Does anyone here have any experience with these rifles? The Model I like looks vaguely like a 50 cal. that came from Ivers Johnson several years back. Any info on the Vulcans would be appreciated.

Steve E..........

Vulcan? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!!!!

These rifles are infamous. Improper or no heat treating, poor bedding and fit, shabby craftmanship, & non-existant customer support make for bad mojo. The company who makes these rifles? Changed their name in order to avoid the long shadow of their reputation. A Hesse Is a Hesse, by any other name.

If you have an AR-15, there are well built bolt action uppers in the same price range. You would be better off getting one of those.

Ultra Lite 50

ALS

Ferret 50

Ultra Mag 50


No, I've never owned a Vulcan. But I've never owned a Vega, either!

Funny you should mention Hesse, a few years ago I bought an new AK from Hesse(looked decent and price was right) and it literally shot apart in my hands within 40 rounds. You could grab the barrel and twist it and the barrel block 45* or more in the receiver of the gun. Needless to say I wasn't happy. I had heard that they changed their name but wasn't sure. I do have 4 AR15's and an AR10. Love that AR10. Thanks for the info.

Steve E.........

I like...

my steyr!

I have an older Hesse 50 that I bought second hand a couple of years ago. It has about 200 rounds through it. It has the funny colored laminated stock on it. It shoots fine except the trigger is kind of stiff. I have heard all of the stories about the Hesse after I purchased mine. My luck. So far, so good. It likes the Talon ammo the best. Some of the cheaper foreign ammo will not chamber in this rifle.

A few have had some luck with them. There was a poster on biggerhammer some years back, Redhawk, and he got one that was ok, at least for him. While surfing the net a couple weeks ago, I found a personal site and the guy was doing different penetration tests, shooting a Vulcan.
That being said, the FCSA mag VHP will no longer carry Vulcan's advertisements. This is unprecedented, they carry every other 50 caliber related vender/manufacturer's adds. If I recall correctly, Hesse 50s are not allowed at FCSA sanctioned matches. There was an incident or two that no one wants to repeat.
Also, bear in mind, some of the .50 BMG ammo on the market is HOT. I've seen pics of .50 BMG case heads that look like works of Picasso. No way would I chance shooting some in a rifle that may be or may not be up to snuff. I have total confidence in my State Arms Rebel and my BGA Viper. Both are proof load tested, both are very strong.

Viper test- broad band!

Viper test- Dial up

I have a Vulcan 50 and after taking my Jigsaw, woodrasp, sandpaper, and Min-Wax to the stock I REALLY like it. Not only is it fun to shoot but so far the accuracy has been to my liking. I have been shooting the surplus military ammo and it feeds very well also. I would like to hear the SPECIFICS on the range problem. AND, the research done following said incident as to why, how, what MAY/OR MAYNOT have caused whatever. I hope we don't have a, "My dogs bigger than your dog", in the works here. As always, I'm all ears. Good shooting! Mike

quote:

I have a Vulcan 50 and after taking my Jigsaw, woodrasp, sandpaper, and Min-Wax to the stock I REALLY like it.

Are you arguing my case for me?

quote:

I would like to hear the SPECIFICS on the range problem. AND, the research done following said incident as to why, how, what MAY/OR MAYNOT have caused whatever.

I asked the question about what happened on another board where I originally read about it. When/if something comes up, I'll let you know. But, I'll hazard a guess. Perhaps the incident in question happened with a Vulcan shooter who had a gun with OK woodwork, but in this case, maybe the metalurgy wasn't up to snuff. Say he neglected to go over the rifle with a bastard file, a die grinder, a forge with bellows, and a quench tank!

I really don't care. Gun companys build a reputation on their name, their brand. They don't change their name in the dead of night, unless something's wrong. Over the years I've heard so much negative about Hesse, Vulcan, or whatever, I don't feel the need to go on a fact finding mission. Just read Steve E's post above. He likely would not have even had considered the Vulcan, had he known the prior name of the company was Hesse.

quote:

a few years ago I bought an new AK from Hesse(looked decent and price was right) and it literally shot apart in my hands within 40 rounds. You could grab the barrel and twist it and the barrel block 45* or more in the receiver of the gun. Needless to say I wasn't happy. I had heard that they changed their name but wasn't sure.

Perhaps another customer bought one of Hesse's AK clones and had good luck with it. Doesn't make me want to get one. BTW, it's not only that their product has had problems, most gunmakers at one time or another do, but Hesse's customer service is reputedly lousy. The makers of my .50 BMGs stand behind their product. Most others do too.

