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Posted: 3/15/2011 5:57:58 PM EDT
| So I was all set to get an AR50 but now I will be moving in a couple months and I'm not sure where, so I have a little more time to decide since I want to make sure 50's are legal wherever I move to. Can anyone give me a hands-on comparison between the two? Sorry to be a bother, but since neither are easy to come by in stores and I don't know anyone that owns either one, I would appreciate the input of you guys with far more experience than I. Thanks in advance. |
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I think I can help alittle. I dont know anything about the BA50, but I can tell you the AR50 can be very accurate if you handload.
My best group to date is 1.5in at 500yds.Average groups are 2-3in at 500. Very little recoil,shoots like a 243. Hope it helps,maybe someone else will ring in and spread some knowledge on the BA50. |
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Both are quality rifles. Both will shoot better than you can. The question comes down to price and need for a magazine.
An AR-50 probably has the edge in accuracy. They've done very well in matches over the years and I haven't seen one that wouldn't shoot. BA-50s are good...there just aren't as many of them so they don't see a lot of match use by top shooters. The BA-50 has a big edge in rate of fire. However, the BA-50's magazine will only run milspec-length ammunition, which pretty much limits you to BALL, AP, and the specialty ammo mande for mag fed guns. If you want maximum accuracy with AMAX or bore rider bullets, you're going to have to load one shot at a time anyway, just like the AR-50. For most folks, the AR-50 is the clearer choice because of about 4 reasons: 1. If you want long range accuracy, you have to load single with both guns. 2. The BA-50 costs between 50% and 100% more than an AR-50. 3. Hard to justify $2000 more for a magazine fed 4. The AR-50 is solidly proven to be consistently accurate. For most folks, I recommend one of 2 50 BMG rifles, an AR-50 if they want it for range use or a Barrett M99 32" if they are looking for field use. An AR-50 again has the accuracy edge but the M99 is lighter to pack around if you decide to hunt plains game with it. -David Edgewood, NM |
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I have to agree with Dave, I can't see paying 2K+ for having the mag fed option unless you REALLY need it.
I will throw in my .02 cents for what it's worth, the early Cobb 50's (now Bushmaster) had issues with ammo. And before anyone says it, yes, I was there when two different guys came out to shoot theirs and had the same exact problem. It's been awhile but it had some thing to do with the powder charge (reloads) to the point that when Cobb responded they said the ammo had to be loaded at " X " amount of charge to get some BS FPS loading... Sorry but I'll take an AR-50 any day of the week over a BA50 and as far as shooting/hunting, there's no way anyone is going to lug around a 30+ pound rifle. The .50 rifle is a put in place rifle and then shoot at the target or wait for teh animal to come into view. So being biased (AR-50 owner), I'm going to have to go with a nod for the AR-50. |
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I've got a Bushmaster BA-50 and it's a nice gun. Very smooth bolt. Capable of sub MOA accuracy with handloaded M33. I've yet to shoot anything longer than 200 yds yet. Haven't shot any A-Max yet, but a guy at the FCSA match last weekend was shooting one and said that he's acheived 5-8" groups at a 1000 yds with commercially purchased A-Max rounds.
But in all honesty, David is right. The BA-50 magazine is a "nice to have" but not necessary, and in retrospect I should have bought the AR-50. They are better known for their accuracy. If they had a better rear stock set up instead of that skeletonized thing, I might have bought one. I still might one of these days. |
| Thanks for the input. I don't think they are $2k apart in price though. Best price on an ar50 I found was $2700 vs $3800 for the ba50. I am not a match shooter so I don't think the small accuracy difference will matter to me. A mag fed would be nice, but not sure if it's worth $1k to me. I am interested in hearing more about these ba50 malfunctions though. Thanks again. |
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He mentioned a Cobb BA50 having issues. I remember seeing a video of the original designers shooting the Cobb gun and using a rubber mallet to uncock the bolt handle. However, I haven't heard of any complaints since Bushmaster took over the design and made improvements. My Bushy BA-50 cycles like "buttah". No problems operating the bolt whatsoever.
$3800 for a Bushy BA-50 is an excellent price. I paid $4500 for mine back in 2008 right after they came out. |
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If you can't find an AR50 for less than $2700 then you aren't looking very hard. There were 2 or 3 on the EE in the last couple weeks for ~$2500 with some accesroies.
Edit: Ok so they must have got snapped up cause I looked for them. But here is one that has over $500 worth of accesories for $3k. http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=7&f=93&t=851741&light= |
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I have a Cobb BA-50 and have had only a couple of issue. The first had to do with the original magazines. A few left the factory that were out of spec and caused some feed issues. A quick call to the factory and replacements were sent out that day. No feed issues since. Never had an issue with extraction.
The second had to do with some ammo I bought that appeared to have harder than usual primers. I believe it was Ingman. For some reason, and only on occasion, the firing pin would only dent, but not ignite the primer. After the 15 minute wait, I would re-chamber the round and it would fire. I never had a failure to fire with any other commercial brand, surplus or hand load. Sold the Ingman to a buddy who said it worked great n his rig and replaced it with some Barrett factory ammo. Since then, not one problem with the rifle. Goes bang every time I pull the trigger and places fairy decent groups. As previously mentioned, the rifle is far more accurate than I am. I have looked at the Bushy version and they have appeared to have made some minor improvements, but pretty much the same rifle. As far as complaints, I wish that Bushmaster would incorporate some slope into the rail. 20 MOA would do nicely. |
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