The .50 GI was born out of the idea that if .40 was better than 9mm, and .45 was better than .40, then .50 must be better then .45. It should not be compared to the .500 S&W, .50 Beowulf or the .50 Action Express as it has much less power. The cartridge is comparable to the .45 ACP +P cartridge, but with a larger diameter bullet.

8" SBR with .50 GI magazine.

Carbine with AR-15 magazines converted to take .50 GI

The .50 GI magazine holds 14 rounds and the AR-15 magazine holds 9 rounds.

The 16" upper will sell for $750 and with one magazine. You can see the contact details of the manufacturer, RMW Xtreme Inc., at the beginning of the below video.

Thanks to Giesler for the link.

Hat Tip: Photos from 475AR @ .50 GI Forum

THOR XM-Series broken down


THOR XM-Series Assembled

Specs:

Weight: 26 lbs
Barrel: 30 inches
Twist rate: 1:13 twist
Magazine: 5 round capacity

MSRP is $7600. A .50 BMG conversion kit will be made available for the XM.
The THOR Nemesis MKV-NV is a very sleek looking Swiss made rifle that will be available chambered in .50BMG, .416 Barrett and .460 Steyr rifle.

.50 BMG THOR Nemesis MKV-NV

The Nemesis features a very long top rail and is designed to be able to handle any combination of optics that an operator may wish to use. Two smaller rails are up front in the 3 and 9 o clock positions (handguard are installed on them in the above photo) and long rail is at the 6 o clock position.

Presumably to aid in transportation, it will be available in a 15″ barrel! Ever heard of a .50 BMG Short Barreled Rifle? Me neither!
Specs:

Weight: 22 – 33 lbs
Barrel: 15″ (!!!) – 33″
Magazine: 5 round capacity

Currently THOR predict that the MSRP will be around $11,000-$12,000.

Advanced Long-Range Systems has identified a condition that may exist with the bolt supplied with the ALS 50 caliber conversion which may allow the gun to fire out of battery.

As all the facts are not yet in, and purely as a safety precaution, ALS is asking owners of its rifle uppers to suspend shooting this product until further notice.

It is our goal to provide safe and accurate products. We are currently working on a solution. Please, bear with us, it may take up to sixty days to complete this task. We will resolve this issue and make it right with our customers.

Once additional information is available, you can rest assured that it will be passed along on our website, in VHP Magazine, and the relevant firearms discussion forums.

A .50 BMG firing out of battery could easily be deadly, not just for the operator but potentially for spectators or the person in the next lane at the range!

More info here.

Hat Tip: Suburban’s Domain

This is the actual rifle that will be presented to Sarah Palin.

- It’s approximately 6-7 pounds
- One of a kind custom solid billet upper hand fit to a forged lower made of 7075 T6 alloy
- Vltor Enhanced Modular stock with the state of Alaska engraved on the side
- Satern machining single point cut rifle barrel 1/20 twist, with an integral flash hider milled into the barrel with an 11 degree crown, chambered in .50 Beowulf
- Composite G10 hand guards with spiral pattern cut
- SSA Geiselle 4 pound trigger
- Magpul trigger guard
- Eotech 512 holo sight
- One seven round magazine
- Ergo small grip

Engraved on the receiver is “In honor of Sarah Palin”.

An absolutely beautiful rifle. Do you think if I move to Alaska, become Governor and run for the Office of the Vice President, they will also give me one? I am tempted to try just to get my hands on the rifle

Many thanks to Bob for taking the time to email me.

UPDATE: Palin is not attending the banquet. (Thanks to Sebastian and ExurbanKevin for letting me know).

The round passes through 16 and it embedded in the 17th.

From the press release:

Extreme Shock Ammunition, known for producing the world’s most advanced ammunition, continues to raise the bar with the redesign of their 50 BMG ammo. It is the only 50 in the world that will penetrate 1 inch of metal but will not exit a soft tissue target. Extreme Shock Ammunition continues to impress with the astounding performance and safety enhancements found in their 50 BMG.

