Reloading for the .50 BMG

[essayons21]

I just acquired an Armalite AR50. Factory .50 ammo costs are heart-stopping, with match ammo running $6-9 a round. Now that I finally have a .50 and a place to shoot it, this is just unacceptable, so I'm going to start reloading for the .50 BMG.

I have been reloading for traditional cartridges and making pretty good precision rifle ammo for some time now, so I have the basics covered. I'd like to get some input on some of you veteran .50 shooters and reloaders out there to keep me from making the mistakes you may have made while learning the quirks of reloading this cartridge.

I'm planning on picking up the Lee .50 BMG kit. I've had good luck with Lee products, and it is far, far less expensive than the competitors. Any concerns with this setup?

I have a RCBS 1500 and a pretty good sized powder measure so that shouldn't be a problem. My case trimmer is too small, are there any options out there that don't involve buying a new .50 specific trimmer?

As far as powder choice, I'm going for economy to start with. I've found WC860 for $48 per 8 lbs, less if you buy more. I've heard you get 8-9 charges per lb? Yikes. Any issues using this powder in an AR-50? Any better prices?

Bullets will also be cheap at first, surplus ball ammo for $.45 each. Any better prices?

Brass I am ok with as I got about 100 rds of LC reloads with the gun, and I won't be loading up any more than that at one time.

I have still yet to check my LGS's to see if they stock .50 primers. I really would hate to pay hazmat shipping fees.

Anything I have forgotten? Any advice for a budding .50 reloader?

Thanks.

 

[50 Shooter]

Look up K&M reloading tools for the 50 BMG, they make a case trimmer, primer pocket uniformer, flash hole reamer and a neck turning tool. I would skip the neck turning tool unless you plan on shooting match ammo for a tight neck chamber.

Brass is a toss up for the .50, LC brass can be just as bad as some of the foreign stuff. Alot of the newer brass seems to made for just one use then to the scrapper. This is going to leave guys with having to buy new brass or new ammo and save the brass to reload. Two specific types of brass to stay away from are Dominican Republic (HS is DR over year and 50 on one side and 60 on the other) and early Israeli with the Hebrew markings that look like a U and a K with the month and year made.

The Lee is okay if your loading on the cheap, the problem is that it uses smaller dies then industry standard 50 BMG dies. Most manufacturers that make custom dies don't make them in the smaller Lee size (yet). I'm sure if there were enough reloaders with the Lee press that asked for them it would get done. Price would be another issue, they might charge just as much if not more for the smaller ones. Kinda defeats the issue of keeping the price down for those on a budget. Guys have had good results with the Lee press for loading all types of ammo for the .50.

For the smaller powder measure you could use 2-3 throws to get to the .50's charge but that makes for a PITA issue. If you lose count then you get to dump it and start over, or if you over charge... Hornady's powder hopper is less then $100 and can throw up to 250 grs at once if I remember right. Most guys use between 215-220 grs. of powder when loading up most rounds. A pound of powder has 7000 grs. divide that by say 220 grs. and that will let you know how many rounds you'll get out of a pound.

Personally I wouldn't pay more then 50 cents for any once fired brass that's been run thru an M2. The problem is that an M2 ruins brass if the headspace wasn't set tight and most run a little loose so that the gun runs all the time. Powder for plinking rounds doesn't matter, surplus will work just fine, I've loaded AMAX using 5010 and it shot just fine. H50BMG is a good powder for match bullets but it's also expensive and I would pass on it for plinking stuff for the same reason. Ball bullets are running .40-.50 cents each depending on who has them and what kind of deal they're running.

 

[Strongbad]

You should be averaging about 25-30 rounds per pound of powder with the 50 BMG. It's bad, but it's not as bad as you mentioned.

I have the Lee setup and it's plenty good enough. As for the trimmer, on a budget, my vote is for the Lyman. You'll also need the Lyman 50 BMG deburr/chamfer tool.

Next recommended tool is the primer pocket swager from CH4D. It'll cost you about $60 if I recall, but it's worth it. A lot of the pre-primed cases you'll find online have primers that are either staked in or crimped in, and if you want to reuse the brass you'll need the pocket swager.

The next thing you might run into is new brass with asphaltic sealer in the case necks. You need to remove this. In my case, I bought a 1/2" pipe brush at the hardware store then hacksawed the handle off and put the brush in a cordless drill. After that, a quick spin in and out of the neck at high speed cleans the varnish right out.

