Felt recoil

I shot my first 50 yesterday and it was awesome!

It was a Barrett 95 or 99, whichever is the single shot. It didn't kick bad at all from a bench using the factory bipod and monopod. I just wonder, is there anything other than the weight and the brake that reduces the recoil? Would it recoil the same as an armalite ar50 or even a 50 upper for the ar15's?

I'd love to start saving for one but I'm recoil sensitive due to a spinal fusion. Much harder kick than a 12 gauge and I'm not a fan.

Hey dude, welcome to the 50 BMG community.

Basically you hit the nail on the head. Weight and a good brake will reduce the recoil to as you say a 12ga shotgun, but I notice that it seems to push you about 3 or 4 inches. But the thump is like the 12ga. Some also say that a shorter barrel makes the brake work better, cause the gas pressure is higher and cause the brake to work harder to reduce the recoil. But there is no such things as a free lunch. With more gas going to the brake, the more concussion is felt. All I can tell you is this. Those Barret's are not cheap!!! Get an AR-50, or I love my Ferret 50 with 36" barrel. For you, you might want something more like 30". Unless you reload, it is expensive to feed a 50. And if you do go and buy surplus, stay away from any tracer or incendiary projos. Fires are not fun to put out, and cost a bit if you need professional help.

Yeah, it would be a good while until I could save enough to get into the 50 game!

Do you find much variance in the recoil between brands of comparable spec? Say the Ferret, ar50, barrett 95 or dare I say BOHICA?

I love the cost of the 50bmg uppers but not sure of #1 the quality #2 the recoil

With the exception of the BOHICA, I think the majority of the "Uppers" are good choices. As I said, I have no experience with any other rifles and the felt recoil. Some of the older rifles if they still have the original brakes. The recoil is going to be stout. Even the earlier AR-50s and Ferrets. But both have newer designed brakes and are more effective.

I got into the .50 game with one of the first uppers from Watson and was made with a M2 barrel. Was heavy and recoil was brutal. Shot a AR50 and it was nice compared to the Watson. Watson later used a much better brake on their uppers.

Moved to a State Arm Shorty and it was much better than the Watson but not as nice as the AR50.

Now I shoot the SA and a Safety Harbor that weighs 18lb and has a 18" barrel. It's recoil seems real hard however there are a couple variables to consider: a) shoot it standing with no support, b) it has a steel butt plate (Magpul PRS stock)

I've got a Bohica 30" and have also had Spinal Fusion. It does not bother my back at all.

I've owned a BOHICA MKIII and currently own a Barrett M99. If you're recoil-sensitive, I think the Armalite AR50 would probably be your best bet. It's also one of the less expensive dedicated .50BMG's available on the used market as well. VERY heavy rile.

A friend of mine has a Safety Harbor with the 18" barrel. First off that 18lbs is about 60% of the weight of my rifle. Second off the barrel and brake are almost half of the diameter of mine. I just cant see the brake doing a good job of redirecting the gases back to help with the recoil. If you look at the gills in my brake and then the ones on the S.H. brake you could see how my Ferrets is going to redirect the gases better. And yet, if you look at that huge clam shell brake (think of the brake on a tanks cannon) on the AR-50. And you know it is going to do a great job taming the recoil.

That Armalite AR50 is a VERY heavy rifle. Have a friend with one. Very robust. Have also shot a Barrett bolt gun. That thing kicked like a mule. Took about 10 to 15 seconds to figure out what world I was in after pulling the trigger. Own a Bohica MK3 here. I like it. Nice price on a cheap upper and with the right ammo, not bad on groups either. Fluted barrel. Works well.

I have three answers for you:

I have an AR-50 - its weight and its GREAT BRAKE minimizes the felt recoil.

I have a State Arms rifle with a large muzzle brake and it KICKS HARDER than the AR-50 but is manageable

I am recoil sensitive - because I was taught to hold and control the recoil of the rifle. I weigh 370 pounds with most weight in my upper body. This mass absorbs the recoil before being allowed to recoil with the rifle, thus I feel it more. My 13 yr old daughter, now nearly 20, shot it very well. My videos of her shooting showed her relaxed and moving with the rifle upon recoil. The AR-50 only recoils about 3/4 inch and brake pulls it forward about 1/2 inch when firing 647 grain ball ammo..



Final answer - buy the AR-50 !!!

AR50 and don't look back.

This winter I had 3 .50bmgs for a short while until I sold my Bohica. I posted my side by side shooting impressions here back then:


LAR Grizzly- 31lbs.
Bohica- 21lbs
Ferret50- 26lbs


I haven't weighed the Bohica and the Ferret50 side by side with just the upper. I imagine a pound of additional weight for the Ferret50 comes from the Magpul PRS on it, versus the A2 stock on the Bohica.

I normally have a limbsaver pad on the Bohica but I took it off since I haven't gotten the thicker pad for the PRS stock on the Ferret50, in the interests of keeping the evaluation as similar as possible. I was firing 647gr Winchester ball with 218gr of H50bmg.

