Safety Harbor upper - Page 1

Armory » 50 Cal

Posted: 4/14/2017 10:12:27 PM EDT

I am seriously thinking of ordering a SHTF 50 upper. I really want a 50BMG but can not afford a Barrett and won't likely shoot more than 30 rounds a year. This upper would let me have a 50 without a huge investment. Anyone have one? How's the accuracy? And what's your thoughts on this upper?

Posted: 4/15/2017 3:52:39 AM EDT

[#1]

I have one. It's nice enough. I got the mag fed version- if I did it again, I'd get the single shot version.

Be sure you have somewhere to safely shoot it.

Don't buy tracers or API/T unless you like starting fires

Posted: 4/15/2017 7:30:12 AM EDT

[#2]

How have you found the accuracy to be?

Posted: 4/15/2017 7:42:59 AM EDT

[#3]

Quote History

Quoted:
How have you found the accuracy to be?

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Acceptable. I've only shot a lot of plinking ammo really - AP reloads and the like.

It's sat, unused, for a decade at this point - nowhere to shoot it.

If you were closer I'd loan it to you.

Posted: 4/15/2017 4:10:03 PM EDT

[#4]

Do you recommend the 22 inch or 29 inch barrel ?

Also, which scope rail would you go with?

Thanks,

T2

Posted: 4/15/2017 5:08:17 PM EDT

[#5]

I got the 18" with standard high (the stepped rail). I would probably get the 22 with standard low if I rebought it. The 18" is unwieldy. Take a look at velocity loss from 29 to 22 to decide if it's worth it for you.

You'll need a stout bipod. You'll want a scope with long eye relief - I had a guy (experienced shooter of heavy magnum bolt actions) go on autopilot- nose to charging handle - knock himself out and give himself a concussion.

I have a limbsaver recoil pad. The recoil is about equal to a 3" magnum 12g slug, so, tolerable.

I think you'll be happy with your purchase.

Posted: 4/15/2017 5:18:14 PM EDT

[#6]

I'm leaning towards the 22 inch barrel with the Exacto-rail, I'm thinking it would be more practical than the 29 inch barrel.

Posted: 4/15/2017 5:59:53 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
I'm leaning towards the 22 inch barrel with the Exacto-rail, I'm thinking it would be more practical than the 29 inch barrel.

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Sounds like an excellent choice. Get some of those 750 AMAX (or whatever they're called now) Hornady loads and have a good time.

I'm interested in what optic you've chosen, if you might say?

Posted: 4/15/2017 6:40:55 PM EDT

[#8]

I'm thinking one of the SWFA Super Sniper scopes. Not sure which one exactly yet.

Posted: 4/15/2017 7:51:32 PM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
Do you recommend the 22 inch or 29 inch barrel ?

Also, which scope rail would you go with?

Thanks,

T2

View Quote

The 29 inch barrel is technically already a carbine on a .50 BMG. I wouldn't go any shorter than that unless you don't mind muzzle velocities in the 2,400 range. The SS is a good, clear scope for the $$$. I have one but it's mounted on a PSL 43-C. I have the 20x and love it.

Posted: 4/15/2017 8:19:44 PM EDT

[#10]

Thanks!! I'm completely new to 50 BMG. I've shot a couple of long range AR matches but have no experience with 50's so I have a lot to learn.

T2

Posted: 4/15/2017 8:25:55 PM EDT

[#11]

If MrBen checks in he can post a link to his website where he posted a range report, pics...

He has the magfed version, and a holosite mounted on it. It's light enough to shoot from the shoulder which makes hitting targets easy.

It's actually nicer to shoot it from the shoulder offhand, your body absorbes the recoil better. So far the holosite has held up to a few hundred rounds and being blown off the bench from the muzzle blast of his BFG! After that he chambered a round, put it to his shoulder and hit the 400 yard gong.

Posted: 4/16/2017 9:50:12 AM EDT

[#12]

I've got #004 when they were first known as the "ultramag50". 3rnd side magazine and the muzzle brake was a bit less effective than the current model.
I've since upgraded the muzzle brake myself, and Walter updated my bolt assembly last year to the latest.
It's the 22" version, and has always been a good shooter out to 400yds for me. For longer shots, I use my 29" Serbu BFG-50.
I've also got a 29" Ferret50 coming in next month, and one of the Serbu RN-50 type I'm still working up loads for too.

