[wakeride74]

Well .50 would be considered "large caliber" and its civilian use is really just long range sport target shooting unless you want to hunt a T-Rex or something. If you are looking for something less powerful I really like the AR-15 which can be discussed at http://www.ar15.com/ and is the semi-auto or civilian version of the M16... very accurate and smooth as butter to fire. You can buy all kinds of mods for it and customize it to your tastes.

Not sure if you just want to discuss or if you are looking to purchase but if this is for a future buy I would suggest going to a range that rents guns and sample some different things to see what you like.

 

[Welly Wu]

If you are looking for information about anti-materiel 0.50 (12.5mm) up to 14.5mm rifles, then you need to look into sniper's paradise which was linked as well as other sniper centric websites. Be very careful about phrasing your questions because they can smell a civ from 2000+ yards away. Anyway, you will also get pretty good information from the 0.50 caliber benchrest community so do a search as I know it is there somewhere. They are into marksmanship and competition with great handloading data information as well. There is talk of anti-materiel rifles here and there within that community as well.

McMillan Bros, Barrett USA, and even ArmaLite produce very very limited quantities of 0.50 caliber rifles for both the civilian and LE/Military markets. 14.5mm anti-materiel rifles are not produced for the civilian market in the USA and they are not yet fashionable with the LE/Military markets en masse either. However, the USMC and Army sniper units have been toying with 14.5mm anti-materiel rifles for some time now, but they don't have a service rifle as of yet for this behemoth of a rifle as they think that if a .50 caliber rifle can't do it, then send in the Tomahawk CM or Harpoon or 2,500lb LGSB. Http://www.mcbros.com, http://www.barrett-usa.com, http://www.armalite, http://www.hs-precision.com, http://www.benchrest.com, http://www.fcsa.org, http://www.thefiringline.com, http://www.sofmagazine.com all off the top of my head that have limited information about 0.50 caliber anti-materiel & competition grade rifles in the USA. You should now have enough information to find more information.

Please tell me that this information is not going to be used to commit a crime in your country or that you will produce an anti-0.50+ caliber documentary either.

All very interesting.

 

[Welly Wu]

For most 0.50 caliber and up rifles, there is a muzzlebrake that is ported so that the hot gas is directed at an angle away from the shooter. So, the rifle will literally jump forward each time a round is fired. That increases safety because all of the enormous pressure is directed away from the shooter's shoulder and face and the combination of a spring loaded "buffer" helps to control rearward motion. The disadvantage is that it increases perceived muzzle blast SPL about one third to double and it decreases accuracy especially when the bullet, as large as it may be and heavy even if it is a HPBT, right out of the muzzlebrake. Compromises must be made in especially large caliber small arms. An interesting side note is the usage of very long flash/sound suppressors on 0.50 caliber rifles which decrease felt recoil, gunshot SPL, and actually increase accuracy by about 0.05 of an inch or better. Flash/sound suppressors that are made of stainless steel and feature a baffled design are particulary effective and innovative as compared to other designs but they come at the price of increased heat dissipation (hence, more time to air cool is required). All very interesting.

 

[Welly Wu]

There are 0.50 caliber muzzle loader rifles that are both of modern centerfire design and antiques dating back to the beginning of American history from the Revolutionary War. Both are still legal for hunting and civilian ownership. For modern centerfire muzzle loaders, you simply choose the style of sabot or ball bullet and pack in the appropriate number of capsules of black powder, lubricate the inner chrome lined barrel, load it using the supplied steel rod, load in a firing cap, disengage the safety mechanism, and wait for your prey to give you a sight picture. Antique muzzle loaders require two different types of black powder such as FFFG and FFG for flintlocks and the newer cap systems simply require FFG black powder and a pre-manufactered "snap cap." All very interesting.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 Not sure if you just want to discuss or if you are looking to purchase but if this is for a future buy I would suggest going to a range that rents guns and sample some different things to see what you like.

Looking to discuss with actual users, hence call for forum recommendations. Going to a range is not practical right now as I'll be on the other side of the world for a while. I or a colleague will be going stateside however in the not too distant future.

 

[lini]

For large calibre, going vintage is also a nice option. For example, replicas of the Harpers Ferry and the Zouave pistols should be still available - both in cal. .58, iirc...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Honestly speaking, I don't see any justified use of .50BMG weapons in a civilian situation.

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution stands for the notion that free citizens need not "justify" their lawful ownership and use of firearms. While this stems from our common British legal heritage, somewhere the commonwealth nations either lost these rights or allowed them to be taken away. This is both a shame and an outrage.

 

[Hey_Its_Cole]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Honestly speaking, I don't see any justified use of .50BMG weapons in a civilian situation. But thank the lord that we have the Americans to say "**** that" and provide a ready market for proving these things Thanks for the links, and keep them coming if you have more.

Agreed you have to find a certified range to even shoot them or some private property with a mountain on them. Honestly It is a silly gun for the civilian market. I like .308s and .338 Lapua (A big round though). This company does great M40s as I have had the priveledge to play with one.M40. I have a fetish for Accuracy International but they are quite expensive and many even call them over priced. FN has a nice rifle out that I have heard great things about as well. I really like Sigs rifles as well but they get up there in price. I will see if I can find some good web sites on sniper rifles and I will post them up.

 

[trains are bad]

Quote:

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution stands for the notion that free citizens need not "justify" their lawful ownership and use of firearms. While this stems from our common British legal heritage, somewhere the commonwealth nations either lost these rights or allowed them to be taken away. This is both a shame and an outrage.

I'll make a semantic argument and say that they didn't lose the rights. They still have the fundamental human right whatever property and pursuits make them happy, however that right has been infringed. Since rights don't come from governments, governments can't 'take them away'.

I honestly don't see why anyone has a practical need for headphones, unless they are a professional recording engineer.

 

[bangraman]

An extremely poor analogy

 

[Jam_Master_J]

As Wakeride mentioned AR15.com is a good site for some info. I also go to Canadian Gun Nutz which is of course Canadian but has lots of good info.

 

[Hey_Its_Cole]

I hate Ar15.com way to many Dale Gribles.

 

[BlindTiger]

I'm not fond of ar15. com, too.
that's why I'm on sigforum.

 

[setmenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lini For large calibre, going vintage is also a nice option. For example, replicas of the Harpers Ferry and the Zouave pistols should be still available - both in cal. .58, iirc... Greetings from Hannover! Manfred / lini

I have a Harpers Ferry .58 cal pistol.[a flintlock]
It shoots a 280 grain patched ball.
It's not exactly a precision target pistol but with
a bit of trigger work it can group pretty well and
is great for honing those follow through skills.

On the other hand there are those who shoot
bolt action .50cal bmg long range pistols!

.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hey_Its_Cole I hate Ar15.com way to many Dale Gribles.

It's definitely a weeding process but there is some good info if you sift through the BS.