I shot 3 cycles of 1 round from each gun, the LAR, Bohica, and Ferret50 in that order. Dave sent along thorough barrel break-in instructions, so I paused after each round to clean the Ferret50 as per the instructions. This round of shooting all three was to function check the Ferret50 and to side by side compare recoil. I haven't gotten the scope zeroed on the Ferret50 so other than the round hitting the berm, I don't know what kind of group it did.

Overall impressions: The LAR Grizzly Big Boar had the softest recoil of the three by far. The Ferret50 came in second with the Bohica a close third. I suspect if the gun weights were identical they'd all three be pretty similar. If I put the Bohica at a 10 as far as felt recoil force, then the Ferret50 would be a 9 and the LAR would be a 7. This scale is only relative to these three, not all guns.

Exactly why I took a 20 rnd mag and gutted it. Then sealed it up so I could fill it with lead. And I built my own lead weight for the A2 stock tool box. Between both weights, I added about 5 lbs to the rifle. If I remember correctly, the total weight of the rifle now is 32 lbs along with the BR N.F. 8X32 scope installed.

I think the MAIN thing with felt recoil, is the muzzle brake design. There are some good ones out there which REALLY help. Adding to that would be more weight in the rifle. A soft pad for the shoulder is also a welcomed addition. The pad I have on the end of my Bohica ran me $100. The thing is very pliable and makes the rifle more enjoyable to shoot. Was WELL worth the expenditure. Hard rubber on the end of a shoulder stock is not something I like. No cushion on the end of a 50 is something I avoid like the plague. Well, unless it is mounted on a very HEAVY tripod. For those tripod guys I say this. You fellows rock!

From all the .50s I've had the pleasure to fire, the AR50A1 had the least felt recoil off a bench. I haven't fired any of the conversion uppers in the past year though,so they may have improved over what I experienced.
The Barrett 82a1 wasn't bad either... Just hard for me to justify the expense over the AR50.

Xringlover reminds me that I have not been fully forthright. Ok, so I added some weight to help with the recoil. But I am a cheaper bastard than Xringlover. See I have an old bath towel that I fold over several times and then throw it over my shoulder like a burp towel for an infant when you burp them. This helps greatly. I have shot my rifle with that meat tenderizer butt plate that is on the A2 stock. Lets just say I dont for get the towel again soon. Big difference for sure.

OK. I`ll come clean too......

I do the same thing with a towel occasionally. Especially when I am going to be shooting many rounds for group characteristics. Cheap and works!

Don't forget the lead sled if you want to add weight easily.

Thanks guys, I'll add the AR50 to the must buy list. Maybe I can get it within the next year or so. I like the idea of a dedicated 50 over an upper for the ar15 lower.

I've got a bohica mk4 and I would say that the recoil is like a hot 2 3/4 or regular 3" slug.

I've got a regular a2 stock on it, I'll have to try that towel trick, but I didnt think the recoil was that bad. If anything, the concussion and noise are "worse", honestly.

I shoot a Barrett M82 and a Bushmaster BA-50. In my estimate, the Bushie recoils less than the Barretts––it's less than my 7mm-08 Remington 700. Muzzle blast is the downside (or the fun side, if you're like me). M-82 seems to be more of a push, but neither are remotely uncomfortable to shoot and neither come close to any 12 guage I've shot.

I put a limbsaver on mine and it helped a great deal.

Weight and a good brake are your prime factors in perceived recoil. A well designed brake will divert a lot of pressure, more than most people realize.






Keep your body parts away from that muzzle!

I don`t know what it is about observers who are drawn to a 50 cal rifles` blast. They seem to want to stand at about the right angle of the muzzle brake gas discharge path to observe me shooting. I always tell them to get behind me to watch. The above video just proves how much blast there is & in what direction it goes.

What they also don't realize is that there is usually a couple pieces or more of unburnt powder that comes out with the bullet and that it stings like a MoFo when it hits you in the face! Oh well, if they don't move after you tell them it's their fault if they get hit by anything and don't forget those people that set up right next to you. Seems like they don't understand that the muzzle blast can and will blow their rifle off their bench, I've seen it blow another 50 off a bench, luckly the same shooter owned both rifles. Guess it was jealous for being shot 2nd and decided to take it out on the other rifle.

Years ago, a friend was shooting a Barrett single shot rifle on a bench. We were at a range where there were a lot of bench positions to shoot from. Nice range. I had placed an empty Coke can on one of the other benches while talking and had forgotten about it. It was 5 positions over from where he was shooting. He loaded another round and when it went off, the side blast blew the Coke can off and onto the ground with some serious force. Didn`t realize how much blast there was until then. Pretty neat event.

I've had 4 back surgeries and have had several 60-80 rd range days with my AR50. The hardest thing for me is carrying the damn thing, but thats what freinds are for, and how they multiply when you say your shooting it that day.

The original 'wasps' nest' brake on my Windrunner was not as effective as I wished for. I replaced it, and the new brake not only reduces the recoil to a gentle push, but (per earwitness reports) is a lot quieter. It just goes to show you that a good brake can make a huge difference.

How much trouble is it to upgrade to a better brake on a MK III Bohica? Cost?
Clint

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