I wrote this a little over a year ago. I have posted it on Calguns.net and The High Road. Enjoy.
.50 GI: The Gentle Giant (That Can Kill You)
We have all heard of, known, met, or even are one of those .45 ACP guys who think that if you don’t shoot .45 ACP, then you might as well not own a gun. One of the common retorts to an inquiry into their choice of caliber is “I carry a .45 because they don’t make a .50.” Balls to that, because “they” do make a .50, and “they” is Guncrafter Industries.
The .50 GI (short for Guncrafter Industries, not for a US soldier), was designed to be used in the 20th century classic from John Moses Browning, the Model 1911. As the 1911 was designed in the day of lower power powders, they are not particularly apt at taking the high pressures and stiff recoil of modern rounds, though that doesn’t stop the competition shooters from chambering ye olde 1911 in 10mm or 9x23 Winchester. (Aside: try saying “lower power powder” ten times fast.) Because the gentlemen at Guncrafter wanted to use, but not abuse the 1911 platform, they had to keep the pressures comparable to the .45 ACP. Also, the overall cartridge length had to stay the same. Besides the pressure and overall length, they also kept the case head the same as the .45 ACP, making the .50 GI a rebated rim cartridge. I am not sure why they did this, but I expect it again had to do with shooting the round out of a platform designed for a .45 ACP. A quick Google search might answer this question for you, if you are really that interested.
Now, I have heard people make the following comparison, so I am going to try and head it off at the pass right here: If you are expecting the .50 GI to perform on par with the .500 Smith and Wesson, or even the .50 Action Express, I suggest you go take a cold shower. You are not going to squeeze magnum performance out of a low-pressure round that has a case 30% shorter than most common magnum revolver rounds. In fact, the overall length of the .50 GI (about 31mm or 1.22”) is not even as long as the case length of the .50 AE (about 33mm or 1.30”). So store the belly-aching that the .50 GI isn’t going to perform like the .50 AE; everybody knows that already, just like they know that the .45 ACP (or .45 Super, for that matter) isn’t going to perform as well as the .45 Winchester Magnum.
Now, about the platform for which the .50 GI was intended: Truth be told, I like the 1911 platform. Any 1911 I have ever shot has been fun to shoot, comfortable and accurate to boot. They also seem to have had more trips to the gun smith than my blind, diabetic father has had trips to the doctor. Having an Economics degree, I am well aware of the fact that there are always limited means to fulfill unlimited desires. Thus, despite my affection for the 1911s I have shot, I have forgone the $1,200 purchase of a quality dedicated forty-five and all the gun smith bills it might incur in order to be able to follow the dream I have of a multi-caliber Glock. Luckily for me, Guncrafter Industries has a complete Glock upper that can fit on both the Glock 21 and Glock 20 (regular and SF).
So, how much would a Glock .50 GI set you back? Consider $600 for the gun, and then another $600 for the upper. Yep, it is like buying a whole new Glock, but this new Glock comes with only one 9-round magazine (another magazine will cost you around $50). On top of that, your second Glock doesn’t come with a frame. But to compare apples to apples, a .50 GI in the 1911 platform is going to run you $3,200. The Guncrafter’s website says that their caliber conversion kit for a 1911 will only work with their M1, M2 or M3 pistols, so I think that getting an upper for your RIA 1911 might not work out. But if you wanted to give it a whirl, it will cost about $400. Even so, at that point, you will still have spent yourself into the same ballpark, around 75% of the cost, as the Glock .50 GI, but not nearly as much as buying a Guncrafter 1911 straight out. (By the way, I am to understand that Guncrafter Industries makes excellent 1911s. Some of the terms I have heard to describe them is “unparalleled,” “top dollar,” and “very nice.” That last description is faint praise.) All in all, if you want a .50 GI handgun, you can expect to pay at the least a grand for it.
