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Why so few mag fed bolt action 50BMG rifles? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 4/27/2024 9:54:30 PM EDT
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It seems like there are many single shot rifles but way fewer mag fed ones and they are usually a whole lot more. I just don’t understand why these companies don’t add a mag well as standard. I’d think it would cost them little and they could dominate the market. It feels like it would be easy to just leave the space there for one even if it meant using a competitors mags like Barrett’s yet there is almost always an upcharge of thousands to get that feature. Can anyone please explain why that is? I feel no other caliber has the same issue and mags (even if internal mags) are standard so you don’t end up with a single shot gun. |
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Other than Barrett, who makes a 50 BMG magazine? This may be the problem, as most 50 BMG bolt actions are made by small companies that don't have the money for a very small run of a huge, unique magazine by any of the magazine makers like Magpul, Mec-Gar or Checkmate. |
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A mag fed bolt gun is not easy to manufacture and get reliable from batch to batch. Yes, Barrett has it down pat. But it was a hell of a lot of trial and error. The older M90 was still pretty much hand fit in all the trigger components. Getting the sear to cocking piece fitment was a real PITA. After the modification to the M95, it became easier. It would take a large company on the order of S&W and the like with a large R&D budget to bring something like a mag fed bolt gun to market. |
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Thanks. Is there a reason that to solve the magazine issue they couldn’t just use Barrett mags as standard? Hell, maybe even just include a plug for the mag well upon sale that can be removed to use a mag if they don’t want to ship with a mag. That process seems to work for other platforms that take glock mags or p90 mags to avoid having to redesign something that is genuinely very tough to do right like the magazine. I agree that there are more critical dimensions to worry about at that point but is it still really that infeasible? Seems to just need feed ramps, and two points for mag to lock in a the right position and an extended firing pin/striker in a longer bolt to clear the mag in thinking about it more just now I think that maybe it might be about receiver strength too? If there is a huge hole in the bottom for the mag, maybe the receiver would need to be redesigned from a single shot to be wider to keep more meat. Still though, I might be in the minority but single shot 50s aren’t nearly as compelling vs magazine fed ones personally. |
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Because most people aren't looking for a repeater in .50. Adds weight and complexity. Everyone LOVES the BMG, but few people want to shell out the money to own one. So you have the Barretts, which are well established, and everything else, trying to enter the market at a lower price point. AI offers one... Go price that out and get back to us. |
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Originally Posted By henryfrank: Yea. Seems safety harbor and mccutchen are the only budget offerings now and both of those are uppers for ar15 lowers. Anyone know if either is decent? I had a Safety Harbor complete rifle with mag from new. It had chamber problems so I had to return it twice...the second time it was permanent. Many here claim their SH rifles and uppers are reliable. I liked that they were light compared to most 50's and had a magazine option at a good price. I'm pretty sure they are not manufacturing the complete rifle right now so you may have to look at their upper option if they got their ATF dispute cleared up. |
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Originally Posted By henryfrank: I just don’t understand why these companies don’t add a mag well as standard. I’d think it would cost them little and they could dominate the market. I think you’re grossly overestimating the size of the market for starters. Also you can’t just add a magwell to existing designs and expect it to be good and in many cases it isn’t even possible to add. It really needs to be designed from the ground up to be a repeater. An action designed as a single shot conventional bolt action (like the Armalite) doesn’t really have the room and material to cut a giant hole in it for a mag to go through. The market is strange. Most people don’t want to spend a ton of money and that’s why you see so many of the cheap single shot guns. People with money jump directly to expensive stuff like an 82/107 or fancy bolt guns. Guns like the 99 fall into a weird place where they are more money than the cheapos want to spend but maybe too plain for the guys with bigger budgets. There have been numerous bolt guns made. The Cobb/Bushmaster/Remington was made in quantity and they never seemed to sell well. I think a single shot is more than enough for most people. I can shoot my single shot guns as fast as I want to and if you need to go fast you get a semi. