Concern about .50 cal AR Uppers?

[HB]

How do AR lowers with .50 BMG uppers on them hold up? It seems that a .50 upper would be a lot of extra stress on a lower because of the weight of the upper itself and of course the recoil. I assume the biggest area's for concern would be the joint/hinge thing that holds the upper to the lower and the stock. Anybody else out there think that could be a problem after extensive use?

If you can't tell. I don't know much about AR's
Thanks
HB

 

[Deer Hunter]

The lower is not stress bearing on an AR-15.

 

[redneckrepairs]

Anybody else out there think that could be a problem after extensive use?

Having a buddy who owns a .50 ( no its not an ar conversion ) I will say that if you can afford " extensive use " you wont be shopping for an upper . Now i so far refuse to pay the tarrif for a .50 be it an upper or other option , but watching him for a 3 yr period i have to say that the rifle is the cheap part , the ammo , loader , bullets , powder , ect is what runs into real money . I could use all his stuff to relaod and i am too cheap to get even an upper just because of the costs per round even without having to buy the press , dies , ect .

 

[HB]

Thanks, Any other thoughts

 

[Deer Hunter]

If there was a true problem with using .50 caliber uppers, it would have been seen by now. Numerous companies now produce them.

 

[Tarvis]

If a standard AR lower was inherently incapable of 50bmg recoil, the project would have been scrapped before it was available for sale.

That being said, I know nothing about 'em.

 

[taliv]

The lower is not stress bearing on an AR-15.

well, they weren't until people started mounting 50s on them.

 

[HB]

Thanks, I assumed my thinking was unfounded and that appears to be the case. It just didn't seem right that a rifle designed to fire the .223 would also be fit to shoot a .50 BMG round.

HB

 

[Geno]

HB:

The BOHICA, for example, is a great upper. Chris tested his .50 BMG uppers and documented the "change" after something like 600 or 800 rounds of .50 BMG fired through an AR lower. Check his home page.

Doc2005

 

[Acera]

I am not anticipating a problem with the BOHICA I have on order. From all I have heard there have been no problems with them, or any other upper .50 cal conversion.

I trust the people on this board and others to always bring out the worst possible story for any given situation, and I have seen nothing on this subject. Certainly if someone had heard of a problem, it would have been repeated, changed name on, modified, etc. until it was beat to death.

Now with that being said, I have stashed an extra lower away for that contingency. If I ever have to replace the original one, it will not be a problem even with an AWB in effect.

As for the ammo concern, I've looked around and found some good deals. Most of the .50 cal I have purchased has been less than $2.00 a round. While that is not cheap ($40 a box) it is still not real bad, yet.

 

[50 Shooter]

Just be careful on the ammo that you're buying. I've seen Domincan Republic ammo back on the auction boards.

There's one in the picture with the yellow tip, don't spend any money on them as they aren't even worth the scrap price.

 

[JesseL]

Unless someone was bracing the pistol grip against a relatively immovable object, I can't see how the lower would take any more stress than is does when shooting a .22 upper.

The lower just hangs off the upper and whacks the firing pin. The only part that is remotely stressed is where the stock/buffer tube attaches, and that's all straight compression forces.