[Aside: Did you see that little remark about the .50 GI compared to .50 caliber magnum rounds? Well, one of those magnum pistols will cost you better than $1,300 as well. Is the extra hundred bucks over the Glock worth it? Sure, if what you are looking for is an intense magnum handgun. But you can’t shoot .50 GI, .45 ACP, .460 Rowland, .40 Super, .400 Corbon, 10mm, 9x25 Dillon, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, .38 Super, 9x23 Winchester, and 9mm (literally a dozen calibers) all off of a single Desert Eagle frame. And that was what I was going for with my Glock project. So, please, once again, I don’t need someone to tell me that the .50 GI is not as powerful as .50 AE or .500 S&W or .460 S&W or .480 Ruger… If I was just going to get the biggest thing out there, I would get a .50 BMG (or .50 DTC, considering which side of the barbed wire I live on). Also, you CAN shoot .50 AE, .44 Magnum, and .357 Magnum off of a single Desert Eagle frame with a barrel and (for .357 Mag) a bolt swap. If you are lucky, you may be able to find the parts to make it shoot .41 Magnum. Maybe, time and money permitting, you could find some custom parts that will allow it to shoot .45 Win Mag, .327 Federal Magnum, .44 AutoMag, or any number of other magnum calibers that are out there. If you can do it, more power to you. You won’t hear me complaining about you spending your time and money that way, so please don’t criticize me for what I do. I have heard all the reasons why my hobby is way dumber than just buying the biggest gun on the shelf.]
So, back to price points: Currently, ammunition is sold exclusively by Guncrafter Industries. You can also buy components (the brass is made by Starline) and a Lee die set for the .50 GI, but that is also done exclusively through Guncrafter Industries. All things considered, it should not shock you that .50 GI ammo is pretty pricey. The ammo is sold in boxes of 20. The cheapest stuff, 300 grain flat-nosed full metal jacket, runs $25.52 per box ($1.26/round). Luckily, the price doesn’t jump too much when you go to hollow points; a box of these babies in a 275 grain variety will run you $26.75 per box, which is only about 7½ cents more expensive per round, or about 6% more. Not really that bad, compared to the hardball. Living in Kalifornistan? Want some lead free .50 GI? Prepare to fork over $2.11/round. Yes, yes, yes, a box of 20 solid copper hollow points, in either 185 grain or 230 grain, will cost $42.25. So, if you think buying a .50 GI is a little too expensive, then don’t worry, you might not be able to afford to shoot it, anyway. [Note: Since this was written, ammo price has increased to ~$30 per box of 20 hardball.]
Let us set all prices aside: I did buy a .50 GI, and I did shoot some .50 GI ammo. I called up Guncrafters and ordered 5 boxes of hollow points and 5 boxes of hardball on a Tuesday, and they arrived on the following Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving). However, I received 10 boxes of hollow points, meaning that I was under-charged for what I got. I worked things out with Guncrafters to make sure that they were getting their money out of me (after all, when you have this much invested in the gun, you don’t want the only supplier of ammo to go bankrupt on your behalf). I simply made the same order, and they charge me accordingly, but this time they sent all FMJ. I placed the order on Monday; they were delivered on a Friday. So ordering ammunition is not a particularly daunting task, and delivery time is certainly acceptable.
The first day at the range I was prepared for a very mundane experience. The reviews quoted the .50 GI as having about as much recoil as the .45 ACP. One of the benefits of the .45 ACP is its relatively low recoil. Low recoil, high quality craftsmanship, and 40 rounds of hollow point ammo: I was ready to just go through the motions and report accordingly.
I loaded each magazine with 5 rounds. Each magazine I have has a capacity of 9, but they both have the +2 baseplate that is used for .45 or 10mm magazines. The +2 plate only accommodates one extra round over the standard magazine, which holds 8 rounds. That means Glock Magazines carry an amount comparable to a 1911 in .45 ACP without the +2 baseplate, or a Glock 37 (.45 GAP) with the +2 baseplate. Considering that the capacity is on par with handguns of a couple of .45 calibers, and that diameter of each .50 caliber bullet is 10.9% wider than the .451 caliber, which means a 23.5% larger hole, I think that the magazine capacity is adequate. Personally, I wouldn’t mind trying out a high capacity Glock 21 magazine converted to accept the .50 GI, which, according to my math, would hold something like 21 to 24 rounds.
