Battle of the 50’s - AR 50 vs Serbu BFG 50

[hafejd30]

The following is a review I did between my Armalite AR 50A1 and Serbu BFG 50 both in 50 BMG. May help anyone looking to get into the 50 market at an entry level make their decision on which option is right for them. Mine came down to these two rifles and now that I own both I want to share my first impressions.

You can visit my Facebook page “Hafeman Precision” to view the review with pictures as well as a short video showing both actions in operation and highlighting a few differences between them

Written review below



Battle of the 50’s
AR 50 A1 vs Serbu BFG 50 - 50 BMG


Captions have been added below the pictures to explain them better


I included pics of the factory specs from both Armalite and Serbu at the bottom of this review. These are directly from their website.


This is my comparison of the two rifles side by side. I am not affiliated with either company and paid full price for both rifles in this review.


These are first impressions of the rifles before firing them.


• AR 50 vs Serbu Size and Overall Feel:


– AR 50-
58.5” Fully Assembled
49.5” Buttstock Removed
36.2 lbs- As shown in review (Rifle + Bipod)


- Serbu-
50.5” Fully Assembled
20.6 lbs- As shown in review (Rifle + Bipod)


As expected the AR 50 is noticeably heavier. For a target rifle that you want minimal recoil and don’t plan to carry very far from truck to shooting position the AR 50 fits the bill. If you want portable and plan to shoot from something other than prone position or bench then the Serbu would fit that position better. The Serbu would be easier to fire off hand.


- The following is a shake test. Not scientific by any means but gives you a general idea how solid the rifle is when moving it around during general shooting activities. Identifies moving parts and if nothing else gives you a first impression of the rifles tolerances. Like this or not when you pick up a rifle for the first time at a gun shop this can make or break the sale. This was done by simply holding the rifle up and turning/twisting it to cause movement and vibration


Both bipods were left on the gun during this test


AR 50 had very little noise. The AR 50 is built very solid and the only thing you can hear is the bolt handle which is hardly noticeable.


Serbu BFG 50 has a very noticeable amount of noise. Some from then canting feature in the bipod. Some from the Bolt Head in the rifle. Some from the lower receiver where it pins to the upper


• Muzzle Brakes


I wouldn’t say either brake is better than the other as I have not fired the rifles. Both seem to be well designed. AR 50 certainly wins the bad ass award for looks and the Serbu wins the award for a “cleaner” look. Both rifles will have to be fired to give an honest comparison and really both brakes should be fired on the same rifle. The weight difference in these rifles I suspect will make the AR 50 have less recoil therefore not giving an honest comparison. I will say the reviews online seem to favor them both depending on application. Either one I suspect will not win the friendship award at the range when fired next to other shooters.


Double Hearing Protection is a MUST when firing any 50 Cal rifle. So I would suggest both plugs and muffs for either rifle.


•Barrels:


- AR 50-
30” Legth
1-15” Twist
Manufacturer- Wilson


- Serbu-
29.5” Legth
1-15” Twist
Manufacturer- Mossberg


The AR 50 barrel is a heavier profile. Approximately 1/4” thicker. The Serbu measured about 1” before the shoulder for the muzzle brake. The AR 50 measures 1 1/4” in the same spot. This overall thickness seems to follow the same trend through the rest of the barrel (AR being about 1/4” thicker)


• Scope Base


- AR 50-
Four Screws- Multiple recoil lugs (vertical and horizontal)
15 MOA Slope


- Serbu-
Four Bolts- No recoil lugs
30 MOA Slope- Extra $50 from factory
Basic rifle comes with 0 MOA base


The AR 50 has tighter tolerances due to its design. The Serbu has the ability to shift under recoil if not tightened down enough. AR 50 is unable to shift when tightened down due to the lugs. For peace of mind on heavy recoiling rifles I prefer the AR 50 design.


• Action/Bolt Head/Extractor:


-AR 50-
3 Lugs
Sako Extractor


-Serbu-
2 Lugs
Extractor built like a Savage Extractor. See pics below.


* Please see the video on my page regarding the bolt travel etc of both rifles. It is easier watched then understood in writing.


