50 cal: case capacity?

[Rikky Lee]

Do we yet have an "ideal" case capacity yet for running an effective 50 cal cartridge?

For example, could I neck up a 284 case and have enough in the boiler room for accurate and effective shooting (both sub and super sonic) or is a 7mm magnum a more appropriate vehicle?

Grateful views.

[LouBoyd]

There is no "optimum" 50 caliber case capacity and no "standard" 50 cal subsonic cartridge.

Are you talking about .500" bullets or .510 bullets? what's available is very different in those two diameters.

What bullet weights? I can think of 50 caliber bullets suitable for subsonic use from 175 to 900 grains. Those certianly don't need the same case capacity.

Do you want low drag bullets? Expanding jacketed? cast lead?

To answer those questions you need to decide how much energy you want to deliver at what range.

What action do you want to use? Single shot? Bolt? Semi-auto?

What specific action?

What pressure can the action handle?

Only after anwering those question can you consider case capacity.

Then you still have to consider:
Cartridge length. Will the case and bullet fit the action? It's magazine?
Will it feed and extract?
Will it cycle the action if it's semi or full auto?
How will it headspace?

And with any cartridge you select you have to determine how to obtain the action, the barrel, the dies, the reamers, the brass, and the bullets. Some are "off the shelf" though the shelves are pretty empty these days.

If you don't care about long range (beyond about 300 yards) the 50 Beowulf shooting 600 grain rebated boatails seems like a good choice to me. It will cycle in a stock AR-15 with little difficulty. If you want a long range subsonic (500 yd+) the 500 whisper shooting 750 or 800 grain VLD's is hard to beat. Both the 50 Beowulf and the 500 Whisper have more case capacity than necessay. Velocity consitancy problems arise with both too much and too little case capacity.

My point is YOU have to decide what you want. No one cartridge can be optimum for everyone's wants and desires. You can choose an existing 50 caliber cartrdge or invent your own wildcat. There are number examples on this forum with varying degrees of success for various action types.

I don't think the 284 Win or the 7mm Mag are suitable as parent cases for 50 cal subsonics . Their body diameter is too small. THe 7mm Mag is the same diamter as the straight wall 458 Win Mag. The Ultra series case and the WSM's are barely large enough. The 500 Whisper is based on the even larger 378 Weatherby case.

[Rikky Lee]

All good points and well made.

Setting aside the 50BMG, the question relates to a smaller capacity case that will run through either a long magnum action bolt gun or a 308 bolt face.

The 50 Peacemaker, 50 Alaskan and 510 Whisper are all good and useful cartridges but what are the characteristics that make them useful:

a. case capacity;

b. case dimensions;

c. velocity range; and finally

d. reloading ease/cost.

First two should indicate the third and point d is the thing you never tell your wife about!!