Go Big or Go Home — Care and Feeding of .50 BMG Rifles
Owning and Feeding ‘The Big Bore’ — .50 BMG
Is The Challenge Of Big Bore Extreme Range Shooting Right For You?
By James Patterson
This article originally written for the Sinclair Reloading Press
Handling a .50 BMG Rig
Is a .50 BMG caliber rifle difficult to shoot? Not at all. The relatively heavy weight of a standard rifle at 30 pounds or more combined with a very efficient muzzle brake makes it a pleasure to shoot. The typical recoil can be compared to a .243 rifle or a 12 gauge trap load. On the other hand, the burning of a typical load of 230 grains of powder combined with that muzzle brake makes the muzzle blast experience exhilarating. A first time shooter will fire, pause for a moment in awe at the muzzle blast, and then break out into what has become known as “The 50 Caliber Grin”, almost impossible to wipe from ones face. My daughter started competing with the .50 BMG at 18 (115 lbs of tall skinny girl) and happily shoots 100+ rounds in the course of a match, her grin on the last round is as wide as on the first! Many members and competitors in the FCSA are women and many have distinguished themselves as excellent marksman having set world records on numerous occasions.
Cost of Big-Bore Shooting
Is owning and shooting a .50 BMG caliber rifle expensive? Relatively speaking yes, but one must put it into perspective. Rifles may run from $2500 to $7000, maybe even more for a top of the line custom rifle. A good scope will set you back $1000 to $3500. And while excellent commercial ammo is made, it is hard to find these days and runs from $4 to $6 a round. Most serious shooters start reloading for the rifle as soon as practical, not only for the economics of reloading but also for the ability to fine tune custom ammo for their specific rifle. It’s a very rare match that is won shooting commercial ammo. I recently compared the cost of my hobby — owning, shooting, and competing with the 50 BMG — with a friend whose hobby is snowmobiling. Factoring in the cost of equipment, licensing, gasoline, clothing, etc. it was soon obvious that my hobby was significantly less expensive than his.
Getting Started
So how does one get started? You could do as I did, purchase a rifle not knowing what you were really getting into; or you could come out to a FCSA-sponsored event, shoot a number of different rifles, rub shoulders with those who have already taken the plunge, and see if this sport is right for you. While membership in the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association (FSCA) is required to compete at a FSCA event, membership is not required to come and experience first hand what is going on. If you have any inclination that you are interested in the extreme sport of long rang, big bore shooting then a year’s membership in the FCSA is only $60 ($20 for active duty military) a significant bargain if it helps you make just one well-informed equipment choice. In addition one of the primary functions of the FCSA is helping to identify active members near you who can help you understand just what is involved and help you ‘get your feet wet’ in this challenging sport.
Similar Posts:
- Care and Feeding of the 50 BMG — A Look at Big Bore Shooting
- Care and Feeding of .50 BMGs — What You Need to Know
- Go Big This Summer — As in Fifty Caliber Big
- Introduction to the Fifty Caliber Shooters Association (FCSA)
- ‘Big Boomer’ Galleries on Updated FCSA Website
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Tags: 50 BMG, ELR, FCSA, Fifty Association, Fifty Caliber, K02M, Raton NM
This is what I love about the 50’s:
1) Building a custom 50 gun is far cheaper than purchasing one of the more notable factory guns;
2) Ammo prices for the 50 have not increased in the 20 years I’ve been shopping it, while everything else did rise;
3) Hitting something once with a 50 is cheaper than hitting it twice with a Cheytac or 3 times with a .338;
4) my 50’s have inexplicably long barrel lives – spanning into the decades;
5) no rifle needed, you could pick up a 50 round in a pinch and use it hand to hand to defend yourself, that’s how massive it is;
6) you can drop a loaded .284 round down the neck of an empty 50 shell, where is disappears like the rattle in a baby’s toy;
7) .05 grain of difference does NOT translate to 9 low;
8) people on the line at your local range courteously let you concentrate and shoot;
9) we know they must be good because California is against them;
10) “impact” ✅. “Low” ✅. “Did not see” ❌
The “splash” is a very big advantage to getting on target. FYI, folks shoot .50 BMG, legally, all the time in California. New builds are out but .50 or .510 DTC, and other .50 cal variant, are 100% legal for new builds. The only “rule” for variants is that the same rifle (same barrel) cannot load and fire a standard .50 BMG round.