The two rifle actions were compared using a factory 750 Gr Hornady AMAX #8270. This was done in a outside environment and directly mimics the results I had using a snap cap in the video.


The AR 50 was easier to chamber the round. The round could be “thrown” in the chamber without much care and would align and chamber every time.


The Serbu will hang up when loaded the same way as the round contacts the back of the chamber where the bolt lugs contact (more so using a fmj round which was also tested) The tip of the round did need to be set into the chamber to reliably avoid this issue. You could get the round to chamber forcefully if it contacted the rear of the chamber but risk damage to the bullet in doing so.


• Safety Selector


- AR 50-
Switch located in rear of bolt. Works more like a firing pin stop then a Safety. The firing pin will still drop when the gun is fired on safety however the notch in the bolt will not allow it to contact the round. The firing pin travel is stopped severely short of making contact with the primer.


- Serbu-
The Serbu does utilize an AR 15/10 style lower on the rifle. This rifle features a simple safety switch as seen on any standard AR 15.


My preference between the two safeties goes to the Serbu. The safety is extremely easy to operate as is most AR 15 style throw levers. The AR 50 does take a bit of pressure to move from safe to fire.


The biggest difference is if you attempt to fire the Serbu on safe it will simply do nothing as expected. The AR 50 will more or less attempt to fire but be unable to as it stops the firing pin. This does however require you to re-cock the rifles bolt to reset the firing pin.


It should be noted that if you fire the AR 50 on safety, although the safety stops the firing pin, there is absolutely no way your able to flip the rifle to fire without resetting the bolt. In other words you can’t trip the trigger, throw the safety lever to fire and have the rifle go off. You will need to reset the bolt to move the safety lever.


• Buttstock


- AR 50-
- Fully Adjustable height for cheek comb and recoil pad
- Removable
- Cheek rest has a rubber texture added to it


- Serbu-
- Not adjustable


Hands down my preference goes to the AR 50. The Buttstock on the AR is comfortable. The Serbu is like resting your face on a piece of steel tubing. You could apply something I’m sure to the Serbu to improve it, but as is, AR 50 is much better.


• Fit/Finish
Both rifles come in the same Manganese Phosphate finish. So I expect to hold up to about the same abuse before showing wear. The AR 50 does have a few blemishes in the finish where the Serbu does seem to be for the most part flawless in the finish. I don’t buy guns to look at so I honestly could care less about the finish on one over the other. If you buy them to use both are excellent. If your hanging over a fireplace the Serbu would have the edge.


• Bipods


- AR 50-
- GGG Bipod
- Height adjustable
- Heavy Duty
- Con- No correction for canting (non-tilting)


- Serbu-
- Serbu Brand Bipod
- Does not adjust for height
- Cants (Tilts to correct for uneven ground)
- Heavy Duty
- Con- The canting feature on bipod has no way to lock. So the rifle freely tilts back and forth and must be held in place to fire. (Much like a Harris with the same features and no pod-lok or ability to add resistance.


The AR 50 comes with the GGG Bipod. The Serbu bipod is an add on at checkout. I prefer the GGG between the two


• Triggers


- AR 50-
- Shilen Trigger - Single stage
- Can be swapped with any Rem700 compatible trigger
- Advertised pull approximately 5 lbs


- Serbu-
- AR 15 Trigger with custom hammer/springs
- Advertised pull approximately 6 lbs
- Serbu will install a set trigger for an additional $200.
*This rifle features the standard trigger advertising 6 lbs pull


The following results were from 10 consecutive trigger pulls. 5 on each rifle. Taken round robin style without letting the trigger gauge turn off. This was taken with a digital Lyman gauge.


- AR 50 -
1) 5 lbs 8 oz
2) 5 lbs 8.5 oz
3) 5 lbs 11 oz
4) 5 lbs 8.5 oz
5) 5 lbs 6.5 oz


- Serbu -
1) 9 lbs 13 oz
2) 9 lbs 9.5 oz
3) 9 lbs 6 oz
4) 9 lbs 9 oz
5) 9 lbs 13 oz


The trigger on the AR 50 was “to me” a bit smoother/cleaner break.


