Why aren't there more .50 BMG big game rifles?

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There's no game outside of Africa where a 50 BMG would be at all reasonable.

Within Africa, many nations ban (1) muzzle brakes of all kinds and types (I believe to protect the hearing of guides) and (2) military calibers. A 50 BMG without a brake would need to weigh around 40-50lbs to be shootable. And no getting around the military caliber ban in those nations that have it.

If you can afford to travel to Africa for safari, you can get one of the "ordinary" African calibers.

I do think the OP's question is reasonable, it just is answered "no" for various reasons.
 
Guys, please read the first post. This is all pure speculation, and by big game I mean rhinocerous, not elk, bear, or anything else found in North America.
And yes, I know .50 is big, heavy, loud and expensive, but compared to some exotic cartridges, it's like shooting .22 LR (price wise, don't know about recoil).

On the subject of recoil, I have seen a few videos of .50 BMG rifles being fired by teenagers or people of small stature. There are videos of big game rifles in exotic cartridges knocking full-grown men to the ground and giving them a bloody nose--this, in part, is what made me wonder whether the .50 would actually be a practical option for such an application (not that hunting exotic game is exactly "practical" to begin with).

As others have posted, there are some compact .50 BMG rifles that weigh under 30 lbs. How much do exotic double rifles weigh? Do they make better use of a short barrel than the .50, and does the .50 become ineffective with barrels of comparable length to an exotic double rifle?

I think a .50 BMG side-by-side double rifle would be pretty neat. Shooting it might be a different story, but I'd bet most rifles of this nature have less than 50 rounds through them anyway.
 
You can't really download a .50 BMG.because the case is so large,you can get detonations.My Serbu BFG 50 weighs 22 pounds,with a 29.5" barrel.I believe the carbine version only weighs 17 lbs.I have fired it from the shoulder several times.I have no urge to carry it on a safari,though.I want a CZ 550 Safari Magnum in .416 Rigby.OOH.
 
It would be a good choice for big game hunting, however there are usually better choices.

There are 50's that have a manageable weight for off hand shooting. (Picture of one of THRs members 50 Shooter is posted below, from another thread similar to this one.)

One problem is all the misconceptions that people have about the cartridge, and prejudices.

Price is one of the biggest, and others have exposed that myth.

Fact that a man can't shoulder one is pretty much a myth also, but not according to those that don't have them, LOL. I have one with a 24" barrel and it is not easy to shoulder it, but I shoot if comfortably off a rest all the time. Whether that rest is a 4 wheeler, wall of a tree stand, or hand gripping a tree trunk, it can be done.

Lot of folks like to think the 50 is some big bad monster, and attitudes like that will contribute to more restrictions on our rights. The AR was once considered not worthwhile for anything other than shooting people, but through education and general acceptance it has become America's rifle, and is one of the most versatile sporting arms available. Hopefully this myths and misconceptions will be done away with on the 50 just like they were with the AR.
Click to expand...

Acera

Size is not a myth...it is real...I handled several time the same rifle you show in the pic and that shot standing is something that, you can do...once....or lugging it around.

No matter how we look at it, a 20 lbs pound is not practical unless you are a professional weight lifter...

And how much power do you lose with "only" a 24" barrel?? I suspect a lot...
 
I've yet to read a story about hunting dangerous game in Africa that didn't involve a lot of walking. And, that didn't frequently tell of the need for rapidly going from a rifle slung over one's shoulder to shooting a charging Mean Thing.

Any rifle that's "shootable" with the .50BMG cartridge is not gonna fill the bill for those parameters.

I found that with just 9.5 pounds to tote, a dozen miles or so would give me a serious case of shoulder sag. Granted, I was dumb enough to do that many and many a time. Heck, just writing about it makes my shoulder hurt.

Sorry, but some ideas are all eat up with the uh-uh, don't.
 
I have loaded as low as 150 grains of WC860 with 950 cast bullets. No problems other than lead in the rough bore of my LAR. I think detonation is a myth and actually caused by accidently loading a double charge.

I do not think the 50 bmg is going to be any less managable then the 700 nitro or 585 Nyati, but as far as I know, the latter two cartridges are available in shorter and lighter actions due to their shorter overall length.

I will not shoot my 50 bmg without a brake or a silencer. Ditto for anything else in that size and power. One round from these powerful guns with a brake attached was enough to cause physical pain in my ear and temporary hearing loss.

