How much recoil does a bolt 50 bmg have?

[460or338]

Im arguing with some one that a 50 bmg has manageable recoil

50 bmg really popular - Page 2 - Shooters Forum

p.s. im tkbigbore

 

[bunnywhacker]

I own a custom 50. that weighs in at 67lbs. It is a baby to shoot. My 7 year old daughter has shot it on a couple of outings. Granted the weight has a lot to do with it. A friend owns a AMAC 50 that weighs in at 25lbs. It gets a little hairy to shoot if you shoot it with out the brake, but it throws a huge fireball from the business end.

 

[J E Custom]

Im arguing with some one that a 50 bmg has manageable recoil

50 bmg really popular - Page 2 - Shooters Forum

p.s. im tkbigbore

There are a lot of people that shoot the 50BMG and if it had terrible recoil then they wouldn't.

Weight has a great effect on felt recoil (Recoil velocity) you can have a rifle that weights 5
pounds and produces 40 ft/lbs of recoil energy but 20+ ft/sec recoil velocity that kicks like a
mule take the same load (The same ft/lbs of recoil energy) and shoot it in a 10 pound rifle
and you will reduce the recoil velocity for all practical purposes to 10 ft/sec recoil velocity.
And it will be very mild.

This is what happens to the big calibers when weight is added. even though they produce
70 + ft/lbs of energy they will /may only have 10 to 20 ft/sec recoil velocity and feel very mild.

Most people feel comfortable with 30 to 40 ft/lbs of recoil energy and a recoil velocity of 10 to
15 ft/sec and the 50 BMG can have a recoil velocity of 15 ft/sec if it weights enough.

The Barret light 50 (M82 A1) weight is 29 pounds but it has a recoil operated action(The barrel
moves back to operate it) and this reduces some of the felt recoil and in addition it has a Fish
gill type brake that reduces recoil even more .

So with all or these things combined it is very manageable and exciting to shoot.

The bolt actions have a locked breach and depend solely on weight and the muzzle break
to reduce recoil so they are generally heaver (40 to 60 pounds).

I would have to say that the big 50s are more manageable than most of the dangerous
game rifles! and the reason is most dangerous game hunting rifles weigh 7 to 10 lbs
and have a high recoil velocity.(Kick like s#*T).

The one thing that is bad however is muzzle blast. with 250 + grains of powder there is a lot
happening at the muzzle end.

So if you don't like the recoil of a 300 win mag without a break then the 50 BMG is not for you.

J E CUSTOM

 

[460or338]

well ive been slammed by 86 ft lbs and 30 recoil fps .I have a very light 12 ga 3.5"
around 6 lbs I like shooting it though lol .Most people say lean into it but for me instead of fight recoil i just kinda roll with it in a fluid like motion if that makes sense to y'all.

 

[tachunter]

Any caliber out there can have recoil made manageable. The engineering behind the M107, M82A1 etc are designed with special features to depress harsh recoil. Let's face it though. They aren't going to touch your shoulder like an HMR.

 

[J E Custom]

Up date on recoil of a Barret M 82 A1 light fifty=

After looking for a Recoil program to run the numbers I found Lens Excel program
and plugged in the numbers and this was the results.

750 grain A max @ 2950 using 250grs US 869 in a 29 pound rifle = 138.857 ft/lbs of
recoil and 14,569 ft/lbs muzzle energy.

NOTE: This is not accounting for the recoil operated action and the muzzle break.

I have no way of measuring actual recoil but it has to be less than 1/2 of 137.8 ft/lbs
(Somewhere below 70 ft/lbs).

Most brakes are from 30 to 50% effective.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Tyler Kemp]

I don't think a 50 BMG can come close to 2950 fps, 2700 fps will make a big difference in recoil.

 

[J E Custom]

I don't think a 50 BMG can come close to 2950 fps, 2700 fps will make a big difference in recoil.

The 2009 Hodgdon reloading manual list the 750gr loaded with 250grs of US 869 at 2944
and the 650gr M-33 at 3155 ft/sec and the 800gr barns solid at 2895 ft/sec and we all
know that the reloading books are conservative, but It could be a miss print .

Loaded ammo from PMC is 2910 and Hornady is 2810 with the 750gr A Max.

I will chronograph mine as soon as the weather cooperates and post the velocities.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Tyler Kemp]

I stand corrected, sorry for the error!

 

[J E Custom]

I stand corrected, sorry for the error!

No problem Tyler.

I wont believe it until I personaly chronograph the same loads myself because every barrel
is different.

I based the recoil numbers on these loads and can only hope that my rifle will reach or
exceed these numbers with the 800gr bullets going 2900 ft/sec because they go
subsonic just under 2500 yards using the G1 ballistic coefficient.

I Like the G7 ballistic model but it is hard to compare with other calibers.

J E CUSTOM

 

[locotrician]

I don't knw about bol actions weighing 40 to 60 pounds. Two of the most popular are the armalite and the Barrett. My Barrett M99 weights 25 pounds and I beleve the armalite is 36 pounds , may be off on the armalite . And I haven't got the amax anywhere near 2950 or over 2850 even. I'm sure it can be done but it hasn't happened for me yet .

 

[460or338]

I was looking @ 50 bmg load data and i was puzzled by thy said velocity and bullet grain etc ....until i noticed that they where tested in a 45" barrel lightbulb

 

[liltank]

Who uses a 45" barrel for load testing? That's just ludicrous. I can guarantee that there are absolutely zero sniper rifles on the battle field sporting a 45" bore.

Tank

 

[Chas1]

Assuming J E Custom 50% reduction with brake, taking recoil down to a little less than 70 ft/lbs, does anyone have a guess at what the recoil velocity would be? I'm assuming the brake must make a significant reduction in recoil velocity in order for it to be manageable cause for me the 70 ft/lbs at a decent velocity wouldn't be fun.