The Fragmenting High Velocity (FHVL) Round is a lead-free replacement that offers far superior tactical capability over the lead core bullet. The FHVL has the same range and accuracy as a lead bullet of similar weight. Long range, reduced ricochet, controlled penetration, and exceptional accuracy make the FHVL the most technically advanced tactical round available today. The FHVL grants the operator enhanced tactical capability, such as controlled penetration (NO EXIT) and increased ability to eliminate threats instantly, all while eliminating ricochet and over-penetration hazards.

Impressive.

No military at this point in time is going to use expanding anti-personal expanding ammunition because it would be in breach of the Hague Convention (1899) (regardless of wether they signed it or if a 110 year old treaty is worth honoring). I cannot see civilians needing or wanting to use this ammunition and I cannot recall seeing photos of cops with .50 BMG rifles. I think this ammunition is likely being marketed to paramilitary / anti-terrorism / internal security forces such as the Mexican Army who regularly conduct internal operations and who like their .50 Barretts.

The cost is $161.14 for a box of 15 rounds.

Click to expand.

The auctioneer claims that it is only one of twelve built and the only other known example resides at the Ford Benning sniper school.

The .50 BMG Flechette rifle project was contacted out by DARPA in 1960’s. The projectile consisted of a saboted depleted uranium dart weighing 11.9 gram ( 183.6 grains ).

.50 BMG Flechette round cross section. © Paul Smith (Used with permission)

The sabot was fired out of a smoothbore barrel with the dart achieving 4500 feet/sec velocity. That is more than a 32 grain .204 Ruger!

Detailed Drawing © Paul Smith (my modification are in red)

I tried to work out the caliber. Given that 1 cm3 of depleted uranium weights 19.1 grams and the length of the dart is 7.81 cm (I rounded down to 6cm to take into account the spiraling and the point) and then used the formula of a volume of a cylinder:

11.9 / 19.1 = 0.62

sqr(0.62 / ( 6 x pi )) = 0.18 centimeters

[ My math skills not great these days, go easy on me in the comments ]

A caliber of .07″ is seems some what small. It is impossible to know how much titanium is in the depleted uranium alloy.

Time Magazine wrote about the project back in 1967:

TRW’s magic bullets are unimpressive at first glance. Less than 4 in. long and one-tenth of an inch thick, they resemble the steel flechettes (French for “little arrows”) used in some U.S. antipersonnel weapons in Viet Nam. What the TRW flechettes lack in size, they make up in penetration power. In recent tests, they punched completely through a 2-in.-thick armor plate that would stop most steel flechettes or heavy-caliber bullets fired at it.

Dramatic Travel. It is the uranium that gives the flechettes their impressive muscle. Cleansed of its fissionable isotopes U-235, the depleted uranium is safe to handle. Because it is one of the heaviest natural elements (a 1-ft. cube of uranium weighs 1,167 lbs.), even a tiny uranium flechette fired at high velocity from a gun has so much kinetic energy that it can penetrate a target at an angle as oblique as 60°.

At 0.10 in caliber it would have an incredible ballistic coefficient weighing in at 180 grains! In theory it should be super accurate. In reality it was quite the opposite. It shot 10 shot groups of 6 – 8 feet at 600 yards. That’s over 12 MOA!

TRW was hoping to use the flechette in a rotary gatling / mini gun type system. Daniel writes:

The rifle in the GB [gunbroker] ad looks like the one shown in a photo in Peter Senich’s “The Complete Book of U.S. Sniping”. The photo was credited to Don Stoehr, a former TRW employee.

Among his projects were the Low Maintenance Rifle (LMR) and HIVAP (High Velocity All Purpose) machinegun. The HIVAP was really wild. It was an eight-barrel .31 caliber Gatling based on the Dardick open chamber principle. Like other Dardick-derived open chamber weapons, it used ‘trounds’. The HIVAP trounds used lexan cases loaded with saboted flechette. (However, solid bullet variants intended for testing purposes can be found.) The really wild part was the cyclic rate: just shy of 30,000 rpm. Stoehr later wrote that the twin feeders could support 42,000 rpm and that a switch to electrical priming would allow them to double the existing cyclic rate.

