Thinking about picking up one of these, seems the design would allow for much greater accuracy than Barrett 82/107 type rifles.

Anyone have experience with these? Accuracy, reliability?

I'm wondering the same as I have searching on every forum that pops up after searching "Serbu BFG-50a" into google.


This is where I'm at: I already own 50bmg reloading gear as I got it new for almost nothing after a trade, it's all RCBS. I have about 980rds of M33 ball ammo and almost twice that in once fired Lake City '10 brass cases already cleaned waiting to be resized and etc..... I also have been buying a few M82a1 magazines per year just waiting to be ready when I bought my rifle, a M82a1 of course. So, now that I have most everything ready I'm actually not that happy with Barrett's accuracy. Now I know it's an Anti-material rifle and not a "sniper" rifle, I'm wanting something a tad bit more accurate. Luckily, Mark made the BFG-50a. But after reading a few dozen threads about the BFG-50a it has its cons as well....

The biggest complaint I've read is that it mostly doesn't like Lake City brass.... That's not good for me because I'm overly stocked on nothing but Lake City brass. It's too thick and doesn't like the Serbu's tighter chamber and is hard upon extraction. Many people have had stuck cases and broken extractors. Serbu sent out return labels and fixed them all of course but, people just started to buy other casings like PMC that are thinner walled and extracts perfectly and no other problems occurred after. I can't do that, I've spent a lot over the years dreaming of buying a rifle and purchasing brass and loaded ammo in hopes of getting something out of it.

I'm in a position right now to buy either the Barrett or Serbu and I'm trying to weigh in the pros and cons on both and that's the only thing holding me back. Taking the $7k hit was a pipe dream many years ago and now I can afford it and not look back. At this political point in time, it's also an investment.


One of the biggest pro's for the Barrett is that it can be taken down for transport, the Serbu cannot and is very long regardless of it being ten pounds lighter than the Barrett.


What are your thoughts?

Can never seem to get a straight answer from Serbu owners.  Seems to be finicky with ammo from what I read

Ok, I own a BFG50A... will try to provide a straight answer


It shoots a solid 1-1.5 MOA at 100 yds w/ Hornady AMAX from the magazine (Amax works just fine with the magazine) and factory trigger (from a bench and with rear monopod). For whatever is worth I am not a phenomenal shoot. Could it do better ? Probably with a better trigger. If I really wanted sub-MOA accuracy I'd get a bolt one though




It cycles all kinds of ammo after initial break in. No issues with Hornady, PMC, Lake City and TMI




I did have extraction issues for about 30-40 rds. No further extraction issues or reliabily problems since. None, zero, zilch...




Mine has about 150-200 rds down the barrel

There are quite a few owners and I'm sure they'll chime in...

Thank you for the input!


Just for the point of it doing 1.5 MOA with AMAX ammo with it being a semi-auto is the biggest reason I'm considering it over the Barrett. The Barrett is tried and true with its reliability and namesake but it has too many moving parts for it to great groups which for most to justify its high cost.

I have shot many M82a1's both regular and CQ model from fellow Arfcommers at local shoots (only M82a1's and no M107's). I am very familiar with them....


Having said that if they weren't another option  comparable to the M82a1 then it would be a mute issue. Since Serbu is a fixed barrel semi we now can get better groups for a few hundred dollars less than the Barrett, it seems it might be the better buy.

As civilians we are not using them for what they were designed for (anti-material), but since we all are going to shooting paper it would be a better option to justify the cost of the rifle if we're shooting close to MOA or even smaller.

SHTF: it is a whole ten pounds lighter than the Barrett and lugging it around if you had to wouldn't be as bad. Since it's semi-auto it would be a great road block gun.


I think Serbu is going to be my choice, I gotta email Mark Serbu and make sure Lake City surplus ammo and Lake City brass in general is GTG in his platform just to be 100% sure.

I don't mind spending the money, I just hate wasting it.

I just wish there were more out there. This forum is huge and there are only a handful of people with them that I have seen. 82's are damn near commonplace at this point.

I would love to see one set up for suppressed shooting. Ultimate package.

A suppressed BFG-50a..... I was wondering that as well. Since Barrett does not warranty damage to the M82 platform if it has been ran suppressed, I wonder if the Serbu can handle it? Barrett says that the over gassing and back-pressure of the action leads to severe damage to the rifle. Serbu is a gas operated action (obviously since you can see the gas tube bolted on the barrel) if maybe you can create some sort of pressure regulator that won't over-gas the Serbu's action to cause it damage. Dial it in so that when its suppressed it will pick up the next round in the magazine.


