I recently acquired and refurbished a rather dated State Arms Gun Co. 50BMG built by the legendary Klaus Horstkamp. Upon inspection of the chamber, it is apparent that the rifling lands are intentionally cut starting approximately 0.250" beyond the case rim lip. In other words, there is at least a 0.250" jump before the bullet engages the rifling. In fact, if one would load the cartridge so that bullet ogive actually jammed the lands, the overall cartridge length would be approximately 6.00", a whopping 0.550" longer than 5.450" spec.
Questions: Is this typical for cutting the 50BMG chamber? If not, what would Klaus have been thinking in creating this jump? And lastly, given I'm fairly new to reloading the 50BMG, how would you recommend I set the overall cartridge length for maximum potential?
Your thoughts are appreciated.
Questions: Is this typical for cutting the 50BMG chamber? If not, what would Klaus have been thinking in creating this jump? And lastly, given I'm fairly new to reloading the 50BMG, how would you recommend I set the overall cartridge length for maximum potential?
Your thoughts are appreciated.