Posted on 02/02/2005 12:47:33 PM PST by 45Auto
Then along came S&W with their .500 S&W Magnum and lots of people sat up and took notice. They can’t make them fast enough. Of course the big Smith is also largely an exercise in pain-tolerance unless it’s loaded down a bit, but there is a certain appeal to living up to the “bigger bullets are better bullets” philosophy. Big-huge lead bullets wandering along at moderate velocities are sure to get the attention of any critter that needs shooting.
Fifty caliber handguns aren’t new. We’ve got the .50 Action Express which has been around a long time but doesn’t really seem to have much of a following these days. My guess is the gun is largely responsible for the interest, since the Desert Eagle is a huge thing only the Incredible Hulk could hold comfortably. Plus there are some custom or semi-custom single-actions such as the .500 Linebaugh.
Now we’ve got something that looks just exactly like Mr. Browning’s wonderful 1911 — until you see that gaping hole in the barrel. Meet the Guncrafter Industries .50 GI. This is not some mega-blaster. It’s an entirely new cartridge designed from scratch to put a .50 caliber bullet in the same size pistol as a .45 ACP. In fact when you look at the gun, only the size of the bore is an obvious difference. The cartridge does tend to stand out a bit though.
No .45 ACP
The body of the round measures .530" which is a full .060" larger than the .45 ACP, but the case length is actually a smidgen shorter. We have to be careful talking about measurements, for there actually is quite a bit of room for variation within industry standards for .45 case and overall length, so while the .50 GI is definitely larger in diameter, the other dimensions are very similar to the ACP’s. And, the .50’s rim is rebated to ACP dimensions.
And maybe the brass is where our attention should stay for a moment. I’ve been around the block a time or two and it really isn’t unusual to go to the SHOT Show and be shown some golly-gee-whiz new gun of which only one exists. And those folks want us to write stories about it so they might be able to sell some. That doesn’t fly too well with us but when you see an upstart company that is willing to invest in having a completely new piece of brass made it’s easy to see they’re serious. Starline is making the .50 GI brass — and lovely stuff it is — but they’re not a charity and the costs of setting up tooling for something that ain’t been done before is substantial. Nor does it pay for them to crank up a machine to make a few pieces of brass. It probably takes 50-100,000 or more to get them to listen to you. And since you can’t have a new gun until you have something to shoot in it there’s a certain amount of financial bullet-biting up front.
And that’s just for starters. You can’t run down to the local gun shop and buy barrels, magazines or frames either. The bigger cartridge requires a magazine .060" wider and that means a mag well and feed ramp in the frame that’s bigger too. More up-front costs. And of course barrel broaches cost a pile of pretty pennies. And, oh yeah, nobody makes loading dies either although that’s probably the least costly item. About the only thing they didn’t have to develop was a bullet, for Speer’s 300 gr. TMJ and Gold Dot .50s are on the shelf.
So to get from point A to B has taken two years and the services of quite a few vendors. Foremost of these is STI, who provides proprietary forged frames and slides to Guncrafter. Barrels and magazines are made by American suppliers who wish to remain anonymous. All the small parts are off the shelf items from the usual suspects. The steel mainspring housing is checkered and has a very clever lanyard loop built in. Those are coming back in style with military and law enforcement units. The sights are Heinie’s night sights with single dots on both. This is a perfectly fine arrangement that only takes a little use to be comfortable. Grips are black Aluma-grips with the GI logo and factory ammunition is loaded by Guncrafter, and is as professional looking as anything you’d see from the major ammo companies.
In The Flesh
It’s one thing to look at a gun at the SHOT Show but very different to have one at your house to shoot and study. When the pistol arrived the first step was a thorough inspection that included detail stripping and careful examination of the fit and finish. This is an expensive custom pistol and it clearly shows the attention to detail you should expect. The slide fits with absolutely no slop but moves freely on the rails, and the barrel locks up on the slide stop pin just right. The stainless steel barrel is a massive thing with a diameter of .75" at the muzzle. It uses the tapered cone style of bushing-less fit so there’s a reverse recoil spring plug and full length guide rod. The recoil spring is a 22-pound Wolff, and the overall finish is matte black.
