.50 Beowulf

bkbrno said:
I have AR mags in several calibers and styles. The 223 mags that seem to work best are MagPuls. 6.8 SPC mags don't work at all. A rib near the front kicks the round to the side and releases it too soon causing the nose to point up. All the mags with a double stack follower are a bitch to get the first round loaded.

My most reliable mag is a Duramag 450 Bushmaster designated mag. I had to open up the notch in the front to .50 diameter. It has a sled follower and is a breeze to get the first round in. It runs perfectly. Next best running is a Magpul 30 round size. I think that will take 7-10 50s but never tried it at capacity. Not sure if it can lift the weight of a full load out.
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I'm wondering if a 458 SOCOM mag might also work. The follower on the mags I bought appear to be suited to the round. The SOCOM mags are 5 bucks cheaper and appear to be identical.
 
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Bongo Lewi said:
I'm wondering if a 458 SOCOM mag might also work. The follower on the mags I bought appear to be suited to the round. The SOCOM mags are 5 bucks cheaper and appear to be identical.
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6.8 mags are almost identical to .223 mags until they aren't. One tiny changes makes them work for one but not the other. A rib is moved slightly is all I know about the changes.

My thinking was that the 450Bushmaster is straight wall and the 458 is bottle necked so I started with the 450. I don't know if there are slight changes between the two mags to accommodate the bottle neck. I do know notch in the front of the mag snagged on the crimp when I slid the round forward in testing. I matched the notch to the diameter of the 50 B and it slides forward nicely now. Made it wider but not lower and took off the sharp tips at the top of the curve.

Try a 458 mag for the team. It is high season for 450 Bushmaster right now and not many deals on related items. In the off season, I don't recall much of a price difference. I do know that Bear Creek wants a lot more for them than the market price.
 
Bongo Lewi said:
I’m giving some thought to switching to a bolt action upper.
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I was thinking that too. Counterpoint, no action to soak up recoil. I shot a single shot 12ga when I was a teenager. I did not enjoy it. I don't feel the Bear Creek bolt is ready for prime time. It uses an AR style bolt and carrier. Very short throw but also not much movement unlocks it. Some reviews of uppers in other caliber made me cringe in the safety area. It shouldn't fire out of battery but...

If you come across a more traditional bolt action, be sure to post. I haven't looked very hard.

I have a hard time getting comfortable with a gun that doesn't work well from the start. The 50 B isn't exactly the caliber to give it a couple hundred rounds to iron itself out. Recoil and money limit it. I get where you are coming from.

It was a couple of months between getting the upper and getting the lower built up. I used that time to go over the upper. I checked the barrel alignment, smoothed a burr on the feed ramp, checked the torque on all the screws and gave it a good strip down and lube job. I did find one burr on the feed ramp of the barrel extension and gave it a light buffing while in there.

I didn't like that BCA used a long tip 7.62x39 firing pin. I found some pierced primers on a few spent cases. At the pressure these are supposed to loaded to, this shouldn't happen at all. I'm using a normal firing pin now and the primers look normal.
 
It's too early for me to throw in the towel on the semi auto side cocker upper. The hiccups are relatively minor. I'm sure I can get this gun running OK.

My thought on the bolt action is mainly about the caliber and how I intend to use the gun. Speed/semi auto is not a must-have requirement. Nor is it a down side. Provided I can resolve what I believe are simple, new gun break-in challenges I can be happy with it as-is.

My first impressions are that maybe a bolt action makes more sense for my use case. Provided I can get an upper I'm confident in. Not a make-it-work kludge adapted from a 5.56 or similar. Safety snd dependability are high priorities for me. I'll poke around and see what's out there. My expectations are low given the relatively uncommon caliber. Even so, the search and experimenting are part of the fun. A Euro-style straight pull would be awesome. I dont think I'll find one of those.

I checked my spent brass for punctured primers and found none. However, the primers do have a substantial dimple. Deeper than it needs to be.
 
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My brass had a straight slit, slightly blackened, at the bottom of the primer divot. Not blown primer but on its way to that.

The overall length of the firing pin was a tiny bit longer than 5.56 firing pin I compared it to. Basically at the long end of the spec. To my eye, the tip was slightly longer. I think I measured the protrusion as best I could with my caliper depth rod. The Bear Creek firing pin protrusion measured about what a 7.62x39 FP would measure and the .223 FP protruded about right for the published spec. I used a backward way of doing things as I didn't have the proper gage. I measured from the bolt edge to the tip. The bolt face is supposed to be .125 (I think) so I subtracted the depth to the tip from that and got a number close to what the protrusion was supposed to be. Bottom line, the 50B firing pin protruded more.

The 50B uses Large Pistol Magnum primers. There is no need to hit them with a long tip 7.62x39 firing pin and it probably isn't a good idea.

With the dummy rounds I made, The Magpul .223 30 round mags worked best of my various mags when I cycled them. The 450 mag is much easier to load and it fed the best after widening the cutout. I do remember a hiccup or two feeding with the first couple of live rounds. I had cycled it about 50-60 times already with dummy rounds. My dummies are pretty chewed up.

