Thinking about a .50 BMG now

[Cheeseybacon]

Sorry for being wordy folks. I've been saving a decent bit of money for a cheap (as far as Class III is concerned) fully automatic goodie for a while now and was thinking about taking the plunge very soon. I discussed this over a beer with a buddy of mine, who is somewhat less of a gun nut than I, but nevertheless a huge appreciator of firearms. He seemed to think that if I were going to drop a huge sum of money on a firearm, that my money would be better spent on a big ole' hog of a rifle instead of a 9mm bullet hose. Additionally, my dad has also had a good bit of trigger time behind an M16 during Vietnam and he too said that fully automatic fire isn't all it it's cracked up to be. As I sipped on my beer and thought about it, I began to realize that both of them were probably right. Spraying bullets would definitely be fun at first there's no doubt about it, but I'm beginning to think the novelty would wear off after while, not to mention the number of ranges that allow FA are very limited in my area. That being said, I think I'm leaning towards a .50 BMG rifle now for several reasons:

1) No hassling the local sheriff to sign forms

2) No torturous wait period for the ATF to approve the transfer.

3) .50 BMGs seem more likely to be targeted for banning before machine guns regulations are further restricted.

4) .50 BMG ammo should be cheaper for as often as the rifle will be shot, than an submachine gun that gobbles up a 2/3 of a box of 9mm in several seconds.

5) I will have fun finding new objects to obliterate from long distances.



I know all about the Barrett rifles, and if money was not a factor I'd simply buy a Barrett model 95 and call it a day. Unfortunately, money is a factor and with my current budget I could maybe just barely buy a Barrett model 99 and that would be it, no glass, bipod, ammo or any other items necessary for it's operation. So that being said, what do you guys think of all of the other .50s out there? Serbu, Vulcan, Steyr, etc... Are they worth considering, or should I continuing save my money and get a Barrett in a few months?

[Warners Surplus]

You may want to look at the Armalite AR50. they are one of the most accurate out there and you can set one up with bipod and a nice leupold for the cost of the Barrett 99.

I have a 99 and an M82A1 and I have had several chances to play with the Armalite. If I had to do it all over again, I would get the AR50. The other this is that the 50BMG Bolt action CAN BE SHOT at all SGL ranges as long as you are not using FMJ ammo

The days I wanted to play and not travel for 3 hours to get to a 600 yards range. I'd load up A-Max loads and take a file to the tips of FMJ and then head for the local SGL range.


JMHO
Rich W.

[Montanya]

As much as a 50 bmg would be cool as hell. Paying 5$ a bullet is a bit much for me, if I own a gun, I want to be able to afford to go shoot it often. Perhaps you can afford to pay that kinda money for ammo but for me I keep trying to find a way to shoot the guns that I have.

[Kenshin]

Originally Posted by Warners Surplus

I have a 99 and an M82A1 and I have had several chances to play with the Armalite. If I had to do it all over again, I would get the AR50. The other this is that the 50BMG Bolt action CAN BE SHOT at all SGL ranges as long as you are not using FMJ ammo

The days I wanted to play and not travel for 3 hours to get to a 600 yards range. I'd load up A-Max loads and take a file to the tips of FMJ and then head for the local SGL range.


JMHO
Rich W.

I dont know about this but the Scotia range has plastered all over the place no 50 caliber center-fire or larger.

[Warners Surplus]

Originally Posted by Kenshin

I dont know about this but the Scotia range has plastered all over the place no 50 caliber center-fire or larger.

Thats interesting. Maybe they had problems there in the past?

I have been shooting my 50's at Gouldsboro for 3 years now. Shoot we even had a shoot up there with the rep. from Armalite and he had an AR50 with him. I had told one of the GCO about it and he met us there with a grill, dogs and rolls and the trimmings. He even cooked while we shot. The rep. left him try his hand at everything he had with him and it was quite a day. He was the one the told me that you can shoot anything that is legal to hunt with in Pa. at the ranges. YES, the 50 BMG is legal to hunt deer with in Pa. hehehe. All you need to do is get the deer to stand on a tarp so you can pick up the pieces after you shoot it.


Rich W.

[Cheeseybacon]

Hmmmm, I'll have to take a look at that AR50, that looks interesting.

What do you guys think of this:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...?Item=86759188


I've never heard of Safety Harbor Firearms before. Anyone know anything about them?

[JayBell]

Originally Posted by Cheeseybacon

Hmmmm, I'll have to take a look at that AR50, that looks interesting.

What do you guys think of this:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...?Item=86759188


I've never heard of Safety Harbor Firearms before. Anyone know anything about them?

I myself have a Serbu BFG, I have found it to be very accurate, even with milsurp, and the recoil is quite manageable...plus, its a light field class gun, so its man portable, and you can shoot it from the shoulder easily, as its about 25lbs with a scope.
I have serial # 8, so this means I've had it from the beginning of his production run...and I'm never going to get rid of it.

Safety Harbor firearms makes a decent product, the owner, Walter Keller used to work FOR Serbu helping to make his rifles.

however, I'd never buy one personally, as he left Serbu, and basically took Serbus design with him, and started making it himself as a competitor.

I don't see that as a very cool thing to do at all, come up with your own design if you want to make money.

of course, the fact that my muzzle brake has "HAVE A NICE DAY" engraved on the muzzle side by Serbu is an added cool factor

[762xIan]

I ahve been eyeing up these...folks are just starting to get them and the preliminary reports on these are good.

Check it out, basically a .50 BMG (other cals available) for your existing AR platform for about $1000.

http://www.bohicaarms.com/index.html

Read the FAQ's and take the shop tour...sounds like they have their crap together.

Very interesting and economical to boot.

[Cheeseybacon]

WOW! That Bohica conversion looks reeeeeally SAAAWHEEET! That might be the way I end up going.

For $1195 (I'd go with the 30" barrel), I would EASILY have money left over to get a really decent scope for it, build a dedicated AR lower with a nice trigger + magpul stock, and maybe buy a few rounds of good ammo to break it in.

[Hokkmike]

They used to have a .50 1000 yard shoot locally. The y discontinued it because those big bullets were ripping up the tragets badly.