I caught the .50 bmg bug...

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I want one so bad. The last three days I have been reading online and looking at pictures and prices... I've always wanted one, just not this bad.

My last unit in the military, we had a bunch of Barrett M82s. I cleaned them and shot them and cleaned them again. I liked them, but now I feel like I neeeed one.

The only problem is the price. OMG they are expensive. And then the ammo is like 4 dollars a round. I'm already too much of a tight wad to shoot ammo that costs fifty cents a round. Hahahaha.

So, here I am putting money away a little at a time. I'm hoping to be able to afford some kind of a 50bmg within a year.

I started off looking at the .50 bmg uppers for an AR15 lower. I already have a nice precision ar15 with a 20 inch barrel in 5.56 that I never shoot. It has a Magpul PRS stock and it would be perfect for a $1500 Bohica or Safety Harbor single shot bolt action upper.

But then I think, "If I'm gonna spend 1500 bucks, why not spend 3000 bucks and get a Barrett M99 bolt action?" And then I start looking at Barretts and I think, "If I'm going to spend 3000 bucks on an M99 why not spend 8000 bucks on the Barrett M82 that I have always wanted?"

What am I doing you guys?

Somebody talk me out of this or at least talk me into getting a cheap 50 upper instead of spending 3000 dollars on a giant heavy ass bolt gun. I love the M82 but I can't bring myself to pay 8000 bucks for a gun.

And if I buy any 50 bmg, I'm going to have to spend at least another 1000 bucks on a scope for it... And then ammo... And then a press and reloading stuff. This is really getting out of hand.
 
I thought about it......but its not worth having unless you have the space to stretch it out. Anything less than 600 yards with a 50 bmg.......is boring.
I recently moved to NC and I bought 30 acres out in the country. I don't know exactly how far I can shoot in a straight line though. It's a 30 acre square with my house right in the middle. I bet I can find a safe spot to shoot somewhere between 600 to 1000 yards. The other problem is that the whole 30 acres is heavily wooded with old hard wood trees. I'll have to clear a shooting lane and put up a backstop. But, it can be done.
 
I think you should go for it.

AND...you need a bayonette for it, too.

Just because.

And a Surefire light. If you got that bug, I’d take a couple of aspirin and call yourself in the morning! No safe place to shoot the thing, you graze a round and it could travel for miles! It’s not worth the risk. If we lived out west, or you were shooting into a mountain, er, maybe. I was looking at on in a TN gun shop, and I have a mountain to shoot into, but no distance. I just can’t justify it. Too many other things I want and need.
 
We have total access to a BM99 and a BM 82 with a suppressor. You may come and shoot either or both. They are in a secure area very close by and I can have them set up for you in no more than an hour.
I will definitely keep that offer in mind. In a few months I may have to come shoot both to see which one I would rather buy. But it looks like you are a 3 hour drive from me, so I might not make it down that way more than once or twice.

Thank you!
 
I will definitely keep that offer in mind. In a few months I may have to come shoot both to see which one I would rather buy. But it looks like you are a 3 hour drive from me, so I might not make it down that way more than once or twice.

Thank you!
Come for the October gathering. They will be on site.
 
I’ve shot 50 BMG a lot for ballistic tests. It really is lots of fun. Be sure to double up on your hearing protection. A properly braked rifle has a huge bark, but almost no bite.

I recommend the Spider Firearms Ferret 50. Very safe and well-engineered action. Easy to change barrels. You can buy just the barreled upper to get started, and then a steel lower later if you end up shooting a lot.

You’ll need a good impact area. 36” of sand will stop all 50BMG rounds.

To keep the ammo cost down, you’ll eventually need to reload. You’ll need a big press to resize 50 BMG brass. You’ll be buying propellant by the gallon.


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I’ve shot 50 BMG a lot for ballistic tests. It really is lots of fun. Be sure to double up on your hearing protection. A properly braked rifle has a huge bark, but almost no bite.

I recommend the Spider Firearms Ferret 50. Very safe and well-engineered action. Easy to change barrels. You can buy just the barreled upper to get started, and then a steel lower later if you end up shooting a lot.

You’ll need a good impact area. 36” of sand will stop all 50BMG rounds.

To keep the ammo cost down, you’ll eventually need to reload. You’ll need a big press to resize 50 BMG brass. You’ll be buying propellant by the gallon.


