AR-15 into 50 cal?

Evening!

I've lurked in the shadows for a while now, reading all the great posts and finally got the nerve to sign up and say hi as well as a question for you guys that are much smarter on this topic than me.

I have a AR-15 that I purchased before the ban and haven't changed anything on it (yet ). My friend was talking about a 50 cal upper at work, and I didn't believe there was such as thing. Naturally, I was intrigued, not only for the possibly of shooting 50 cal ammo ($$ down range), but also cause it's only ~$1500. http://www.safetyharborfirearms.com...oduct/44-shtf-50-single-shot-upper-conversion
The question is, that because my AR-15 has been "grandfathered" in, can I change the upper to the 50cal and be okay? Since post-banned AR-15 must have HBAR, I can understand that this might be iffy, but I wanted to see if this was doable.
Thank you guys for your time!

Turn your AR15 into a 50 cal bolt action rifle??

This is legal, but not everything that can be done should be done.
Not sure how this would shoot. If it were me id just save up for a full setup. I'd worry about stress on the receiver. Not sure how this is going to hold up to repeated use.

I am guessing the magwell cant be used. Is it blocked, or how does that work?

It's a real thing .

You can do it if you wish.

These are single shots , not semiautos , and as such not subject to FSA . You can use your existing lower , a post '13 std AR lower , or one of various lowers made for this purpose without magazine wells .

Telescoping stocks can have issues standing up to the recoil , a fixed stock of some flavor could be a wise choice .

Possible vs reasonable.

Lots of thing are possible. There's a fair percentage of possible things that aren't reasonable.

IMO this is one I wouldn't want to be anywhere near. Things are designed and manufactured with a range of applications in mind. Those applications have specs and tolerances associated with them.

It's my considered opinion this particular application is outside the original design and subsequent manufacture.

Just cause it can doesn't mean you should.

A Good friend has one, of which manufacturer I do not know. It is bolt action with a side feed box magazine.
He uses a fixed stock, as mentioned above recoil is stout!
He had Aluminum scope mounts that sheared off due to recoil, so he went with steel mounts.
At ~$3.00 per round you can imagine it does not get shot very often, but when it comes out it is the star of the range.

If you want a BMG capable rifle, get a rifle designed for BMG rounds.

Two things come to mind. Incredible chamber pressure. Stout recoil (as acknowledged in an above post.). Neither of these are to be taken lightly.

Why not find a more dedicated firearm to your purpose? There are plenty of 50 caliber rifles out there and more coming every day. Maybe I missed it but looking at that website I see nowhere does it say what round and I’m assuming it is 50bmg? Most “50” caliber weapons your want to reload to keep cost down and to tailor your loads. Are you willing to possibly damaging your pre-2013 AR lower? I would look at just building a new lower for this if it was me. Also would look into options like these from Big Horn Armory http://www.bighornarmory.com/catalog/big-horn-armory-products/ar500-500-auto-max-16/

you can get these 2 ways...either single shot bolt or bolt action with a side feed magazine. The lead time on them is several weeks to a few months...The recoil apparently is quite unpleasant and the stress applied to the aluminum lower receiver has to be bad for it (maybe a steel lower built from flats might help?) personally I would just buy a Barret, but these are ingenious, just not practical on an AR platform.

Want something inexpensive that was built for .50BMG?

https://serbu.com/products/rn-50

Sure it is slower to load because it is threaded break action, but at $3+ per round, is that necessarily the worst thing ever? I am not trying to stop an APC with this thing.

lazarus said:

Want something inexpensive that was built for .50BMG?

https://serbu.com/products/rn-50

Sure it is slower to load because it is threaded break action, but at $3+ per round, is that necessarily the worst thing ever? I am not trying to stop an APC with this thing.

Click to expand...

But can I change it to 20 mm?

WatTyler said:

But can I change it to destroy my lower receiver in 20 mm?

Click to expand...

Fixed.

For not that much more one can get a bolt action designed for .50 cal. First time you destroy your lower, it will make up the extra cost. Well, ok, if you get one of those $100 lowers maybe not. Either way, you will then have a $1500 upper you wont want to use ever again. Sometimes the best way to save money iis to save your money until you can do it right.

never heard of this

lazarus said:

Want something inexpensive that was built for .50BMG?

https://serbu.com/products/rn-50

Sure it is slower to load because it is threaded break action, but at $3+ per round, is that necessarily the worst thing ever? I am not trying to stop an APC with this thing.

Click to expand...

Cool. That is nuts!!

Clifjr said:

Why not find a more dedicated firearm to your purpose? There are plenty of 50 caliber rifles out there and more coming every day. Maybe I missed it but looking at that website I see nowhere does it say what round and I’m assuming it is 50bmg? Most “50” caliber weapons your want to reload to keep cost down and to tailor your loads. Are you willing to possibly damaging your pre-2013 AR lower? I would look at just building a new lower for this if it was me. Also would look into options like these from Big Horn Armory http://www.bighornarmory.com/catalog/big-horn-armory-products/ar500-500-auto-max-16/

Click to expand...

Have you ever looked into the cost of 50 BMG dies and a press that can handle them?
https://shop.brownells.com/reloadin...MIkuHmwpCw2gIVw1cNCh2c_QzCEAQYAyABEgIKkvD_BwE

kalister1 said:

Have you ever looked into the cost of 50 BMG dies and a press that can handle them?
https://shop.brownells.com/reloadin...MIkuHmwpCw2gIVw1cNCh2c_QzCEAQYAyABEgIKkvD_BwE

Click to expand...