It's Bear Creek not Daniel Defense, expect some rough edges. Optics Planet list mags as 450 and 458 but that's OP. Could be the same mag, who knows. Duramag is what I have, never tried the D&H mags.
 
" Why crack a block when you can pulverize it...long ways... and pulverize the next 100 yards of whatever s in the way. "

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
 
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ThePoison1 said:
" Why crack a block when you can pulverize it...long ways... and pulverize the next 100 yards of whatever s in the way. "

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
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I wouldn't bet on anything less than a 50 BMG to stop a vehicle. Even then it's all about shot placement. A sure thing is to destroy the timing belt (or chain). Not an easy shot on a moving vehicle. Even if you damage it bad enough to lose compression in a couple of cylinders or all the oil runs out, it's still going to keep running for a few minutes - minimum. Maybe you get lucky and destroy the battery it will quit.

The end game in stopping a vehicle is to create a handicap for the bad guys in it. They either hunker down inside for cover (bad move) or have to get out and run. Which can also be unhealthy.

I have personally witnessed a 7.62x39 round go thru a vehicle door, hit an occupant, and exit the other door. That round is typically moving somewhere around 2300 fps. The 50 Beowulf is traveling around 1775 fps. Maybe up to 1900 fps with certain ammo. The 50 Beowulf round hits with between 2500 and 2800 ft lbs. The 7.62x39 round delivers between 1450 and 1650 ft lbs. One could argue that the AK is a better all around choice if you want to perforate a vehicle and the bad guys in it.

On the other hand, the .50 Beowulf bullet is half-inch in diameter and can expand to more than an inch. That makes a very big hole in whatever it hits. It also hits like a freight train.

My curiosity pivots around what is the velocity of the 50 Beowulf after passing thru the sheet metal of a vehicle door? Does it expand when it goes thru glass?

So what's the right gun for the job? I don’t know yet. Enquiring minds want to know!
 
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This helps. Got it at Optics Planet. Fits perfectly. I'm debating using crazy glue to assure it never comes off.

IMG_2522.jpeg
 
Lol the mad intertube dash I made, looking for a squishy pad for my magpul stock, after firing my 450bm.
Fellers, gonna tell you right now, because I have been there, not to hook your off hand under that stock release when sighting these in.
I wear glasses so it mostly just bends the piss out of them.

You were talking about a bolt gun a bit ago.
I don't see a bunch in 50b but savage and Ruger both do scout types in 450.
The savage is a 110 magpul scout configuration. Looks kinda knifty.
Ruger does the American ranch in 350leghump, 400leghump and 450.
It looks like the Savage uses an AR mag for feeding.

Mossberg and Bergerra I haven't looked into.

Eta: Use Lipseys if you are going to research Savages. Evidently Savage doesn't do "Filters" very well. No ya dingdongs I am not looking through every 60+ pages for something. Sheesh
 
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I went this direction. EX Performance Adjustable Stock - AR15/AR10 - Mil Spec - Black

I like the look of it, mostly for the cleaner lines. I never liked the looks of the M4 adjustable and the add on maxi pad doesn't do anything to improve that for me.

I think I paid around $40 for mine. I had to clean up the mould lines, nothing out of the ordinary for a stock in its price range. It feels about the same squishiness as the Limbsavers I've felt.
 
Ohh hey that will work.
Not sure if I had a cheapy on my 450 then went magpul.
 
If you all really want to stop vehicles this stuff has a 100 year heritage of doing just that. As if penetrating lots of steel is not enough, it will also set it on fire.

sgammo.com

HAZMAT READ DESCRIPTION - 150 Round Can - 50 BMG M8 647 Grain API Incendiary Ammo - Factory Lake City MFG in M2A1 Canister - Limit 2 Per Day - Premium Ammo For Sale | In Stock | SG Ammo

Buy HAZMAT READ DESCRIPTION - 150 Round Can - 50 BMG M8 647 Grain API Incendiary Ammo - Factory Lake City MFG in M2A1 Canister - Limit 2 Per Day online at SG Ammo. In stock and ready to ship. Fast shipping, best prices guaranteed. Premium ammunition for sale.
sgammo.com

The Banana Man tested it out so you don't have to. The Desert Tech bullpup he used looks reasonably handy too!


View: https://youtu.be/DPFQPAJ0MEY?si=ClAFT6fe_7iGWSiz
 
bkbrno said:
I went this direction. EX Performance Adjustable Stock - AR15/AR10 - Mil Spec - Black

I like the look of it, mostly for the cleaner lines. I never liked the looks of the M4 adjustable and the add on maxi pad doesn't do anything to improve that for me.

I think I paid around $40 for mine. I had to clean up the mould lines, nothing out of the ordinary for a stock in its price range. It feels about the same squishiness as the Limbsavers I've felt.
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That stock looks awesome! I generally dislike the typical AR stocks. I get it. ARs are inexpensive guns. So most come with inexpensive stocks.
 
meistermash said:
Lol the mad intertube dash I made, looking for a squishy pad for my magpul stock, after firing my 450bm.
Fellers, gonna tell you right now, because I have been there, not to hook your off hand under that stock release when sighting these in.
I wear glasses so it mostly just bends the piss out of them.

