.50 BMG Cast Bullet

[HotGuns]

I just got an NEI Mold for an 850 grain bullet .510 nose pour bullet.

Its a custom mold that doesnt show on their list. I cast several bullets with it shortly after I got it and it does the job beautifully.

My intent is to try some cast loads for my single shot .50 , just for plinking and just for fun. It is a gas check design and as soon as I get the gas checks, I plan on sending some bullets downrange. I hope to limit my velocity to around 2200 FPS which should be a very mild load in the 28 pound rifle.

Would anyone here by chance happen to have any starting loads or any recipes for cast bullets in the .50 ?

I know its a long shot, but I figured I'd ask... :smile:

[nighthunter]

Boy am I glad you live in Arkansas. I have enough competition for wheel weights as it is. You are gonna be slinging almost 2 ounces of lead per squeeze of the trigger. Sure sounds like fun. I can't help you with the load info but keep us posted on how it works out .
Nighthunter

[rvpilot76]

I would of never thought of that one in a hundred years! Good on 'ya, mate!

Kevin

[Buckshot]

.............I'd think the 50 BMG would be a likely cartridge to load down. It's just a big ole overgrown 30-'06. I would suggest you get some of the powder that was either intended to be used in it, or close to it. There is WC860 and WC872 (a 20mm cannon powder), and also 5010, and IMR7383.

I would personally try out the 2 WC's first. They seem to be very well mannered and predictable powders used in cartidges they were never intended for, and even reduced in THOSE :D

Just for fun I'd load about 70% capacity as a start, and use a good dacron wad. Actually the granulated shot buffer stuff might be better but filling 30% of the case would have you using quite a bit. Maybe that wouldn't matter as I don't suspect you'd be 'faring owf' a couple hundred rounds in an afternoon.

..............Buckshot

[HotGuns]

Ive got an 8 pound can of 5010.
Its cheap...

With no more than 32 rounds loaded per pound it dosent take long to go though the powder... [smilie=1:

Ive thought about dacron, but Im not sure how it would fare going though the muzzle break.

I think that even a 70 percent load may be a little much for a cast bullet. Probably more like 50 percent of something. I dont want to lead up the barrel...at 40 inches long it would be a bear to clean out.

As for firing much...its not a problem. Its not uncommon for me to shoot 75 -100 full powered rounds per session. Recoil really aint much of a factor...beleive it or not...

[Linstrum]

For the 750-grain .50 BMG jacketed bullet, Accurate Arms lists a WC870 powder charge load at 195-grains starting and 218-grains maximum. WC870 is not a .50 BMG powder, it is the powder used for the 20mm Vulcan. With a 1500-grain bullet in the 20mm, the powder charge is 585-grains, and a charge of 605-grains WC872 is also used with the 1500-grain bullet.

Just as the .50 BMG is a nearly exact scaled up .30-06, the IMR5010 powder that is often used in it would appear to be "scaled up" IMR4895. I have used IMR5010 in other very large cartridges and it can get "peaky" pressure-wise when pushed with heavy boolits just like IMR4895, so be careful working up a cast boolit load using it for your 850-grain NEI. As Buckshot has already suggested, the WC860 and WC872 powders seem to be pretty "lenient" about not producing any surprise pressure spikes when overloaded, and may be excellent candidates for reduced loads. Despite that, though, don't lose respect for those two because the operating pressure for the 20 mm Vulcan is 65,000 psi piezo method.

Another easier bet would be to use Hi-Tech's Super Slow, a milsurp powder removed from 105 mm recoilless rifle target practice cartridges. I have some but haven't had time to work up any loads using it yet so I can't give you any specifics from my own experience, but it is the powder of choice for the .50 Ultramag wildcat, the largest .50 caliber currently in existence. The .50 Ultramag is made by necking the 20 mm Vulcan down to .50 caliber. In .50 BMG a full case of Super Slow might be just the ticket for a mild and pleasant shooting cast load. The last time I talked to Dan at Hi-Tech he had plenty of Super Slow left, so you might give some a try. Good Luck!

[StarMetal]

Hotguns

To put your mind at ease on the muzzle break, I have shot cast loads out of my AR15 to see what cast bullets and dacron and kapok would do to the gas system. I never worried about the muzzle break. Well turns out I found nothing in the gas system except oily lube...no signs of dacron or kapok or lead. The muzzle break has a slight lead wash. We're taking about some hot lead loads too by the way.

Joe

[HotGuns]

Thats good to know about the Dacron, I'll have to try it. I made a .510 die to fit my RCBS lubrizer that does a good job of lubing. Soon as I get the gas checks I' 'be sending some lead downrange.

A 20 MM necked down to a .50 ? That seems like a candidate for some serious erosion problems to me. That would be one hack of a chamber, itd have to be huge !

[fiberoptik]

A 20 MM necked down to a .50 ? That seems like a candidate for some serious erosion problems to me. That would be one hack of a chamber, itd have to be huge !

I've got a 20mm & a .50BMG brass stuck together. The .50 fits into the mouth of the 20mm almost half way up the case!

[Buckshot]

...........Linstrum WOULD be the man to speak of big bores :D I believe he knows whereof he speaks.

..............Buckshot

[waksupi]

Say there, hotguns. Would you need a little .50 BMG brass? Check out this link.

http://cgi.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=666162&tid=GLSPPR1326

69,820 pounds of brass ought to keep you shooting for awhile! Wonder how many that would be?

Click on "event Id 6001" at the top of the page. They have a butt load of other caliber brass available, too.