.50 caliber wildcats?

[field989]

I would like to know if there are any .50 caliber wildcats that actually work, or once were made.

[Lone Star]

Sure, plenty.  Perhaps the best known is the .50 Alaskan, developed in the '50s from the .348 case and still made in Alaska.  It was/is a fine round for big lever guns.  

The .500 Whisper is an SSK wildcat and reportedly works great with 750-grain bullets at 1050 fps.  It is capable of much higher velocities, but I've not seen data for it.  I have an SSK barrel in .50-70, not exactly a wildcat but it is rifled with a 10" twist so it shoots the 750s well too.

The .500 Linebaugh is a big revolver cartridge based on the .348 case.  The .500 A-Square is based on the .460 Weatherby. with huge power - 600 grain bullets at 2475 fps.  The .500 Peacekeeper by SSK is another .460-based wildcat, giving a 750-grain bullet 2205 fps.  There are just too many to list.....

[Reed1911]

There is also a fairly new 50 wildcat called the .500 Phantom. We are just beginning to gather everything together for the R&D of the loads as we will be the commercial source for the ammunition. More information can be found here http://www.teppojutsu.com/
and here http://www.feistyrooster.com/500phantom/index.html

The first is the actual home of the cartridge the second is one of the customers. It is more or less the big brother to the .458 SOCOM and .338 Spectre. More about the .338 Spectre can be found on our website www.reedsammo.com since we are the commercial source for it as well.

[Reed1911]

There is also a fairly new 50 wildcat called the .500 Phantom. We are just beginning to gather everything together for the R&D of the loads as we will be the commercial source for the ammunition. More information can be found here http://www.teppojutsu.com/
and here http://www.feistyrooster.com/500phantom/index.html

The first is the actual home of the cartridge the second is one of the customers. It is more or less the big brother to the .458 SOCOM and .338 Spectre. More about the .338 Spectre can be found on our website www.reedsammo.com since we are the commercial source for it as well.

[field989]

what about some .50 BMG wildcats?

[Reed1911]

I don't know of any offhand. The .50 BMG is such a large cartridge that there is really no reason to do much with it. Most folks can't neck it up and do much with it, and necking it down is a pretty large waste of powder. There is a gent that cut it down and necked it to .308, I think it is called the mcmillan FatMac. But don't quote me on it.

[Lone Star]

what about some .50 BMG wildcats?

Two developed in the 1990s were the .50 FCSA and the .50 BMG Improved. The former was a shortened .50 BMG case with a very short neck and a sharp shoulder and little case taper.  The latter was on the full length BMG case also with the typical "improved" straight case body and sharp shoulder.  Both were used in 1000 yard competition, but I don't know how well they did.

[brasskeeper]

Barrett is now making a rifle chambered with a  50 bmg necked down to 416. They are offering to rebarrel rilfes for owners in the people's republic of Kalifornia so they can keep their rifles.

[John020769]

The 50 BMG blown out to a 12 ga called the 12 ga from hell I got 1 and it is very big .............John P.S. Happy new year!!!!!!!!!

[hubel458]

Ed here-I helped develop the 12GA From Hell,
in first pic, it's the one on the right.We made it by
putting rims on BMG cases.I made my 700HE by making
belt on bmg brass and blowing it out, in 2nd pic.Ed