Here's a report I did on the Safety Harbor upper when I first received the conversion:

UltraMag50 Report

Posted: 4/16/2017 10:48:21 AM EDT

[#13]

you got me curious, so I looked. I have UltraMag 50 upper #0226. I did some WECSOG work on it.

SHF UM50 right forend by Ry Jones, on Flickr

to make the bipod work. VLTOR stood behind the product when I shot the legs off - I left them extended and folded forward when I fired, once, and the muzzle blast broke the legs off.

I echo your feedback about the magazine catch.

Posted: 4/27/2017 9:17:43 AM EDT

[#14]

I have one decently accurate have about 100rds through it in 3 yrs or so. Mine is the 22" model with the stepped rail mag fed. Recoil is not bad and like other have said I prefer to shoot it standing up.

Posted: 4/29/2017 8:05:10 AM EDT

[#15]

Target2 , check you IM.
Might have exactly what you are looking for.

Posted: 5/18/2017 7:59:02 PM EDT

[#16]

I have SHF 008 and have a couple mods to make it pleasant to shoot even prone for the Wife and Daughter. First is fill an empty 30 round AR mag with lead. Second is put one of the lead match weights in the cleaning compartment. With that it feels like a 12 gauge shooting high brass shells.

Now as to accuracy, it is MORE accurate than the Barrett out to 800 yards. As to how I know this, I chose to own the SHF even after the fact I helped design the Barrett.

Secret to accuracy with any long range rifle is the glass you put on it and how solidly it is mounted. Next is judging wind and mirage.

Posted: 10/2/2017 6:58:21 PM EDT

[#17]

@target2 did you get your upper?

Posted: 10/2/2017 7:20:31 PM EDT

[#18]

Never got one. Still want one but just to busy with other projects.

T2

Posted: 10/20/2017 2:27:34 PM EDT

[#19]

Here's mine, it was awesome. Mag fed version. Sold it last fall to buy a skid loader, I came up on this thread cause I am considering another.

Fyi, get a good stock, I thought the ace stock was generously padded and strong.

Posted: 10/20/2017 6:40:18 PM EDT

[#20]

I am looking at getting one of these as well. Probably looking at sometime after the first of the year.

I am looking at the 29", mag fed, with a low rail.

Hows the trigger that comes with the kit?

Posted: 10/20/2017 7:44:42 PM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
I am looking at getting one of these as well. Probably looking at sometime after the first of the year.

I am looking at the 29", mag fed, with a low rail.

Hows the trigger that comes with the kit?

View Quote

Mine had a cmmg lpk.

Also, I had the hardened firing pin.

Posted: 10/20/2017 10:13:01 PM EDT

[#22]

I had a 22 inch mag fed version. Miss that beast. 22 lbs which help keep recoil down. Zel sells a PRS with a very thick pad that I bought. Worked like a champ. Had to sell it due the recoil messed with my back surgery. Wish I could own another one. Let friends shoot it as I reloaded for it. Biggest shit eating grin after they shot it. Biggest problem is finding a place to shoot it. NO ranges in my area allowed 50BMG. Bought a custom lower from stubborn mule. Looked friggin awesome. SWFA 20x scope on it. Never failed.

Posted: 10/20/2017 10:18:30 PM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:

Mine had a cmmg lpk.

Also, I had the hardened firing pin.

View Quote

Interesting. They make it look like a custom trigger, hammer, and hammer spring come with it. Is it really just a standard lpk?

Posted: 10/21/2017 8:55:29 AM EDT

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:

Interesting. They make it look like a custom trigger, hammer, and hammer spring come with it. Is it really just a standard lpk?

View Quote

Sorry what I should have said is thats what I had under the upper, for the trigger and safety, springs and what not, but...

This upper uses a special hammer, and no disconnector. The regular ar15 stuff won even fit in there if I remember right. Oh and the hardened firing pin is a must too. The original looked completely chewed up and I still have it somewhere. The hard one is/was perfect.

Posted: 10/23/2017 9:00:35 AM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:

Sorry what I should have said is thats what I had under the upper, for the trigger and safety, springs and what not, but...

This upper uses a special hammer, and no disconnector. The regular ar15 stuff won even fit in there if I remember right. Oh and the hardened firing pin is a must too. The original looked completely chewed up and I still have it somewhere. The hard one is/was perfect.

View Quote

Was the firing pin a regular ar-15 firing pin or one made by saftey harbor?