However, I don’t know how they’d ever keep such a monster fed. The weapon pod under design only held either 3,000 or 6,000 trounds.

It is an interesting cartridge that unfortunately will probably never be further developed due to the politics and health concerns of depleted uranium. Carrying DE rounds around would likely be a health hazard to the soldier using them.

More information on the round is available at cartridgecollectors.org.

Many thanks to Daniel E. Watters for information and links and to Paul Smith for the use of his photos.

Thanks to Jason for twittering me the video.

85 truck with 12,000+ actual miles, up-armored, two Ramo M2 .50 cal. machineguns on Form 4’s in Ky., and 10,000 rounds US surplus ammo. Everything in excellent condition. Please, serious inquires only. Email for further info. Thanks for looking.

Anyone know what the going rate for a M2 is? Traction Control, any ideas?

The auction is here.

Hat Tip: Хроники безумного Макса

If you have ever wanted your own mounted gun, this rest gets you half way there

To really get the idea of what this system is capable watch the promotional video. A video about a shooting rest may sound boring but its actually very cool.

Hat Tip: Accurate Shooting

Over the standard Triumph model it features:
* Wethershield coated receiver and barrel.
* 28″ fluted barrel with QLA muzzle system
* Fiber optic sights
* Reversible hammer extension.
* Power Rob Ramrod

More photos of the rifle at a Keyboard and a .45.

Mossberg 500 Road Blocker. Click to expand.

The two baffle muzzle brake looks like it was ripped off a .50 BMG anti-material rifle.

The Roadblocker muzzle brake in action. Note the bead sight.

For comparison: M107 / Barrett M82 .50 BMG anti-material rifle

The Road Blocker is chambered in 12 gauge, has a 18.5″ barrel and a 6 round magazine.

It was previously sold as a TALO exclusive but this year it is now a standard production shotgun. I am not sure what the MSRP will be but if I had to guess I would say $400.

There should be some good reverse thrust from the muzzle brake. If used correctly you should be able to follow up the blast of buckshot with shotgun-in-the-guts. Follow the instructions in my handy guide:

Just joking. Don’t get to excited!

by Sven Ortmann, lastdingo@gmx.de, 2008-01-05

Caliber: 9×19 mm and .45ACP (= 11.43×23mm)

This is the standard NATO caliber for pistols and a popular caliber for submachineguns. The only ones who seem to have a strong dislike for this caliber seem to be those U.S. Americans who continue to compare it with .45ACP.

The U.S. American problems with the 9×19mm caliber seem to include a mix of emotions (a Colt M1911 in .45ACP feels much more powerful) and poor quality of the U.S. standard issue 9mm pistols. The latter is as far as I know more a magazine production quality problem than a pistol design problem. The origin of .45ACP is said to lie in combat experience around 1900 in the Philippines where determined Philippinos weren’t stopped reliably by smaller revolver calibers. Tests on live animals in 1904 showed better effects for heavier bullets, but little improvement with velocity. Bullet design has improved a lot since then, and hollowpoint bullets that flatten their nose in soft tissue to increase their diameter are much more effective than simple soft lead bullets. A good 9mm bullet enjoys a similar advantage over a .45ACP soft lead bullet than the latter over a 9mm soft lead bullet. There’s a fundamental problem, though: There’s not much difference in effect on the target if you hit the wrong places and the permanent cavities of pistol bullets are all relatively small. Many body parts are simply not essential enough – their destruction doesn’t stop a determined opponent immediately; no matter whether you hit with .45ACP or 9×19mm.
A new procurement of pistols could easily be a significant improvement over existing 9×19mm service pistols, though. A new pistol could be designed to use reliably both standard 9×19mm and “hot” 9×19mm loadings (higher pressure). The latter would give some extra punch, especially extra penetration. A further improvement is possible by procurement of better bullets. The Russians have a 9mm semi-jacketed exposed steel core bullet that combines AP effect (hard core) with a hollow-point effect (outer parts of the bullets deform and effectively increase the bullet diameter in soft tissue). Such a bullet has enough penetration capability against a combination of a full pouch and a light kevlar vest. An improvement of pistol accuracy is probably more pressing than the caliber; some sort of shoulder stock and easily visible sights (large iron sights as usual on revolvers, for example) could help.

