Hey guys!  
First post in the 50 forum.  I am hoping to join your ranks soon.

I have seen the normal Barrett M99 and Armalite AR50 offerings and they are on my shortlist but I am interested in any info (beyond the cut/paste/wikipedia) that you knowledgeable folks might have on the Iver Johnson (Ultimate Accuracy) AMAC 1500.
Long story short, I have always liked oddball/interesting guns - love weird C&R guns too.  The AMAC popped up in my search and initially I was like "no" but it kinda grew on me, so I am looking for info.
I realize everyone associated with it is out of business - assuming Ultimate Accuracy is gone too, I can't find anything other than a Darrell name associated with them.

So here is what I know - please add to it if you can, this will be my first 50 cal.

- From what I have read, I know they were known to be accurate and that is fantastic - I might shoot at 1000 rarely but it would mostly be 600 and under.  No plans to compete with it.
- How prone are they to breakage? and along with that, assuming no parts are available?  If at shot 2 I break a firing pin, I would be disheartened with having a 3k dollar paperweight - what the heck can you do?  With a $200 oddball C&R, you can just sell it with a small loss or engineer a part.  With a big 50 cal though?
- Safety of the system?  I know it loads an odd way, but saw a couple OLD posts on other forums that said it was super safe with a lot of metal between your face and the bolt and has a very high PSI rating for the lugs.
- Any other odd quirks/info

I appreciate anything you guys can enlighten me with.  Just looking to learn and decide what step I should make into the big bore world.

I have one, it is a beast and shoots very well.




200 yds

I got it from Kent Lomont. I have fired about 500 rds through it with no problems.

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Someone here sent it to me several years ago.

Still here :-) In the process of trying to get it still.
Already saved all those out to my computer.  Never seen the manual online before anywhere.

Saw one at Crane NSWC with a blown up barrel . Was split in 3 pieces . Only thing holding the 3 pieces of barrel together was the recievrr on one end, and the muzzle brake on the other end.

Thanks for posting the schematic-data.
I'm almost certain that my dealer had an old Iver Johnson .50 BMG.
It was a single shot but looked nothing like that.
I could be wrong on the looks but I'm certain that it was an I.J.

Good lord!
That is the first report I have seen of a durability issue with these.  Any idea what the situation was?

Thanks, but nope.
I purchased a Steyr HS-50 from the same shop, 2004 or 5.
It IS a tack driver for sure.
Same rifle won it's class at the 1000 yard shoot held by the F.C.S.A.
2005 or so.

I like it, 26 pounds.
Recoil is not too bad bad but the heavier loaded Barret ammo produces a hell of a blast to the face, due to it being a military rifle the brake is angled back towards the shooter.
Has a 2 stage trigger, the first time I shot it , I slowly pulled, I started to inhale, I thought that the rifle exploded, the blast was powerful and cough cough.
When I bought it I bought a bunch of the Barret Ammo in the black plastic egg cartons, think 10 of them per box, I helped my buddy the FFL out, got it a buck per round.
Igman and similar ammo feels like shooting a .308, no face blast.
Shop owner passed away in 2007, guess I'll never know.
But it was a rifle produced for the military, I think he said it was a prototype, had a wooden stock but the m brake looked the same.

That looks like a barrel obstruction.

Jesus.
Well that would wake you up in the morning.  
Had never seen or heard that before.

They told me when I was there what the circumstances were. But I don't remember  right now. It's been quite a long time.

That was in the Philippines.  Someone tried jamming a round in the chamber when it wouldn't fit.
Barrel blew, extractor impeded in the shooters jaw I believe.

Damn, someone sure made an expensive mistake.

I appreciate all the info from everyone.  I learned a lot and am very interested in the AMAC.
Sadly, I was not the high bidder on the AMAC and was not able to get it.

The world truly works in mysterious ways though.  After I had reached my max bid and was outbid, I was pretty bummed.
A shooting buddy from another part of PA called me about something totally unrelated and I explained what happened  He said I needed to call and check his local shop, he heard a rumor they had a 50 on the shelf.
I called, they did, I went for a drive, got it.

Proud member of the AR50A1 gang now lol
Alas AMAC is was not meant to be.....yet.

Late to the party as usual but I LOVE my AMAC 1500.
IIRC the last versions came with Lilja barrels after talking to the fellow that had the rights and was building them one at a time in Arkansas (?).
He said he could do a mod to the bolt to install a safety but as with most things I never got around to it.
Just keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. This isnt rocket science.
For storage I was told to pull the trigger after closing the bolt on a .50 BMG snap cap so as to reduce firing pin spring tension.

Lilja recommends a barrel break in procedure to clean after each shot until 20 or so down the tube.
This is a precision rifle.
I love the history that it was the FIRST "lightweight" .50 cal designed for the military = money no object engineering and quality. It oozes quality.

Why have anything else when you can have an AMAC ? They used to be very cheap but apparently the market has woken up.
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/886966230

PS I also have a Steyr HS50 which is also said to be precision but the AMAC is just a unique and beautiful sexy machine !

I also own a Steyr HS50 and can attest to it's accuracy.
Question....
Did IJ produce a .50 BMG rifle prior to the 1500?
I was at my LGS 20 years or so ago and their was large, obviously, .50 BMG rifle that I swear was an IJ and it looked Nothing like the 1500.
It was a traditional style wooden stock and the muzzle brake looked the same as the one employed on the 1500.
The owner told me that it was one of very few prototypes that was being developed for the military.

I did do some research on the www. but found nothing..
LGS owner passed away in 2005.
Thanks.