Although I did not fire the gun with full magazines, I did fill a magazine to capacity and insert it into the magazine well before I went to the range. The tendency is for the magazine to bulge when filled to capacity. They bulge enough that a full magazine will not simply slip out of the magazine well. I have heard that this is due to tactical planning by Glock: Accidentally hitting the magazine release button will not mean that you magazine falls out of the gun, leaving you with only the round in the pipe to fight off a dozen bad guys. But what is hard to fall out is also more difficult to push in, and there is always the off chance that a magazine will not be fully inserted because of a combination of this bulge and a shooter not being completely aware of his/her firearm. The initial full magazine actually took a pretty good shove to lock it in. Of course, in a firefight, you won’t be shoving a magazine into a gun with a closed slide. So take the bulge in whatever way you choose.
Back to the range trip… I pushed the first 5-round-loaded magazine into the mag well, and leveled off. After preparing for nothing more than mild recoil, pulling the trigger created a bit of a shock. I got a kick that I would have expected out of a .357 Sig or Corbon’s (not Underwood’s) loadings of .400 Corbon. Perhaps I was just surprised by the recoil, but it seemed that the recoil was unusually heavy for a caliber that is billed as being a slow, heavy round. But I should have guessed that the .50 GI would have had comparatively stout recoil. These 275 grain projectiles, which are about 20% heavier than a normal .451 diameter, 230 grain bullets, are flying at velocities on par with commercial offerings of .45 ACP. Simple physics will tell you that 20% increased mass at the same velocity means 20% increased momentum, which also means that the gasses that are propelling this bullet are also pushing the gun rearwards towards the shooter, since the gasses have no preferred direction for pushing. This would translate into 20% more rearward momentum, i.e., 20% more recoil. I wouldn’t say, though, that there is a full 20% increase in felt recoil. Maybe 10% on my hand-wavy, [lack-of-]experience based kick-o-meter. But maybe I have just been shooting too much of that Underwood stuff. Maybe a .45 aficionado will disagree with me, on one side or the other of my estimate. When I returned to the range the following weekend, I had the 300 grain FMJs. The recoil was not as snappy, and was more of a hard shove than a one-inch punch. I think that this was better because I tended to anticipate the recoil less, allowing me to be more accurate. Speaking of accuracy… [continue in part 2]
.50 GI: The Gentle Giant (That Can Kill You)
We have all heard of, known, met, or even are one of those .45 ACP guys who think that if you don’t shoot .45 ACP, then you might as well not own a gun. One of the common retorts to an inquiry into their choice of caliber is “I carry a .45 because they don’t make a .50.” Balls to that, because “they” do make a .50, and “they” is Guncrafter Industries.
The .50 GI (short for Guncrafter Industries, not for a US soldier), was designed to be used in the 20th century classic from John Moses Browning, the Model 1911. As the 1911 was designed in the day of lower power powders, they are not particularly apt at taking the high pressures and stiff recoil of modern rounds, though that doesn’t stop the competition shooters from chambering ye olde 1911 in 10mm or 9x23 Winchester. (Aside: try saying “lower power powder” ten times fast.) Because the gentlemen at Guncrafter wanted to use, but not abuse the 1911 platform, they had to keep the pressures comparable to the .45 ACP. Also, the overall cartridge length had to stay the same. Besides the pressure and overall length, they also kept the case head the same as the .45 ACP, making the .50 GI a rebated rim cartridge. I am not sure why they did this, but I expect it again had to do with shooting the round out of a platform designed for a .45 ACP. A quick Google search might answer this question for you, if you are really that interested.
Now, I have heard people make the following comparison, so I am going to try and head it off at the pass right here: If you are expecting the .50 GI to perform on par with the .500 Smith and Wesson, or even the .50 Action Express, I suggest you go take a cold shower. You are not going to squeeze magnum performance out of a low-pressure round that has a case 30% shorter than most common magnum revolver rounds. In fact, the overall length of the .50 GI (about 31mm or 1.22”) is not even as long as the case length of the .50 AE (about 33mm or 1.30”). So store the belly-aching that the .50 GI isn’t going to perform like the .50 AE; everybody knows that already, just like they know that the .45 ACP (or .45 Super, for that matter) isn’t going to perform as well as the .45 Winchester Magnum.