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By Kalashnikov762: I had a Safety Harbor complete rifle with mag from new. It had chamber problems so I had to return it twice...the second time it was permanent. Many here claim their SH rifles and uppers are reliable. I liked that they were light compared to most 50's and had a magazine option at a good price. I'm pretty sure they are not manufacturing the complete rifle right now so you may have to look at their upper option if they got their ATF dispute cleared up. What were the problems. I haven’t shot mine much but it has a tighter chamber than my Barrett. The crappy talon ammo I had that locked up my 82 was super tight and could be hard to eject in the Safety Harbor. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By engineer61: Other than Barrett, who makes a 50 BMG magazine? This may be the problem, as most 50 BMG bolt actions are made by small companies that don't have the money for a very small run of a huge, unique magazine by any of the magazine makers like Magpul, Mec-Gar or Checkmate. AICS AX50 ELR 
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So what’s your budget? Might find some used guns. Used Remington https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1048606338 |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: What were the problems. I haven’t shot mine much but it has a tighter chamber than my Barrett. The crappy talon ammo I had that locked up my 82 was super tight and could be hard to eject in the Safety Harbor. Stuck brass. When new, brass would stick with every shot. It didn't matter if it was factory ammo or reloads. Sent it back. Chamber was polished and returned to me. Then, only half of the cases stuck. Still unacceptable so it went back for refund. Then I bought an AR50 and have had zero issues. |
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Originally Posted By Falconpilot1: I was really hoping the Barrett MRADELR was going to fit this bill... I still feel like they missed the boat on that one... I wanted to have a quick change .416 Barrett and .50 BMG... 
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My Saftey Harbor has never been an issue. Mind you I don't shoot it a whole lot. Attached File |
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Originally Posted By Ehtacs: You and me both, my dude! I'm still hopeful that they'll do it one day. While a 50 MRAD would not outperform the ELR, I bet it would outsell it. Well at least until USSOCOM buys 5,000 of the ELRs Originally Posted By Ehtacs: Originally Posted By Falconpilot1: I was really hoping the Barrett MRADELR was going to fit this bill... I still feel like they missed the boat on that one... I wanted to have a quick change .416 Barrett and .50 BMG... It would made more sense in the long run as the ELR cartridges will be growing in length... ELR is here to stay and will be growing in popularity.. |
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Originally Posted By Kalashnikov762: Stuck brass. When new, brass would stick with every shot. It didn't matter if it was factory ammo or reloads. Sent it back. Chamber was polished and returned to me. Then, only half of the cases stuck. Still unacceptable so it went back for refund. Then I bought an AR50 and have had zero issues. Originally Posted By Kalashnikov762: Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: What were the problems. I haven’t shot mine much but it has a tighter chamber than my Barrett. The crappy talon ammo I had that locked up my 82 was super tight and could be hard to eject in the Safety Harbor. Stuck brass. When new, brass would stick with every shot. It didn't matter if it was factory ammo or reloads. Sent it back. Chamber was polished and returned to me. Then, only half of the cases stuck. Still unacceptable so it went back for refund. Then I bought an AR50 and have had zero issues. Mine did that with Talon but one of the new manufacturers I had didn’t I just can’t remember which one. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By Falconpilot1: It would made more sense in the long run as the ELR cartridges will be growing in length... ELR is here to stay and will be growing in popularity.. Originally Posted By Falconpilot1: Originally Posted By Ehtacs: Originally Posted By Falconpilot1: I was really hoping the Barrett MRADELR was going to fit this bill... I still feel like they missed the boat on that one... I wanted to have a quick change .416 Barrett and .50 BMG... It would made more sense in the long run as the ELR cartridges will be growing in length... ELR is here to stay and will be growing in popularity.. Making it unnecessarily heavy doesn’t really make sense in the long run. At this level people who want one aren’t looking to save a few bucks and run a bunch of calibers. Down the road they can make a dedicated 50 if they think there’s a market. I’m not sure there is. It’s really a different market segment. One of the reasons there’s so few mag fed guns is because it’s so niche. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: It’s really a different market segment. One of the reasons there’s so few mag fed guns is because it’s so niche. One of the suppressors I make, is for the .50BMG, and you are right it is a very different market segment. There is the small d*ck big gun crowd, there is the I have more money than God and want to buy cool shit crowd, and then you have the guys who just love the .50. It's a very unique market for sure. |
