Does anyone have experience with Noreen ULR rifles?  What should the accuracy and quality expectations be?

You couldn't give me one.

Sorry if it hurts your feelings, but the Noreen rifles need a lot of improvement before being sold.

Sharp edges abound - you will be cut.

I am looking to get a 50 BMG and dont want to go all out yet to see how I like it.  Are the State Arms Rebels up to snuff?

I've had a ULR for a couple of years and have not had one issue with it.
I cut the barrel down to 18" and use it for deer hunting out of a ground blind.
They even made me a Left hand butt stock and didn't charge extra for doing it.
While not a 1,000 yd match rifle, I've had no problem in putting an Amax into a deer out to 600 yards.
One day I'll get it chambered in 50 spotter and use it in PA for a suppressed deer hunt.

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I don't know why anyone would hunt with a 50 bmg in this part of the world. Grizzly and polar bears are the only two things I can think of that 50 would be good for. Even then it might be overkill.

I can bring down  whitetail at 600 yards with my .270 match rifle, and have meat left to put in the freezer, hitting with a .50 would blow them apart!

I hit a groundhog with my AR-50 using an M-33 projo and thought the hog would blow into pieces.  It did not.....just a small hole in the shoulder in and out.  I'm not aware of an expanding bullet for the 50 but that would be necessary to make a big mess.  My 06 makes a much bigger hole in animals than my 50 does.

Do you have any pics of it?

I had one when they first came out.  Ultra heavy and the sharp edges are for real.  I cut my RH (shooting hand multiple times) with the rifle.  The rifle shot well and the brake was very effective.  I'd compare it to my 243.  I ended up selling it due to weight and being cut by the rifle on every shot.

Absolutely the case about the sharp edges for all but the latest revised rifles from Q3 2015 onward, in my experience.



They didn't seem too bad to me, aren't they about 30lbs?

My main gripe with the ULR, now that they actually deburr their parts , is that they're a shellholder design and look very improvised/crude. For about the same cost, you'd be better off getting a State Arms if you're okay with a shellholder design and the weight, as their rifles are exceptionally nice. They've got a nice variation of their Rebel with a 36" Lothar Walther barrel and aluminum setup that is probably what Noreen copied, and it's hardly more than the ULR in a similar getup at $2,450 I think.



Personally, I think it's a better deal overall. Nicer barrel, crisper trigger, more polished look. Even the 30" barrel Rebel model is $2,250 and the ULR is basically a copy of that.

Is the shell holder design a big hassle?  Should I save up and buy a AR-50? I really like the look and features of the State Arms Rebel with the chassis.

There's nothing inherently wrong with a shellholder design, no. I just personally don't prefer them, I like traditional bolts instead of opening the action and taking the whole thing out to reload. A big advantage of the shellholder design is that they're shorter actions, stiffer (when done right) which helps with better accuracy, and technically speaking the lock time should be shorter.

Lol, any of you guys who hate your Noreens want to unload them at a good price?

You might try gunshops in MT, in Gallatin County. Used ULRs are a fairly regular sight, usually for a good price. They're alright rifles these days, as I said I simply don't like shellholder designs. Personal preference.

What does a used ULR in good shape go for?

Most recent I saw was lightly used, $1,750 with whatever scope was on there. Nothing fancy, and I don't recall the brand. Sorry to not be of more assistance!

I would be done with that price.  I want to just get an entry level 50 and if I like it sell that and purchase something nicer.

My suggestion is to check auction sites regularly, and maybe even consider one of the Safety Harbor AR uppers. They're not too pricey, either.

What would the accuracy expectations be for a safety harbor AR upper and are they safe?

Safe, yes, absolutely in my opinion and experience.