Before I think about suppressing the big 50, I got to get one for myself first.


I think I'm going to go with the Serbu.

Also, here is a good review and videos.....



Serbu BFG-50a Review

Mark is/ was working on a adjustable gas blok for suppressed shooting.

 
two more weeks... LOL

Exactly

After shooting a 82 with a can i figured out real quick i would only run subs threw it. To hell with that with full power loads.

Initially my bfg50a ran everything but federal xm33c just fine. It ripped rims off them. Mark told me to give the rounds a light dusting of lube, and that solved the extraction problems. After 100 rds of blasting rocks with the stuff it's not a problem any longer. I haven't done any accuracy shooting, just plinking out to 600.

That is the story I've heard many times across many other boards and that was my main concern.... I guess I'll run factory loaded federal M33 out of the Serbu you said, with a light dusting of case lube.


Jester, how is your firing pin and bolt? Was it drilled correctly, I saw pics and read that the firing pin holes weren't drilled correctly and they were off center causing strike issues?


I know this is a brand new design and had a few problems here and there. I even seen a pic of a firing pin shattered in half. Let me see if I can find the pic.....

The author said that even with it broken, it still ran 60% of he time...... I recommend reading this article as its still a good review.


Serbu BFG-50a firing pin issue

Thanjs. First I've heard. I'll go tear it down next time I get into the safe and look.

I've been shooting my 50ba for two years now.
Comp, plinking and Hunting.
I had some issues in the beginning, but it's a low serial # rifle and Serbu took care of me without issue.
I've owned Barretts too.
The Serbu is more accurate, but it isn't as sloppy as the Barrett is, so it's more finicky with ammo.
I ended up polishing the chamber to 1,200 grit and it's been reliable.
Some surplus ammo will need to be lubed for better function and if you reload, don't go too hot or problems with extraction will happen.
I had a 29" match barrel made and a set trigger installed and it will shoot almost as good as a bolt with Amax match loads seated enough to fit in the mag.
The last match I shot, I loaded left over Lehigh and Harlow solid projos and I shot many 4 shot groups under and around 10" at 1,000 yards, with that elusive 5th F'ing flyer to open up the group.
That's with them loaded to fit the magazine so I could shoot semi auto, like I would in the field and how a semi auto should be used. Not single shot.
That was also with the serbu 26" stock barrel and pulled 5010 powder.
The next match, I'm going to put the 29" match barrel on and try some different loads and projos.
There is a world of difference between the rifles.
The Barrett is a great Anti material rifle and is great at what it does, but what it lacks in accuracy, it makes up for in reliability. Not a lot can be done by the user to accurize them though.
The serbu is a rifle platform you can accurize.
It's lighter, has less recoil, smoother bolt by a long shot, can change barrels +triggers, can friendly. Adj gas block coming too.
What's not to like about it ?

Anyone honed one of these chambers yet to make it less picku on ammo? Like the ones at midway. Get kinda aggressive with it like say 400 grit and work up like the poster above to 1200. Might let ya use lc and not make them a dust magnet.

My 50A was finicky for the first 120 rounds or so.  
I know most of the issues were because I did not resize the brass correctly.  Since I changed my loading procedures I have not had a single issue.
Using pulled m-33 ball projectiles that run thru a sizing die, I can keep 5 shots in a 4-5 in circle at 100 yards

I also have a 50 single shot, using the same m-33 pulls, It will keep 5 in a 2 inch circle at 100.  Shoots much better then the semi does.

By the way, the sizing issue I found was the shoulder of the brass was not getting resized enough to fit the chambers of both rifles.  Once I changed that, it runs great. .

Where u rotating the brass 180° after the first pull by chance? I had heard it would spring back and always rotate it. Just curios if u did the same and still had issues?

Sjcshooter1..... Can you post a pictorial about changing barrels?


I've seen the tooling for it for sale of their site but still want to see how it's done step-by-step. A video would be great as well, nobody has done it and the only video on YouTube beside recording people shooting there is only one video of a man field stripping it and putting it back together. Would love to watch you break it down further than that.


