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Posted: 10/13/2013 4:56:16 PM EDT
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So I think I want a 50. and before I drop several thousand bucks on a rifle I think it best to get some input.
I can get a 29" barrel Safety Harbor s-50 complete rifle, not the ar conversion upper for around 2K locally. Kind of mixed reviews on line for this rifle. What say the hive? Other then cost, How would that compare to a complete rifle such as the Barrett 99 / 95? or maybe an AR-50? Accuracy, durability, not blowing up in my face  , etc ?
Main use of rifle will be Sunday afternoon shooting. Nothing competitive, just blowing up pumpkins at 500+ yards. thanks vatopa |
| I was in your exact position about 9 months ago. I chose the Safety Harbor R-50 rifle with most of the available options. I was unable to find more than one bad review and I was unsure about the bad one I saw. I decided on the R-50. I waited 17 weeks for delivery and the fist shot wouldn't extract. In fact, out of the first 9 rounds I fired through it, only one extracted without brute force applied. The one that extracted only did so because I put a light coating of oil on it to see if the chamber was bad. The thing that really pissed me off was enduring the wait and then getting a defective rifle that couldn't have been tested at the factory. If it had been test fired, it wouldn't, or shouldn't, have shipped. I sent it back to the factory at great inconvenience and waited once again. One month later, the R-50 arrives back. The factory polished the chamber and now every other round failed to extract instead of each one...an improvement but not acceptable. I was refunded the cost of shipping and the cost of the rifle and accessories because "they couldn't make me happy." I guess the whole thing was my fault. Since you are looking for a single shot, I would go with the Serbu BFG 50. They have Lothar/Walther barrels as opposed to the Mossberg ones on the Safety Harbor offerings. |
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Whatever you buy, especially if it is a bolt gun, plan to eventually reload your own ammo.
These guns can be finicky with respect to ammo selection. The above poster likely had ammo issues (which are common) rather than firearm construction issues (which are very rare), but was unable to sort it out due to not having the equipment nor experience to troubleshoot it. Slight differences in chambers and brass, will make some ammo work well in some rifles, and be frustrating in others. It's usually not the fault of the gun manufacturer, nor the ammo guy, but a side effect of no SAMI specifications for either guy to build to. Add the fact most commercial ammo is loaded with enough powder to cycle a machine gun with a 45" barrel (and a bolt gun will have neither) and you can have some issues. Like children: Good ammo starts at home. 
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Quoted:The above poster likely had ammo issues (which are common) rather than firearm construction issues (which are very rare),
but was unable to sort it out due to not having the equipment nor experience to troubleshoot it. Then why did the same ammo that didn't extract in a Safety Harbor, work just fine in a Boys, Barrett, and an AR-50? PMC Bronze is loaded low for bolt guns and it didn't extract in my R-50. I tried hand loads of varying powder types and charges to no avail. When I sized the cases for the R-50, I even chambered them in the rifle, before loading them, to make sure I got them right. Nothing worked. I'm not claiming that all Safety Harbor rifles have issues.....I'm sure they don't. Hell..I wish mine would have been a keeper but at the same time, I was kinda forced into an AR-50 on the rebound...a rifle that was low on my list. It has grown on me, excepting the weight, but a WELL BUILT and dependable platform. I have NO worries when I squeeze off a round. I will again be looking for a lighter 50 in the future but it won't be a Safety Harbor product. |
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Quoted:
Whatever you buy, especially if it is a bolt gun, plan to eventually reload your own ammo. These guns can be finicky with respect to ammo selection. The above poster likely had ammo issues (which are common) rather than firearm construction issues (which are very rare), but was unable to sort it out due to not having the equipment nor experience to troubleshoot it. Slight differences in chambers and brass, will make some ammo work well in some rifles, and be frustrating in others. It's usually not the fault of the gun manufacturer, nor the ammo guy, but a side effect of no SAMI specifications for either guy to build to. Add the fact most commercial ammo is loaded with enough powder to cycle a machine gun with a 45" barrel (and a bolt gun will have neither) and you can have some issues. Like children: Good ammo starts at home. the truth this man specks it....sh single shot 600+rds no ftf or fte,,all hand loads smiley
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Quoted:
...Then why did the same ammo that didn't extract in a Safety Harbor, work just fine in a Boys, Barrett, and an AR-50?... Quoted:
...Then why did the same ammo that didn't extract in a Safety Harbor, work just fine in a Boys, Barrett, and an AR-50?... Slight differences in chambers and brass, will make some ammo work well in some rifles, and be frustrating in others.
It's usually not the fault of the gun manufacturer, nor the ammo guy, but a side effect of no SAMI specifications for either guy to build to. |
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I'm also kinda new to 50's, only about 300 rds under my belt. I have used the Safety Harbor conversion uppers (which is basically the same as the S-50 or R-50) for a few years now. Both guns shoot very well, no real extraction issues, maybe not the most accurate out there, but good shooters. That said, I have seen this extraction issue rear its ugly head on several occasions. Apparently this is not limited to any particular make of .50, but is systematic of certain chamber/ammo combinations. We carry the old wooden dowel/rubber mallet as part of the 50 shooting gear, to get the occasional stuck shell out of the chamber. It's no big deal, just a light tap from the muzzle end and it's out. Most of the time it just takes a firm slap on the bolt to get that stubborn casing out. I have seen this happen on all 4 50s I have shot including Barrett and Safety Harbor.
