I want a .50 BMG...

Cool as can be, if you have the money go for it.


What I really want one day is a Lahti, it just has more to offer than a .50 can.

With the price of each round I would get a bolt action single shot. Semi-auto will get expensive fast. I saw a ba single-shot on gunbroker for $2K.

If I was to purchase a .50 , I would go with the barrett semi auto ..... Have you ever fired one before ?

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=498374

I'd talk to him, I have a feeling it might be an Barrett M82, pretty sure its the only 50 thats illegal here in CT, though, I could be wrong on that. He also is only asking 5k it seems, so, should be in your range.

I'd personally aim for a Barrett M95 though, like the bullpup config.

So DO I buy the .50 or several other guns, and if it's the .50, which one?

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I myself have chosen to purchase more "practical" rifles, and would do the same if I were you...but if I went the .50BMG route I would probably go with a Barrett M-95 or a Desert Tactical HTI because a bullpup configuration .50cal will be much more weildy...but still impractical IMO.

I looked seriously at them about a year ago. If you can get past the initial cost and the cost of ammo, your going to hit another wall. Out East anyway, not many ranges allow them because misses tear up the target backers.

IMO I would invest in a Chey-Tac before a 50. If your going to spend the money, get the best of the best.

If I had $7K to buy a .50 cal, I'd buy a bolt action (either single shot or magazine fed, many to choose from for less than $7K). I'd spend the balance of the money on a scope that will actually survive the recoil, and then the rest on ammunition and a reloading setup. That should get one nicely started. Also, I'd like to budget the money for a long range precision rifle course to learn how to actually utilize the .50, because shooting it at the short ranges many of us use for other firearms is, well, wasting your money.

I want a .50 BMG...

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Don't we all

If they weren't so dang expensive I would have bought a Barret 82 by now. I just watched The Hurt Locker and the sniper scene with the Barrett got me craving one badly.

Leadcouncel, there is no way I can say what would be the best purchase for you. I can tell you what my experience is. When I decided to purchase my first 50 BMG I had to let other discretionary items go so I would have the money to make the purchase. I bought a Barrett 99 kit that came with a Storm Case, a cheap fixed 10 power scope and some ammo... I think it was 50 rounds. At the time that was the least expensive way to start shooting a 50 BMG. Today there are many more options. Most of them have some sort of issues that I don't like. Sometimes it is just looks other times it is something that I do not feel is safe or will not stand up to the pressure and recoil of the 50 BMG. If I were to buy a entry level 50 today I would buy the same gun. The scope that comes on the 99 seems to last for about 200 - 250 rounds. That gave me time to save for a Mark IV. I have purchased three 50 BMG rifles. (2 Barrett 99's and 1 Safetyharbour) I may purchase another in the future. If or when I do it will be a McMillan Tac 50. http://www.mcmfamily.com/mcmillan-rifles-tactical-tac-50.php Go to the link and you will see that is not a entry level rifle. If you are only going to have 1 and you can swing it I don't think you will be dissapointed. It is the next 50 for me even if I have to save for a long time to get it. I think a bolt gun is the way to go unless you have land where you can hang some old engine blocks in a tree and blast them from two or three hundred yards. That would be fun with a semi auto but it leaves a hell of a mess to clean up. We blasted the last piece of a old 350 engine out of a tree hanging on a chain about 5 feet off the ground 9 minutes after we started shooting at it with 2 Barrett 99 rifles using silver tips. It was a lot of fun but we picked up metal for about 1-1/2 hours and still did not find about 20 to 25 percent of it.
My experience with the 50 BMG is that there is the 50 BMG and then there is everything else. Nothing is the same on the 50. If you try to use the same scope on the 50 that you use on a 300 win mag you will be replacing it soon. There is a short list of scopes that work and last on a 50 BMG. The two I have experience with are Leupold Mark IV and Nightforce NXS. None of the other Leupold or Nightforce scopes will last. I have three of the Leupolds and one Nightforce. They work and last. It is also my experience that I spend less on ammo when I spend a day at the range with a 50 BMG than most any other gun I own. You can load plinkers for about a buck or so per round using de-milled components and pulldown powder. Lee makes a inexpensive single stage press kit that will pay for itself fast. You may want to consider that. I stay away from imported military ammo. I had some cases rupture in the chamber. The ammo was stored in a cool location untill i put it in the chamber. I think it was loaded wrong or had been hauled/transported so much that something happened to it. Anyway that is a no go for me.

