.50 Beowulf

[Guest Longshot1]

I thought Carpenter Bees made nice round 1/2" holes. .50 Beowulf makes some very clean ones. Shot my new one today and was super impressed by accuracy, sound and down range results. A cinder block at 100 yds. exploding into powder was very neat.

[bigwakes]

How much is the ammo and can it be had reliably?

[leroy]

Longshot:____________

We like them big caliber AR's too. Just built a 16 inch H Bar 450 bushmaster carbine (...got the barrel from "Ballastic Advantage, LLC."...Ballistic Advantage, LLC - Home....). I've got all the stuff for reloading rounded up; but havent got anything together

yet. I like the idea of an AR carbine with a "big" punch. The 50 Beowulf, 458 SOCOM, or the 450 Bushy do that job nicely.

PS-- YOU CAN FIND BUSHMASTER AMMO PRETTY EASILY.

Congratulations.

Leroy

[Guest buttonhook]

don't they use the 7.62x39 bolt and carrier?

[Guest Longshot1]

Don't know about the bolt and carrier. Bought the rifle complete. Ammo isn't all that bad to find. Alexander Arms has it and runs bout $30 per 20 rounds. I have the dies but never dabbled in reloading gues I will start but that is another thread in another topic.

[I_Like_Pie]

Alexander Arms has it and runs bout $30 per 20 rounds.

Holy bejoli!!!! If you have the brass and shop the bullets you could load 20 rounds for like $5 and about 15 minutes time. For the price of 5 boxes you could buy everything you need.

Don't shy away from reloading - you will gain tons of experience and understanding in the process.

[leroy]

...don't they use the 7.62x39 bolt and carrier? ...

I believe they do. When i got the barrel done; i ordered the bolt headspaced to the barrel. You also have to open the ejector port on the upper too. It's not a big deal to the machinists.

I_Like_Pie's advice here is the way to go on ammo:

...Don't shy away from reloading - you will gain tons of experience and understanding in the process. ....

The problem right now with these big calibers is finding brass. 450 Bushy ammo can be bought for about $27.00 for 20 rounds (...which i think is idiotic...). The brass aint much better though; about $35.00 for 50 rounds. The good news is that you can make bushmaster brass out of 284 winchester brass if youv'e got the time and tools. Lots of good info here: http://450bushmaster.net/

Hope this helps.

Leroy

Edited November 1, 2010 by leroy

[Guest Longshot1]

What kind of investment are you talking about for all the reloading suppies? I mean full up if you have nothing but the dies? I will be honest, the gun is not one that you take out and punch paper with all day. You better put your big boy pants on when you bring it out. I guess you could call it a novelty to shoot but...if the SHTF and you need something to defend against well armed targets, it might just be the difference maker. I think the PC term is "Deterrent".

[leroy]

....What kind of investment are you talking about for all the reloading suppies? I mean full up if you have nothing but the dies? I will be honest, the gun is not one that you take out and punch paper with all day. You better put your big boy pants on when you bring it out. I guess you could call it a novelty to shoot but...if the SHTF and you need something to defend against well armed targets, it might just be the difference maker. I think the PC term is "Deterrent". ....

Sorry im late. Got sidetracked last nite. Looks like about a $300 investment in round numbers. Check the rcbs stuff out here; it has everything you need (..thats what i use...): RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Single Stage Press Master Kit - MidwayUSA. I also like lyman and redding. All about the same price. Lots of folks like lee stuff.

The only lee stuff i ever used was their hand priming tool.

The cost of the brass is about $35 per 50 from midway, bullets about $25 per 50 (hornady), powder about $20 per pound (probably will load 175 rounds per pound), small rifle primers at about $35 per thousand (...or cheaper; they are finally coming down...).

RE: "Big boy pants":

...You better put your big boy pants on when you bring it out. I guess you could call it a novelty to shoot but...if the SHTF and you need something to defend against well armed targets, it might just be the difference maker. I think the PC term is "Deterrent". ...

You and i see eye to eye on this one. I dont hunt much either; mine is sitting in the bedroom next to my pump shotgun. These "big bore" AR's combine the best of both worlds with regard to finishing what bad guys may start. They combine powerful balistics with capacity. That's a hard combination to beat.

Hope this helps

Leroy

Edited November 2, 2010 by leroy