Brass Bore Rider in M107A1 50BMG

[EasyW]

I am trying to reconcile two opposing responses from the same manufacturer on whether or not to use brass bore rider bullets in an M107A1 .50 BMG. In print on the Barrett web site they responded to another customer, "no". Specifically they said:

"Can I shoot a “bore rider” bullet in my .50 BMG or .416 Barrett rifle?​

No. The chambers are not cut for bore rider cartridges."

When I called Barrett and spoke to a gun tech support specialist to try to understand what the problem might be, he told me, "Yes, it is fine to shoot them in your rifle, and we do ourselves". He indicated that since the bullets were brass, which is softer than copper, there would be no additional barrel impact (over other bullets), other than I would need to clean the barrel more often (It is chrome so that shouldn't be a problem). Implied in this conversation was that the accuracy was as good as (or better) other bullets.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

 

[MtnCreek]

I have no idea.

I am pretty sure brass is harder than copper.
I'd assume bullet profile would/could be the limiting factor, not bullet hardness.

 

[Brasscow]

They don’t have a borerider chamber but I see no reason you couldnt shoot one. They usually have a narrow driving band just above the boat tail and then up from the drive band it’s just small enough to ride inside the lands “aligning” the bullet perfectly with the bore. If the m107a1 has a tough CL barrel I don’t know why a brass projo would hurt that barrel but not a stainless one.

Answering that question with a no seems odd.

 

[EasyW]

They don’t have a borerider chamber but I see no reason you couldnt shoot one. They usually have a narrow driving band just above the boat tail and then up from the drive band it’s just small enough to ride inside the lands “aligning” the bullet perfectly with the bore. If the m107a1 has a tough CL barrel I don’t know why a brass projo would hurt that barrel but not a stainless one.

Answering that question with a no seems odd.

Thanks. I followed up with Barrett tech support, and the rep explained that his specialists had reviewed my question, and concluded that the barrel is NOT recommended for these bore rider's. They indicated brass projectiles themselves are not a problem, but I should not shoot the brass bore riders. Unfortunately he did not personally understand the issue in depth, so he could only pass along what the specialist(s) had said.

After hearing from him, I spent several more hours researching various aspects of this question (barrels, metal aloys, bullet types/shapes, etc., etc), and still don't follow WHY they recommend I don't shoot them.

I have sent back an email to Barrett with very specific questions so hopefully I can get answers to each directly from the specialists. I'll post anything I get back if it seems potentially helpful to others.

Any further insight or thoughts would be appreciated!

Thanks!