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Originally Posted By lightguy: If you cant do in one shot with a .50 BMG you're doing it wrong. I would disagree. Things that would warrant a .50 are better served with several rounds of it to ensure it catches on fire, changes shape, or has sufficient projectiles bouncing around in a steel box to let everyone inside to get a dose. |
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Originally Posted By notso: Steyr made the HS50 in a mag fed model for a little while too The Steyr HS.50 M1 is still available. 5-shot mag. Bolt action. Shooters have used them pretty much stock, to win .50BMG competitions. Desert Tech also has their HTi. Barrel swappable to switch between .375CT or .408CT using the same bolt, or .416 and .50BMG swapping a shared bolt, and different barrels. Bolt + barrel caliber swap can be done in 1-2 minutes. 5-rd mags. |
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Originally Posted By engineer61: Other than Barrett, who makes a 50 BMG magazine? This may be the problem, as most 50 BMG bolt actions are made by small companies that don't have the money for a very small run of a huge, unique magazine by any of the magazine makers like Magpul, Mec-Gar or Checkmate. I believe Safety Harbor makes their own mags. They work pretty well too. |
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Originally Posted By bluemax_1: Desert Tech also has their HTi. Barrel swappable to switch between .375CT or .408CT using the same bolt, or .416 and .50BMG swapping a shared bolt, and different barrels. Bolt + barrel caliber swap can be done in 1-2 minutes. 5-rd mags. If they made a left hand HTI, I'd own one. SJC |
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Originally Posted By StampCollector87: AICS AX50 ELR https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/193723/864E6D37-49F5-4524-8420-7368DD5226FF-2559679.jpg The crem de la crem |
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Originally Posted By StampCollector87: AICS AX50 ELR https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/193723/864E6D37-49F5-4524-8420-7368DD5226FF-2559679.jpg Looks loud. Mine got quiet last month.  
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Originally Posted By engineer61: Other than Barrett, who makes a 50 BMG magazine? This may be the problem, as most 50 BMG bolt actions are made by small companies that don't have the money for a very small run of a huge, unique magazine by any of the magazine makers like Magpul, Mec-Gar or Checkmate. Armalight makes one. https://armalite.com/product/bolt-action/ar-50-a1-repeater/ |
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Neat. 
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Originally Posted By Hoser: Looks loud. Mine got quiet last month. https://i.imgur.com/FUeUD9X.jpg https://i.imgur.com/w2rH433.jpg How's the recoil on the TBAC? My Tac 50 /Turbodyne was brutal. Hope you are doing well. It's been a minute. Wade Stuteville |
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Holy shit Wade! Great to hear from you. Yes it has been a few years. The recoil isnt bad at all and it sounds like a suppressed 308. I shot a total of 5 rounds through my AAC Cyclops before it put it on a shelf. I thought I was going to dislodge a retina. And I shoot my 416 Rigby and 470 Nitro often. Call Zak and Ray. Get one. |
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Originally Posted By henryfrank: It seems like there are many single shot rifles but way fewer mag fed ones and they are usually a whole lot more. I just don't understand why these companies don't add a mag well as standard. I'd think it would cost them little and they could dominate the market. It feels like it would be easy to just leave the space there for one even if it meant using a competitors mags like Barrett's yet there is almost always an upcharge of thousands to get that feature. Can anyone please explain why that is? I feel no other caliber has the same issue and mags (even if internal mags) are standard so you don't end up with a single shot gun. Huh? There are quite a bit of choices for mag-fed 50 BMG rifles: Barrett M82A1 (and versions of it) Barrett M95 Armalite AR-50 A1 Repeater Serbu BFG-50A Bushmaster BA50 Accuracy International AX50 Desert Tech HTI 50BMG Cobb FA50(T) EDM Arms Windrunner 50 GM6 Lynx .50 Safety Harbor SHTF 50 McMillan TAC-50C Steyr HS .50 M1 That's more than a dozen options right there. I'm sure there are more I can't think of... but there are far from "few choices" for a mag-fed 50BMG rifle... 
