Anyone own a Vulcan 50bmg?

[saberstitch]

Just curious to know if anyone owns a Vulcan 50bmg and if so what is your opinion of it? I am only interested in hearing from those who own one. The only information I have found on them is that they are junk and dangerous, but it's all second hand. People heard that they are junk and they heard about how dangerous they are. Nobody seems to know anything first hand. I am just trying to find out if they are indeed junk, or if people are just intimidated by an inexpensive rifle.

Thanks!

 

[50 Shooter]

Just remember that Hesse changed their name to Vulcan to try to get away from their f'ed up service/reputation. Buyer beware, you get what you pay for. You could save a little longer and get a State Arms "shorty" model for $1,800. Quality company with great service and an owner that backs his products.

Search Biggerhammer.net for Hesse/Vulcan there are posts on there from people that have had them.

 

[saberstitch]

I tried...

Biggerhammer is where I searched first, but I didn't see any posts from anyone who owned one. I searched both Vulcan and Hesse and all I found where posts about how they were junk and avoid at all costs....because that is what people are told. They hear Hesse is junk, so it must be. I didn't find a single post from anyone who had owned one or had shot one first hand. If I followed that same line of logic, every single Glock will KB on the first shot and a .223 will either never kill a person or it may kill a person by nicking their finger...I am not sure which.

Just hoping someone out there owns one and can give an honest review.

 

[50 Shooter]

There was only one guy on Biggerhammer that use to post about his, he never had any problems with it. He ended up selling it and buying a different .50. Another guy posts on AR15.com in their .50 forum that owns one but I'm not sure if he's even shot his. I think the archives on BH got zapped last year during a server change. As much as I hate to say this, do a search on a guy that posts as "Ricka". He's (stolen) put alot of info on his page from BH, he has a link on most of his posts. He might have some of the old Hesse/Vulcan stuff saved.

Here's the strange part about Hesse/Vulcan, they changed the bolt design on the newer ones to interupted threads. Can't figure out why they would use a design like that knowing the pressures involved with .50 BMG. If you really want one, see if you can find an older one with the original bolt design.

Haven't ever heard of one blowing up, just failure to fire, bolt handles breaking off. These are not unusual in the .50 world as some surplus ammo has hard primers and people do (myself included) use a mallet to open their bolts. I did read a thread on another board where a guy claims that a guy lost a thumb and almost an eye when one let go.

 

[50 Shooter]

Here's a post from one of the guys on Biggerhammer.

http://www.biggerhammer.net/barrett/wwwboard/index.cgi?read=179866

 

[saberstitch]

Thanks for the information! I think I'll probably steer clear, more due to their short barrel length rather than safety issues. It sounds like they may just require more maintanence and small repairs than other lines.

One thing I can not help but wonder about is the astronomical prices some of the vendors are wanting for their rifles. I just cannot bring myself to spend $2,000+ on a no frills bolt action rifle, no matter the caliber. The Vulcan is priced more in line of where I think the prices should be. Too bad their product is not of a higher quality.

 

[atblis]

Vulcan = Hesse

Don't waste your money/time!!!!

 

[garrett1955]

buy a state arms gun. i will be purchasing one next summer. the shorty, in left hand. i cant wait!!!

 

[50 Shooter]

I found a link from the guy from arfcom, look at the new vs. old bolt comparison at the bottom of the page.

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

 

[50 Freak]

I think the reason you don't see a lot of Hesse/Vulcan 50 owners is that fact given the pressures a 50bmg has on a gun, there isn't a lot of "forgiveness" if you have a catastropic explosion. I mean, do you really want to be "skimping" on something that potentially dangerous.

I wouldn't trust the gun (especially a 50bmg) to a company that has a reputation of faulty craftsmanship.

Another few hundred for a better gun is in the long run cheaper than tens of thousand in the plastic surgury you'll need to reconstruct a face blown apart. Not to mention it can kill you and soil your tighty whiteys.

If you insist on getting the Vulcan 50. I'd wait a year, to see if there are any "problems" that arise. Trust me, you don't want to be the test bunny.

 

[artherd]

I belive there's more powder in a .50BMG shell than there is in a frag grenade.

You don't want cheap stuff. Get a quality gun ie; Subru or a Barrett, etc.

 

[longhorngunman]

Extreme pressures in the .50bmg? Question to the ammo experts. Is the 50bmg really that higher of an operating pressure than say military .308? I understand the bigger case allows much more powder and room to expand to push the heavy bullets, but per surface area is the 50 that much higher than standard rounds. 80,000psi?

 

[artherd]

The pressure is not greater, but the total volume of gasses under pressure is staggaring.

For comparison, a .308 uses what 40gr of powder, whereas the .50bmg uses as much as TWO HUNDRED and fourty grains!

 

[artherd]

The above said, the .50BMG is not a low pressure cartridge by any means.

http://www.riflebarrels.com/articles/50calibre/mcbros_50_bmg_action.htm

If we plug a peak chamber pressure of 65,000 PSI into the formula to simulate a fairly stiff handload, we find that the amount of bolt thrust generated is about 23,610 pounds.