Bushmaster BA50 caliber warranty-no go!

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ACES&8S

ACES&8S

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Been ***2*** years now trying to get Bushmaster to step up and fix the ammo
feed problem with the ***single shot***, that is supposed to be a 10 round
bolt action 50 BMG.
If you load the mag with 660gr or 750gr, doesn't make any difference, the
2'nd round banks up, like the front end is too heavy for the mag.
9 months after my son bought it for me, I called them about it and they have
ALWAYS been bought out or in transition of some kind, now no one will own up.
Called them and have kept records of the calls, names and times but no go.
I don't fuss with the customer service people; they are just the first line of
defense with no answers.
? I know of one other here in this small town with the exact same rifle and exact
same defect. Does anyone here have the same problem with the Bushmaster?
Even if you know a good gunsmith that can fix it, ok!
 
Bushmaster as an entity was closed in Jan 2020, and while Remington held the brand with no operations or support until their own bankruptcy in Sept 2020. The BA50 design was sustained as a Remington product, no longer a Bushmaster asset, and the Bushmaster branded products legally had no party remaining obligated to uphold any formerly warrantable claims.

The BA50 has been a unique product for the entirety of its model life, with relatively non-existent market support. A few armorers around the country will have any experience at all with the rifle - you’ll likely do far better to find some decidedly intrepid gunsmiths, with or without experience with the model, which will take it on.

Sounds like relatively simple follower tilt.
 
Burns my butt, when my son paid so much for the rifle, and it sucks. Could have got one
of those cheaper single shot 50BMG and had just as much rifle, maybe the firearms
market is just unreliable altogether. Dodging warranties and liabilities are easy that way.
Now I have a $1,200 dollar scope on it and over $2,000 in quality ammo.
It is very accurate and everything about it is good except it doesn't need a magazine.
So many firearm mfg selling off to each other and foreign countries, SUCKS!
 
Are magazines available as a general thing? I know it toasts your posties, but if you want it fixed, you're going to have to address it yourself.
Shame; sounds like a really neat rifle. Can you live with feeding just one round from the mag?
Moon
 
It came with two, 10 round magazines, and both act the same, I hope it is
just the mags.
If the Mags can't fix it, I will just get rid of it.
A standard single shot 50BMG is about half the price of this single shot.
Left-handed bolt, standard issue, is made to stay on target is a JOKE! Not unless someone else is dropping
rounds in, freehand for me.
By the way, my son says I have more than $3 Grand in ammo, and he has bought another Grand, plus
the I bought the $1,200 scope, that runs close to $$$ 10 GRAND $$$, in this JUNK BUSHMASTER.
Sorry, sometimes the real me pops out.
 
OP you are saying lighter grain ammo feeds as it should reliably, but 660 and 750 grains second round jams up?
 
Sounds like your going to be out of pocket to get it fixed. If your ok with that find someone who will take on the job. If not, dump it.

That said, it is possible there is someone at Windham Weaponry who was around when they were being built and sold and they may be able to lend you some guidance.
 
Have you tried contacting Remington? They might be able to offer a fix, maybe send you a couple replacement mags.

Have you checked the tabs on the followers, bent, short... what about the springs? Are they in backwards? Upside down? I know this sounds stupid but people do dumb things at the factory.
 
It should also be noted that Bushmaster has a spotty history with their magazines. Even the magazines they developed for the most well known cartridge that bears their name, the 450 Bushmaster, are not the most highly regarded for that cartridge.
 
earlthegoat2 said:
That said, it is possible there is someone at Windham Weaponry who was around when they were being built and sold and they may be able to lend you some guidance.
Click to expand...
That is where I will have to go next per Bushmaster info. But they even informed me that Windham wouldn't honor the warranty.
Then again, like you say, perhaps they can point me to a fix.ps Notice my next post on here.
 