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"And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods."
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Originally Posted By jtb33: Huh? There are quite a bit of choices for mag-fed 50 BMG rifles: Barrett M82A1 (and versions of it) Barrett M95 Armalite AR-50 A1 Repeater Serbu BFG-50A Bushmaster BA50 Accuracy International AX50 Desert Tech HTI 50BMG Cobb FA50(T) EDM Arms Windrunner 50 GM6 Lynx .50 Safety Harbor SHTF 50 McMillan TAC-50C Steyr HS .50 M1 That's more than a dozen options right there. I'm sure there are more I can't think of... but there are far from "few choices" for a mag-fed 50BMG rifle... Well your list is a bit off it includes semi autos and guns no longer made. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Thompson TA050. Uses Barrett 50 mags. *Edit they also offer this chambered in .416 Barrett. Link |
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Originally Posted By Grimjaw5: CADEX DEFENCE CDX-50 TREMOR 50BMG https://www.cadexdefence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/CDX-50-50SS-TREMOR-main.webp They also make a 20/50 now. |
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Originally Posted By 50cal: A mag fed bolt gun is not easy to manufacture and get reliable from batch to batch. Yes, Barrett has it down pat. But it was a hell of a lot of trial and error. The older M90 was still pretty much hand fit in all the trigger components. Getting the sear to cocking piece fitment was a real PITA. After the modification to the M95, it became easier. It would take a large company on the order of S&W and the like with a large R&D budget to bring something like a mag fed bolt gun to market. Safety Harbor did it on a shoestring and with their own mags. |
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Originally Posted By realwar: They also make a 20/50 now. Originally Posted By realwar: Originally Posted By Grimjaw5: CADEX DEFENCE CDX-50 TREMOR 50BMG https://www.cadexdefence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/CDX-50-50SS-TREMOR-main.webp They also make a 20/50 now. Got a link? All I see is the 14.5x114mm. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
| Only one I've ever seen was the Anzio. I get the appeal of hotrods in general but 50bmg is more than enough for me. I think if I wanted more I'd want the 20mm. It's all a dream at this point for me because of the cost. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By engineer61: Other than Barrett, who makes a 50 BMG magazine? This may be the problem, as most 50 BMG bolt actions are made by small companies that don't have the money for a very small run of a huge, unique magazine by any of the magazine makers like Magpul, Mec-Gar or Checkmate. But imagine a magpul group buy….. |
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Originally Posted By Kalashnikov762: Safety Harbor did it on a shoestring and with their own mags. Originally Posted By Kalashnikov762: Originally Posted By 50cal: A mag fed bolt gun is not easy to manufacture and get reliable from batch to batch. Yes, Barrett has it down pat. But it was a hell of a lot of trial and error. The older M90 was still pretty much hand fit in all the trigger components. Getting the sear to cocking piece fitment was a real PITA. After the modification to the M95, it became easier. It would take a large company on the order of S&W and the like with a large R&D budget to bring something like a mag fed bolt gun to market. Safety Harbor did it on a shoestring and with their own mags. The design was Serbu. When the guy that started Safety Harbor left Serbu, he took a lot of design work Mark had hashed out already. |
I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me and say "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals.
Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis
Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis
The Steyr HS-50 M1 Austria's Underrated .50 Cal: The Steyr HS-50 M1 https://www.eurooptic.com/steyr-hs-50-460-rifles |
Why so few mag fed bolt action 50BMG rifles? (Page 1 of 2)
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