Reloading for .50 BMG - Where to start?

unstableryan

unstableryan

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Hello,

Our lab is getting a .50bmg barrel and I need to source reloading equipment for it. I'm typically a big fan of RCBS and Dillon stuff with everything smaller, but please give me any advice you can on what equipment I should buy and where to buy it from. Also, is there anything that's easy to forget that will be needed?

Thank you, I've never learned about reloading for .50. .458 win mag is as big as I've gone so far :)

Ryan
 
ATRS makes an amazing press for the .50 BMG, otherwise the RCBS Ammomaster is a good choice - the kit version comes with dies. As with everything .50, it’s expensive!

Best investment I made was a CH4D bushing neck sizing die - so much easier to resize after firing in one of my bolt .50s. Beware any used brass as it may have been fired in an M2 machine gun with its big sloppy chamber, which makes full length recycling not exactly fun!
 
Good advice, thank you.

FirearmsEnthusiast said:
ATRS makes an amazing press for the .50 BMG, otherwise the RCBS Ammomaster is a good choice - the kit version comes with dies. As with everything .50, it’s expensive!

Best investment I made was a CH4D bushing neck sizing die - so much easier to resize after firing in one of my bolt .50s. Beware any used brass as it may have been fired in an M2 machine gun with its big sloppy chamber, which makes full length recycling not exactly fun!
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K-C said:
Lee Classic Cast 50 Caliber BMG Press Kit (#90859) CAD $425.50

Higginson Powders in Hawkesbury will have stock...

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Just make sure you are wearing a helmet to keep your head from getting damaged when the handle breaks. They DO, frequently! Lee only warrants the parts not the resulting injuries.
 
Never loaded for the BMG myself but always wondered about special priming tools. Don't recall ever seeing any but aren't the primers a different size?

Maybe that's included with the plus size presses but something to check out.
 
vagrantviking said:
Never loaded for the BMG myself but always wondered about special priming tools. Don't recall ever seeing any but aren't the primers a different size?

Maybe that's included with the plus size presses but something to check out.
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Yep - big CCI primers that run $0.45 each just for the primers!

I use the RCBS Ram Priming Kit on the Ammomaster press...came with the press if I recall correctly. I always ensure clean primer pockets and all crimp removed from military cases, and still each priming stroke is a bit of an adventure...
...but love the big .50!
 
Another tip - one of the big costs for .50 reloads is the projectiles. Normandy AMAX projectiles are $3-$4 each, so I save these for times when I only want to send the very best.

For “plinking” rounds (if you can call it that for a .50), I use 647gr pulled military bullets (from Henry @ Budget Shooters Supply) and pull them through a Lee 0.51 bullet die with a bit of lube. This process removes any sharp pull marks and ensure that the projecting wasn’t distorted out of round from the pulling process. These rounds work great and run $0.80-$1.20 in bulk.
 
Likely we will be using surplus fmj, cnc lathed copper/brass projectiles, or saboted simulated blast fragments in the lab. The only thing the .50 case does for us is way up's the maximum amount of energy we can test with. The thing will never shoot farther than 15m.

Check out www .wisemanballistics.com/universal-receivers/ if you are curious.
 
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