Plus, my dog wears a 30" collar!

You are happy with you rifle, that's grand. But just because you've shot a particular kind of surplus, (what a few hundred rounds?) doesn't mean much. .50 BMG surplus and remanufactured ammo are notorious for being much varied, in quality and the pressures that it's loaded to. There is not even a SAAMI spec on .50 BMG. Surplus powders also vary widely from jug to jug. Every time you pull the trigger, about 1/2 an ounce of smokeless powder is going off near your head. It all better be right, because a load that's too heavy, an out of round surplus projectile that wasn't resized, or some POS brass that was reloaded after being fired with a mecuric primer, and it could get real dramatic.

Like I said in my above post, I have heard of a few Vulcan owners who were ok with their rifle. I'm sure a few Yugo owners love their cars too, but that never made me want one.

Gone Ballistic: Well.....I asked for it. Didn't I? Concerning the jig saw-it was used to take the rib along the top of the buttstock down flush with the other side of the buttstock from six inches forward of the recoil pad. The wood rasp smoothed it more. And finished with the sandpaper and Min-Wax. This enabled me to place my cheek on the buttstock (now rounded) and not on a 5/8th inch wide slab of wood. Oh, almost forgot, I also use a Police Outfitters velcro cheek piece. This part of the original stock design was probably conceived while either smoking home-twisted cigarettes or whatever. I cannot agree with you more on the inletting and over-all stock workmanship though. It could stand much improvement of design. You didn't mention the muzzlebreak lock ring. Let me help you there also. It should at LEAST be knurled where one might stand a chance at tightening it against the muzzlebreak. Better yet would have three holes drilled into the ring so a spanner wrench could be used. It sucks, period! Your input, however, should have great value to those already not aware of the dangers of bad cases, fluctuating powder pressure variations, etc. For those not already in the know about the afore-mentioned, I would hope they don't learn the hard way like double loading a .45 Caliber pistol cartridge. If anyone had a phone number for Vulcan or a contact I would appreciate it as I would like to talk with them personally concerning the heat treatment or lack thereof on the Vulcan 50 BMG. Almost forgot, sorry to hear about your dog's neck. Good shooting! Mike

quote:

For those not already in the know about the afore-mentioned, I would hope they don't learn the hard way like double loading a .45 Caliber pistol cartridge.

Well... a kaboom with a .50 BMG is on the order of a much more grandiose scale than your run of the mill .45 ACP kaboom. Pressure doesn't give a hoot about the cost of the firearm either. The Accuracy International pictured below cost around 10k. This happened on a military range in the U.K. Because of this flawed rifle, and perhaps a bad production run, AI lost their defense contract and slid into receivership, from the last I heard. Like I said, everything better be right.



Looks exciting!



To answer your question, the incident I heard of occured at a match in PA. The bolt in a Vulcan failed, and it blew the bolt handle down the firing line. I don't know anymore specifics.

Impressive picture! Reminds me of a couple double rifle barrels I saw awhile back. In each case there was a hole four fingers long and one finger wide on the outside of the right barrel a foot or so ahead of the chamber. When I asked the gunmaker what happened he just shrugged. These appeared to be high dollar doubles. I did wonder (speaking of fingers) how many were left on the front hand after the catastrophic failure of the barrels. The 50 BMG case holds about twice the powder of a .470 Nitro.

I own a vulcan and am very happy with it. in the past i will admit they have had their problems but the gun i purchased about 2 years ago has been nothing short of great. after i got the barrel broken in it shoots spectacularly. 400 yards i can shoot prairie dogs no problem even ground squirrels out to 500 if i dont screw up. and by the way i dont shoot solely mil surplus...i pay for good ammo loaded with amax bullets...if you are on a budget or want a "cheap"plinker go with a vulcan

I updated the above photo, to try and keep the context of this discussion.

Like I've already said, there are some who are satisfied with their Vulcan rifle. No major problems, no incidents.

Then, there are many who are not. This guy made his into a lamp.


Another used his for a fence post. Sorry, I don't have a pic of that. But, I'm not kidding.

I've been owning and shooting .50 BMG for over 7 years. I've never shot anything in my own rifles that I didn't load myself. I know and have shot with several of the manufacturers, and talked with a couple more. I know a .50 BMG designer/prototype maker who sells his designs...and they sell. Those guys all have one thing in common. If you have a problem, they will back their product. This I have experienced. Got a problem with a Hesse/Vulcan? Well, they do make for a good lamp or a fence post.

This is a good time to get the best for your money if you are on a budget. Choose wisely.