You were talking about a bolt gun a bit ago.
I don't see a bunch in 50b but savage and Ruger both do scout types in 450.
The savage is a 110 magpul scout configuration. Looks kinda knifty.
Ruger does the American ranch in 350leghump, 400leghump and 450.
It looks like the Savage uses an AR mag for feeding.

Mossberg and Bergerra I haven't looked into.

Eta: Use Lipseys if you are going to research Savages. Evidently Savage doesn't do "Filters" very well. No ya dingdongs I am not looking through every 60+ pages for something. Sheesh
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I probably will not put money into another big bore AR. But I never say never.

Savage and Begara are both great choices for an affordable bolt gun. Today's midrange long guns are as accurate as some bench rest rifles from a couple of decades ago. At a fraction of what those guns cost to build. Sub MOA out of the box. It's a great time to be alive and a rifle shooter.

The bolt gun was mostly just a passing thought about the 50 Beo. I think a bolt is better suited for the caliber. I probably will leave it as-is. I need to shoot it some more to get it dialed in. The weather has been too shitty for me to do that. 40 degrees and wet... not my thing. I find something to do indoors on those days.
 
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Alex said:
If you all really want to stop vehicles this stuff has a 100 year heritage of doing just that. As if penetrating lots of steel is not enough, it will also set it on fire.

sgammo.com

HAZMAT READ DESCRIPTION - 150 Round Can - 50 BMG M8 647 Grain API Incendiary Ammo - Factory Lake City MFG in M2A1 Canister - Limit 2 Per Day - Premium Ammo For Sale | In Stock | SG Ammo

Buy HAZMAT READ DESCRIPTION - 150 Round Can - 50 BMG M8 647 Grain API Incendiary Ammo - Factory Lake City MFG in M2A1 Canister - Limit 2 Per Day online at SG Ammo. In stock and ready to ship. Fast shipping, best prices guaranteed. Premium ammunition for sale.
sgammo.com

The Banana Man tested it out so you don't have to. The Desert Tech bullpup he used looks reasonably handy too!


View: https://youtu.be/DPFQPAJ0MEY?si=ClAFT6fe_7iGWSiz
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I'd shoot that... However, anything of unknown, certifiable origin... that's a big no-no for me.

See that video of the guy shooting some weird handload in his Serbu and it literally exploded the gun in his face? This dude has a lucky horseshoe up his ass. It's a miracle he's not dead.

Check out the vid:
View: https://youtu.be/1449kJKxlMQ?si=UvGNKgXzQqCq0BM-&t=13

Watch the whole vid.
 
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Bongo Lewi said:
I'd shoot that... However, anything of unknown, certifiable origin... that's a big no-no for me.

Watch the whole vid.
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KB was interesting until he started shilling for slipnfall scumbags M&M. Not an ad before or after, but ads IN his videos! 😠 I let him know in the comments he was a greedy fuck/slipnfall shill and that is why I was unsubbing and thumbs-downing previously watched videos. You don't take money from someone who would just as soon bring a lawsuit against you for some stupid-ass getting hurt doing the same stupid-ass thing you do in your videos. :rolleyes: Plus M&M are a major Dumpocrap donor! :mad: There were a few more guntoobers that I did the same for and they also no longer show on my feed: AR, GT and DO also got dumped...
It's all about principles, man...

You might try Mike for a cushion for your butt stock and/or a crucifix to pray to Jesus your .50 doesn't come apart... :D
 
Bobster said:
KB was interesting until he started shilling for slipnfall scumbags M&M. Not an ad before or after, but ads IN his videos! 😠 I let him know in the comments he was a greedy fuck/slipnfall shill and that is why I was unsubbing and thumbs-downing previously watched videos. You don't take money from someone who would just as soon bring a lawsuit against you for some stupid-ass getting hurt doing the same stupid-ass thing you do in your videos. :rolleyes: Plus M&M are a major Dumpocrap donor! :mad: There were a few more guntoobers that I did the same for and they also no longer show on my feed: AR, GT and DO also got dumped...
It's all about principles, man...

You might try Mike for a cushion for your butt stock and/or a crucifix to pray to Jesus your .50 doesn't come apart... :D
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I dont pay much attention to YouBoob. There are a few who have genuine experience and do honest reviews.

Mostly it's just a money making enterprise for YouBoobers. It's easier than having a regular job I guess. Taking advice from most of these chuckleheads is like getting legal or financial advice on Facebook.

Bottom line for me is I don't trust my life to some dumb fuck who hand loaded a 50 BMG. Factory sealed ammo only.
 
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Mine just has a SBA5 on it (10.5" barrel). Shot another 10 rounds this morning just goofing around in my backyard. I must be developing a feel for it. The 375gr jhp's from underwood aren't bothering me nearly as much as they used to in the 16" carbine I had sold a while back
 
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