• Overall


Without firing either rifle I would prefer the AR 50 over the Serbu if given the chance to own either and I was primarily bench/prone target shooting. If I was transporting the rifle for a decent distance then Serbu would be better as it’s shorter and lighter.


The overall quality on the rifles I feel the AR wins in this category. It has a way more solid feel to the rifle and isn’t nearly as “loose” sounding when handled.


The AR also has the better trigger and ability to adjust the Buttstock to the shooters preference.


• Price


- AR 50-
$3021 all taxes included out the door from J’s Sport Supply in Powers MI. (I highly recommend them)
- This Rifle includes GGG Bipod


- Serbu-
$2720 all taxes and shipping included from Serbu to FFL. With Bipod/30 MOA Scope Base


Thank you for taking the time to read my review. More to come when some rounds go down range!


Hafeman Precision

[yobuck]

You have obviously done some home work with this, but I am curious as to what the objective is for you?
I am aware of your interest in long range shooting, but then there is as you well know long, and then there is very long.
On paper at least the 50 cal would far exceed all others as the ultimate cartridge for very long shooting.
Over the many years ive been involved with long range hunting, there have been numerous people I knew who were involved with 50 calibers, and some still are very involved. Years back, before all the big custom actions were available, the large German military anti tank gun built on a very large Mauser action was used by some for that purpose. There were also a few who ventured into building their own action, and Gene Graybil was one of them.
He was interested mostly with the short 50 spotter round case necked down to 338. His problem was lack of funds for all the cost involved, and ultimately the loss of the job that provided what he did have along with the type of machinery needed to produce it.
That was before the 300 gr bullets became available also. I have a few of the loaded rounds and unloaded cases for that gun, which are to say the least very impressive. I was also along on one of the test shoots at one of our hunting locations.
More recently Mark King, a well known PA gunsmith who has been building many of the winning 1000 yd benchrest guns has been very involved also. He builds them on the largest Bat action and does some "improving" to the standard 50 cal case. I have several friends with camps near ours who have within the last few years bought them from him for long range hunting. One is Frank Weber, who is a very old Williamsport shooter/record holder. In fact he might still hold a record there, and one of his sons has held them also.
Fact is though that even those very experienced shooters are having problems shooting the 50 accuratly, and the reason is recoil.
Weber has told me that he just cant shoot it while sitting at the bench, he has to be standing. To date to my knowledge, they have killed one deer with it at about 700 yds.
Another friend bought one about 4 or 5 years ago because his 338x378 just wasent getting the job done. Im told that the 50 isn't getting it done either for the same reason, lol.
Mark King and a buddy of his by name of John Buhay also a gun builder, are involved in the extreme distance shooting competition,
and especially Buhay now retired, travels to places like the NRA facility at Raton NM to do that.
They have also been involved with building and experimenting with 20 mm rifles for quite awhile.
Im told by the Webers that you could have about $10.000 invested in a setup like theirs, which I would assume would include the loading equipment. As I recall the powder charge they use is about double the 137 gr im loading in my 338, and that coupled with a 700 gr bullet for sure gets your attention when it goes off.

[hafejd30]

