After some negotiations I bought this today....

Gunbroker - Ferret 50

I have never shot or handled a 50 before. I have a couple of newbie questions.

Is the American Eagle black box 50 BMG ammo that wal-mart stocks ok just for testing/plinking? I will order better stuff later as I do not reload yet.

I have been told that I should use earplugs under my electronic ear muffs with the electronic part turned off. Is this correct?

I am going to take it to a brand new professional range that allows the use of 50 BMG rifles to test it so I should have a very safe backdrop. Anything to know about shooting one of these from a bench?

The gun is used and the barrel has already been broken in by the original owner. Do I need to do anything special regarding cleaning or do I just shoot it like any bolt gun?

Thanks

Bob

Well lets see,
First it looks like you only got the upper. So on the lower I believe I had to remove the buffer and spring. I removed the select fire or safety and the dis-connector. Basically this made the lower dedicated to use only with the Ferret upper. I bought a cleaning rod guide from Spider arms. Bought a 60" carbon rod made for 50 cal, a much larger dia rod.

My range has smooth concrete benches. Even so, I put a towel down so that my elbow does not rub a hole in it. Found out the hard way after 10 rounds. It is possible that you will be pushed back 3-4". Get a good firm grip and pull back tight into the shoulder. Otherwise you might be wearing your scope on your eye brow. But not meant to scare ya. The actual pulse of the recoil is no worse than a 12 ga, 2.75 cartridge.

Lastly, welcome to the family of Ferret 50 owners. I have a super comp 36" with a tight chamber. I have to neck turn the brass before I can shoot it in mine. Great guns. And as far as I am concerned one of the safest. The firing pin is cammed back when the bolt is lifted.

Welcome to the .50 cal !

Do consider joining the Fifty Caliber Shooters' Assn.  You're entering a whole new world and will find you have a LOT of questions.  .50 is significantly different than the other calibers, so even if you have extensive experience as a shooter, you're going to find this is all different now.

As mentioned, you're going to need different cleaning gear than what you've had.  Longer stiffer rods, bigger jags and patches, different cleaning solutions, etc.  Ditto for reloading gear and a carrying case.  Scopes are a picky issue with the .50.  Most what you can buy off the shelf at your local gun store, Walmart, etc won't last.  Leupold Mk 4, Nightforce, US Optics, etc are the norm, but you're talking $1500 to $1800 for glass.  About the only way to go cheaper is the fixed power Bushnell Elite at around $600, but that is very limiting in what you can do.  People squawk about the price of glass for the .50 but it's a matter of survival.  .50's eat cheap glass, no way around it.  Glass has to be S-T-O-U-T and that take $$.  Anything less and expect to buy new glass after each trip to the range.

The .50 leaves a lot of brass fouling.  Sweet's 7.62, Barnes cleaner, the Barrett cleaner, etc. will save you a lot of aggravation getting the fouling out.  So look for the more aggressive cleaners than what you're used to.

At your range, be advised the .50 clears off shooting benches, so don't leave things on the bench next to the gun.  Also, as a courtesy, use the far end of the shooting line from other shooters and give them a headsup.  Even if there's another .50 shooter there, skip a shooting position, don't pick the next bench to him.  You'll be hated in 10 minutes otherwise if you don't make a concerted effort to fit in on the range.  Worse, .50's will be banned in weeks if you don't take precautions.  This has happened dozens of times.

Double hearing protection is recommended, especially if you are shooting from covered positions.  I've not heard of anyone having to turn off their earmuffs, before, so don't know there.

The Black Box AE/Federal/Lake City is common plinking fodder as it is just MG-grade ammo.  It's a bit stout though, so your gun may not like it.  Check with Dave at Spider Firearms to see if he has any specific recommendations.

Once you prepare, you will find this is just a hoot and a half!

