Silly 50 BMG Question

[Deleted member 103481]

Again, I am not interested in shooting a 50 BMG round out of anything but a gun manufactured for it. It appears I chose a very bad analogy, as everyone seems to have misunderstood me.

My point was, if a 12 gauge doesn't blow up when the IDIOTS DO STUNTS like shooting a 50 BMG out of it, then the pressures are not such that a 50 BMG chamber and barrel would have to be made of super exotic metals and procedures, and thus be so expensive.

Terrible analogy; my bad. Sorry.

Vettepilot

but your premise relies on the concept that manufacturers only have to meet a baseline of "didn't blow up without chamber pressure" to release a firearm into the hands of the public.

that is literally the recipe for someone killing themselves and getting sued to oblivion. Why would anyone use that as a baseline?

baselines that are more likely IMO:
Safe with over full power loads at full pressure
Function well
Accurate
Fit and finish/worksmanship
Looks good

all of these things have to be done for it to be even kind of viable, much less successful. Companies have to have a product that will SELL and make money doing so or they aren't going to make it. That's why they exist. Then add in how many you'll actually produce and sell, which is very few because ammo cost is so high and no one actually "needs" one so it doesn't take purchasing priority and they have to increase prices to cover machinery cost.

If someone could produce 50bmgs at less than the other manufacturers and make a profit they would be likely doing it because they would sell. I wish they would, I tried to buy an ar50 this year and couldn't find one for a price I could commit to. Would prefer a semi, but I'm only spending 5k+ on accurate rifles

 

[Huggy]

So, some of you might have seen the various nuts on YouTube that have shot 50 BMG cartridges out of 12 gauge shotguns. If not, have a look, they are good for a laugh.

But, relative to my question here, the barrels DID NOT split or blow up on those shotguns. Now a 12 gauge operates in the +/- 10,000 psi range, and does so out of an extremely flimsy shell casing. The 50 BMG operating pressure is around 55,000 psi. Yet, once again, the 12 gauge barrel survived firing the 50 BMG. (Yes, I realize the 50 BMG brass has room to grow and fire form in the 12 gauge, but in many of the videos they shimmed or taped the cartridge to be a snug fit in the chamber.)

So what's my point in all this? My point is the 50 BMG does not have chamber pressures, bolt thrust, etc., equal in force to a small nuclear device. Guns that shoot the round do not have to be made of some exotic "Unobtainium" metal. So what in the hell justifies the +/- $10,000.00 price tag of the Barretts??? Even Mark Serbu's silly looking single shot with no bolt costs around $1500.00!!

???

Thanks and Happy Holidays,
Vettepilot

As one who DOES shoot a .50BMG rifle, I wouldn't EVER try such a stunt but if YOU want to, please ensure that several angles of video are taken so IF you should blow yourself to smithereens, we'll have a video record to show others and say "Kids. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!"
Oh, and I'm sure it will be a GREAT sales pitch for Life Insurance Salesmen, too.
Sheesh. SMDH

 

[Vettepilot]

Jeez. How many times do I have to re-state that I have no intention of shooting 50 BMG out of a shotgun, and NEVER DID!!

Vettepilot
P.S. Moderator: please close this thread I am truly sorry I ever started.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Lot of custom actions are in the 1-2k range. That's 20% of the requested price. Now throw a large custom barrel, custom muzzle break, custom trigger, custom stock or chassis.... That's fairly close to what your getting, custom everything. Small niche market. Now throw a little liability insurance in there and maybe it doesn't sound so bad. It would also look bad if you were gouging Uncle Sam and sold at a discount to civilians.

 

[del2les]

Basically, you are buying a custom firearm that requires double or triple everything over say a 300WM. VOLUME, or lack thereof, has a large impact on costs, so does tooling, liability insurance, excise taxes, etc, etc. We can spend $3-5k (or more) on a nice custom LR rifle, so double that and there you go.

Actually, this thread reminded me the Barrett 82 we were shooting in the mid 90's only cost us $3,400 !! and the AR50 from 2005, well.....

 

[John Klingenberg]

It's because it takes a lot of metal to contain that much inertia not so much the pressures. Theres two to three times the amount of metal in a .50 versus a "regular" rifle. The price of premium certified steels is high. Then factor in skilled labor to machine it. It takes longer the bigger it is. It also takes more tooling to machine that much metal. If you havent bought carbide inserts lately you would be amazed what it costs to tool and replace quality machine tooling. It costs me 27.00 a piece for one triangular insert. There may be a dozen of them on a facing tool. Add in any kind of shape such as round or trap and they're more. Custom grinds are over a 100.00 apiece and I live 6 miles from the grinding shop. If you call a service guy out to work on your Haas CNC machine which you may have dozens of you're talking thousands. I worked at LaRue awhile (not a fan) they have a literal warehouse size shop with lines of CNC machinery. What they spend on tooling a month would fuel several families for a year. That's why it's expensive. You pay for the company as well as the product. You also get to deal with a premium company. It costs money to offer the customer service Barrett does.