I will try to make some shoulder ogive measurement tools to measure factory ammo and compare it while reloading.

I'm a lot better with firearms and other mechanical devices, than with taking pictures or videos.
Basically, you remove the muzzle brake + nut, gas block/ gas tube assy.
Use the Crown nut removal tool to loosen and remove the hand guard retaining nut.
Use the spanner wrench to remove the barrel retaining nut from the barrel trunion.
Remove the barrel.
Assemble in the opposite order.
Takes me about 10 minutes, taking my time sweet ass time.
Most of that ten minutes is lining up the gas tube in the bolt carrier and timing the muzzle brake.
A two piece gas block would be great, as then you wouldn't need to remove the muzzle brake.
Never tried to see if it would hold a zero between barrel swaps , or barrel removal.
If I remember, I'll try to see if it does.
The one other feature that made me sell my Barrett to acquire the Serbu, was that I could make it a fixed magazine lower and therefore it's legal to own in NY state.(FU Cuomo !)
Just pop the rear pin on the receiver, Open it up (like an AR), load the rounds into the magazine, close and your golden.
Can't do that with the Barrett.

I was rotating and also running full length 2 or 3 times full stroke on the press.  Yes I think it was that spring back on the shoulder that gave me fits.    I now have a LEE die that I cut the top off of and I use that for a "final" sizing.  I run them 2-3 times in the regular die, then in the final one.  That way the internal neck sizer and primer rod has no chance of springing back the shoulder on the way out.  A bit unconventional, but it works every time.

Went ahead and ordered one, we'll see how it runs when it's delivered.

Nice. Please update this thread when you shoot it or at least start a new one.

May be a while before I take delivery. Zach Serbu took my order and said no BFG-50As in stock, 3-4 months lead time to build it.

Yeah I figured as much. Either way the more talk about it the more likely I am to buy one.

Update: Still waiting, they're slammed and delivery to be in late January/February.

Been taking the opportunity to buy up IMI .50 in the meantime...

I bought the 29" bolt action 50 that Mark sells. It is a sweet rifle with the Williams set trigger. I have shot multiple sub moa groups using wc860 surplus powder and pulled m33 tips.

I really wish I had purchased the semiautomatic 50A even though the bolt action fits my needs.

Last I heard they were using Mossberg barrels which are common on the lightweight bolt action uppers.I can't comment on the quality of them, but I know that for 2-$500 more you could have a pacnor or other match barrel. For all I know the mossbergs are perfect, but I doubt it. If I was to buy one I'd probably request a match barrel and likely never get it in my lifetime

So you have no knowledge on the quality but would upgrade anyway? That seems silly. The things I want a semi 50 for don't necessarily require a high end barrel anyway.

I shot pretty good at 1k with the Mossberg barrel, WC872 and leftover Lehigh solids this year.
It shoots better with the serbu match chambered Lother/walther 29" match grade barrel I had made, but that's with single shot loading Amax, as the OAL was to long to fit in the magazine.
The Mossberg barrel is more than adequate and it shoots bug holes with resized African ball at 200 yards all day long.
I know Mark S made a heavy barreled version, but haven't heard about any range results or specs of the rifle.
Maybe we might get some more insight at SHOT this year from him.

I would want any rifle that cost me more than $1000 to have a factory barrel. Remington barrels, savage barrels, etc are all a lottery. I've had some great ones and some poor ones. My point was if you are spending $5k on a rifle why not another $500 or whatever to have a high end barrel?

Contrary to what scope, stock, chassis, bipod, etc manufacturers try to sell you, there's nothing that beats starting with a quality built barrel. Add some consistent ammo.

I suspect that mossberg makes them on an assembly line and they aren't made to the same specs a pacnor, krieger, broughton etc.

It's a bit like a Porsche turbo on cheap tires. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

I totally agree with you, but remember it's not a "precision" tack driving rifle, it's a semi auto 50bmg.
You want precision for your $$$$, buy a Tac-50 or a DTA.
You wanna have fun and ample precision for vehicle, rock or tree disposal, buy a semi.
Compared to what a 107 costs with an added CQ upper, you can buy the 50A, armorers kit, match barrel and send it to serbu for them to machine it and come out way ahead of the game.
Plus the 50A has the ability to have a match trigger installed, which is way better, I mean waaayyy better than any worked on M82 or 107 trigger I've ever had the pleasure of pulling.