50 BMG vs Concrete

Made a short video yesterday, hope you enjoy

Nice! I wouldn't mind getting one of those if it weren't for the cost of shooting it!
Even if you were to reload it's spendy.

Your right it's not cheap but I found a reliable source for about $2.00 a round. Not cheap but you figure your average .308 hunting round cost about $1- $1.20 a round, so it's not too bad unless you want match .50, then your looking at about $7 a pop.

45_70sharps said:

Nice! I wouldn't mind getting one of those if it weren't for the cost of shooting it!
Even if you were to reload it's spendy.

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Not to mention 10K or more for a solid platform and optics.

headbanger said:

Not to mention 10K or more for a solid platform and optics.

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I could save up and get a rifle. It's a lot of money but I could do it.

The amount of money it would cost every time I pulled the trigger would hurt more.
The rifle will retain a lot of value, the ammo wont!

I've got rifles that are good for a variety of ranges up to 1000 yards or so, but the big 50 is able to accurately hit at tremendous range. The problem is that it could cost me $1,000 or more to learn to hit out there in ammo alone, and it's a perishable skill so you have to keep burning money down the barrel to keep good.

I think I'll work on being good out to 1000 yards using standard magnum ammo. I get a few more rounds per pound of powder!


Sure is a cool gun and it sure would be fun to play with though.

I quit shooting mine about 3 years ago simply because even reloading it seemed like it was about 10 bucks a round to shoot. Fun gun and I still got my mile range set up but now days I use my 338 lapua for the mile instead.

Heck anymore I have been going smaller not larger. I have been shooting a .204 a lot lately and have flat out been enjoying it. With a 40 grain v max and 29.7 grains blc I am good out to 800 yds shooting rock chucks and at 100 yards a ten shot group at .375 inch.

But you know I will dust off the 50 in case of a zombies

That there is a nice scope.

A 338 Lapua was good enough for a confirmed kill at over a mile by Chris Kyle in Iraq.

Of course my best day under ideal conditions wouldn't be anything close to his worst day is he was hung over, injured and under fire.

I plan on having a 338 ultra mag target rifle built.
It's no 50 BMG, but it would be more capable than me and I could afford to shoot my own reloads in it.

I hear what your saying about shooting the smaller stuff also.
Another must have is a nice benchrest rifle.
I'm leaning towards a 6 mm ppc, but until I'm closer to having it built, I'm still open to changing my mind.

I recently picked up a 338 lapua rifle, I'll be reloading for this one as I plan to shoot 1 mile to 2000 yards and I'll need to build up a good load. The .338 is a little bit more accurate at extreme ranges than the 50 BMG. Just in 2009 a British soldier took out 2 tango's at 2707 yards with the .338 lapua.

Grizz said:

I recently picked up a 338 lapua rifle, I'll be reloading for this one as I plan to shoot 1 mile to 2000 yards and I'll need to build up a good load. The .338 is a little bit more accurate at extreme ranges than the 50 BMG. Just in 2009 a British soldier took out 2 tango's at 2707 yards with the .338 lapua.

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Yeah that dude must be something else...most would call that a lucky shot but when he hit home on the second he pretty much sealed himself as a bad ass sniper even if he never pulls the trigger again.

Bensiff said:

Yeah that dude must be something else...most would call that a lucky shot but when he hit home on the second he pretty much sealed himself as a bad ass sniper even if he never pulls the trigger again.

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What Chris Kyle said when he shot an insurgent at 1.2 miles is god blew that bullet and hit him.

Any of those guys with confirmed battlefield kills at that range had some luck involved.
The variables with thermals and wind differences over that distance, and with that much time of flight are impossible to predict on a regular basis.

I think they would all say that.
It does take an insane amount of skill to be able to have that luck.

Grizz said:

I recently picked up a 338 lapua rifle, I'll be reloading for this one as I plan to shoot 1 mile to 2000 yards and I'll need to build up a good load. The .338 is a little bit more accurate at extreme ranges than the 50 BMG. Just in 2009 a British soldier took out 2 tango's at 2707 yards with the .338 lapua.