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Thank you very much for the insight. I do appreciate it! I'll be sure to update this thread when I buy something in 50bmg.

I love the look of the Barrett M82, but I can't justify the price tag ($8000). Right now I'm torn between buying a barreled upper for a dedicated ar15 build at around $1500 or spending around $3000 for a Barrett M99. I know that the M99 would be the better choice but it's twice the price.

I could spend 1500 on an upper, 1000 on a nice scope, and $500 on reloading equipment... Or I could spend 3 grand on a nice name brand rifle and still have to save more money for the scope and ammo.

Which of these routes would you choose?
 
Thank you very much for the insight. I do appreciate it! I'll be sure to update this thread when I buy something in 50bmg.

I love the look of the Barrett M82, but I can't justify the price tag ($8000). Right now I'm torn between buying a barreled upper for a dedicated ar15 build at around $1500 or spending around $3000 for a Barrett M99. I know that the M99 would be the better choice but it's twice the price.

I could spend 1500 on an upper, 1000 on a nice scope, and $500 on reloading equipment... Or I could spend 3 grand on a nice name brand rifle and still have to save more money for the scope and ammo.

Which of these routes would you choose?

You can start out with your AR15 build...then keep swapping out parts until VIOLA! A Barrett M82!
 
I put this together in 2006 or so, right before the CA ban kicked in. ALS upper on a single shot AR lower with the appropriate trigger springs.

The most expensive part was the glass, but a 12-42x56 is just what you need for a 50. :)

It's probably the least practical rifle I own. No, I know it is. Finding anywhere to actually use it is tough, and as others have pointed out, a 50bmg at short range is dumb. If you want a big boom and getting your shoulder punched go get a 18" 3.5" 12 gauge. This kicks less than that, but makes a lot of noise.

50bmg_1.jpg

Something like this will scratch the itch, and then you can upgrade everything under the glass if you really want to take it to the next level. Just be prepared to dedicate a large portion of your safe to storing it!
 
I could spend 1500 on an upper, 1000 on a nice scope, and $500 on reloading equipment... Or I could spend 3 grand on a nice name brand rifle and still have to save more money for the scope and ammo.

Which of these routes would you choose?

I recommend the upper, scope and reloading equip. You’ll shoot more. When you show up at the range with a .50, no one will judge you for going budget.

You don’t need a magazine-fed rifle. Firing a .50 isn’t like plinking, it’s a significant event. The rate of fire is slow.

A .50 is hard on scopes because the high frequency shock is much stronger than for a smaller caliber. It’s hard to predict how long a scope will last. I’ve seen expensive scopes wear out or fail quickly, and lower budget scopes do fine.

Tip: a scope designed for air rifles should be durable on a .50. A Hawke SIDEWINDER 4-16×50 SR PRO or SIDEWINDER 6-24×56 20X ½ MIL DOT would probably work out well ($530-550).


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I've not owned one but I have shot them in the military and with friends. If you can swing the cost of the gun and components go for the big dog. You won't regret it.

That's me in '07 doing small arms inspections for a unit headed to Iraq. Nothing says love like a Barrett!

2YhoMaxh.jpg
 
I recently moved to NC and I bought 30 acres out in the country. I don't know exactly how far I can shoot in a straight line though. It's a 30 acre square with my house right in the middle. I bet I can find a safe spot to shoot somewhere between 600 to 1000 yards. The other problem is that the whole 30 acres is heavily wooded with old hard wood trees. I'll have to clear a shooting lane and put up a backstop. But, it can be done.

I just picked up an M99 - I dunno I just had to have it. I did a ton of research before hand, and really ended up with the choice between it and the Serbu upper. I'm afraid to say the Barrett won out just because of how it looked. I somewhat cheaped out on the scope with a Viper HS-T 6-24x50; but I've always had good luck with my Vortex stuff.

I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, as finding a suitable range has been a bit fun, working on building a nice backstop at my parents place so I can at least stretch it a few hundred yards.

That said - you're not too far away in Pittsboro; I'd be more than happy to let you fire off a few if you wanted to check it out.

