Any "shoulder fireable" 50 BMG rifle out there?? What is the lightest??

[saturno_v]

I did a web search and the lightest rifle in .50 cal I could find is the single shot Barrett M99 at 25 lb. (that is the equivalent of 3 Mosin Nagant 91/30 )
Way too heavy and still it has to be fired with a bipod.
I believe I handled one at a gun shop (or was an Armalite AR-50, I do not remember well)....enormous, heavy and bulky..

I wonder there are any rfiles out there in 50 BMG that can be fired standing from your shoulder and that you can carry with a sling like a regular rifle?? (a "real" rifle?? ) Lighter enough and with appropriate recoil damping solutions??

What about the 408 Chey Tac?? Any gear "shoulder fireable" in that caliber??

 

[PTK]

I believe the 16.5" barreled BOHICA FAR-50 would fit the bill.

 

[Darthbauer]

I think that depends on how strong you are, not really the weight of the gun. One of my friends has a 50 and cant shoot it standing up but our other much bigger stronger friend can.

 

[Mikee Loxxer]

There was an episode of “Shooting Gallery” where John Ross was shooting flying clay targets with a .50BMG rifle offhand. I think he had built his own rifle though.

 

[saturno_v]

I believe the 16.5" barreled BOHICA FAR-50 would fit the bill.

That is still 21 lb.....not sure you can fire it standing....

 

[saturno_v]

I think that depends on how strong you are, not really the weight of the gun. One of my friends has a 50 and cant shoot it standing up but our other much bigger stronger friend can.

I imagine someone strong enough can fire a big 50 BMG gun but I wonder if there are .50 cal rifle that are "intended" to be fired from a standing position and for that I mean rapid and "natural" target acquisition too, just like with any "regular" rifle.....

 

[rcmodel]

That is still 21 lb.....not sure you can fire it standing....

21 pounds.
It's just a baby.

The M60 machinegun weighs 23+ pounds without the ammo belt.

I know you can hold one of them up and shoot it from the shoulder, cause I've done it, a lot!

I think the limiting factor on a real lightweight .50 would be whether you were still standing up after you fire it!

 

[saturno_v]

21 pounds.
It's just a baby.

The M60 machinegun weighs 23 pounds without the ammo belt.

I know you can hold one of them up and shoot it from the shoulder, cause I've done it, a lot!

I think the limiting factor on a real lightweight .50 would be whether you were still standing up after you fire it!

I hear you
That's why I mentioned an "appropriate recoil dampening solution"..
I fired the M60 from the shoulder myself in the army..but I would hardly call it a shoulder fireable gun....few stunts that's it...

I bet the poor handling is one of the reason why nobody take a .50 cal for elephant hunting in Africa unless thay do benchrest hunting...

 

[Zak Smith]

Having just reviewed a number of lighter-weight 50's, I would strongly recommend a longer barrel than 22". The recoil in a light gun can be handled provided there's a good brake and a butt pad. The concussion from a sub-20" barrel cannot be fixed (without a suppressor anyway, which would add 12"+ in length, pounds of weight, and at least $2000).

-z

 

[VARifleman]

I shoot a 17 lb .22 rifle in standing. 22 lbs shouldn't be bad, and there are videos of guys firing them. Trigger squeeze...follow through. It isn't going to hurt you.

 

[Zak Smith]

............... Larger version of above photo.

 

[saturno_v]

A 17 lb 22 rifle?? Interesting...

 

[CWL]

The Ferret 50 with 18" barrel is marketed as a .50BMG rifle that can be fired from the shoulder.

http://www.ferret50.com/ferret50_conversion.html

 

[RecoilRob]

Serbu carbine is easily fired offhand. I've tried with my AR-50...but the barrel is just too long and WAAAAYYYYYY out there. I can swing it up, but not hold it.

 

[elmerfudd]

There was a 16 lb. .50 BMG made about 10 years ago called the Desert Rhino. It had a 16" barrel and the muzzle blast was supposed to have been phenomenal.

 

[benEzra]

Remember that recoil is inversely proportional to gun weight. Here's why you don't want to go too light:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VVOH7Ep_8w

That's a .577 Tyrannosaur, but energy and momentum are comparable to .50 BMG. That rifle apparently isn't heavy enough for most of those shooters, although the very last guy (big guy, perfect form) handles it well.

 

[rangerruck]

doesn't bushmaster make one?

 

[chris in va]

Bushmaster...if it's the AR conversion I saw at the range a while back, the guy was having really bad feeding problems. He ended up shooting it single shot, cursed...then put it back in his truck.

 

[taliv]

i've shot the serbu bfg several times. it's comfortable. basically, you can shoot it a lot longer than you can hold it up

 

[strat81]

Zak Smith has the coolest job in the world.

 

[jackdanson]

There is a video on the net of a few soliders in Afghanistan shooting a barrett while standing. Some of them didn't seem to have too much trouble. I'll try to find it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=d1trjyYZF60

Not the one I was talking about, but still...

 

[jbech123]

the main question that comes to mind....what would the point be?
Something like a 50 is used for its ballistic advantage, something you would not seem to be able to take sufficient advantage of by shooting offhand. Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't imagine there are many people around that shoot so well offhand that something like a 300 win mag's ballistics are the limiting factor. I mean a 300 is good to at least 1300 yds, probably more if you do your homework with the right bullet/load.

 

[Acera]

Muzzle Blast!!! You guys need to toughen up

Here is a real mans .50 BMG, you don't need no stinking shoulder stock, forget about holding it with two hands, this one is a pistol.

 

[Zak Smith]

Full power ball ammo from the 18" rifle was like getting punched in the face, but it made your sinuses hurt too.