Beyond that, you've obviously already found the Wideners website. Their uber cheap powders for the 50 BMG are a good place to start. I've actually got two fresh batches of handloads on the bench right now using their South African FMJ bullets. The 690 grainers. We'll see how they shoot soon enough! Other than that, the cheapest components I've seen were from 50bmgsupply.com so you might give that site a look.

Primers are going to be nearly impossible to find without buying a full case. That's the only way I've ever seen them for sale.

That's all I can think of at the moment, I'm sure something else will come to me when I'm not passing out.

 

[50 Shooter]

This thread is old http://www.m2hb.net/m2phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=709 but it gives out some good info. Plus he posted some pics of his process that will help you understand how to do it.

It also shows the other drawback of the Lee press, it's shorter then the industry standard and you'll need to tilt the rounds to get them out. I don't think it's a problem just something that's a bit annoying to have to do all the time.

 

[GT1]

Good link there, 50 Shooter.

Here is Ammosmith working the RCBS version in videos:
http://ammosmith.com/cartridge-specific/the-beast-50-bmg.php

I don't have any hope of ever owning a 50 but I have been invited to shoot one. Hopefully this summer.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I think I like reloading for my 50 as much as I like shooting it. I use the Lee 50 bmg kit and it works great.

 

[NATE40]

Lee makes a reasonability priced 50 BMG reloading kit. The kit does not include a case trimmer but they sell one for like 20 bucks + a cutter head about 10 bucks (works with other calibers)
I bet the expense of your rifle and ammo is high and I understand having a new toy and using it less because of cost. Reloading can cut cost some and let you shoot a little more but when we factor in the cost of reloading equipment it can take some to get to the break-even point. Lee can help you get to that point quicker.
Good luck and enjoy your new 50!!!


http://leeprecision.com/gauge-holder-50-bmg.html

 

[gixxergreg]

$2/round....

http://www.freedommunitions.com/product-p/fm50fb647r.htm

 

[Plastikosmd]

Just about to start reloading for mine. I am like you, not new to reloading but new to this round. I went with the Dillon BFR and a dillon case trimmer. I saved some money by reusing an old grinder post that I welded a top plate onto and bolted to the floor. Had the dies as they came with the rifle.

I am going to go with some bore-riders that my rifle was built for. The projectiles are from Cutting Edge. There are 2 that I plan to use with 2 different powders. One is around 760 grains and I will use H50 BMG. For the larger 802 grainers I will use VihtaVuori 20n29 and preheat the rounds to 140 degrees or so.

Case length I am set for my rifle along with OAL with the 2 rounds. Primers, I still have to do some research. The dillon has 2 options, one to flatten the primer (seating with a flat anvil), second to keep it convex (concave anvil.) It seems to cut down on lock time/ignition time, by flattening/deforming the primer (some danger here!) I guess with a recut pocket, seating them flat is not much of a big deal. I will find out. Good luck!

 

[50 Shooter]

Some of the 50 BMG primers need to be flattend to be sure they would work, I believe it was RWS primers. It doesn't make them dangerous to use, just how they work.

I think K&P is still importing IMI 50 BMG primers, there's also Russian primers (Tula) on the market. RWS primers are hard to get, I think there's a company still importing them and their brass but I can't remember the name of the company right now. The biggest drawback to RWS is price, the brass is something like $3.50 "each" and I think the primers are double what CCI's run.

The Co. that's importing the RWS stuff is TenXbullets.

 

[Plastikosmd]

What would u say would be the best primers to look into for a heavy competition target gun

 

[50 Shooter]

That company TenXbullets has RWS primers in stock, they run .40 cents each. A lot of the old heads swear by them but there availability over the years has been spotty. This has left guys using CCI 35's.

What you can do is buy a small lot of each type, make up some loads and go from there. If you're dead set on competition only I would get the RWS brass and primers. Do all the prep on the brass from seperating by weight, uniforming the primer pockets, deburring the flash hole and turning the necks.

 

[Plastikosmd]

Thank u

 

[Win1892]

I bought an AR-50 over a decade ago. Promptly bought the RCBS Ammomaster kit. Comes with a trim die. I bought a bunch of demilled GI brass, projectiles, and powder. Still using all of it.
CCI primers. Was throwing 2 charges from my RCBS powder dispenser, now my PACT throws it for me.
Only issue I've had was necks cracking. Learned annealing. Problem solved.
Did hit a log buried in a pond bank and deflected a tracer straight up into the air into a beautiful red arc, landing in the woods and starting a fire. Got the fire out, and learned rather quickly to NOT pick up the tracer projectile until after it has cooled.