Welcome to the club. Prepare for the biggest shit eating grin after shooting the 1st round. The previous posters gave great responses. Take your time and learn as you go since you have never fired one before. I have shot 50 while in the army so was familiar when I bought mine. Wasn't sure I wanted to get into 50 BMG so went with least expensive, Saftey Harbors SHTF in a 22 inch barrel. A blast to shoot. The previous posters were not kidding about double hearing protection and having a clean table when shooting. Defenately a expensive round to shoot. If your not reloading like me (for now), I have ordered form survival ops (https://www.survivalops.com/) with good success. They just take a while to get your ammo. Picked up a SWFA SS scope for now (http://swfa.com/SWFA-SS-MOA-Scopes-C4226.aspx) to keep costs down. If I decide later on getting into competition, then will spend the bucks on a good setup. For now, just having fun while learning. Enjoy and be safe shooting. Inspect often for safe shooting. Don't forget to post a pic of your rifle in the pic section.

I did not want the bushmaster lower they had with it (I have plenty of lowers) so I negotiated for the upper with scope, bipod, stainless pins, and the upgraded ferret trigger/hammer set with heavy hammer and heavy spring. Its in very nice condition and I think $1800 was a good deal on a used Ferret. Its a 29" barrel (which happened to be the length I wanted) and the scope is a Leupold VX-II 6-18x40. I ordered a couple of boxes of American Eagle ammo and a solid stock for one of my lowers. I hope to have it shooting for the 4th.

Thanks to everyone for the info.

Don't forget pics when its all together.

Ditto, would love to see your rig once you have it all put together.

Welcome to the club!

Great deal. I have a Ferret upper and it is a quality unit. I bought my upper used and it didn't come with the lower. I tested my upper using .50 blanks, to make sure I wouldn't get a hang fire, the standard AR-15 FCG didn't have enough umph to set off the primers. A quick call to the Spider Arms and I had a heavy hammer set bought and on the way. Once that was in place I haven't had a single problem.



 

I've got a couple sets of high end Peltor electronic earmuffs and I leave them turned on when shooting my 50.  I do like to put 1 foam ear plug in my right ear as sometimes the rifle bumps it and it prevents that blast from making my right ear ring. The biggest thing to remember when shooting yhour 50 is to always hold it tight against your shoulder.  That help prevent the scope kissing your eye.

Never had a problem with the scope. My problem was trying to get a good sight picture and letting the butt stock move up my shoulder. I didn't notice the butt stock was way up on my shoulder. Fired the rifle and oh my God I thought I had broken my collar bone.  Took a good 10-15 minutes of cussing before I decided nothing was broke, but I do make damn sure the stock is tucked in nice and tight in my shoulder before firing now.



 

The SWFA SS on my Barrett was under $500 OTD...with a burly mount.

I think I paid around $600 or so for my Millett LRS.  It's held up fine for a few thousand rounds.

Konus M30 Pro on mine sells for 350-500$ online and has survived 100+ rounds from my 22" SHTF 50

Shot it for the first time today. It was interesting.

Youtube link

Took me three rounds to get on paper (I have never shot high power or long range before and I had to figure out the scope). It clearly shoots better than I do.

I had to stop after 5 rounds as the recoil was causing the 2 screws that hold the ACE but pad on to become embedded into my shoulder. It had enough recoil to completely compress the 1" ACE butt pad. There were people who had never seen a 50 BMG fire before watching from behind the line. All of them immediately left after the first shot. I had the stock correctly positioned and held very tight to my shoulder. Other have described the recoil as a hard push a little bigger than a 12ga shotgun. The recoil of  these 5 rounds was tremendously more than any 12ga I have handled.  The ammo was some new old stock American Eagle XM33C from a local reputable gun store and the brass is marked L C 1 3. I understand this to mean Lake CIty 2013.

Anyone know if some of the LC13 XM33C ammo was loaded hot? I ordered some other ammo and it just is not here yet so I have nothing to compare it to.

