If anyone has experience with the AR50 upper conversions (good or bad) please share your experience. I very nearly bought this one:

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976263034.htm

But because my budget is extra tight right now, and I would be buying without doing the research I should, I passed. This AR50 upper was selling for $995 and weighed 29lbs.

Working from ignorance, I'm hoping for something under 30 pounds, sells for +/- $1,500, and produces something near MOA results. Are these reasonable expectations?

Can you recommend any sources of information, or merchandise? Are there magazines I should be reading to educate myself about the current market for 50s?

Would you recommend against looking for a used one? I don't plan to shoot competition. I love the idea of being able to swap the AR lower receiver to another barrel (.223, 7.62x39, or even 22LR) and have a multi use rifle instead of having all that money tied up in a 50 that I will probably only shoot a couple hundred rounds a year through.

In general would you 50 BMG shooters recommend the AR conversion or should I steer clear of it? When I buy the AR rifle should I stay away from any particular make or model? Will the pressure from the 50 destroy an AR receiver over time?

What is this I hear about some 50s not being chambered for military surplus ammo? Is there any reason that I should avoid mil surp?

Ok I guess those are enough questions for now. Thanks in advance for your help. God willing I'll gather data for a few months while the budget recovers from my African hunt, and I'll pick up the AR15 next year to begin the quest for my 50!

Mssgn- Go to the Fifty caliber shooters association website. www.fcsa.org and check with them. There are a couple of uppers that will fit a AR- lower, but none will be even remotely a competative rifle. 29 lbs sounds good. You can go lighter, but recoil goes up too. How much can you stand? 1000yrd competition requires a gun that will "ride the bags" and none of the AR-upper models will do that well. You also need to get off 5 rounds in 3 minutes which eliminates some of these actions. As I've said before, a true, consistent 1 MOA .50 BMG is a rare bird indeed. Don't believe all the BS, you really can't just go out and buy one unless it's from a competative shot who is going out of shooting. I've been building and shooting .50BMGs since before they got Trendy and I'd be a rich man for every story I've heard about the average Joe buying a Fifty and miraculouly being capable of shoot 1 MOA groups at 1000 yrds or bears at 1200 with a box stock LAR Grizzley. When asked to show me the target, you know, I've never been shown one. Lies all lies. Lots of magzine article quotes, by people I know don't shoot competition, but no proof. If you have never tried it, It's damn hard to hit a 36X36 target at 1000 yrds or beyond in a switching wind( yes the wind does change direction and speed sometimes at 1000 yrds) on the first shot with anything short of artillery.
Look at the scores at FCSA matches and see who's doing what and with what. All the top guns are bolt guns, built by the pros and cost $4000 and up. The .50 Bench guns are all chambered like benchresters everywhere for tight necked varients of the military .50 round and most need to use neck turned brass. Some shooters like me use guns specifically throated for heavy bore-rider bullets at high velocities and others use Hornady A-max's in military cases. Some rifle makers, LAR Grizzley for example will make you a gun with a sloppy military chamber, but don't even expect 3 MOA if you go that route.
By all means get whatever .50 BMG you can get your hands on that fits your needs and have fun. Attend an FCSA match and meet and see what is really possible with your own eyes. It's a great sport and everyone will welcome you.-Rob

Yeah! What Robgun said! Try this board too:

www.biggerhammer.net/

There are several AR-upper 50s currently available. Some are likely better than others. Try www.ferret50.com too (I hope those URLs are correct). Another is AR-BMG, but I can't recall the address for that site. If the addresses are off, try a search on one the net engines.

All the best,

Redial

Getting into a .50 cal and .50 cal shooting is an expensive undertaking. I don't have any personal experience with the AR-15 conversions, but the Ferrets have gotten good reviews after a few minor kinks (such as the addition of a heavy mass hammer) were worked out. There is no ejector though and a specific procedure must be followed to remove a loaded round or misfire.
Then there is the ammo. It can get expensive. Milsurp ammo, I don't shoot it. The U.S. does not sell assembled .50 cal ammo to the civvy market, so it's either foreign or remanufactured. Or old. Some are out of spec, and some are hot, real hot. I only shoot my reloads. A press and dies can be had for around $300.00, but you get what you pay for. More later, the wife is calling me to supper.

Hey other Rob,
My Watson is easily capable of MOA, course I be saying Mahem Outrageously Attained.
Damn, really thought I could have come up with something better.
rob the guy who can't ever pass up a line

Hi Gone,
As someone who routinely goes balistic, great handle.
Wanted to inquire about the BMG ammo, somewhere stuff I read seemed to imply that the rounds had to be disassembled, then reassembled in order to be legal. I know this sounds crazy, but that is what i could infer(not imply, hate that when people confuse, and then there is that whole inability to know what 'literal' means, that be one of my biggest pet peeves)
rob the guy who yep you guessed it still can't pass up a good line and should lose the high horse

Keep it comuing guys, great stuff! those Ferrets look interesting too! Thanks.

More accurately I should have said... "ammo to be pulled down." It simply means taken apart. Most of the time they use a machine that slices the case neck lengthwise, this is why the pulldown projectiles have a cut. Once resized, they shoot fine. There are also air collet pulldowns, these bullets have no marks, they are more expensive.
I don't get why anyone would pay $60-$80 a round either, don't have an answer for that.

Incendienary rounds are intended to ignite fuel in a hard target.

Hi Ballistic, thanks for the info.
Those $80 rounds better be able to totally dimantle my Yugo at that price. They seem like something I mentioned earlier, the idiots who spen $100/foot for speaker wire. As an electronics engineer (used to be, but got the schoolin) it is totally silly. They often talk of effects their wire cures that would not even begin to come into effect into the multi-megahurtz frequency range, and my ears only go to 20 kHz, well, they used to, this hobby is a bit hard on them, but normal ears. Plus, my audio system be big bore, around 7,000 watts, I know I said before, but it is one of my prized possession, along with the arms of course, so there be a bit abuse from that puppy.
rob the guy who be getting to drunk to come up with a good line

DHA:
I wouldn't expect the incindiary rounds in the Yugo engine block to do much ...UNLESS you happen to have a little gaoline still in there. It could very well ignite that. If the gas tank is still together stand waaay back and punch some holes through it (maybe starting at the top and working down?). Then tell us what happens

I had some fun testing .303 british penetration on a Ford Escort the weekend before it was crushed a few years ago. Pretty cool. Safety glass? Ha! Straight through windshield, seat back (headrest) and out the rear window. Also through both doors side to side.... Made a mess of the engine too....

Have you seen this (an incindiary from a fifty hitting a running lawnmower):

http://www.serbu.com/bfg50.mpg

Wow. I think I'm in love.

(maybe my handle is too tame, lol)

Anyone know anything about the Hesse rifle?

http://www.hessearms.com/HBR50%20Rifles.htm

Never once heard a nice thing said about it but have heard a chorus of jeers. Often loud and anatomically challenging!

That said, I've never examined or fired one, so take it for what it's worth.

Redial