Caliber: 5.56×45mm NATO

This caliber is at the center of a great and long-lasting controversy. Its opponents call it a varmint caliber and report firefights with multiple hits on the same opponent without satisfactory effect. They compare this caliber very often to the supposedly more effective 7.62×51mm caliber. More about that in the 7.62 chapter. Another problem with 5.56×45mm is its rather unsatisfactory ability to penetrate wooden or wall covers. A dissatisfaction with the standard service rifles/carbines of both the USA and the UK (the British solved their problems with an extensive upgrade) and the use of rather short barrels in the U.S. M4 carbine add to the problems with 5.56×45mm.

The defenders of the caliber remind us that even mutilating wounds by much larger calibers and even explosive warheads cannot reliably stop a determined opponent.

The most terrible problem in the 5.56×45mm caliber discussion is the use of anecdotes. Different barrels, ranges and hit locations produce very different effects, so you will always find anecdotes to support your position on this caliber – no matter what’s your position.

There’s (apparently especially in Germany) a stupid rumor about 5.56×45mm and rifle calibers in general that tells about a nervous shock that can kill even with only small injuries. It’s nonsense. A short primer on rifle/carbine bullets; they behave differently in soft tissue than most pistol bullets. They don’t move straight through the tissue all the way. Instead, they begin to turn and usually exit bottom forward. Some bullets break up under the stress of this turn, and the fragmentation increases the destruction of soft tissue very much. A turning bullet doesn’t create a permanent cavity of much greater diameter than its own length; a disintegrating bullet can create a much, much larger permanent cavity.

The ideal rifle/carbine bullet looks like this; it’s able to penetrate cover/armor, it begins to turn in soft tissue immediately and it disintegrates into fragments with devastating effect in soft tissue (terminal ballistics). Good sectional density and ballistic coefficient are important for a good effective range (external ballistics). Finally, some people want it to be lead-free to protect the environment and save costs on shooting range maintenance.

So what does a 5.56×45mm bullet really do? Answer; it depends.

The differences between 5.56mm bullets are noteworthy in terms of cover penetration (heavier is better), but all seem to share a rather disappointing “performance” in soft tissue. The bullet begins to turn later than desired. This means that frontal hits on skinny opponents are often not very effective because the most destructive part – the turning and possible fragmentation – happens too late (the 180° turn isn’t completed before exit).

The other problem in soft tissue is fragmentation. Fragmentation is necessary to achieve a good deal of damage with the small bullet. This requires a good impact velocity and appropriate bullet design. Short-barrelled weapons don’t accelerate the bullet to the originally intended velocity, and the velocity drops rapidly with the distance. 5.56×45mm fired from carbines like the M4 carbine produce very little if any fragmentation in soft tissue at distances greater than about 50-100m.

Carbines and assault rifles should be effective to at least 300m, squad sharpshooters (also known as Designated Marksmen) and light machinegunners should be highly effective out to 400m with good effect. 5.56×45mm doesn’t offer much effect in soft tissue at many relevant ranges unless fired from long barrelled weapons. Barrel lengths of at least 18″ or at the very least 16″ are often recommended. The original M16 assault rifle and many other assault rifle with this caliber have a barrel length of 20″ while the M4 carbine has only a 14.5″ barrel.

There’s apparently not much potential for improvement in the 5.56×45mm caliber: Heavy bullets for improved cover penetration and long barrels for reliable fragmentation seem to be somewhat successful approaches.

