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Posted: 3/10/2008 6:39:12 PM EDT
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I have a few questions here. I'm planning on getting a .50 soon (next few months), and I'm definitely NOT going to pay $4 a round. Places I'm looking at it's looking like I can do atleast 1.75 a round, if not better. However..... I can't find any 50 cal reloading manuals, and I'm completely unfamiliar with all of the new bullets, cases, powder, primers etc.. all new to me. So I guess I'll start off with some basic questions. 1. Where do I find reloading recipies/data (preferably a book/manual)? 2. Where do I find out what type of powder to buy-- Most of what I've found is military surplus type of stuff and new hogdon powder. Does it really matter what I get? what's generally accpted as one of the most useful or 'the best' powders (like Varget is to .308 for example)? 3. How many loads can I get per case of mil-surp once-fired cases? 4. Where do I find uniforming tools, primer pocket reamers/uniformers etc.. .50 cal case trimmers... that sort of stuff? 5. I've noticed a lot of bullets have vertical 'cut' marks on them. I assume it's from some sort of demilling process, seperating it from the case quickly... Does that have any huge effect on safety? Does it have any huge effect on accuracy? That's enough for now I guess. I should have a few more questions tommorow afternoon, but I need to get to bed. I'm really looking forward to getting all of this set up-- I'll probably just plink most of the time-- No serious sub MOA groups or anything.. I'd be happy with 2MOA to be honest. Anywho, thanks in advance for any insight 
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Well, I may not be able to give you the best, most complete answers, but I'll tell you what I know. For starters, all this info and a ton more can be found on the Member's Forum on FCSA.org. 1. All I know is that published information is pretty limited. I'll be going off of what I've read on the FCSA forum from experienced shooters. 2. Again (probably sick of hearing it already) FCSA's forum has the best info on this. As far as the "best" powder, I'd have to say that it's Hodgdon H50BMG. Usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 220 grains, but work your way up to be safe. 3. That completely depends on the individual case and the particular M2 it was fired in. Some cases may not be usable from the get-go. Some may only get a couple firings before you begin to see any problems. But my guess (and this is only a guess) is that if you got some real nice brass from a properly headspaced M2, you may be able to get around 8 reloadings out of it. But that is probably not the norm. 4. The FCSA has a huge suppliers list for 50 Bmg equipment. It covers everything from gunmakers to reloading supplies, to reloading components, to cases and cleaning equipment. But, for the items you listed, it seems that the general consensus is that K&M makes some of the best manual equipment available and can be had for a very reasonable price. 5. The cut marks are indeed from the bullets being pulled. These bullets should be run through a sizing die like this one made by Lee and available for around $14 from Midway. If you're not using a Lee press, you will need to use an adapter because Lee dies use an 1 1/4 thread and everyone else uses an 1 1/2 thread. Unfortunately, I can't remember for the life of me where to get an adapter. Using demilled (and resized) projectiles is perfectly safe and I believe the effect on accuracy is minimal. If you want to get the best accuracy from surplus projectiles, APs are the way to go. |
The lee bullet sizing dies are standard 7/8 reloading dies. Work in any press. I would imagine the RCBS and Hornady come with that bushing. |
Oh yeah. You're right. It is a 7/8 thread. No adapter needed for standard-sized presses and the presses for .50s come with the necessary adapter. |
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Thanks for the info guys. I'll check out the fcsa website/membership for sure. No more questions today.. I had a little tracer incident today that kind of shook me up. Haven't been thinking much on .50's.. other than I'm not going to buy any tracer rounds for it..  Them damn things.. It's been raining all week and I caught some leaves on fire (tracer hit short, bounced up, bounced off the top of the backstop then landed 15yd behind the backstop) and was stomping the fire out after running 250 yd and through a barbed wire fence to it and there was MUD below the leaves.. Got it all fixed w/out the fire dept. fortunately. That's enough of that crap though.. I'm going to start investing in frangibles or bulk FMJ's.. Slightly burned and lost about half the hair on my right leg  Ah well, enough rambling. Maybe more questions tommorow. |
| Try this site. As far as load info, FCSA has a lot of information from people who have done it before. The Lee dies come with basic load information, but only with commercially made powder. For milsurp powder, FCSA is about your only option. |
