affordable 50 bmg action?

G

g20gunny

New member
I am in the market for a relatively cheap <$1000 action for my build. I have a new mossberg barrel but I have not cut the threads yet so I have options. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
 
Man that one is tough, finding an action big enough to handle a BMG case for under $1K. All I can say is good luck.
 
Where have you already looked? The only commercial action I am familiar with is Barret. They might sell you an action, its worth a try.
 
Good luck, looking for a .50 bmg action for under a grand

Bat and McMillan are both more than twice that...
 
Iver Johnson AMAC single...mine was as just under 2K. I have a 50BMG shorty too.

50bmg1.jpg
 
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Good luck on your build.

My custom built 50 by the late great GEOAZ (George Petrusich) 18" shorty with titanium muzzle brake has a East Ridge action cost $2000 complete. I put an E-Otec type sight on her. 24 POUNDS and easy to shoot upright. (sorry no pics.) Great people at East Ridge.
 
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Sounds like a nice rifle - BUT be careful with the titanium brake, it may be prone to workhardening and cracking.

I'm going to try building like an F-class rifle with full-float action and a mid-barrel action clamp. Getting under 32 pounds with rifle and scope mounted will be difficult, but will try. Scope mount will need strong cantilever mount.
 
Today, 01:56 AM
#9
lefteyedom
Senior Member
Join Date: September 7, 2010
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 306

"Affordable and 50 BMG should not be in the same paragraph much less sentence!"
__________________
Superman

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I can reload for my 50's using surplus bullets and have loaded rounds for less than some hunting rifles.
Bullet, surplus 700AP = $0.29
powder, H5010 = $0.23
Primer, CCI#35 = $0.19
Total for loaded practice round = $0.71/round

If I load full competition 808 grain solid brass, I can load for under $2.50 per round.
Bullet, 808 grain brass = $1.60
powder, V V 20N29 = $0.54
Primer, CCI#35 = $0.23
Total for loaded competition round = $2.37/round

These are MY prices - I buy at bulk prices, min 48 pounds of powder, 5000 primers, and 1000 custom bullets at custom prices.

Above target load at your prices would be:
Bullet, 808 grain brass = $2.15
powder, V V 20N29 = $1.03
Primer, CCI#35 = $0.33
Total for loaded competition round = $3.51/round



For comparison, Natchezz Shooters Supply has:

Remington 375 Ultra Mag 300 gr Premier A-Frame 20/box for $116.99 as thier standard price for $5.85 per round.

COR-BON 300 Ultra Mag 180 gr DPX 20/box for $81.88 sale price for $4.09 per round.


I can use Hornady Amax 750 grain bullets for hunting and my cost per loaded round would be $2.70
Velocity at around 2750 fps
Muzzle enegy at a guess of about 13,000 ft/lbs
Effective range = 1400 yards - further than anyone should try shooting game animals !!!
 
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Thank you everyone for your input! I will definitely give state arms a hard look. And thanks oldman for the price per reload breakdown! I keep telling people how cheap it can be to go 50... why get a $2000 beanfield rifle and $4/shot 338 when you can get the big fifty for the same price and still save on ammo.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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oldmanFCSA, I was just pointing out and I know this may be higher that what your paying but Powder Valley has 8lbs of V V 20N29 @ $214.00 and if you order 48 lbs that's $1700.00 and if you look at the price of bullet you priced out per 1000 your most expensive was $2150.00 to a low of $290. and that doesn't include price of brass or primers.

I fully understand the cost of reloading vs buy factory ammo and I think most understand that also.

The factory ammo you quote has no guarantee that it will shot in anyone rifle compare to what reloads do reason why we reload.
 
I've bought lots of components from Powder Valley including 35,000 primers in one order (various sizes). I use their website to work up prices.

I bought 48 lbs of powder in original sealed containers all of one lot for $125 per 8 lbs from another FCSA member from SC. He brought it to World Championships in Raton NM knowing I was to meet him there with cash in hand. My previous purchase of this powder was at $168 per 8 lbs.
My purchase of 80 lbs of H50BMG was $118 - $143 per 8 lbs on sale date.
My purchase of 80 lbs of H5010 Virgin was $59 per 8 lbs on sale date.
My purchase of 32 lbs of Reloder50 was $148 per 8 lbs on sale date.

I buy large lots of bullets to ensure lot consistency Match to Match - expensive yes - but worth it. Some will say I hoard by buying such large lots - its not true in that sense but does allow consistency to be there year after year depending on how many Matches are shot each year.

I told him it was expensive to get into shooting a 50BMG rifle, and meant it. But buying smaller lot sizes will cut overall costs at expense of consistency of components.

I've used $3 bullets and I've used $0.29 bullets. You get what you pay for.
I've settled on 808 grain brass solids for my Match Ammo.

I sometimes sell components to new shooters at rates which they were purchased.

"oldmanFCSA, I was just pointing out and I know this may be higher that what your paying but Powder Valley has 8lbs of V V 20N29 @ $214.00 and if you order 48 lbs that's $1700.00 and if you look at the price of bullet you priced out per 1000 your most expensive was $2150.00 to a low of $290. and that doesn't include price of brass or primers."

You need to check your math.
48 lbs is 6 jugs of 8 lbs each * $214 = $1284.
I buy 1000 bullets on a custom order for $1600. ($1.60 each)
In past I bought 5000 pulled AP bullets for $1450. ($0.29 each). I resize them in a 0.5095 die to ensure concentricity, and smooth out cut from de-milling operation.
Re-look at my post - primers are priced, some purchased at $95 per 500, some at $115 per 500, some at $129 per 500. Some were even less on private sale.

Yes shooting the 50BMG can be expensive, but I average 1000 rounds fired per year over last 5 years, and I need to re-barrel both rifles to re-obtain match accuracy. My smallest group is 5-shots under 5 inches at 1000 yards. Lately my groups have opened up drastically.

Hope this helps.

This sport is still cheaper than racing offroad motorcycles (myself and 2 kids, all on KTM's), or drag racing a car on weekends.

And with my dis-ability, target shooting is all I do now, no hunting.
Dis-ability due to long term effects of tractor roll-over accident.
The discrepancy on bullet cost was the quantity buy I do for my stuff.
Your cost WILL vary.
 
Trying to help.

g20gunny,

You get your rifle built --- and I will sell you 150 rounds of good surplus for $2.25 each, but you must pick up in Twin Cities area, or arrange personal pickup in other ways.

The resultant fired brass is good for reloading.

Some people are paying $4.30 each for new un-primed RWS brass.
 
How do you rate the Quality of the Federal American Eagle 660gr ball ammo?
What year LC cases did they use?
Are the primer pockets crimped?
Are the necks and shoulders annealed?
Are there delaminations visible anywhere on the cases?
Have you shot any?
In which rifle?

Not picking on you, just curious if their Quality has improved from their first few batches of "Factory Ammo".

A friend wants to know if all cases have powder in them - you can guess why.
 
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