How much does it cost to reload 50 BMG?
The Man
I have been told that it costs $.17/shot to reload and $220 setup for 308.
What are the similar costs for 50 BMG?
--
The Man
You can drink an ugly girl pretty, but you can't drink a fat girl skinny.
William B. Blair
jhris...@aol.com (JHrisoulas) wrote:
:It's expensive there guy..
:
:Figure on this:
:
:A good case price is between 20 and 40 cents: I have some that are going
:into loading number 7 now...They last if you are careful...
:
:Projectiles are are about 70 cents for military surplus to to $2.00 each
:(I lucked into a wonderful deal on some closed out OMC's at 10 cents
:each..got all 9,000)
[snip]
Are there people who already have all of this equipment who will reload (for
a fee) for others? Seems kind of cost-ineffective to buy all of this stuff unless
one was planning to _really_ get serious about shooting a lot of .50 BMG. Of
course, I realise that you're shooting quite a bit from the quantities you're
talking about.
50 BMG is beginning to interest me. I overheard some guy at a recent gun show
trying to sell a homebrew BMG rifle for $1750. I've also seen an ad in Shotgun
News claiming that you can build one "cheap". Any comments on this?
Thanks,
Bill
JHrisoulas
It's expensive there guy..
Figure on this:
A good case price is between 20 and 40 cents: I have some that are going
into loading number 7 now...They last if you are careful...
Projectiles are are about 70 cents for military surplus to to $2.00 each
(I lucked into a wonderful deal on some closed out OMC's at 10 cents
each..got all 9,000)
Primers are in the ranges of 19 cents to 30 cents depending upon where you
go..
here again per each one..
Powder is available from $3.00 per pound to $7.00 per pound. (you get
about 30 charges per pound..230 grs average load) The more you buy the
beter deal...I usually get 2 or 3 8lb carboys if I am loading..Like I
said at 30 shots per pound...well you use up a lot of powder.
Presses: Here you run a gammut...from aout $150.00 for a good single stage
up to $900.00 for a turret..
Dies: figure about $100.00 to $350.00 depending upon manufacturer
Powder measures: About $300.00 as you need a very big one, plus one with
ALOT of capacity
You will also need a case prep kit to ream the crimp out of the primer
pocket and to trim the case length...about $75.00 to $200.00 depending
Also get a good 1000 gr, capacity electronic scale as it saves alot of
time..
As you can see there is a range on these items...Shop around and see who
has the best deals...
JP Hrisoulas
JHrisoulas
Cost effective? Humm when you can find good quality 50 BMG ammo...you are
looking at about $2.00 to $3.00 per round...it doesn't take alot of
shooting at this level of cost to make reloading look better and better...
I shoot about 100 rounds every month or so.....at about 1/3 that
cost..(now that I have a screw machine and turn my own projectiles)..
JP Hrisoulas
Henry Chinaski
In <4sp688$e...@xring.cs.umd.edu> wbl...@rmi.net (William B. Blair)
writes:
#
#jhris...@aol.com (JHrisoulas) wrote:
#
#:It's expensive there guy..
#:
#:Figure on this:
#:
#:A good case price is between 20 and 40 cents: I have some that are
going
#:into loading number 7 now...They last if you are careful...
#:
#:Projectiles are are about 70 cents for military surplus to to $2.00
each
#:(I lucked into a wonderful deal on some closed out OMC's at 10 cents
#:each..got all 9,000)
#
#[snip]
#
#Are there people who already have all of this equipment who will
reload (for
#a fee) for others? Seems kind of cost-ineffective to buy all of this
stuff unless
#one was planning to _really_ get serious about shooting a lot of .50
BMG. Of
#course, I realise that you're shooting quite a bit from the quantities
you're
#talking about.
#
#50 BMG is beginning to interest me. I overheard some guy at a recent
gun show
#trying to sell a homebrew BMG rifle for $1750. I've also seen an ad
in Shotgun
#News claiming that you can build one "cheap". Any comments on this?
#
#Thanks,
#Bill
Since we are dealing with a cartridge as powerful as the .50 BMG, I'd
shy away from any homebuilt rifles and do it yourself kits. With
rifles by McMillan, Barrett, and AMAC out there and available, why take
risks on an unknown? In my view, this is valid from a safety and
resale standpoint. If some homebuilt rifle blows up in your face, what
recourse do you have against an individual? If you decide to sell your
rifle, a name brand gun will have held its value (and maybe appreciated
in value given the unknowns of future legislation).
Mortalis
Harry Jensen
In <4srfrr$a...@newsbf02.news.aol.com> jhris...@aol.com (JHrisoulas)
writes:
#
#Cost effective? Humm when you can find good quality 50 BMG ammo...you
are
#looking at about $2.00 to $3.00 per round...it doesn't take alot of
#shooting at this level of cost to make reloading look better and
better...
#I shoot about 100 rounds every month or so.....at about 1/3 that
#cost..(now that I have a screw machine and turn my own projectiles)..