Posted: 10/23/2017 12:11:39 PM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:

Was the firing pin a regular ar-15 firing pin or one made by saftey harbor?

View Quote

Safety harbor. It's like 5 inches long. Nothing in the upper is ar15, except for the mag release...which is goofy, but only apples to the mag fed version.

Posted: 10/23/2017 1:13:54 PM EDT

[#27]

Quote History

Quoted:

Safety harbor. It's like 5 inches long. Nothing in the upper is ar15, except for the mag release...which is goofy, but only apples to the mag fed version.

View Quote

Ok, that's what I thought, but I wasn't sure if you meant that the firing pin was something that you purchased separately. I assume if I purchased a new upper it would have the hardened firing pin.

Posted: 10/23/2017 6:39:22 PM EDT

[#28]

Quote History

Quoted:

Ok, that's what I thought, but I wasn't sure if you meant that the firing pin was something that you purchased separately. I assume if I purchased a new upper it would have the hardened firing pin.

View Quote

Mine did not

Posted: 10/24/2017 3:28:53 PM EDT

[#29]

Quote History

Quoted:

Mine did not

View Quote

How long ago did you purchase yours? How did you obtain the hardened firing pin? How much did it cost?

Posted: 10/26/2017 8:35:31 AM EDT

[#30]

Quote History

Quoted:

How long ago did you purchase yours? How did you obtain the hardened firing pin? How much did it cost?

View Quote

I bought it from the ee 2 ish years ago?

Posted: 11/4/2017 3:43:13 PM EDT

[#31]

Quote History

Quoted:
I've got #004 when they were first known as the "ultramag50". 3rnd side magazine and the muzzle brake was a bit less effective than the current model.
I've since upgraded the muzzle brake myself, and Walter updated my bolt assembly last year to the latest.
It's the 22" version, and has always been a good shooter out to 400yds for me. For longer shots, I use my 29" Serbu BFG-50.
I've also got a 29" Ferret50 coming in next month, and one of the Serbu RN-50 type I'm still working up loads for too.

Here's a report I did on the Safety Harbor upper when I first received the conversion:

UltraMag50 Report

http://www.daplane.com/50bmg/umag02.jpg

View Quote

Ahhhhhh, so YOU are the one that got the Serial Number I wanted. Thusly I got Number 8. I would offer to trade, but mine has a custom engraving on the end you can't get anymore. LOL

Posted: 11/12/2017 6:28:35 PM EDT

[#32]

Just sold mine as I recently bought a Barrett M82A1 there is no comparison the Barrett is Tits!

Posted: 11/23/2017 4:53:46 AM EDT

[#33]

I've got one of these .50's, and it has an issue: It's a bolt action model, no mag. When chambering a round, it loads just fine,
but after firing, the shell casing gets stuck, and you have to take a block of wood and persuade the bolt back in order to extract the spent casing.
Any thoughts?
Chamber too tight maybe?

Posted: 11/26/2017 7:44:23 PM EDT

[#34]

I have a 22" SHTF 50 upper. I too have had issues with brass extracting. This always happens with Federal Lake City Brass. Some lot #'s extract ok and other lots, the cases stick every other round. I chalk this up to LC being built to cycle in M2's. Because of this I've switched exclusively to PMC 50 BMG ammo. It's not much more than Federal LC and extracts with ease, everytime. The Brass is great for reloading too. On the bad LC lots, the cases stick even with light re-loads.

Posted: 2/20/2018 8:04:36 AM EDT

[#35]

I bought one about ten years ago. I take it out one a year and shoot a whopping ten rounds. I never put sights on it, which is why i have the rings I used.
I need to put lower rings on it.

I also have the exact same extraction problems with some boxes of the Amercian Eagle ammo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RpdwK9rWD59Q2eJG2

Posted: 2/23/2018 10:35:43 AM EDT

[#36]

Just a thought for the ones that have brass that is sticky to extract.

Go out and buy a universal 50 caliber muzzleloader cleaning/ram rod.they are about $20. And then go to Dollar store and get a cheep ripper mallet.

Use the rod in the barrel and mallet to tap it out.
The plastic rod won't damage the barrel. And no worry about bending or breaking the bolt.

I have same issue with my zel custom. I was tapping the bolt back and snapped it off. So now I keep the cleaning rod with me and I also found a long bolt from hardware store in case it breaks again.
The cleaning rod can also be used to cleaning In the field if needed.