Caliber: PDW cartridges (5.7×28mm and 4.6×30mm)

These calibers share the same problems as 5.56×45mm, just even more so (they don’t seem to break up at all).

The short story is like this: Weapons in these calibers are easily controlled in full auto fire due to the low impulse of the cartridges (light bullets). The individual bullets don’t do much to soft tissue (but more than you would tolerate in your own soft tissue).

The strength of these calibers is the higher hit probability (especially for ill-trained support troops) in comparison to 9×19mm and .45ACP. The higher hit count might make up for the lesser effect of individual bullets. A one-vs-one comparison of the wound ballistic effects is therefore misleading. More hits also add to the chance of hitting something really vital.

There are other, less well-known calibers for PDWs (personal defence weapons) than these two. Some use larger calibers, but they’re likely all either similar to my description of pistol or PDW caliber wound ballistics.

Caliber: 7.62×51mm NATO

This is another NATO standard caliber (forced on NATO by the USA against a clearly superior British design). It has been replaced as assault rifle caliber by 5.56×45mm almost completely and was never a carbine caliber. 7.62×51mm is still very widespread as machinegun caliber in NATO armies and is also in use with some sniper/sharpshooter rifles.

The caliber was too powerful for controllable assault rifle full auto fire (well, controllability in bursts was OK within hand grenade range). The cartridges are quite heavy and it’s difficult to carry many of them into action; a major disadvantage for suppressive fires unless you need to suppress enemies who are behind light cover.

The penetration of cover is usually satisfactory, but armor penetration isn’t very good for the simple reason that almost all gunshields, armored vehicles and even some heavy body armor were designed to withstand this caliber and its Russian counterpart, 7.62×54mmR. Only expensive SLAP cartridges (saboted light armor penetrating, performance in soft tissue) have a very good penetration capability at short and medium range.

The external ballistics are under criticism for sniping and more powerful calibers (.300WinMag, .338LapuaMag, 9.3×64mm and even .50BMG, for example) with less bullet drop and less wind sensitivity have become important in sniper rifle procurement since the 90’s.

7.62×51mm is often being attributed with a huge and rarely questioned power against soft targets; knockdown power, manstopping power – no matter how they call it. 7.62×51mm is usually presented as the good example in comparison to 5.56mm. This is – at least for U.S.-made 7.62×51mm standard service cartridges – not fully justified. There are significant differences in penetration till the turning movement begins and in fragmentation. The U.S.-made (standard issue) 7.62 bullets aren’t that much better than 5.56mm bullets (if better at all). They penetrate deeply before turning and don’t fragment much.

There have been much superior (at least in fragmentation) bullets in service (like the German ones) and there’s also a 7.62×51mm cartridge/bullet design that fulfills all expectations for soft tissue damage; it begins to turn and fragment very quickly and has a reliable and devastating effect on soft tissue.

Again; you won’t necessarily stop a determined enemy from firing at you if you don’t hit the right spots – no matter what rifle ammunition you use.

Caliber: .50BMG (= 12,7×99mm NATO)

This caliber is widespread and has loyal fans in the USA and also elsewhere, but it wasn’t adopted in some NATO forces and has some drawbacks.

It was originally a tank-penetrating caliber for machine guns (M2 Browning, later M2HB). Similar cartridges were used during the World Wars by anti-tank rifles (which were only able to penetrate light armor plates). Tanks got thicker armor plating by the mid-1930’s, leaving only light armored vehicles and certain vulnerable spots on heavier armored vehicles as vulnerable to .50BMG. This application has been revived in the 1980’s for long-range and “anti-material” sniping.

There’s no very lively discussion about this caliber in the public. Attempts to replace it focused on intermediate sniping cartridges for long-range and armor-penetrating sniping (like .338LapuaMag), 40×54mm HE cartridges for automatic grenade launchers that replaced many M2HB (.50BMG) machine guns on vehicles and finally a high-tech 25mm air-burst HE cartridge in the failed OCSW program.