Ranb
 
50 BMG is not legal for hunting is many/most/almost all states that do allow rifle hunting at all which is a subset of the 50.

Then there's the recoil.
Then there's the cost.
Then there's the weight of the weapon.

You want to hunt with a 50 bmg, you need to be hunting vehicle convoys or pirate skiffs.

You think you need that much gun, I would imagine that .458 Win Mag would suffice in a gun a fraction of the cost and weight.
 
I see a lot of people saying price of the rounds, weight of the gun and recoil are the reasons it is not done.

I think it boils down to the availability of a good hunting bullet for the bmg to transfer all that energy to the target for knockdown instead of passing straight through.

Weight of the gun is a major issue for most people as they only get off their butt a few times a year. I have humped heavier loads all over country worse than I would be carrying that rifle to shoot in Africa.

Round cost is not a factor in my mind. If you can afford to go to Africa to hunt.......
Plus 50 bmg ammo runs less than some of the target loads I buy for my 308.

I think the ban on military calibers and muzzle brakes would have to be the main factor as to why noone has done it. Because you know if you could do it someone would have done it.
 
The 50 BMG cartridge requires a gun too large for any sort of practical hunting application. All those big African calibers can be built on a relatively normal sized bolt action rifle platform.
 
Perhaps one might ask, what is it you are trying to do with a .50 BMG that you can't do with say, one of the belted magnums or a .338 Lapua?
Click to expand...

Exactly...last time I shot game it wasn't rolling around in a Humvee that needed to be taken out as well! Haha
 
Do you really want to hump an 18-30 lb rifle when you don't have to? I once humped an 11lb Browning 1886 .45-70 with no sling for 12 miles one day up and down foothills in CO with my buddy guiding. The next day it was my 7 lb. Scout rifle WITH sling. He He He He! Guess which day was more fun............
 
Hornady does make a 750 grain AMAX available for reloading the .50BMG.
And they're only $38 for a box of 20.

The ranges here won't let ya shoot any FMJ ammo- which is almost all there is for .50BMG loads.
However; the Hornady is allowable on ranges that are '50 friendly'.
There's other companys making projectiles now, but until recently the mold for a cast Lead 750,
or the AMAX were the only alternatives beyond surplus FMJ stuff.

.
 
ArmedBear and Brad5192,

Please tell me that you are not siding with those poor ignorant souls that would have us believe the 50 bmg needs to be banned because it is not a sporting firearm.

The "evidence" these jerks use to support their stupid conclusions is that the 50 bmg destroys all of the meat on a game animal. This is a lie of course.

Ranb
 
I think some people watch too much tv/movies. A military .50 round will, more than likely, pass straight through, thus very little meat will be destroyed.

I have fired most of the "big game" cartridges including the .577 and .600 and I can attest that it is HIGHLY unlikely anyone could be knocked off their feet UNLESS they don't know what they're doing....naturally, if you don't handle a rifle of those calibers correctly then anything could happen. I fire a .458 Lott (CZ550 10 lb rifle) regularly which is about as much recoil as I want to enjoy but I also shoot it off sticks....bench shooting the heavy calibers is a lesson in pain. I have not fired the .700 but Craig Boddington of G&A fame has a bud, I think named Bill Jones, that collects and shoots large-caliber doubles including the .700. It looks like it will rock you but knock you down? No way! After all, how bad could the large calibers be....when's the last time you saw a muzzle brake(s) on a double? Lol!

I, just this week, shot my LAR .50 with my grandson for the first time....it was great (pictures and tale a few threads down) but the LAR is also a thirty-plus pound rifle. I could definitely shoot the LAR standing up but at 190 lbs myself would probably be quivering from the weight.
 
in most african and many european countries military calibers are illegal for civilians. many african and european countries also require the headstamp on your ammo to match the caliber markings on the barrel. if you load up some surplus cases that aren't headstamped 50bmg they aren't going to make it through customs.
 
That's right.
If its a military style Full Metal Jacketed bullet,,,,, in any rifle cal.,
you can't shoot them on almost all public ranges here because they've had problems with ricochtes.

A Barnes solid, jacketed spire point, a needle pointed Sierra Match King hollow point, etc.- no problem.
It isn't my rule, just a decision the folks who own the range get to make.

.
 
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