The UltraMag 50 Range Report

Since we did not have time to run to the ranch, we made it to the closest outdoor range we both belonged to about 09:00 Friday morning and there were men on the 200-meter and 200-yard lanes (the farthest distances at this particular range). There were also shooters on the pistol course, which left us with the 100-yard range.

We quickly unloaded the vehicles with our implements of fun, and since the bipod was not in yet, we used the same stand as in the first pictures posted of the UM50. I want to note here that the only pictures of the range time that I already posted will be the only ones available at this time as those four pictures are the only ones that meet the obscurity test. The next session will have video and stills.

The scope was mounted and the ammo can was opened. The ammo used was .50 caliber M9 Linked Blue Tip Ammo, which he purchased from Sportsman?s Guide. We were not concerned with it being incendiary as the backstop was a large dirt mound that is at least forty-five (45) feet deep and thirty-feet (30) high and the targets were simply paper, wood, and a very large chunks of concrete. In fact, the only paper targets we had brought with us were NRA Official 100 meter small bore rifle targets, and would work perfectly for the days needs.

When it was time to fire my friend graciously allowed me the first pull and I did not say no (actually, I think he wanted to gauge the recoil). I set the scope reticule dead center on the target 100 yards away, breathed slowly and squeezed.

Hot Damn! What a rush! My round hit about a half-inch (½) high horizontal, but seven (7) inches to the left of dead center. There is no missing the hit round through the scope at all, and perceived recoil was not much more than a magnum 12 Gauge load- I was in love.

We walked down to examine the target and decided upon adjustments, and upon our return to the bench, the owner sat himself behind, grasped the rifle firmly, rotated the dials on the knobs the requisite turns and squeezed. His expectations were dashed, but only shortly as the round had not fired. We waited sixty-seconds; he checked the round, reloaded it, aimed and fired. He was now in love, even though we had over estimated the adjustments.

To ensure that we had over compensated, it was my turn again and the round fired was a half off of his. The scope was on we thought. We then tested three more rounds each, between answering questions from other shooters who had wandered by, over the next ninety-minutes. During this same period, and unbeknownst to me, he had brought along another toy for us to play with and that was the suppressor for his Colt .45, and surprised me with simply handing it to me and saying: "Have fun."

We did, but the only .45 ammo on hand was three years old and would not reliably feed through the pistol, suppressed or not- we went through all fifty rounds he had to be sure.

It was nearing eleven o?clock in the morning and we were getting hungry, so we each decided to fire off one more round through the UM50. We walked down and setup a 4x4 chunk of fence post and braced it with a chunk concrete. Upon return, I aimed dead center of that 4x4, fired, and then heard nothing but laughter and the question: "Did you see that thing exploded?"

Actually, I had not, as was concentrating on my target so we walked back down to see if I had missed the 4x4 and found out that I had not. My aim was true, and the round had gone right through and exploded the chunk of concrete used as a brace.

We set things up again, but used a larger piece of concrete this time.

Upon returning to the bench, my friend slid quickly behind the rifle, aimed and squeezed. It was so much fun that we almost decided to post the video of it, but again, the video does not meet the obscurity test, so we will just have to repeat that test for you the next time.

We then walked back down to clean up our mess, and looked closely at the hill of dirt behind our targets. Channels two feet deep were exploded out of the hill from the twelve rounds we had fired and looked quite funny.

We headed back, cleaned our area and loaded the vehicles. We called a mutual friend and invited him to lunch so that he could watch the videos and see the stills. We met at him and though we both had huge grins on our faces, I will confess that mine was the largest.

As I am writing this, I am staring, and occasionally smelling, the first spent round that was put through the rifle since leaving Safety Harbor and I am still grinning from ear to ear. The Paranoid Family all had a great time watching the videos and laughing at my smiling face so much, that the stills were added to the MCE system (See MCE Box posting).

We do not think that we will be able to make it back out for at least three weeks due to our schedules, but when we do, I will post stills, video and sound of the event, and if you can find a way to purchase yourself a BMG .50 caliber rifle- do so as soon as possible, as you do not know the fun you are missing.

Thank you Ronnie Barrett and the many others for pioneering this sport!

--WP