I would say my 22" SHTF50 upper's recoil is equivalent to a 12 gauge with buckshot and the whole rifle can not weigh more than 18 lbs 45-70's and 7MM mag rifles have way more recoil. I would think maybe something is wrong with your muzzle brake as it is what mitigates the amount of felt recoil. 5 rounds and you are compressing your buttpad to the point where the screw are digging into your shoulder does not sound right to me.

Ok, like I said I have one of those there Ferret 50s. And I have the 36" tube on it. Which helps with making the rifle weigh more. And I have the A2 stock on the lower. You can find and buy the lead weight that fills the tool box in the stock. But I had to try my hand at making a mold and cast my own weight. I also gutted and filled a 20 rnd mag. I think that the two added about 5 lbs to the rifle. I also have a Night Force 8X32 benchrest scope on top. I think it all added up to about 32 lbs. I hand load my own ammo. An AMax 750gr projectile over about 218gr of H50BMG power. This produces a recoil that I liken to a 12 ga shotgun with a push back of about 3 - 4". I do take a small bath towel and tri-fold it length wise and place over the shoulder like a burp rag when you feed a baby. Our benches are made of smooth concrete tops. But it aint so smooth when your elbow moves back under weight. So, I thow a old hand towel down to help with this. Forgot it one time and tried to tough it out. Well I was bleeding after 10 shots.

BTW loose the Ace butt pad if it compresses. Sounds like it is just a mater of time before you wear your scopes eye piece. Use a solid stock and just use a towel to buffer the worse of the recoil.

The whole setup with lower, scope, and upper with bipod is 30 pounds. The stock is an ACE skeleton as I don't care for A2 style stocks. Others have reported using the ACE stock on 50BMG setups with no issue. I will switch the butt pad to the 1/2" one that is more rigid. I may find a lead filled 20rd mag and see if it helps. I will have to check with the mfg and see if the newer muzzle brake can be used on the older generation barrel. No issue with scope kiss as I get good cheek weld and have plenty of eye relief distance. I tried a dish towel folded up between the pad and my shoulder on the third shot. The recoil imprinted the raised pattern design on the towel into my skin (through my shirt) and actually seemed to make it worse. Maybe its the ammo. I have new ammo coming in a week so I will have something to compare it to.

Thanks

Maybe try this... http://www.tactilite.com/Adjustable-M-P-Magpul-Pachmayr-Adapter-and-Pad-p/rp-0053.htm
I have one on my magpul PRS stock. Its firm but works great with my safety harbors 50 BMG with 22 in barrel.

THIS  mine has seen + or - 1500 rds still works fine....

Ditto on the FCSA.

www.FCSA.org

A good brake can make all the difference.  The original "wasp nest" brake on my Windrunner looked cool, but was absolutely worthless at taming recoil.  The replacement brake (no longer made) makes it so gentle that it can be shot w/o touching the butt pad.  Bystanders say it's quieter than the old brake as well.  Pick of gun w/new brake.

Is that a Dick Fisher brake?

From the GunBroker or YouTube pics, it's difficult to tell what model muzzle brake is on your rifle.
The first Ferret50 brakes were not very effective (and to me, made recoil worse!)
If your brake looks like this one:



Then call up Dave over at www.ferret50.com and see about getting the latest version.  It will make all the difference in the world!

//Ben

Yep that's the brake I have.



I talked to Dave at ferret50 and he will have some of the new brakes available sometime in august for $155.

I ordered a 20rd steel mag which I will fill with lead to add weight. I also purchased a limbsaver butt pad and installed it on the ACE stock The larger/longer/wider pad should spread out the force. I am going to go shoot it with the new ammo in a couple of weeks and see if there is a difference. If not I will go ahead and order the new brake.

Thanks

Bob

The new style muzzle brakes are purchased from State Arms.

The AR-50 brake is much more efficient at reducing felt recoil, I used one to replace the 4-port brake on my State Arms Shorty = much better at reducing felt recoil.

Both are better than your current brake.

Good grief, never seen a brake that looked like that. I hear that the AR-50 is one sweet brake. Dont really know myself. But I have the 4 port shark gill looking brake and I can live with it.