The primary problems of .50BMG are weight and volume. Both ammunition and weapon are much bigger than their 7.62×51mm counterparts. The ammunition supply for a .50BMG is usually very small in comparison to the 7.62×51mm alternative. .50BMG is also too heavy for dismounted machine gun use on the move; it can be done (with a tripod), but the effort isn’t justified in most situations.

This caliber is probably only justified if the extra penetration is really necessary. One example: Reconnaissance vehicles need to be able to take on enemy reconnaissance vehicles which are usually armored against 7.62×51mm AP, so something heavier is desirable even for the lightest recce vehicles.

An intermediate machine gun caliber close to the .338LapuaMag sniper cartridge could match the utility of .50BMG in most situations with significantly more ammunition for the same weight and volume.

Both .50BMG and 7.62×51mm are quite well-established and not much under criticism, so there’s no good reason to expect a new, intermediate caliber standard for machine guns.

Ideal caliber discussions

The “ideal” infantry rifle caliber needs to be suitable for rifle, carbine, light machine gun and possibly even squad sharpshooter and medium machine gun applications. Penetration is important, bullet drop and effect at ranges like 400 or 500m is important, soft tissue damage needs to be good and consistent at all ranges and both weight and volume need to allow for a good ammunition load.

Historical and recent conclusions about an ideal infantry caliber almost always agreed on a calibre in the range from 6 to 7 mm. The larger ones tend to have better effect and to be heavier while the smaller calibers in that range tend to offer superior external ballistics (flatter trajectory, more useful at long range).

The optimum is probably close the the center; a 6 or 6.25mm caliber would probably be too close to 5.56mm to convince the 5.56mm critics (maybe for good reasons).

The 6.5mm Grendel and 6.8mm SPC calibers have become famous in the last few years as optimal caliber candidates. Both use conventional cartridge technology – it may be that confidential details from plastic case technology development would favor something like a 6.5-6.8mm plastic cased cartridge instead.

Links for additional reading (and graphics)

There are thousands of possible links, but most would lead you to misleading information.

http://www.rayguncharlie.net/sr/basics/pmrb.html

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf

http://www.firearmstactical.com/wound.htm

http://www.recguns.com/Sources/IVF1.html

http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/PDWdebunk.html

Keep in mind at this link that bullet technology has advanced significantly since 1904:
http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/1904trial.html

http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/pigboard.html

Bullet categories:
http://world.guns.ru/ammo/bullets-e.htm#sjesc

An overview over PDWs:
http://www.personaldefenceweapons.com

Looks similar in size to a massive custom 12 gauge suppressor I saw on a Remington 870 recently.

A guy names “mxwelch” on YouTube has build a working .50 BMG rifle based on Bill’s book. To simplify construction he used an M2 maching gun barrel which he cut it down and re-chambered, instead of building his own, and made the rifle single shot instead of a magazine fed repeater.

The total monetary cost was $400 which includes the M2 barrel and chamber reamer rental. It took over 25 hours of shop time to build!

It weights 34 lbs and can shoot 1.5 MOA.

Click to expand.

My take on the rifle is that it is a McMillian TAC-50 action with an AR-50 barrel and muzzlebreak and a homemade unfinished (no recoil pad) stock.

McMillian TAC-50

Armalite AR-50

More photo of the captured weapons at MP.net.

Watching that scope move around really made me wince.

This photo is of members of the Mexican army on parade during the Independence Day celebrations on 16 September 2008.

Hat Tip: MP.net

Hat Tip: SayUncle

I found this photo on the Advanced Armament website. Click to expand

The Cyclops Suppressor

Click to expand the image

The .50 GI round should not be compared to the Desert Eagle’s .50 Action Express or the .500 S&W. It is slightly more powerful than the .45 ACP.