You have obviously done some home work with this, but I am curious as to what the objective is for you?
I am aware of your interest in long range shooting, but then there is as you well know long, and then there is very long.
On paper at least the 50 cal would far exceed all others as the ultimate cartridge for very long shooting.
Over the many years ive been involved with long range hunting, there have been numerous people I knew who were involved with 50 calibers, and some still are very involved. Years back, before all the big custom actions were available, the large German military anti tank gun built on a very large Mauser action was used by some for that purpose. There were also a few who ventured into building their own action, and Gene Graybil was one of them.
He was interested mostly with the short 50 spotter round case necked down to 338. His problem was lack of funds for all the cost involved, and ultimately the loss of the job that provided what he did have along with the type of machinery needed to produce it.
That was before the 300 gr bullets became available also. I have a few of the loaded rounds and unloaded cases for that gun, which are to say the least very impressive. I was also along on one of the test shoots at one of our hunting locations.
More recently Mark King, a well known PA gunsmith who has been building many of the winning 1000 yd benchrest guns has been very involved also. He builds them on the largest Bat action and does some "improving" to the standard 50 cal case. I have several friends with camps near ours who have within the last few years bought them from him for long range hunting. One is Frank Weber, who is a very old Williamsport shooter/record holder. In fact he might still hold a record there, and one of his sons has held them also.
Fact is though that even those very experienced shooters are having problems shooting the 50 accuratly, and the reason is recoil.
Weber has told me that he just cant shoot it while sitting at the bench, he has to be standing. To date to my knowledge, they have killed one deer with it at about 700 yds.
Another friend bought one about 4 or 5 years ago because his 338x378 just wasent getting the job done. Im told that the 50 isn't getting it done either for the same reason, lol.
Mark King and a buddy of his by name of John Buhay also a gun builder, are involved in the extreme distance shooting competition,
and especially Buhay now retired, travels to places like the NRA facility at Raton NM to do that.
They have also been involved with building and experimenting with 20 mm rifles for quite awhile.
Im told by the Webers that you could have about $10.000 invested in a setup like theirs, which I would assume would include the loading equipment. As I recall the powder charge they use is about double the 137 gr im loading in my 338, and that coupled with a 700 gr bullet for sure gets your attention when it goes off.

Thank you for the good read!

My intentions for the 50 cal are mostly just because I want one. Only reason I ended up with both is because after purchasing the Serbu I realized I made the wrong choice and the AR was more suited to what I wanted. I have a 338 LM for long range hunting which I’m just assuming will still be more accurate than the 50 at least with factory rounds.

I bought it to have one. Just because I made enough money in a short period of time to justify the cost. I mostly intend to use it as a fun gun. Putting big holes in things with friends, giving others a chance to shoot the 50 etc. I will have it set up to go out to about 2,000 yds and will plan to try some ELR shooting with it. The areas around here are more limited for really long distance shots. Especially with a backstop for a 50.

So long story short I bought it just to have fun with. Something not a lot of people own around here. We’ll see where my 50 cal shooting experience goes from here

[yobuck]

Thank you for the good read!

My intentions for the 50 cal are mostly just because I want one. Only reason I ended up with both is because after purchasing the Serbu I realized I made the wrong choice and the AR was more suited to what I wanted. I have a 338 LM for long range hunting which I’m just assuming will still be more accurate than the 50 at least with factory rounds.

I bought it to have one. Just because I made enough money in a short period of time to justify the cost. I mostly intend to use it as a fun gun. Putting big holes in things with friends, giving others a chance to shoot the 50 etc. I will have it set up to go out to about 2,000 yds and will plan to try some ELR shooting with it. The areas around here are more limited for really long distance shots. Especially with a backstop for a 50.

So long story short I bought it just to have fun with. Something not a lot of people own around here. We’ll see where my 50 cal shooting experience goes from here

Thanks for your "honest" response.
There is no better reason for owning something than simply because you want it, you can, and it's legal.
Having hit my thumb numerous times with a 28 oz hammer, no doubt affected my own desire to own a fifty.
My 338 probably weighs about 30#, so maybe a 50# 50 would be something I could handle?
But then I am having trouble putting 30# on the bench, so how would I deal with 50#? lol

[hafejd30]

The bolt quit closing on the brand new Serbu. In the end the trigger was replaced to allow the bolt to close. Which brought the trigger down from almost 10 lbs to 6. Scope base was also pinned. Took considerable time to line the base up as the holes for the bolts were very sloppy and the base holes and mount holes were different sizes. In the end the Serbu got sold. So the win for me goes clearly to the AR50

[yobuck]

Does Mc Millan still make a 50? A neibor at our camp has one he bought 10 years or more ago.
It seemed to function very well the few times I watched it being shot.
I believe he bought it from Bobs Army/Navy in Clearfield PA.
They sell lots of guns and always had ARs and 50s on display.

[Stumpkiller]

You bought a second Serbu after all the problems you had with the first one? I'm very surprised.

[hafejd30]

You bought a second Serbu after all the problems you had with the first one? I'm very surprised.

