It's not 10 times as expensive as a standard precision rifle, though, and that is a more apropros comparison, I think. Maybe 2 or 3 times, and you can explain that by materials cost, machining cost, more expensive equipment required to mill bigger parts, and lower sales volume.
BenEzra, that is the way I see it as well. All the civilian 50cal and similar rifles are made to be precision shooting machines. Material costs are higher relative to a standard 30 cal rifle, I would assume. There is also the limited production and limited demand issue.
Why does a rifle in 416 Remington cost more than one in 30-06 in the same bolt action rifle?
It's not hard to find a sub-MOA .50 BMG. There are a bunch of companies building ones that are almost ready to go at 1000-yards for the 50BMG Nationals. The GA Precision / McMillan 50 I owned shot about 1/2 MOA.
You can buy 50's for as cheap as around $1000. The average cost of the entry-level rifles is maybe $2200-2500. A custom built "sporter" (such as the McMillan) sells around $5000. When you consider a comparable small-caliber rifle by a similar builder runs about $3000, this isn't out of line.
The 50 I have on order only costs about 2x my other bolt guns.
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