I have not looked into it but I was referring to other 50 caliber’s like 50ae, 50 Beowulf, 500 S&W and others. As I stated in my 1st post, I didn’t know what 50 caliber this upper you’re looking at shot.

Clifjr said:

I have not looked into it but I was referring to other 50 caliber’s like 50ae, 50 Beowulf, 500 S&W and others. As I stated in my 1st post, I didn’t know what 50 caliber this upper you’re looking at shot.

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Not sure how long the brass lasts, but the cheapest I can find you are looking at around 50 cents a bullet for FMJ and around 90 cents a round for powder. No idea if the they are large rifle primers or something bigger. Call that $1.50 a round and it might be closer to $1.80-2 a round when you factor in name brand bullets.

Which is sure a ton cheaper, but your powder sure don’t go far at 225-245gr a round.

You can buy a Ferret50 upper ready made for an AR lower. Just on reading on the web, I’d rate the Ferret higher than the SafetyHarbour.

http://www.ferret50.com/ferret50_conversion.html

danb said:

Turn your AR15 into a 50 cal bolt action rifle??

This is legal, but not everything that can be done should be done.
Not sure how this would shoot. If it were me id just save up for a full setup. I'd worry about stress on the receiver. Not sure how this is going to hold up to repeated use.

I am guessing the magwell cant be used. Is it blocked, or how does that work?

Click to expand...

The 50 BMG upper attaches to the AR15 lower. The lower is only used for fire control and where you attach your buttstock. My Safety Harbor had 30 rounds through it before I bought it and I've put 10 more rounds through it. I now have the AR15 lower that used to host the 50 BMG upper on another 5.56 upper and there's nothing wrong with it. I now have a Safety harbor dedicated lower where there is no mag well like the AR15 lower would have.

Nnztg8r said:

Possible vs reasonable.

Lots of thing are possible. There's a fair percentage of possible things that aren't reasonable.

IMO this is one I wouldn't want to be anywhere near. Things are designed and manufactured with a range of applications in mind. Those applications have specs and tolerances associated with them.

It's my considered opinion this particular application is outside the original design and subsequent manufacture.

Just cause it can doesn't mean you should.

Click to expand...

There have been 50 BMG uppers made for the AR15 lower for the last 20 years. There is nothing unsafe about them. My Safety Harbor SHTF with side mag has operated fine without a hiccup. They are fun to shoot and I only wish I had a regular place to shoot mine.

Clifjr said:

Why not find a more dedicated firearm to your purpose? There are plenty of 50 caliber rifles out there and more coming every day. Maybe I missed it but looking at that website I see nowhere does it say what round and I’m assuming it is 50bmg? Most “50” caliber weapons your want to reload to keep cost down and to tailor your loads. Are you willing to possibly damaging your pre-2013 AR lower? I would look at just building a new lower for this if it was me. Also would look into options like these from Big Horn Armory http://www.bighornarmory.com/catalog/big-horn-armory-products/ar500-500-auto-max-16/

Click to expand...

There is no way you're going to damage your lower unless you have a kaboom type failure. Then I doubt your lower is going to be high on your priority list of things to worry about. There have been folks who have installed these uppers on COMPOSITE lowers and they operated just fine.

danb said:

Fixed.

For not that much more one can get a bolt action designed for .50 cal. First time you destroy your lower, it will make up the extra cost. Well, ok, if you get one of those $100 lowers maybe not. Either way, you will then have a $1500 upper you wont want to use ever again. Sometimes the best way to save money iis to save your money until you can do it right.

Click to expand...

Why do you think it's going to damage your lower? Do you have any idea how many of these types of uppers have been sold over the last 20 years?

DanGuy48 said:

You can buy a Ferret50 upper ready made for an AR lower. Just on reading on the web, I’d rate the Ferret higher than the SafetyHarbour.

http://www.ferret50.com/ferret50_conversion.html

Click to expand...

Yes, there are many manufactures of these 50 BMG uppers. Back in the day even State Arms sold one. They've been around a lot longer than people know. Serbu, Ferret, Safety Harbor are the best known today. When I was researching mine, I found that the Safety Harbor unit was the best bang for the buck. I liked the 5 round mag too. They are fun to shoot, but I do have to warn anyone who is interested in buying one, there are not many places to shoot them. But when you do shoot them, you will gather a crowd. Mine has the recoil of about that of a 12 Ga shotgun. More push than bite.

I would recommend anyone who has considered buying one to go ahead and buy it. There's no time like the present because Lord knows we don't know what the future will hold.

Please folks, do a little research before posting your Chicken Little concerns. These uppers are more than safe. The only thing, it is very difficult getting that smile off you face the first time you shoot one.

Here's a low res picture of mine.

j_h_smith said:

Why do you think it's going to damage your lower? Do you have any idea how many of these types of uppers have been sold over the last 20 years?

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Pressure, heat, recoil. Whats not to worry about?

I'd be worried (to start) the pivot pins would eventually break the lugs of an aluminum lower. Hard to say when the stress wear shows up. I dont think a light aluminum billet lower would stand up to much abuse. With a steel lower, id worry a lot less.

danb said:

Pressure, heat, recoil. Whats not to worry about?

I'd be worried (to start) the pivot pins would eventually break the lugs of an aluminum lower. Hard to say when the stress wear shows up. I dont think a light aluminum billet lower would stand up to much abuse. With a steel lower, id worry a lot less.

Click to expand...

So, how do you account for those rifles that have been around for 20 years? Like I've said, I heard of people using composite lowers for this without damage.

What pressure and heat are you talking about? I'll give you some folks could be afraid of the recoil, but you're not locking the lower in a vice. The lower recoils right along with the upper. The entire rifle moves as one unit.