slow you down on the hesse a little bit lest you do something rash.

I bought a Serbu when Mark first got cranked up in full production- my serial number is less than 175, can't recall what year it was. Neat rifle, put an M-60 bipod and a Super Sniper 10X scope (from SWFA) on it and took it to the range with a few friends. We put up a side from a refrigerator carton at the 100 yard berm with a 1 1/2" orange target dot about in the middle. The first shot was about 18" low and a foot left. I calculated the number of clicks of windage I needed, cranked them in and the second bullet went in a foot and a half under the dot. Did the math again and cranked in the adjustment, the third shot hit the dot. First time I ever had a 3-shot zero the way the directions say it's supposed to work.

There's about 300 rounds on the gun now, and it still shoots just fine- I use Talon ball, since I'm not set up to reload. No serious target work, just fun at the range. BTW, I had some health problems starting not long after I got the Serbu that precluded me shooting at all for several years- thus the low round count on the Serbu.

Recently I decided to try out an upper, and after looking around a bit I picked Walter Keller at Safety Harbor Firearms ( http://www.safetyharborfirearms.com/ ) as a builder. He actually did a lot of the work on my Serbu, since he worked for Mark when my gun was built. Walter's machine work and welding are impeccable, and IMHO the magazine fed design of the UltraMag is a worthwhile improvement.

I wanted a gun that would take down, as the 52" overall length of the Serbu is something of a handicap when trying to get it somewhere. I ordered a 22" barrel, same length as the 'carbine' version of the Serbu- which wasn't around when I bought mine. The upper is about 36" long overall, and it weighs about 14 pounds.

I bought one of Walter's purpose built single shot lowers as well, there are several AR platforms here but i didn't want to take out the bolt catch on any of them so as to use the upper with it. The lower is aluminum but is beefier than a typical AR lower at the front takedown pin holes and at the collar where the stock screws in.

I ordered one of Walter's steel stocks as well, not wanting to trust an aluminum buffer tube to stand the stress of recoil. And I decided to try one of his bipods also, again looking for something a bit lighter and shorter than the '60 legs on the Serbu.

I still haven't picked out glass for this one, so it hasn't had its initial range trip yet. But my wife swears she has dibs on the first shot with it when we get there- she really likes it. And she has never had the least interest in shooting the Serbu. Go figure...

Anyway, have fun with your shopping, and good luck getting started with the big guns. It's a blast, I assure you 8^).

hth,

lpl/nc

I sure liked my Serbu. In 2000-2001, Mark revolutionized the .50BMG industry when he brought out his affordable BFG. Prices came down from other manufacturers, and quality/options went up.

I've since sold it and bought a Big Bertha from State Arms after Larry got it back up & running after Claus passed away.

Shooting one of these things is a event all to itself.
I've had a 10 yr. old nephew, a 12 yr. old neice, the wife, sister, various friends who have fired both of mine. 'The grin' afterwards is stuck on all of them like a bumper sticker.

I still shoot mine a few times a year, and find myself gathering 'neat things to shoot' with it. Running lawnmowers, solidified bags of cement, frozen milk jugs of water, all manner of broken electronic devices, worn out car engines, all sorts of stuff........

Anyway:
I'd stay away from the Vulcan.
Its no accident they have the worst reputation for products & service in the industry.



Ed.
Club Serbu #165

Here's a good listing of current .50caliber vendors:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=3&t=195940

If you haven't found it already, the FCSA is the Fifty Caliber Shooters Assn.
http://www.fcsa.org/

I too am an early Serbu BFG-50 adopter. #015 for me.
Have since added an UltraMag50, an UltraLite50, an M2HB and another new BFG-50 in .50DTC....

Yep, they are habit forming....

I've also got a Serbu.

I've not had an opportunity to shoot it much more than 100 yards, and haven't shot anything other than ball ammo, but it sure is fun. I've got some match grade and AP projectiles I plan to load for it some day. It sure is expensive to shoot it...

Here's a quick little vid of me shooting the Serbu.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4395794231096098985&hl=en

Good luck in your search-

Shawn

Shawn,,,,, ya gotta get some spotter/tracer ammo.

That stuff is a hoot.

Its sort of like those 'exploding targets',,,,,,, only better.