In the meantime we looked closer!
It isn't the magazine; it is a Design Flaw by BUSHMASTER or whatever foreign country did it for them.
The mag is only supported in the rear !!! Nothing in the front where most of the weight is.
Even when an empty mag in in place, the front drops down enough below the feed ramp to
feed the first round then gravity does the rest. It needs a gunsmith to drill in a second
attachment for the front or something.
My wife has an Idea that Bushmaster will probably steal when I post the pic, and it will
work! Just get a very short bungie cord from a dollar store and attach it to the hole in
the bottom front of the mag, then up to a hole in the railing.
THIS PHOTO IS OF THE ONLY MAG ATTACHMENT FOR A BUSHMASTER BA50
THIS DESIGN SUCKS!
. BushMagOnlyHanger.JPG
 
Normally, designs like that use the magwell to limit droop at the unsupported end. What does the magwell look like in this case?
 
Ok, going back in time here.

I'm pretty sure that I'm correct if my brain is functioning right. :uhoh:

The original design of the rifle was supposed to be a semi auto rifle but they could never get it to work. In it's original form, your rifle was called the Cobb-50.

Two guys that I used to shoot with owned them and had issues. The company offered such lame excuses that left others scratching their heads.

I stopped following the design after they sold theirs, this was back in the early 2000's. From time to time someone would pop in that owned one looking for help. Sorry that you're the latest person.

I would email or call Remington back and ask if they can send you a picture of the follower. If the design has changed, your best bet is to buy a couple from them.

I know, not the best option and they'll probably cost more than you want to pay. If it makes the rifle work, pop the followers out and see if a fix can be done on the ones you have.
 
Ok, here's what one looks like:
bush-master-50-caliber.jpg
It's not the follower in the magazine, per OP, it's how the magazine "hangs" in the well.
Which is just an AR magwell silly putty stretched to accommodate the enormous-long magazines required.
The original designers (whether Cobb or Bushmaster) opted to use an "AR style" release with the single slot and nub. That looks to be the least-smart solution here given the weight of a 50bmg magazine.

But, that was the only way to use a "single button" "AR type" release. A bungee cord might be the simple solution, since this is not a weapon that will be subject to "rapid" mag changes, like as not.

The fact that Cobb & Bushmaster have no more substance than yesterday's clouds, and Remington is now Remington Arms, a brand new company, will complicate this.
 
Ok, now I better understand.

Barrett overcame this by adding a tab to the front of the mag. If the mags are a loose fit, maybe see about building up a weld on the front of the mag. This would make it a tighter fit and possibly solve the issue.
 
@ACES&8S - you do realize, Bushmaster is no more. The brand was sold, with no assets, no operation, nothing retained. It’s over. So they’re not stealing squat. Remington died, and someone bought the ashes and the name, after Remington had divested itself of all of its AR type assets - including Bushmaster… Bought by a couple of paintball scheisters, Remington too, is over, and certainly have no interest in taking on support nor stealing crowdsourced IP for a model they don’t make and won’t service.
 
My wife repaired the rifle all by herself.
My son bought me that rifle about a month before they dissolved, now my wife has to do the repairs for it.
Check it out= the mag would drop in front because there was no front support, this is what caused the problem.
Check out her repair. We hooked it up and it ran like a clock, not one jammed round!
BushMagRepairs.JPG
 
If I did a tap or built the mag up inside, then the front would continue to advance downward, plus I know Bushmaster is no more,
and that is a good thing as far as the way they left the door open. But in their time, they were great.
Putting any stock in firearms is risky, always has been. Wish it would come back to American owned
and America made their own weapons for the military.
Sun is setting on past glory. Even our hunting clothes are- mostly -made in sweat shops.
 
ACES&8S said:
My wife repaired the rifle all by herself.
My son bought me that rifle about a month before they dissolved, now my wife has to do the repairs for it.
Check it out= the mag would drop in front because there was no front support, this is what caused the problem.
Check out her repair. We hooked it up and it ran like a clock, not one jammed round!
View attachment 1062743
Click to expand...
Does it actually work though?
 
ACES&8S said:
My wife repaired the rifle all by herself.
My son bought me that rifle about a month before they dissolved, now my wife has to do the repairs for it.
Check it out= the mag would drop in front because there was no front support, this is what caused the problem.
Check out her repair. We hooked it up and it ran like a clock, not one jammed round!
View attachment 1062743
Click to expand...

If I were you, I'd maybe try a strip or two of tape along the front of the magazine to build it up a little more so it dosen't have room to tip forward.

If that works, you could simply JB Weld a shim of the correct thickness onto the magazine.
 
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