BruceB
04-14-2010, 11:44 AM
Some months ago I posted about a deal which I'd been offered on a .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun cartridge) rifle. That transaction fell through when the owner got cold feet.
The same rifle became available again, and this time I ended up as its new owner. It's a bolt-action single shot, essentially a .50 BMG upper built on an AR-15 lower receiver. The lower receiver provides ONLY the firing controls, and all stresses are handled purely by the upper unit. Barrel length is around 32", plus about four inches for the muzzle brake. The action is nice and smooth, and the rifle seems to have very little wear...no big surprise there! According to my bathroom scale, weighing myself with/without the rifle gives a net weight of 22 pounds.
It came with a complete un-used RCBS .50-caliber package, meaning a press, dies, and priming assembly...about $500-plus from Midway. Also included were a Forster neck-turner, Lyman .50 case-trimmer, and a bunch of new-unfired brass and 80 loaded rounds. A Leupold VX-III 6.5-20X scope is mounted (similar scope is over $800 at Scheels' Reno store yesterday).
A friend is bringing along a Hoch custom .50 BMG mould when he visits this weekend, about 800 grains in bullet weight, I believe. .50 gaschecks will be a problem. 800 grains of wheelweights should do fearsome damage to a ground squirrel, I betcha.
Researching the load data available on the web is a bit daunting. In full-power guise, one pound of powder will yield about TWENTY-EIGHT loaded rounds! Primers (CCI #35) are about thirty cents EACH. Fortunately, 500 CCIs also came in the deal for the rifle.
I intend to have some cast-bullet loads available for the "entertainment" of all shooters at the Nevada Cast Bullet Shoot in late May. That should be a "blast", indeed!
The same rifle became available again, and this time I ended up as its new owner. It's a bolt-action single shot, essentially a .50 BMG upper built on an AR-15 lower receiver. The lower receiver provides ONLY the firing controls, and all stresses are handled purely by the upper unit. Barrel length is around 32", plus about four inches for the muzzle brake. The action is nice and smooth, and the rifle seems to have very little wear...no big surprise there! According to my bathroom scale, weighing myself with/without the rifle gives a net weight of 22 pounds.
It came with a complete un-used RCBS .50-caliber package, meaning a press, dies, and priming assembly...about $500-plus from Midway. Also included were a Forster neck-turner, Lyman .50 case-trimmer, and a bunch of new-unfired brass and 80 loaded rounds. A Leupold VX-III 6.5-20X scope is mounted (similar scope is over $800 at Scheels' Reno store yesterday).
A friend is bringing along a Hoch custom .50 BMG mould when he visits this weekend, about 800 grains in bullet weight, I believe. .50 gaschecks will be a problem. 800 grains of wheelweights should do fearsome damage to a ground squirrel, I betcha.
Researching the load data available on the web is a bit daunting. In full-power guise, one pound of powder will yield about TWENTY-EIGHT loaded rounds! Primers (CCI #35) are about thirty cents EACH. Fortunately, 500 CCIs also came in the deal for the rifle.
I intend to have some cast-bullet loads available for the "entertainment" of all shooters at the Nevada Cast Bullet Shoot in late May. That should be a "blast", indeed!