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Pretty much redefines "Reach out and touch someone".

My local gun shop has a Remington 700 Tactical .338 Lapua. It's been on the rack for about a year now. I want nothing more than to take it home with me, but the $1,600 price tag is a little steep for my wallet right now.

(A Savage 110 BA would be a nice choice as well. And I seem to recall the BA stands for exactly what you think it does)

Those guns with the ability to reach out and smack something do all carry a pretty decent price tag.
At $1,600 that sounds pretty good for what it is. A Remington 40x from the custom shop has to be starting at over $3,000 now.
I'm looking at spending a little better than $2,000 for a 338 ultra mag built by a local gunsmith. The platform has been proven on buckets and elk out to and a bit over 1500 yards. Of course like with all extended range shooting that depends heavily on good ranging.
Any of those options are still cheap compared to a decent 50 BMG though ( back to the OP ).
Then you need to choose from one of the several suitable extended range scopes and none of those are cheap!

dkwolf said:

Pretty much redefines "Reach out and touch someone".

My local gun shop has a Remington 700 Tactical .338 Lapua. It's been on the rack for about a year now. I want nothing more than to take it home with me, but the $1,600 price tag is a little steep for my wallet right now.

(A Savage 110 BA would be a nice choice as well. And I seem to recall the BA stands for exactly what you think it does)

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That's exactly what I picked up! got it for $1850. I've done a bit of research on the 2 rifles and I would have to recommend the savage 110BA. I've read about people having problems with the .338 rem 700.

45_70sharps said:

Those guns with the ability to reach out and smack something do all carry a pretty decent price tag.
At $1,600 that sounds pretty good for what it is. A Remington 40x from the custom shop has to be starting at over $3,000 now.
I'm looking at spending a little better than $2,000 for a 338 ultra mag built by a local gunsmith. The platform has been proven on buckets and elk out to and a bit over 1500 yards. Of course like with all extended range shooting that depends heavily on good ranging.
Any of those options are still cheap compared to a decent 50 BMG though ( back to the OP ).
Then you need to choose from one of the several suitable extended range scopes and none of those are cheap!

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Not going to argue that the $1,600 is probably a pretty decent price point for the gun.

Just stating that there is no way my wallet could handle dropping $2,500 (spend $1,600 on a rifle, I'm putting a GOOD scope on it) on a gun system right now.

dkwolf said:

Not going to argue that the $1,600 is probably a pretty decent price point for the gun.

Just stating that there is no way my wallet could handle dropping $2,500 (spend $1,600 on a rifle, I'm putting a GOOD scope on it) on a gun system right now.

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I can certainly understand that.
I'm not having my rifle built right now either. I would if I had extra cash sitting around.

45_70sharps said:

I can certainly understand that.
I'm not having my rifle built right now either. I would if I had extra cash sitting around.

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I'd like to do a custom build - even have the builder picked out. He's my dog's veterinarian. Builds custom rifles on the side. My Pheasants Forever chapter had him build one to donate to a national banquet 5 years ago - part of his build package is developing the handload that particular rifle likes, but he didn't have time to do that for this particular gun. First three shots through it, using factory, off-the-shelf ammo, at 100 yards all three bullets went through the same (slightly jagged) hole. I think it was a 0.167" grouping. (Don't remember caliber offhand, might have been a .300 Win Mag)

Weird I know but the best hunt I ever had in my life was out my back door a few years ago. We had a terrible problem with voles one year and as the snow was melting they would come out of their holes and thumb their noses at me. So I set up my bench with a thermos of coffee and a nice cigar and spent 3 or 4 hours shooting them with a bb gun.

I shot so many that day that the hawks started to circle. Best day ever

Varmintman said:

Weird I know but the best hunt I ever had in my life was out my back door a few years ago. We had a terrible problem with voles one year and as the snow was melting they would come out of their holes and thumb their noses at me. So I set up my bench with a thermos of coffee and a nice cigar and spent 3 or 4 hours shooting them with a bb gun.

I shot so many that day that the hawks started to circle. Best day ever

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Sounds like a good day to me.
Extreme varmint hunting, with a BB gun!