#
#JP Hrisoulas
#
While viewing the Coalinga, CA regional match last year, several
veteran shooters were commenting on the amount it costs Skip Talbot to
put a round downrange.
Seeing how Mr. Talbot was shooting those mild steel projectiles with
the needle-like tip, they figured in barrel wear as well, and it came
out to something like $12.00 a pill.
The bottom line is:
If you are going to be shooting one of these big boys at 1,000
yards+, and hope for any consistent grouping, you're going to have to
reload. If not to save money, then to dial in the correct loading for
your particular rifle.
Regards/Harry
Arne Carlsten
Henry Chinaski <mort...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
: In <4sp688$e...@xring.cs.umd.edu> wbl...@rmi.net (William B. Blair)
There's a company by the name of SSI (I _think_ that's it) somewhere's in
Florida that has a couple of bargain-priced do-it-yourself .50 BMG rifle
kits.
One's about as basic as they come: little more than a threaded end cap for
a Browning barrel, with a firing pin assembly sticking out the back;
sights and mounting are handled by an assembly that's clamped to the
barrel (think it uses an M3 aircraft MG barrel). Obviously, it'd have a
_real_ low rate of fire, since you need to unscrew the "receiver" for each
shot,then crank it down tight before firing. It'd _probably_ be safe enough;
the riskiest part would strike me as being the risk of incorrect headspace
leading to a case rupture. Didn't see any signs of handling escaping gas
real well... Anyone make a 90 degree adapter for scope eyepieces?
Their other design I actually had the chance to look at and play with;
though the owner wouldn't let me test fire it out of the back door of
his garage... More or less based on the BMG design, minus the feed
system so it's a single shot. Used an M2 bolt, barrel extension, buffer
assembly and such, with an M3 barrel; all housed in an aluminum receiver
you had to drill and tap and then bolt together. Since the critical
parts are all US GI contractor-made it ought to be a fairly safe design.
.50 BMG is pretty impressive, but at heart it's still just a rifle
cartridges; pressures run in the same 50-55,000 psi ballpark as other high
powered rifle cartridges.
Since they're both "homebuilts" as far as the receiver goes, resale
wouldn't be legal.
If I recall rightly, the end-cap device was about $200-$300 and required
an M2HB or M3 barrel (another $200-$300 or so?) and some various small
parts and minor fitting work. Not necessarily a bad way to get into the
.50 BMG game; I know _I_ have a problem convincing myself I need to eat
ramen for 6 months or a year to come up with the cash for one of the
big-name .50s... I could see some simple ways to improve the design;
modifying the barrel threads so as to use an interrupted thread design
would seem to be the easiest place to start...
(On a slightly related tangent, I once saw a threaded end cap fitted to a
section of 20mm cannon barrel; it was the _real_ low-tech version and
merely had a touch-hole for igniting the muzzle-loaded charge. Has anyone
tried this with smokeless powder and/or larger barrels? What about using
flintlocks or percussion locks to ignite the charge? It occured to me
that it wouldn't be especially difficult to make a similar end cap to fit
some _large_ bore, but with the touch-hole threaded to take a Mauser
receiver, allowing you to use black-powder reloaded blanks for igniting
the main charge. Since the charge would be muzzle-loaded, this'd be
legal without need of a "DD" tax stamp, no? Or do I just have too much
time on my hands?)
--
Arne Gustav Carlsten
Flagstaff, Arizona
Chomh da/na le muc...
Z. Ohanian
In article <xx-180796...@149.59.19.202>,
The Man <asbestos!purg.atl.com!x...@uu3.psi.com> wrote:
#I have been told that it costs $.17/shot to reload and $220 setup for 308.
#What are the similar costs for 50 BMG?
#
#--
#The Man
#
#
#
Hello ???
Reloading for .50 cal is not as cheap as one might think especially if
one is looking for match ammunition. As with every other reloading bulleZareh
contrinute the most to the cost. Assuing that you have a supply of brass the
cost of reloading will be as follow:
Primer: $30/100
Powder: $48/100 ( $16/Lbs for B8700 powder which works great in .50 BMG)
Bullet: $30-200 (depends on what you want to reload, shooting ammo or Match)
$30- for pulled military bullet
$70- for SPEER bullets $35/50
$130-for Barnes Ballistic bullet
$150-for Match bullets from Precision Bullets in TX,
$200-for RP bullets, Richardson Precision in TX, they are
jacketed Match bullets, 800+ gr, not machined.
Hence you can reload 100 rds for as low as $70 (Surplus powder, Pulled Mil
bullets and CCI primers), if you want accuracy you have to pay the $$ for
better powder and bullet which will push your cost into the $150-$200 range.
Prices are approximate but they are close to what it will cost you once all is
said and 1done. As for cases, I am assuming that you have 100 good casess, LC
cases (88-92, I have found them to be very good). LC cases have very good neck
consistency, they do vary in weight which is why I recommend that you weight
your cases. Primer pocket work is not really necessary because they are pretty
much all consistent.
LC:Lake City
Zareh