Accuracy... well, they're not a match gun like some of the State Arms guns are. They're just a simple and inexpensive single shot AR upper. Don't expect miracles, but 1.5 MOA is doable, better if you pay good attention to the upper/lower fit, have a good scope, and hand load your rounds. If you're not rolling your own, don't expect match accuracy from anything at all, unless you're buying top shelf ammo. With the SHF upper, I had no problem hitting a 5" gong every time at 400 yards with XM33.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that if you're wanting a very accurate gun, you'll need good ammo, and decent optics. If you're looking for decent and cheap, you're not going to get a match gun. Even the ULR and State Arms models won't be sub-MOA without really good ammo and plenty of work on your part as far as being a good shot, and going past those to more accurate guns will set you back easily five digits when you figure in the scope and so on. Then in a different direction, some uppers such as the Tactilite and Ferret are incredibly accurate with good loads, a good scope, and a great shooter, and we're talking under 1/2 MOA.

If you won't be happy unless you've got a sub-MOA .50, keep saving instead of settling for a cheap solution. You'll need a reloading setup for 50, or you'll need to pay quite a bit for excellent ammo. Or, if you'd be happy hitting a reasonable size target, try out a cheaper rifle or upper with relatively inexpensive ammo and go from there.

It really comes down to what your goal is with this purchase, and there's a lot to consider. Same situation with any rifle, really.

Sounds good, thanks for the advice.

The first week of deer season Is 50 caliber week. A 50 bmg + 50-70  rifle and a .500 S&W pistol are my tools.
After a week of carrying around the cannons, I'll give myself a break and bring out the puny calibers.
I've done more damage to a deer with a 300 win mag than to any I've shot with a 50 Bmg .
I shot one in the shoulders at 400 yards with an Amax and thought the deer would've had more damage, but it had the same damage as my 30.06.
I've shot a couple of coyote with an 850 grn HP made from a hollowed out spotter/tracer projo and never had to worry about them walking away.
I did have pics, but didn't have my computer backed up and it crapped the bed. No recovery available.
Hopefully I'll get to take some pics of this years kills and post them here.
All of my match guns are bolt and semi.
I got my  ULR  for fun + hunting, as it's lighter and easier to carry around due to it's shorter barrel and telescoping stock.
The shell holder is a strong action and extraction has never been an issue, even with hot loads.
Never cut myself or have had any issues with sharp edges on it either.
I'll be testing some subsonic loads with it this weekend.

I had chamber issues with my Safety Harbor.  Save up and get a used AR-50....you won't regret it.

So I just bought a right handed AR-50 and I am going to have a someone fabricate a more comfortable left handed cheek rest unless someone already sells them, but i have not seen anything like that.

I know a guy that can fabric anything from metal and then I'll have him rubberize it.

I've been thinking of selling the Grizzly Big Boar and getting a Bushmaster BA50...

Does anyone have one of those?  I like the magazine fed bolt action idea.  Follow up shots are impossible with my LAR.

That would be your opinion. I dont know why someone feels the need to give a fellow gun guy shit over the gun they use to kill an animal. Is it gonna kill it more.

I had one. I traded it toward a machine gun.

Sharp edges. Shell holder. Heavy as hell.  Mine was a gen 1, and it used an incredibly shitty and weak aluminum clamp on bipod painted to match the rifle, clamped around the lower "rod" that comes out of the receiver. It would break the bipod every few rounds. Even after having a machinist buddy mount a section of pic rail to the underside of the lower "rod," and mounting a bipod, it still broke the bipod.

I swear the factory bipod was a UTG or NC Star. Some crappy aluminum Chinese shit. Bought one at a gun show, and they were identical.

They offered an "improved" bipod for $200 at the time, and eventually offered it with the rifle.

I don't know much about their Gen2 version, but their Gen 1 pretty much sucked. The bolt had all sorts of machining marks on it. Also, I had to move the scope rings forward to clear the bolt handle. You MUST grease the shit out of the bolt, and reapply frequently. Or you're going to mess up your scope when you have to hit the bolt handle with a hammer. It WAS better than my LAR Grizzly, as I never broke the bolt handle OFF, but that was really the only improvement over the LAR. Never broke the LAR bipod.

In the $2000-$3000 range, there are FAR better options. If money is a factor, I'd look at an upper, or the new Serbu.