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If you need reloading info you can ask here, there are enough guys on the board that reload where we can cover pretty much every rifle. While most reload surplus with 5010, there are others using all types of powder from surplus to the good stuff. Same goes for reloading match ammo and tips for getting the best accuracy. If you need advice on tools for reloading we can cover them also, all you have to do is ask and someone can answer your question. The number of .50 owners is growing every day and plenty of people out here can share their info. |
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LedZepplin: As above, my first suggestion would be to join at www.fcsa.org. Only group out there supporting our 50 BMG rights. Also, I've seen a lot of garbage on AR15.com that is just plain untrue so I don't know if i'd trust my butt to a random bunch of folks on the internet, including me for that matter. Here are my best answers: 1. Load recipes abound online. However, you need to work up load for your gun. Most of the book data (and there's very little of it) uses a 45" barrel for velocities and performance and won't do you much good. I suggest a starting load of 214 grains for IMR-5010 and H50BMG. That starting load will work with bullets from 600 to 750 grains and be safe. Work your way up in 2 grain increments til it gets accurate or your bolt starts to get tight on extraction. If your bolt gets tight, back off 2 grains and consider that your max load. 2. The most versatile and temperature stable powder out there is H50BMG, bar none. US869 is very temperature unstable. VV20N29 is great match powder but it isn't temp stable either, with most competitors warming it above 90 deg F using their truck heaters to get optimal results. Not practical in the field. For milsurp powder, I prefer IMR-5010 or H5010 as they are both extruded type powders and more temperature stable than spherical powders like WC 860. Best price on milsurp IMR-5010 or H5010 is Pats Reloading. I suggest buying the virgin powder that has never been loaded. And buy 6 jugs at a time so you get all one lot and don't have to work up your load again for some time (+ you save hazmat). 3. Depends upon how loose the chamber is on the M2HB that fired it. You can probably expect 3-4 reloadings, average. Never fired new brass, only fired in one bolt gun, annealed every few firings, and minimally sized (neck or poor man neck) will go 18-20 firings. 4. Suppliers guide on members side of FCSA.org is your best bet for all suppliers. I suggest the K&M Trimmer, neck turner, and primer pocket uniformer. That's what I use. Ken Markle doesn't have a web presence but you can PM me for his phone number if you want. 5. The cut marks on pulled bullets are not a problem. Use a LEE .510 lead bullet sizer to size them (make them round again) before firing. Sometimes you need to run them through twice if they were really tough the first time. I use an RCBS pad to lube bullets prior to sizing. If you want to avoid the sizing mess, go to Bonaduce and pick up some of their South African ball bullets. Their fairly priced, never loaded, all from the same manufacturer, and pretty darn consistent. I wouldn't call them match quality but you should be able to get to 1 MOA with them with some load development. -David Edgewood, NM FCSA Member |
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Thanks for the in-depth answers! I'm getting a Bohica upper; Will a Match chamber give me longer brass life? I don't mind turning necks and neck sizing. I'm guessing it's similar to everything else with the sizing-- neck size then every 4-5 loads FL size and anneal? Where can I find neck-sizing dies for .50? I'm not really getting this for long-range sub MOA competitions, more for the big boom and big fun. 1MOA would be outstanding IMHO, but my main goal here is to do this as cost effectively (and safe) as I can. hmm 214 gr. what is that about 30 rounds per lb of powder? Ok lol I'll buy in bulk. |
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LedZepplin: I understand getting into this on a budget. As a result, i'd suggest you go with the LEE 50 BMG kit which is available for around $175 from Midwayusa.com. The kit is the best deal going for 50 BMG and you can load match winning ammo on it. It's just not compatible with anything but LEE dies. The kit comes with the Press, FL Sizer, Seater, priming tool, shellholder, and conversion parts to use it with standard calibers. It was my first press and die setup. To maximize brass life, just use the FL sizer to the minimum amount necessary so a case will fit back in the chamber. IE, don't adjust the FL die all the day down to the shellholder. The 50 BMG case has a taper so backing off the FL die will save a good bit of working of the brass that is unnecessary if you only load for 1 gun. Lee will also make you a neck sizer that fits their press for $150. Just send in 4 cases that have been fired in your rifle. I use a Hornady Neck sizer that fits presses with 1.5" die openings. It costs $150 too but won't fit the LEE press. All other things being equal, the main benefit of a match chamber is that you get longer brass life. If Chris can do it, i'd suggest a tight chamber with a standard neck and short leade. No need for neck turning if you aren't trying to get down to a gnat's ass on accuracy (say below 3/4 MOA). -David Edgewood, NM |
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