Wikipedia information on the .50 GI:

.50 GI
Type	Handgun
Place of origin	 United States
Production history
Designer	Vic Tibbets / Alex Zimmermann
Designed	2004
Manufacturer	Guncrafter Industries
Specifications
Case type	Rebated, straight
Bullet diameter	.515 in (13.1 mm)
Neck diameter	.526 in (13.4 mm)
Base diameter	.526 in (13.4 mm)
Rim diameter	.480 in (12.2 mm)
Case length	.899 in (22.8 mm)
Overall length	1.221 in (31.0 mm)
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type	Velocity	Energy
275 gr (17.8 g) JHP	900 ft/s (270 m/s)	492 ft·lbf (667 J)
300 gr (19 g) JHP	860 ft/s (260 m/s)	493 ft·lbf (668 J)

The kit will retail for $595.

Hat Tip: Foodpounds

The U.S. Army and Special Operations Command are stepping up efforts to procure a lighter, modernized .50-caliber machine gun more easily transported than the standard 85-pound M2.

The goal is not to replace the M2, a combat fixture for 70 years, but to augment the inventory with a .50-caliber weapon that brings the same firepower at less than half the weight, Army officials said here at the Feb. 27-29 winter convention of the Association of the U.S. Army. Early models of the Light Weight .50-caliber (LW50) are expected to be delivered this year.

More info at Murdoc Online

Hat Tip Traction Control

The BFG-50A is a magazine-fed, gas-operated .50 BMG rifle. It takes standard 10-round M-82 magazines. It has a 3-lug rotating bolt, dual plunger ejectors, sliding plate extractor, hydraulic recoil buffer. The bolt locks into a barrel extension which is threaded to the barrel. The bolt lug and barrel extension locking surfaces are helical. The gas system is similar to that used on a Ljungman AG-42 or MAS 49/56.

As with our BFG-50 single-shot rifle, all our barrels are chambered with our own reamer design which allows surplus ammunition to be fired but gives far greater accuracy than can be achieved with barrels using a machine gun chamber. Barrel length: 26.0″, overall length: 52.5″. Rifle weighs 25 lbs unloaded. The BFG-50A uses a highly efficient 8-port “Shark Brake” muzzle brake. Barrel/barrel extension and handguard are removable to allow different barrel and handguard lengths and configurations.

In early July we’ll be delivering a small number of rifles to a very high priority customer and will be moving to full production shortly after that. Price is still expected to be right around $5000.

An early prototype

More here.

To fire, the powder charge and bullet are loaded via a ramrod. Using a standard magazine with a single shot follower, an unloaded 5.56 case is loaded into the mag, inserted in magazine well and loaded just like a standard rifle.

Once the rifle is fired, the empty brass is ejected manually and then reloaded.

…

It is a modified .223 case that uses a 209 primer. Currently .50 cal. Should have pricing and other specs tomorrow.

Interesting! As one commenter said

Can you imagine the face of an unsuspecting
game warden the first time he runs across these..

They have yet to announce pricing.

UPDATE

This isn’t a loaded case, it is a 209 primer in a piece of .223 brass. There is no way a live round or a blank will load into the “chamber”.

UPDATE

A video of it in action. Actually, it looks pretty good.

More at AR15.com

Hat Tip: Freedom Sight

Anyone buying such a gun is trying to send a clear message. That message is “I am the greasiest and most tasteless pimp that ever graced the streets!”

To read more about it, and how much it costs, click over to James’s blog.

This is enough for anti-material work but well below western sniper rifle standards. For comparison, the Barrett M82 is supposed to shoot sub MOA (less than 1 MOA).
It is available in either 12.7×108mm or .50BMG.

It comes in two versions.

The M99

and the bullpup M99B / M06



More info here.

Ammoguide.com compares the .50 BMG, .510 DTC, .416 Barrett and .50 Fat Mac.

More here.

I am very surprised it lasted even one .50 BMG round!!!

Hat Tip: Danger Room

Randy Powell has a .50-caliber machine gun he would like to sell you -but he can’t afford to.

The monster, sitting in a cage in back of his gun store and shooting range in Lawrenceville, can cut down a tree – and could easily fetch $30,000 in a perfectly legal sale. But for Powell, the sale would be the equivalent of hawking a Picasso or vintage wine.