Posted: 2/27/2018 7:56:35 PM EDT

[#37]

PMC Brass extracts with ease, 100%. I hate having to put a rod down the barrel.

Posted: 2/28/2018 10:11:58 AM EDT

[#38]

Quote History

Quoted:
PMC Brass extracts with ease, 100%. I hate having to put a rod down the barrel.

View Quote

the plastic or nylon cleaning rod (what ever it is made of) wont harm your barrel any, I tried the wooden dow rod but i am not a big fan of the wood because I am scared it could snap off in the barrel, then not only would I have a hard to extract case but a section of dow rod as well.

if you dont like putting a rod down the barrel, how do you clean the inside of the barrel?

Posted: 3/3/2018 9:13:01 PM EDT

[#39]

I like to use the bolt to extract rounds from the chamber. Cleaning rods are for cleaning. If I had to tap each empty out with a cleaning rod; I would for sure sell the upper. Mine has a 5 round magazine. Using the PMC brass, I can run it like any other bolt gun.

Posted: 3/3/2018 9:50:50 PM EDT

[#40]

Depending on the round some full military loads are little hotter then others. And some Chambers are cut a little tighter. My zel custom chamber is little tighter them a military chamber is but not as tight as a match chamber.

Some of the rounds I have give harder extraction then other or my reloads.

The muzzleloader ram rod/cleaning rod is great for the few sticky cases. If you tap on the handle to much or hard you will eventually bend or snap it off. With the ram rod you don't have to worry about it.

Everyone has their own way of doing things mine is only one way that works for me.

Posted: 3/3/2018 11:22:32 PM EDT

[#41]

Quote History

Quoted:
I've got one of these .50's, and it has an issue: It's a bolt action model, no mag. When chambering a round, it loads just fine,
but after firing, the shell casing gets stuck, and you have to take a block of wood and persuade the bolt back in order to extract the spent casing.
Any thoughts?
Chamber too tight maybe?

View Quote

You should never have a stuck case unless the head separates from headspace issues.

A proper chambering job will result in a very smooth accurate surface finish on inside - some gunsmiths will polish the chamber with 320 grit sandpaper. I've never used sandpaper, I prefer to use ScotchBrite for a final clean-up of chambering.

IF you are having extraction issues, you should first verify the extractor on the bolt face is working properly and was not damaged with prior extraction attempts.

Then carefully clean your chamber, barrel too while you're at it, removing all oil and crud when done. I suspect you will find circular grooves in chamber. Sometimes the grooves are hard to see as they may be rounded and difficult to see. Upon firing brass expands into these grooves - IF the expansion is greater than the amount brass bounces back, you may have a stuck case. A slight tap with a cleaning rod will remove it BUT if it involves almost any combination of cases, the barrel should be set back and re-chambered by a qualified gunsmith.

Let us know your findings please.

Posted: 3/4/2018 11:04:25 AM EDT

[#42]

You are not entirely correct.
There are several types of Chambers you have the tight match chamber you then have a loose military chamber and then you have one in between. The problem happens when you use military rounds in a tighter chamber. Military rounds tend to be on the warm side more so when you talk about rounds from other countries or have been sitting stored someplace for extended times.
The only rounds I have had issue extracting ate from United ammo. The chamber and extract fine until fired then they are little tight to get out. As I said I have the in between chamber so it is little tighter then what is used for military guns.
The gunsmith is not smoothing your chamber he is opening it up a few thousands of inch to give extra space for the hotter rounds. You do not use sand paper to smooth out Chambers. You use a very mild abrasive paste to polish it.

Posted: 3/4/2018 8:23:33 PM EDT

[#43]

Tried to keep it simple in my above posting.

However - a Mil-Spec chamber usually has a chamber neck Inside Diameter of 0.562-0.564", the in-between chamber has a neck ID of 0.557-0.558", most Match chambers have a Neck ID of 0.554".

If a shooter of a 50BMG is shooting Mil-Spec ammo in the in-between or Match chamber, they first must use a micrometer to verify each loaded neck diameter is not an interference fit in the chamber. You MUST HAVE 0.002" clearance between loaded neck diameter and neck chamber diameter = otherwise you will have dangerous pressure level that could damage your rifle or YOU.

Please responsibly use correct ammo for your specific rifle. Just because you can jam it in does not make it acceptable. If you have ever witnessed a KABOOM in a 50, you will have a new healthy respect for its power .

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