QUOTED - g20gunny, You might want to do little more research on bulk price for the 50 BMG as your going to tie up a substantial amount of money on some of the loads that the oldmanFCSA posted.
Also the pricing he used comparing reloads for the 50BMG to factory ammo for the 375 Ultra and 300 Ultra is very mislead since he didn't include cost of Hornady factory ammo for the 50 BMG with 750gr A-Max at a cost retail $81.00 per 10 rd or appr $8.00 per rd. - END-QUOTE
Yes you will need a pile of money to get started !!!!!!!!!!
Press and Dies
Brass working tools
Bullets in lots of 50 pcs
Powder in 1 or 8 lb canisters
CCI#35 primers in 500 pc box
and a good solid bench with time to do it corectly.
Notice - I gave prices for reloads as no factory ammo worth a sh^t exists for long range work. If you want to shoot the crap that Hornady is selling, go ahead. Shooting many rounds of this will pay for a complete reloading setup with components. Quality brass is available from a few good sources, some not so good brass is also out there, beware the buyer. Reloading the 50 is the best way to go for accuracy. Otherwise for rock-busting rounds, surplus is available, and then you have brass to reload as long as it is not Berdan primed. I bought 2+K of surplus years ago - I have a lifetime supply of brass, not counting my Match brass, TZZ, RWS, IMI, IK, and a batch of French brass highly reworked. Hornady has changed the profile of their 750 Amax bullets 3 times to enhance production, but the first profile works the best for long range and these are hard to find.
Yes, I was comparing the reloading of a 50BMG round to what MOST hunters ,using the above mentioned rounds, would pay for off-the-shelf ammo. His argument is valid, even though I would never consider buying the ammo he mentioned for Match Competitions. I can buy "blaster" ammo for about $2 each. If you are RICH, I can give you sources of MUCH better quality ammo that is factory loaded.
My best advice is to join the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association, where if you then join the Members Forum, we can tell you loadings and ammo techniques for accuracy. Membership also gets a booklet with 50BMG specific suppliers.
Your membership fee will be re-paid many times with savings in rifles and components. Your choice.
Do your own research - do not be swayed by others including me. It is an expensive sport, but rewarding in the results.
g20gunny, if you want another source of good info, pm me. A man in OK City is best around that I know. He is the AR-50 expert, but knows and rebuilds other actions too. His work is top of the line in the 50 world.