I recently purchased my first 50 in unfired condition from a board member here. A State Arms "Rebel". I had been looking for a 50 for some time and had looked at a host of options. I eventually decided for a 1st rifle I wanted to spend $3000 or less. This narrowed the field of options considerably. Contenders were the AR-50, ALS upper and Taclite uppers. I eventually dropped the idea of the AR-50 as I am left handed and the commonly available (and more affordable) right handed models are less than ideal for a southpaw. I eventually opted for the State Arms rifle vs an upper as I wanted: 1) a stand alone rifle 2) The uppers I was looking at would all be over $3K by the time a nice dedicated lower with PRS stock and good trigger and fifty proof bipod were added.
I am Very happy with my choice! Delivered price on a new rifle is approx $2750
The State Arms rifles are a great value for the money. The machine work on my rifle is excellent. The finish is consistent and attractive. The included bipod is extremely sturdy and well engineered; it is adjustable for height and cant and there is a tension screw to adjust the effort it takes to cant the rifle. This rifle is HEAVY 37lb with a 36" barrel and a 6" muzzle break overall length is 58". Expect to spend $250 for a decent hard case that will fit this rifle. I don't think too many humans could shoot this rifle off hand, the weight is all way forward, this is strictly a bench, bipod or bag gun The trigger is excellent, singles stage, zero creep, 3.5lb with no discernible take up on my rifle. The laminate thumb-hole stock on my rifle is attractive and comfortable, however even with low rings the comb height is too low for a good cheek weld. I added a custom 1" cheek pad from 'cheek and stock' and am happy with the result. If I were to buy another of these rifles I would opt for the chassis stock because of the adjustable comb height. I wasn't sure if I would be pleased with a shell holder type bolt action. Having used this one I am. The action is super robust, extraction is very positive with the huge bolt handle, the brass always comes out of the gun cool to the touch and there is no chasing your brass down, after all everyone saves .50 brass! This gun has no manual safety, I thought this odd but considering the intended purpose of this rifle it doesn't seem to be a detractor, there really is no reason to carry this rifle around loaded as trust me, you don't want to carry it around period. Shooting impression was good. Recoil is minimal, less that a 1903 in .30-06. I attribute this to the weight and muzzlebreak. I have been shooting surplus pulldown ammo from 'survivalops' (which I think is a fantastic bargain!) the gun has been shooting approx 2moa with m33 ball at ranges between 100 and 950 yards. This accuracy is I am quite sure ammo limited. I will report my results shooting 750gr amax loads when I get the chance to. I have no doubt the gun is capable of sub MOA accuracy given the right ammo. For now I am using a fixed 16x Super Sniper scope,now with burris low xtr rings. The scope seems to be decent for the money and thus far tracking and return to zero have been reliable.
So in short I am very pleased with this rifle, I look forward to seeing what it will do with the right load past 1000yds. Everyone who sees this rifle is impressed. I would recommend this rifle to anyone looking for an affordable robust and accurate 50
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