The gun increases in value exponentially each year.

“I bought that gun for $10,000 about 10 years ago,” he said. “I could make a lot of money if I sold it but it’s an investment more than anything. There is no wholesale market. If I want another one, I may have to pay more than that.”

More here.

Hat Tip: Airborne Combat Engineer

More here.

Contents:

* One Kimber Pro Carry in .45 Auto with three magazines: empty
* One leather inside-belt holster for 1911 pistol(not pictured)
* One Bushmaster AR-15 lower assembly with 6-position collapsible stock
* One Bushmaster XM15 E25 Shorty AK Carbine Upper assembly with M-203 heat shield, ETC 37 mm Flare Launcher and Leupold 6.5 – 20 variable power scope
* One Jonathan Arthur Ciener .22 LR caliber conversion kit for AR-a5, consisting of bolt assembly and two 20 round .22 LR magazines: empty
* One DJHT .50 caliber BMG upper assembly with variable power, lighted reticle, Mil-dot scope and M-60 bipod
* Three (3) thirty round and one (1) twenty round capacity AR-15 magazines: empty.
* One (1) set foam hearing protection from Remington (not pictured)
* Case by SBK of Orange, CA – with four (4) locks
* Total weight 60.5 pounds

I think the only thing missing is a few more magazines!

See the full-sized photo here.

UPDATE: Ride Fast is also traveling heavy:

Tommy (top) – Auto-Ordnance Mod. 1927, .45 ACP
Bertha (mid left) – Bloom und Voss .44 mag
Baby (mid center) – Colt 1911A1, .45 ACP
Hidie (mid right) – HK USP Compact, .45 ACP
Barbie (bottom) – Winchester 94, 30-30 Win

Full sized photo here.

It makes a great wallpaper for your desktop. Click the image to enlarge it.

Here is a video of the rifle from ‘Future Weapons’ with some nice slow motion shots

I am going to try and feature one poster per week on this blog.

The article is obviously written by someone with no clue about firearms. For example “…the new semiautomatic, .45-caliber Heckler & Koch machine pistols.”. I can’t be sure that the journalist understood the real reason why the Sheriff bought the .50 Beowulf rifles.

The journalist claims that the rifles are for ridding the expressway of cows and exotic animals, who sometimes escape from the local theme parks, such as elephant and lion.

I do not think killing cows would be money well spent on these expensive rifles. Surely a .308 will dispatch a cow just as fast and at a longer range. They are sure to have tactical rifles in their arsenal.

(Disclaimer: I have never hunted exotic dangerous game … the following is just my uninformed opinion)

If they were really worried about dangerous game a few .375 H&H rifles would be more effective.

According to Alexander Arms and Cartridges of the World 11th edition this is how the .375 H&H and the .50 Beowulf compare

The .375 H&H also offers much greater penetration due to the smaller caliber.

I do not think the Sheriff is really planning on using his new AR-15 rifles on elephants or lions! It is most likely for use against people and vehicles.

From Alexander Arms:

The external ballistics of the Beowulf® cartridge are well suited to urban environments where the shorter range template allows for more flexible application and the large projectile energy delivered by the ammunition can disable both motor vehicles and assailants with body armor. Windscreen glass does not affect the trajectory of the bullet nor does automotive body panels.

The .50 Beowulf AR is defiantly a very nice rifle Here is a video of is being shot:

They have claimed that the whale was shot with a “.50-caliber machine gun”. I would be impressed if they can tell the difference between a .50BMG rifle (if it was in fact .50BMG and not another .50 caliber cartridge) and a .50BMG machine gun. Or if they even know the difference between a machine gun and a rifle.

However, I do find it interesting that the Makah Tribe, who are legally allowed to hunt whales, use .50 caliber rifles. I guess they may be used when a harpoon has not killed a whale and they are not able to take another shot with the it.

More here.

UPDATE: Some tribesman are being held by the Coast Guard, but not charged, over the incident. More here.