And since this post is worthless without pics...
20180721_111350.jpg
 
I recently moved to NC and I bought 30 acres out in the country. I don't know exactly how far I can shoot in a straight line though. It's a 30 acre square with my house right in the middle. I bet I can find a safe spot to shoot somewhere between 600 to 1000 yards.
Bama, have you looked into Woody's down the road? He was going to put in a 1,000yrd lane, I don't know if it's been completed.
FYI, I'm @ 2mi from Woody's, and am yet to become a member.
 
AR50 is hard to beat for price and accuracy. Still looking for a place to stretch it out.
 
I recently moved to NC and I bought 30 acres out in the country. I don't know exactly how far I can shoot in a straight line though. It's a 30 acre square with my house right in the middle. I bet I can find a safe spot to shoot somewhere between 600 to 1000 yards. The other problem is that the whole 30 acres is heavily wooded with old hard wood trees. I'll have to clear a shooting lane and put up a backstop. But, it can be done.

A 30 acre square is less than 550 yards on the corner to corner diagonal.
 
Been shooting the big .50s rifles since 89' with a McMillian in Scotland. McMillians Mk15s, Freshours, and Barrretts. The McMillians and Mk15s belong to the SEALs, bought my own Freshour Tejas back in 92', and decades of Barrett 82/99 use.

My Tejas that I got for $2500 in 92'. Sold it back in 94' when ATF wanted to make 12.7x99s a Destructive Device.


Barrett M82 in Kuwait Feb 00'
M82_Barrett_Kuwait_Feb_00.jpg

Barrett 99 Kuwait 15' Actually played with one of the protoypes with Ron Barrett back in 98' when working on the Barrett XM109 25mm heavy payload rifle.
IMG_0410_Barrett_99.jpg

McMillian Mk15 in Baghdad 16'
mk15.JPG


CD
 
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A 30 acre square is less than 550 yards on the corner to corner diagonal.


Yep, shortly after creating this thread I started measuring and there is nowhere on my property that I can shoot longer than 500 yards. At that point I just gave up and stopped looking at .50bmg.

Then, a couple days ago, I saw the new Ruger Precision Rifles in 338 Lapua Mag.

That got me started all over again. Now I want one of them!

I recently became a member of a range nearby, but they only have a 100 yard range. So, I'm still in the same situation. I don't know why I want these big bore rifles so badly. I honestly don't need one. I just want one...
 
Yep, shortly after creating this thread I started measuring and there is nowhere on my property that I can shoot longer than 500 yards. At that point I just gave up and stopped looking at .50bmg.

Then, a couple days ago, I saw the new Ruger Precision Rifles in 338 Lapua Mag.

That got me started all over again. Now I want one of them!

I recently became a member of a range nearby, but they only have a 100 yard range. So, I'm still in the same situation. I don't know why I want these big bore rifles so badly. I honestly don't need one. I just want one...


The want is much harder to deal with than the need... I had no reason at all to buy my 50, I've run less than 20 rounds through it since I got it, and only shot around 100 yards, but by god my brain wasn't going to let me not buy it. I'm also in the same boat withthe RPR 338 Lapua Mag...I want it and I want it badly
 
The want is much harder to deal with than the need... I had no reason at all to buy my 50, I've run less than 20 rounds through it since I got it, and only shot around 100 yards, but by god my brain wasn't going to let me not buy it. I'm also in the same boat withthe RPR 338 Lapua Mag...I want it and I want it badly

$1489 online.... https://gun.deals/search/apachesolr_search/Ruger precision rifle 18080

I'm walking around the house looking for things to sell so that my wife won't give me a hard time about spending money on "another" gun...
 
$1489 online.... https://gun.deals/search/apachesolr_search/Ruger precision rifle 18080

I'm walking around the house looking for things to sell so that my wife won't give me a hard time about spending money on "another" gun...

HAHAHA - I did that a couple of weeks ago. Did some selling and horse trading to pickup a couple of other guns I wanted. As far as the wife knows 3 guns left and only 2 came back... she doesn't yet know about the Uzi and the 458 upper I ordered
 
I could learn a lot from you - I keep buying FDE and colorful guns... Funny story, the wife saw my new FDE B&T TP9 the other day and responded "meh, looks like the PS90 took a crap"
Thanks for your kind words but on this forum I'm the Grasshopper not the Master.
 
As long as any new items are black, they will all look like the rest in the safe, she may not notice them.

Nah... I like a splash of color on my guns.

I just never told my wife the codes to the safes, and she never asked. So she has no idea what's in them.
 
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