Buy a second Serbu????!!!! You think I have rocks in my head!!! lol

The Serbu I’m referring to is the one I compared against the AR50. I owned both the Serbu BFG 50 and AR50. Both brand new when I did review above. If you look under my name and go to my “Serbu 50 BFG Experience” you’ll see what issues I’ve had with the rifle since I bought it. I wanted to do an unbiased review which is posted above against the AR which I also bought after seeing the quality of the Serbu. Just some highlights below

Serbu trigger- 10.3-11.7 out of the box. Some lube and about 10 dry fire rounds on a snap cap and it came down to the listed pulls above. About 9.5-10 lbs

Scope base- Serbu came with base installed backwards (30 MOA base) so I was forced to remove it. Upon removing it the tolerances were so sloppy there is no way a person could line it up correctly and wrench it down at the same time. The holes in the base are different size then the holes in the welded base on the gun where it attaches. The screws are smaller than the base holes obviously and that much smaller again going into the gun. There 3/16” bolts I believe.

From the factory the bolt would hang up on the hammer in the action. As the action broke in the climb for the bolt over the hammer got worse. There no “ramp” on either the bolt or the hammer so eventually it got to where you would need a running start to jump the bolt over the hammer. Of course not allowing you to close the bolt after doing this several times.

I had a pending trade worked out before the bolt stopped working but I had to play with the rifle a bit and see if the bolt was actually getting worse. I wasn’t about to shaft someone into a trade for a gun that did not work. All the other issues like the trigger I was assured by Serbu that they were within spec. So I’m assuming they all come like that and if you want lower you pay the extra $200.

The team I shoot for in fclass is run/sponsored by a custom rifle manufacturer not far from my house. The owner asked to have a look at the rifle. I told him I contacted Serbu about warranty info and wanted to fix through them so I could sell in new condition yet. But Serbu, after 3 days, never emailed or called me back. So I had no choice but to go there because if we had to mill something I needed a professional to do it and not me with a dremel.

SoI basically hung out for the day there and we started tearing into the rifle.

We replaced the trigger with a stainless steel one that the sear engagement was a bit further ahead. This was one of his polished triggers. This not only allowed the hammer to sit a bit further down allowing the bolt to close but also dropped the trigger pull to a nice/crisp 6 lbs. I know that’s not much but a big improvement over 10 lbs.

Then we added some foam where you would put an accuwedge (just to see if this helped take the slop out of the lower receiver) which it still moved a lot but didn’t sound so clunky anymore.

We had to put the scope base back on (I was willing to just ship it off the rifle and let the next owner install it where they felt “straight” was). But the shop owner said since were already into this we may as well make it right. So we leveled the gun up on a Bridgeport mill and found our center of bore. We then found the bore center as it pertained to the welded scope base. Which good thing the holes are loose because it had to go all the way to one side to line up. We then pinned the scope base and re attached it with the bolts etc. This way it can’t shift under recoil. We spent about 3 - 4hrs just working on the base.

We made sure everything else was to spec and fired a 10 round box of 750 amax through it. It shot about 1.25-1.75 MOA (we shot at 100 because that’s the only range we can use right now with the snow.

After all the time we spent on it I just made a deal with the owner to sell it to him. He plans to mill some stuff on it. He will redo the chamber on it or rebarrel it to shoot reloads. There is about 1/4” jump right now to the lands with the factory Amax. He builds 50’s but it’s high end stuff. Mcmillian actions etc. I know him well and think he just felt bad for me lol.

So long story short we worked out a trade. I lost about 1k on the rifle but would have lost that anyways trying to sell it because I couldn’t go through a sale or trade without being honest with the person buying it what they were getting. Which of course cost me several potential sales and trades. It went to someone who has forgotten more about rifles then I’ll ever know and will basically make it into a personal range toy after modifying several other things on the rifle.

So NO, I did not buy a second, Serbu never took care of the first one and I’m out a decent $. If the trigger would have been like the one we installed and I wouldn’t have had to remove the scope base I’d probably have a different perspective on the rifle. But those two things made the rifle FUBAR from the moment I opened the box. Shitty trigger, backwards/sloppy base, a sloppy lower that the bolt hung up on etc

[Stumpkiller]

So, I guess we know who will win the eventual "battle". ;-)