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.50 BMG
- Thread starter Jeff F
- Start date
50 shooter
New member
Well, there's 7000 grs. of powder in a pound of powder and you'll use 215 grs per round. So figure 30 rounds per pound.
Primers run about $130 per 500, so a little over a quarter per primer.
Bullets, anywhere from .50-$2 depending on where you buy them from. And if buying surplus or match and in between.
Brass, .30-$2 depending on if you buy surplus once fired all the way to primed new. This cost goes away after first firing. If you keep your reloads mellow, you can get about 10 reloads on them.
Primers run about $130 per 500, so a little over a quarter per primer.
Bullets, anywhere from .50-$2 depending on where you buy them from. And if buying surplus or match and in between.
Brass, .30-$2 depending on if you buy surplus once fired all the way to primed new. This cost goes away after first firing. If you keep your reloads mellow, you can get about 10 reloads on them.
The caveat 50 shooter posted is the bullet. If you are running about $1.25 for powder and primer and case life amortization, everything else will hinge on that bullet price. To determine that, you have to figure out what "good quality" means to you and what your rifle requires by way of a bullet to group the way you want it to.
Note that dies and other loading equipment are not included or amortized in that figuring.
Note that dies and other loading equipment are not included or amortized in that figuring.
.50 BMG requires a special press. A Lee .50 BMG press kit(that comes with a shell holder) runs about $400ish. RCBS wants about a grand. Lee Large Series Dies are a different thread than Hornady or RCBS. So no interchangeability. Midway wants $89.99. RCBS wants $359.99. Hornady $315.99 with an available rebate.
Midway(shop around) wants $67.99 per 10 for Hornady brand ammo with a 750 grain A-Max(just happens to be what Hodgdon tested with) at 2820 FPS.
"...you'll use 215 grs per round..." Max loads on Hodgdon's site run 250 grains for a 750 grain bullet. Start load is 225. Using H50BMG(discontinued) it's 233 MAX(209.7 Start), you get 2,800 FPS(close enough to loaded ammo to compare.). Still about 30 rounds per pound.
50 A-Max .50 BMG bullets runs $53.99 plus shipping. That applies to everything.
500 CCI .50 BMG primers run $229.99.
Brownell's showed H50BMG at $29.99 per pound.
Using the 215 grain load, which is 32 loads, it's 94 cents a shot for powder. 46 cents per primer. And $1.08 per bullet. Without taxes, Hazmat fees and shipping. Adds up to about $2.50 per shot vs the ~ $7 per shot for loaded ammo.
Keep in mind that reloading is not about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammo.
Midway(shop around) wants $67.99 per 10 for Hornady brand ammo with a 750 grain A-Max(just happens to be what Hodgdon tested with) at 2820 FPS.
"...you'll use 215 grs per round..." Max loads on Hodgdon's site run 250 grains for a 750 grain bullet. Start load is 225. Using H50BMG(discontinued) it's 233 MAX(209.7 Start), you get 2,800 FPS(close enough to loaded ammo to compare.). Still about 30 rounds per pound.
50 A-Max .50 BMG bullets runs $53.99 plus shipping. That applies to everything.
500 CCI .50 BMG primers run $229.99.
Brownell's showed H50BMG at $29.99 per pound.
Using the 215 grain load, which is 32 loads, it's 94 cents a shot for powder. 46 cents per primer. And $1.08 per bullet. Without taxes, Hazmat fees and shipping. Adds up to about $2.50 per shot vs the ~ $7 per shot for loaded ammo.
Keep in mind that reloading is not about saving money. It's about using the best possible ammo.
reynolds357
New member
Shooting the 50BMG is not cheap anymore. It used to be pretty cheap when mil surp was floating around everywhere, but most of thats dried up and what's left has gone up.
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50 shooter
New member
50 BMG is still cheaper than a lot of high power stuff out there. You can still get .50 for under $3 and hand load it for under $2.
It will still be cheap for many years to come, I'll get nervous when the military finds a replacement for the M2. And while it's coming up to the 100 year mark, it's not going anywhere!
The fact that they now have a 3 barreled gatling gun in .50 BMG, helps to also keep Ma from going anywhere.
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_50cal-GAU-19_MG.php
It will still be cheap for many years to come, I'll get nervous when the military finds a replacement for the M2. And while it's coming up to the 100 year mark, it's not going anywhere!
The fact that they now have a 3 barreled gatling gun in .50 BMG, helps to also keep Ma from going anywhere.
http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_50cal-GAU-19_MG.php
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What shoots50 said!
If you head over to the FCSA website www.fcsa.org and https://www.1moa.org/ there have been several discussions in the past year on the forum on the costs.
I've looked at it several times, and to me it didn't make sense for the # of rounds I shoot a year, often at golf balls from 200-1000 yards.
Where it does make sense is in the high performance / precision benchrest and ultra-long range (1 mile +) shooting where guys are sorting brass, primers, projectiles et al to make sure every round is as close to consistent as possible.
If you head over to the FCSA website www.fcsa.org and https://www.1moa.org/ there have been several discussions in the past year on the forum on the costs.
I've looked at it several times, and to me it didn't make sense for the # of rounds I shoot a year, often at golf balls from 200-1000 yards.
Where it does make sense is in the high performance / precision benchrest and ultra-long range (1 mile +) shooting where guys are sorting brass, primers, projectiles et al to make sure every round is as close to consistent as possible.
The fact that they now have a 3 barreled gatling gun in .50 BMG, helps to also keep Ma from going anywhere.
50 Cal is on all the M1 Abrams tanks and a whole lot of other stuff as well as support.
The Gatling gun is a cool addition which I wonder why not sooner - 7.62 Gatling is so woefully short!
Hell they gave up 30 cal in WWII on airplanes because it was so anemic (and don't get me started on the Brits and that pathetic 303) - standard gun in the turrets on all the US bombers let alone fighter armaments (who needs a 20 mm when you can pack in so many more 50s?)
Nope, not going away any time in the next 50 years, I think its Browning's most enduring gift to the US and his legacy is huge outside of it.
Now 30 cal if fine for ground machine guns with the grunts when they have to pack it and the ammo, but put it in the air and its 50 cal or better and 50 cal fits right in still.