Now, about the platform for which the .50 GI was intended: Truth be told, I like the 1911 platform. Any 1911 I have ever shot has been fun to shoot, comfortable and accurate to boot. They also seem to have had more trips to the gun smith than my blind, diabetic father has had trips to the doctor. Having an Economics degree, I am well aware of the fact that there are always limited means to fulfill unlimited desires. Thus, despite my affection for the 1911s I have shot, I have forgone the $1,200 purchase of a quality dedicated forty-five and all the gun smith bills it might incur in order to be able to follow the dream I have of a multi-caliber Glock. Luckily for me, Guncrafter Industries has a complete Glock upper that can fit on both the Glock 21 and Glock 20 (regular and SF).
So, how much would a Glock .50 GI set you back? Consider $600 for the gun, and then another $600 for the upper. Yep, it is like buying a whole new Glock, but this new Glock comes with only one 9-round magazine (another magazine will cost you around $50). On top of that, your second Glock doesn’t come with a frame. But to compare apples to apples, a .50 GI in the 1911 platform is going to run you $3,200. The Guncrafter’s website says that their caliber conversion kit for a 1911 will only work with their M1, M2 or M3 pistols, so I think that getting an upper for your RIA 1911 might not work out. But if you wanted to give it a whirl, it will cost about $400. Even so, at that point, you will still have spent yourself into the same ballpark, around 75% of the cost, as the Glock .50 GI, but not nearly as much as buying a Guncrafter 1911 straight out. (By the way, I am to understand that Guncrafter Industries makes excellent 1911s. Some of the terms I have heard to describe them is “unparalleled,” “top dollar,” and “very nice.” That last description is faint praise.) All in all, if you want a .50 GI handgun, you can expect to pay at the least a grand for it.
[Aside: Did you see that little remark about the .50 GI compared to .50 caliber magnum rounds? Well, one of those magnum pistols will cost you better than $1,300 as well. Is the extra hundred bucks over the Glock worth it? Sure, if what you are looking for is an intense magnum handgun. But you can’t shoot .50 GI, .45 ACP, .460 Rowland, .40 Super, .400 Corbon, 10mm, 9x25 Dillon, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, .38 Super, 9x23 Winchester, and 9mm (literally a dozen calibers) all off of a single Desert Eagle frame. And that was what I was going for with my Glock project. So, please, once again, I don’t need someone to tell me that the .50 GI is not as powerful as .50 AE or .500 S&W or .460 S&W or .480 Ruger… If I was just going to get the biggest thing out there, I would get a .50 BMG (or .50 DTC, considering which side of the barbed wire I live on). Also, you CAN shoot .50 AE, .44 Magnum, and .357 Magnum off of a single Desert Eagle frame with a barrel and (for .357 Mag) a bolt swap. If you are lucky, you may be able to find the parts to make it shoot .41 Magnum. Maybe, time and money permitting, you could find some custom parts that will allow it to shoot .45 Win Mag, .327 Federal Magnum, .44 AutoMag, or any number of other magnum calibers that are out there. If you can do it, more power to you. You won’t hear me complaining about you spending your time and money that way, so please don’t criticize me for what I do. I have heard all the reasons why my hobby is way dumber than just buying the biggest gun on the shelf.]
So, back to price points: Currently, ammunition is sold exclusively by Guncrafter Industries. You can also buy components (the brass is made by Starline) and a Lee die set for the .50 GI, but that is also done exclusively through Guncrafter Industries. All things considered, it should not shock you that .50 GI ammo is pretty pricey. The ammo is sold in boxes of 20. The cheapest stuff, 300 grain flat-nosed full metal jacket, runs $25.52 per box ($1.26/round). Luckily, the price doesn’t jump too much when you go to hollow points; a box of these babies in a 275 grain variety will run you $26.75 per box, which is only about 7½ cents more expensive per round, or about 6% more. Not really that bad, compared to the hardball. Living in Kalifornistan? Want some lead free .50 GI? Prepare to fork over $2.11/round. Yes, yes, yes, a box of 20 solid copper hollow points, in either 185 grain or 230 grain, will cost $42.25. So, if you think buying a .50 GI is a little too expensive, then don’t worry, you might not be able to afford to shoot it, anyway. [Note: Since this was written, ammo price has increased to ~$30 per box of 20 hardball.]