The accuracy has been so-so but I have never really sat down to try and figure out how to optimize the ammo to this particular gun. Others on this forum say that it is capable of fairly good accuracy, certainly good enough for weekend blasting like your talking. My experience so far is 2 MOA-ish, not going to win any accuracy contests. So far nothing has broken or outright failed. Everything that can come lose will, so your always checking that things are tight. Have plenty of locktite on hand. As far as "Kabooms". Any gun has the potential to explode, given the right combination of inadequate design, poor maintenance and stupidity. It's just when a .50 does it the consequences are more severe and it gets allot more attention. I have only heard of 1 "Kaboom" for the Safety Harbor, but there are allot of them out there so their safety record doesn't raise any red flags for me. PugglePod9000 has one with over 10K rds through it and had to have a new barrel installed. To me that's very encouraging and a testimony to the robustness of the design concept. Overall I think the Safety Harbor is a pretty decent 50 BGM, considering the low costs vs features vs quality of build. I shopped around and looked at all the tube type .50s out there but kept coming back to Safety Harbor. Just ask the seller if this gun has a history of extraction issues. In general stay away from Federal Eagle ammo and hot loaded custom stuff. I talked to a local, well respected .50 ammo reloader and he recommended you stay a bit under mil-spec with respects to powder charge, especially in the tube type bolt action 50s. |
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Quoted: Other then cost, How would that compare to a complete rifle such as the Barrett 99 / 95? or maybe an AR-50? Accuracy, durability, not blowing up in my face , etc ? It is one of the funnest shooting 50s out there. |
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Love my 99. Surprisingly accurate, and not very fussy on ammo. I shoot mostly M33 and 750 AMAX, but when it really counts, I shoot solid brass 750's. Within 3-4" at 500 yards. No complaints here. Shot an AR-50 that belongs to a friend. Really nice rifle, too. Had a little less recoil than my 99, but it was much heavier, too. I wouldn't want anything that weighed more than mine.
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Quoted:
Love my 99. Surprisingly accurate, and not very fussy on ammo. I shoot mostly M33 and 750 AMAX, but when it really counts, I shoot solid brass 750's. Within 3-4" at 500 yards. No complaints here. Shot an AR-50 that belongs to a friend. Really nice rifle, too. Had a little less recoil than my 99, but it was much heavier, too. I wouldn't want anything that weighed more than mine. , Just quoted this, cause this addresses an issue that many have. I personally like my 50 configured as a bench gun. Not really interested in standing up and blasting. But that is what some like to do. So, it is clearly an issue of what do you like to do with your 50. Do you want to reach out as far as you can. Then you want a bench gun and 30 lbs and up will not be an issue. Or do you just want a big cal. / gun that you can blast at things a few hundred yards out. Punch large holes thru things like freon cans or fire extinguishers? So a short barrel and light weight is what your looking for. Ok so you like it shor and light. Or you like me that like them long and heavy. Neither is more right than the other. |
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Quoted:
...Ok so you like it shor and light. Or you like me that like them long and heavy. Neither is more right than the other. I recommend getting them both!
...and then save up and get a Semi-auto too. 
After that all you need is a mid-weight (like an original BFG-50 bolt gun) to round out the collection! 
It's not a problem. It's a hobby. 
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Quoted: , Just quoted this, cause this addresses an issue that many have. I personally like my 50 configured as a bench gun. Not really interested in standing up and blasting. But that is what some like to do. So, it is clearly an issue of what do you like to do with your 50. Do you want to reach out as far as you can. Then you want a bench gun and 30 lbs and up will not be an issue. Or do you just want a big cal. / gun that you can blast at things a few hundred yards out. Punch large holes thru things like freon cans or fire extinguishers? So a short barrel and light weight is what your looking for. Ok so you like it shor and light. Or you like me that like them long and heavy. Neither is more right than the other. Quoted: Quoted: Love my 99. Surprisingly accurate, and not very fussy on ammo. I shoot mostly M33 and 750 AMAX, but when it really counts, I shoot solid brass 750's. Within 3-4" at 500 yards. No complaints here. Shot an AR-50 that belongs to a friend. Really nice rifle, too. Had a little less recoil than my 99, but it was much heavier, too. I wouldn't want anything that weighed more than mine. , Just quoted this, cause this addresses an issue that many have. I personally like my 50 configured as a bench gun. Not really interested in standing up and blasting. But that is what some like to do. So, it is clearly an issue of what do you like to do with your 50. Do you want to reach out as far as you can. Then you want a bench gun and 30 lbs and up will not be an issue. Or do you just want a big cal. / gun that you can blast at things a few hundred yards out. Punch large holes thru things like freon cans or fire extinguishers? So a short barrel and light weight is what your looking for. Ok so you like it shor and light. Or you like me that like them long and heavy. Neither is more right than the other. Well my 99 is 25 pounds. 27 with my scope. It also has a 32" barrel. I shoot prone exclusively, and while I know it will shoot a lot further, I can only get 1000 yds in this area. Still seems quite long range to me. I'm used to 2-300 yds being my "long range" for my AR's and the like.
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