I know that there are several single shot rifles being made to handle the 50 BMG. Can anyone shed some light on who makes one that is accurate and has a good muzzle brake. Thinking about starting a new project and need your in put.

50 with a good brake is like shooting a remington 1100 with trap loads.. you know you shot, but it's nothing.

But it'll also weigh 25# or so, should be accurate as all hell, and with milsurp powder and bullets, a hoot to shoot.

grizzly makes a fine one, for the money, and barrett makes a GREAT one.. again, for the money

jeffe

[ 12-13-2002, 05:55: Message edited by: jeffeosso ]

The BEST brake on the PLANET for any rifle chambered for .50 BMG is the one ArmaLite makes. I stand behind these words 100 percent, without reservation. I have begged and begged and begged and BEGGED Mark (Westrom) to sell the brakes separately, but he hasn't budged in that direction yet. I still harbor hope.

I could tell you what he went through in designing that brake, and the extensive testing, but it would be exhaustive to write. Suffice it for me to say that the damn thing comes closer to ELIMINATING recoil than any other brake on all other .50 BMG rifles. Period.

Oh... and the gun itself is pretty accurate, too.

Russ

Oh, I should add that the AR-50 is a lot of fun to shoot on a hot day.

Great breeze.

Russ

Russ, It sounds like you have had some experince with the AR-50. You say that it is accurate. Just how accurate is it? That is with both Gov. ball and good hand loads. What could I expect using hand loads with the Hornady A-Max bullets and cartridges put together like I would for my benchrest rifles? Please advise.

I've been shooting .50BMG in competition for over 5 years now and have owned them for 15. A true 1 moA ( read 10 inch gun) at 1000 yrds is a rare bird indeed ( they will also all be custom guns). I'm not talking about a gun that once in it's life shoots a 1 MOA group, I'm talking about consistent 1 MOA results, time after time( match after match). Most of the factory ones, Grizzly, AR-50,EDM,Barrett ) will do 2 MOA or worse ( thats 20 inches) in the hands of a PRO. . No one is winning FCSA matches with off the shelf .50 BMG's in any class. The above statements are also only true with carefully tuned handloads and .50 BMG MATCH chambered guns. Military ball is designed to disperse and thus isnot very accurate although the 750 gr AP is reportedly much better than the rest. ( expect 2 inch groups at 100 yrds with military ball). The Hornady A-max loads do pretty well ( much better than ball), but most folks use monolithic solids of 750-800 grs at 2600 fps.This statement ( 1 MOA) will also only be true with adjustable front and rear rests and assumes the shooter can judge wind and mirage at 1000 yrds. You will not see this done except by a fluke from a gun shot from a bipod. In April in Reno lots of GOOD EXPERIENCED shooters( with first class equipment) had their bullets blown off target when the wind picked up. The main advantage of the .50BMG is its ballistic coefficient and ability to buck the wind, even so they will drift 3inches/MPH wind. At Reno the wind typically hits 15-20 MPH. Thats 60+ inches of drift at 1000 yrds. It's also not constant which adds to the fun.
As far as muzzel brakes go, the most effective are Clam shell type brakes. You will see these on ALL the winning guns. The best way to learn about these things and to separate the hype from the truth is to attend a FCSA match and see for yourself what wins and what loses. Then you deceide how much you want to pay. When you get geared up with even a Grizzly LAR you will wind up having spent $4-5K. It goes up from there. Best of luck and hope this helps-Rob