Guncrafter sent along four different factory loads for testing. There is a pair with the 300 gr. Speer TMJ loaded to factory published velocities of 700 and 900 fps. respectively, and a 240 gr. lead semi-wadcutter at 735 and 850. As one who still flinches at the sight of a .500 S&W those numbers were good news, and the first shots downrange proved I had nothing to fear. Of course recoil is a subjective thing and everyone perceives it differently, but I would say the 700 fps. 300 gr. load feels just like .45 hardball and the 900 feels just like the original full-charge 10mm of years past. It’s a bit of a thump but in no way painful. The lead bullet loads were joyful things. The slower of the two is best described as a light wadcutter .45 load while the other feels, once more, about like hardball.
Ammo was a limiting factor during our tests, but there were more of the 700 fps TMJ load, so about 20 rounds of it were fired first, then followed by five of each of the others for preliminary function and chronograph testing. There were no malfunctions of any kind. The first shot fired hit my pet 70 yd. gong and gave it a resounding smack. “Fifty” and “clang” go together pretty well.
With that out of the way, accuracy testing was done at 25 yds. shooting from an Outers Pistol Perch. Accuracy was on a par with most custom pistols and better than some. As you can see from the table the lighter cast bullet load was most accurate, and it sure was my favorite. The first shooting session put about 150 rounds downrange. Deadline pressure plus limited ammo has restricted shooting to about 250 rounds which isn’t as much as I’d like, but still enough to make good judgements. There have been no stoppages of any kind.
So What?
With any new gun or cartridge the inevitable question is “what’s it good for?” The answer is pretty much whatever you’d like. Oh no, it’s not an elephant gun, but a 300 gr. .50 caliber bullet waltzing along at even 700 fps. sure ought to make dirtbags consider another line of work — if they’re still able to. Friends who have seen and shot it at the range ask about hollowpoint bullets and Guncrafters is working with the great Speer 300 gr. Gold Dot. But with the .50, expansion is not something you gotta’ have. It’s a nice bonus but you don’t have to fight to get it.
With any new proprietary cartridge we don’t have SAAMI pressure barrels so we must proceed with care, but logic says the loads we’ve got are unlikely to exceed .45 ACP pressures. The larger case and bore volume will help modify the effect of a heavier bullet but that information will come along in time. Thorough examination of fired cases from the hottest load shows no pressure signs and measurement of those same cases shows only minor expansion in the web area. The company reports test cases have been reloaded at least 20 times, and if pressures were too high that simply wouldn’t have happened.
Guncrafters sells both dies and brass so you can bet on a handloading column about it down the road a bit. And when I get a little more ammo it will go into the Ransom Rest to see how it will really shoot. I’m sure that, just like the .500 S&W, somebody is going to want heavier bullets and hotter loads. Remember we’re dealing with a pretty short case, and bullets the next step up (350 gr.) are significantly longer. Even seated out as far as possible, the powder capacity is going to be drastically reduced. It’s something I’ll look into further, but I don’t think there’s enough room for more.
And greater velocity isn’t that big a deal either. While it might be possible to squeeze a little more out of it I can’t help but think “why bother?” As it is we have an eminently shootable big bore and every ft/lb of increased recoil simply reduces our ability to put bullets where they need to go. Macho men can have the Smith and Desert Eagle.Shooters don’t need all that fuss.
And there are a few of them out there -- some a pretty good size.
I've been saving for one of these since they were first anounced.
So9
So glad you provided pics. It outta be a rule here on FR whenever a gun-related thread is posted!
.50 cal is not very impressive compared to the old .69 cal flintlock & percussion pistols.
More photos everyone....I'm such a sucker for gun porn....
/john
I'd like to try it, but I'm such a skinny guy that it prolly would tear my arm off with the recoil if it didn't twist out of my hands first.
;-)
It would appear that their website is down; I wonder if they are still in business.
It looks like they have hollow points.
two-fer gun porn ping
Oooooooooohhhhh... Gun Porn. BTT.
"300 gr. .50 caliber bullet waltzing along at even 700 fps."
Good lord, you could very likely see the slug going down range!
I certainly would NOT want to be on the receiving end!
BANG - SPLAT!
Target practice on Islamo-fascists.
Blunt tips?
That is most likely a hollow-point you're looking at there.
Sweet! Gun porn! But, I still prefer a twin 50 BMG.
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