Hope this helps. Have fun.
Eugene

Hatterasguy said:

if you have the money go for it.

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An important point to consider. Last time I looked (a loooooong time ago) ammo was more than one US dollar per round. Gets expensive quick.

Having shot a semi and a bolt in the past, I dont really get the appeal besides a "mine-is-bigger-than-yours"-type thing. Loud, good kick, etc., but that gets old fast IMO.

If you have lots of $$$, go for the semi.

If I had $7K to buy a .50 cal what would I get? I would probably get a Sako TRG in .338 Lapua. Yep, that's what I would get.

Ferret .50 with a Super Sniper Scope has done me well. When your not blowing through a bunch of ammo the single shot bolt action has worked great. The ferret is an upper assy. so no transfer.

An important point to consider. Last time I looked (a loooooong time ago) ammo was more than one US dollar per round. Gets expensive quick.

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Must have been...IIRC factory loaded cartridges generally run about $3-4.00USD/ea. This isn't for match cartridges which can cost quite a bit more (especially for monolithic machined solids).

Loud, good kick, etc., but that gets old fast IMO.

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Agreed, between the expense, muzzle blast, noise (unless suppressed), relative inaccuracy (for the cost of the platform), weight, and size I don't think I would hang on to one for long. That said, I am all for civilian ownership of the .50BMG, 14.5mm, 20mm, 105mm, and everything else...just not my thing (except for possibly the 105mm...but at about 13lbs of powder per shot that'd be a mighty expensive toy).

Maverick223 said:

Must have been...IIRC factory loaded cartridges generally run about $3-4.00USD/ea. This isn't for match cartridges which can cost quite a bit more (especially for monolithic machined solids).

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What,...Im still right...$3 or $4 is more than $1...

j/k

I dont know about you, but I could squeeze that trigger....what, lets say once every 2 what:...likely more) minutes on average. Thats like $90/hour in ammo cost alone.

I need a better job...

I need a better job...

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Same here...but now I really want that 105mm that I was talking about above...which is uh...a little more expensive. :banghead: I mean what else can send a 8.5LB. bullet sailing at in excess of 5000FPS? Kinda makes that .50cal look puny doesn't it?

Maverick223 said:

I mean what else can send a 8.5LB. bullet sailing at in excess of 5000FPS?

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:insert a drooling smilie here:



Sadly, the cost per shot would make the .50 look like a .22 in comparison, me thinks.

Buy it! It won't be long until you're able to justify some other purchases. But if you have the money now, get it!!! And if you find a really good deal, you'll have a few bucks left over to justify buying something else. Everytime I buy something, I start figuring out how to buy the next thing. Get it, enjoy it. Hell even just looking at it in your safe is worth it. I open my safe everyday just to look in there. And if there was a .50 in there I'd open it twice a day. )

I remember seeing M82's for sale at $3500 not that many yrs. ago. I wish I would have bought one then.
I am hunting for one and hope I can find for under 5K.

Sadly, the cost per shot would make the .50 look like a .22 in comparison, me thinks.

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Yep, me thinks your right.

I think Serbu is shipping their new .50 semi-auto. I think it's right around 7K new. He's a good guy, might be worth looking into.

as much as i REALLY dig the M82 since it is about the coolest gun one can own, if it were my $7k i'd have to get a bolt action to give the .50BMG all the accuracy potential it deserves. i think i'd probably go for a McMillan Tac 50 or something along those lines. or maybe one of the Barret Bolt Actions. the Bushmaster detachable mag bolt action is intriguing too. left hand bolt seems a little weird but i could get used to it. if i had my way, i'd spend about $5k on the gun and $2k on some seriously good glass like a Nightforce.

i own a bohica 50 cal with a rock river lower with barska swat tac scope i got right at 2000 in mine its ok for the money if i had the money no doubt barret is tops 2nd is bushmaster you can pick one up for about 4400 armlite makes a good one about 2900 good luck shooting a 50 cal is amazing

i own a bohica 50 cal with a rock river lower with barska swat tac scope i got right at 2000 in mine its ok for the money if i had the money no doubt barret is tops 2nd is bushmaster you can pick one up for about 4400 armlite makes a good one about 2900 good luck shooting a 50 cal is amazing

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Are you posting from your phone?????????