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50 BMG question

raalfano

Supporter
Supporter
Minuteman
May 12, 2020
19
2
59
New York
Hello, I’m having some issues dialing in a new scope, (Athlon Midas-Tac) or maybe I’m not and I’m having trouble with my mounting, my barrel or my trigger finger, I’m trying to eliminate the scope-the mounting-the ammunition and the potential that I screwed up my barrel from cleaning it potentially the wrong way or firing too much API out of it. I will mention that this is the second brand new scope in the last month that I’ve put on here the first was a Riton X3 Conquer, brand new that I thought was shooting all over the place so I put the Athlon which was brand new on the gun.
I’ve owned this Noreen ULR in a XLR chassis for four years. I always had a vortex PST 4 -16 on it and it worked great (I only shoot out to 600 yds. )
I don’t have any true measurements but all I will say is my grouping in the past wise fine and understandable for the ammunition I was shooting whether it was military ball, federal, PMC, or Hornady A-max.
I haven’t shot the rifle in a year or so and recently switched out the new Athlon scope I did not touch the bottom rings just took off the tops and put the new scope in, at the time though I did check the bases and the pic rail to action torque settings, all good, i’ve double checked my Action to Chassis bolts all are good there. When I mentioned cleaning all I will say is that when I first had the gun I’m sure I over cleaned it and scrubbed it with a brass brush more than I needed to could I have ruined my barrel? Just wondering.
I will say I probably have approximately 400 rounds through this gun, of that about 40 were API.
I shoot prone with a bag in the rear and the best atlas bipod available, can’t remember the exact name of it but it’s the best one they sell.
One question I would like answered is, is there any truth behind someone telling me that shooting this cartridge at 100 200 or even 300 yards I will have worse grouping than if I’m shooting at five or 600 yards, that this bullet stabilizes and calms down the farther it goes out? True?
so recently I cleaned the barrel, shot 15 rounds of PMC bronze trying to get a 300 yards zero they were all over the place, but I will say they were all within 10 inches of center aim, someone told me that that is acceptable for that bullet, true?
so I pulled it into 200 rounds to see if I could get it any better shot 10 more rounds and they’re all over the place, that’s when I switched the scope to the Athlon thinking there was a problem with the Riton X-3
A question before I continue on with some others is I have some new ammunition from Bitterroot Valley that is using A-max bullets (i’ve never shot this Ammo before and don’t have any experience with it but the gentleman I bought it from spoke very highly of it, and told me he sells it to law enforcement and has personally shot a lot of it and has good praise for it, I did not ask him MOA.
my question is for testing purposes what could I expect if I pull my target in to the 100 yard mark and shoot PMC bronze and this Bitterroot Valley Amax ammunition, what should I be getting for grouping?
i’m all out of Hornady A-max I only have the Bitterroot and PMC left besides API and military ball.
I feel that I am a somewhat halfway decent shooter and understand and attempt to eliminate variables and do things consistently, i.e. cheek weld and pressure, elbows in the same place, position behind the rifle the same every time,breath control, grip and trigger control the same every single time.
please tell me what I can expect for MOA out of all the ammunition I mentioned and will the MOA get better as the distance grows? How would I be able to tell if my barrel is damaged? Any advice on doing some testing to figure out and illuminate criteria is much appreciated, and maybe it’ll come down to the fact that maybe my trigger finger has just gotten a lot older than I thought! I wasn’t sure if this post is in the right place so if it needs to be moved I understand.
hopefully it will let me attach a picture this is what I shot yesterday at 300 yards I am all out of the Hornady A-max I only have the Bitterroot A-max left and plenty of PMC Bronze and military ball.
Thanks
 

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Better description of the gun setup would help get some answers as well. The 50 needs solid pieces and parts to operate decent.
 
Noreen ULR Rifle mounted in a XLR Chassis that was specifically designed for the rifle if you’re not familiar with Noreen Firearms out of Belgrade Montana you can check their website online they still sell the rifle. Atlas BT-72 Super Cal bipod on a pic rail off the barrel shroud, I will admit I thought this was my weakest point the movement (wiggle) there is very noticeable but it’s the same on my other rifles different calipers of course but they all shoot fine with the same type of set up and I have played with loading the bipod light-medium and heavy and the accuracy doesn’t change. Also I have deleted the bipod theory of potential accuracy issues and have shot off a very steady bag to no avail, at least no difference from me. Let me know what I’m not answering for you. Thanks.
p. s. If there’s any members in the Duchess County NY, Or Ct area that want to contact me and come pull the trigger to remove me from the equation, please do.
 

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I will admit to not being any kind of expert with a 50, however, I do feel I can help answer a few questions you asked.
When I mentioned cleaning all I will say is that when I first had the gun I’m sure I over cleaned it and scrubbed it with a brass brush more than I needed to could I have ruined my barrel?
No, I wouldn't think so with a brass brush, unless you cleaned this thing an unbelievable amount of times or did so incredibly poorly.
One question I would like answered is, is there any truth behind someone telling me that shooting this cartridge at 100 200 or even 300 rounds I will have worse grouping than if I’m shooting at five or 600 yards, that this bullet stabilizes and calms down the farther it goes out? True?
No, not true. You may happen to shoot a smaller group further out occasionally but that is coincidental and that group would have been smaller at a closer distance had it been shot at that closer distance. The bullet should be settled completely before it is even 40 yards down range.

My best guesses in no particular order would be scope, mount, rings, ammo, or shooter. If you already checked the torques on the rings and base I would try a different scope (50s can be tough on scopes). If that doesn't help I would try a different ammo. Finally, if that doesn't help I would say try to find another good shooter in the area to try it as well and see if they have the same issues.
 
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Move your bipod out as close to the muzzle as possible. It's more stable.
Also I think there is less movement at the muzzle with the same amount of movement compared to if it was closer to the trigger. Something about fulcrum points and radius. Could be wrong on that. If someone could tell me if I'm correct, or an idiot.