Let us set all prices aside: I did buy a .50 GI, and I did shoot some .50 GI ammo. I called up Guncrafters and ordered 5 boxes of hollow points and 5 boxes of hardball on a Tuesday, and they arrived on the following Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving). However, I received 10 boxes of hollow points, meaning that I was under-charged for what I got. I worked things out with Guncrafters to make sure that they were getting their money out of me (after all, when you have this much invested in the gun, you don’t want the only supplier of ammo to go bankrupt on your behalf). I simply made the same order, and they charge me accordingly, but this time they sent all FMJ. I placed the order on Monday; they were delivered on a Friday. So ordering ammunition is not a particularly daunting task, and delivery time is certainly acceptable.
The first day at the range I was prepared for a very mundane experience. The reviews quoted the .50 GI as having about as much recoil as the .45 ACP. One of the benefits of the .45 ACP is its relatively low recoil. Low recoil, high quality craftsmanship, and 40 rounds of hollow point ammo: I was ready to just go through the motions and report accordingly.
I loaded each magazine with 5 rounds. Each magazine I have has a capacity of 9, but they both have the +2 baseplate that is used for .45 or 10mm magazines. The +2 plate only accommodates one extra round over the standard magazine, which holds 8 rounds. That means Glock Magazines carry an amount comparable to a 1911 in .45 ACP without the +2 baseplate, or a Glock 37 (.45 GAP) with the +2 baseplate. Considering that the capacity is on par with handguns of a couple of .45 calibers, and that diameter of each .50 caliber bullet is 10.9% wider than the .451 caliber, which means a 23.5% larger hole, I think that the magazine capacity is adequate. Personally, I wouldn’t mind trying out a high capacity Glock 21 magazine converted to accept the .50 GI, which, according to my math, would hold something like 21 to 24 rounds.
Although I did not fire the gun with full magazines, I did fill a magazine to capacity and insert it into the magazine well before I went to the range. The tendency is for the magazine to bulge when filled to capacity. They bulge enough that a full magazine will not simply slip out of the magazine well. I have heard that this is due to tactical planning by Glock: Accidentally hitting the magazine release button will not mean that you magazine falls out of the gun, leaving you with only the round in the pipe to fight off a dozen bad guys. But what is hard to fall out is also more difficult to push in, and there is always the off chance that a magazine will not be fully inserted because of a combination of this bulge and a shooter not being completely aware of his/her firearm. The initial full magazine actually took a pretty good shove to lock it in. Of course, in a firefight, you won’t be shoving a magazine into a gun with a closed slide. So take the bulge in whatever way you choose.
Back to the range trip… I pushed the first 5-round-loaded magazine into the mag well, and leveled off. After preparing for nothing more than mild recoil, pulling the trigger created a bit of a shock. I got a kick that I would have expected out of a .357 Sig or Corbon’s (not Underwood’s) loadings of .400 Corbon. Perhaps I was just surprised by the recoil, but it seemed that the recoil was unusually heavy for a caliber that is billed as being a slow, heavy round. But I should have guessed that the .50 GI would have had comparatively stout recoil. These 275 grain projectiles, which are about 20% heavier than a normal .451 diameter, 230 grain bullets, are flying at velocities on par with commercial offerings of .45 ACP. Simple physics will tell you that 20% increased mass at the same velocity means 20% increased momentum, which also means that the gasses that are propelling this bullet are also pushing the gun rearwards towards the shooter, since the gasses have no preferred direction for pushing. This would translate into 20% more rearward momentum, i.e., 20% more recoil. I wouldn’t say, though, that there is a full 20% increase in felt recoil. Maybe 10% on my hand-wavy, [lack-of-]experience based kick-o-meter. But maybe I have just been shooting too much of that Underwood stuff. Maybe a .45 aficionado will disagree with me, on one side or the other of my estimate. When I returned to the range the following weekend, I had the 300 grain FMJs. The recoil was not as snappy, and was more of a hard shove than a one-inch punch. I think that this was better because I tended to anticipate the recoil less, allowing me to be more accurate. Speaking of accuracy… [continue in part 2]