Any 50 AE reloaders on the forum?

[Steamdonkey]

For powder I've got Hodgdon H-110 and IMR 4227, bullets are Speer 300 and 325 gr. I'd be interested in hearing about experiences with any of these products, or any 50 AE reloads really. I'm hoping to get out to the range with my chronograph in the next couple weeks. I'll report back with my results in anyone is interested.

[bryanksmith]

Hey Steamdonkey, I'm right behind you, having recently purchased the same powders, but Hornady and Berry bullets, and CCI mag pistol primers.

I'm very new to the DE, and although I knew going in that it would operate and feel different from my other handguns, I was still surprised (and intrigued) by the degree. So, my intent is to get comfortable with the firearm and figure out my preferences in factory ammo first, then try to duplicate performance with hand loads, and go on from there. But if I can help with anything like second opinions, performance duplication, and general "what the heck?" concerns, I'd be glad to.

And yes, I am very interested in your results. Good luck and best wishes! :)

[Toprudder]

Have not loaded for the 50, but have loaded for the 44.

I have had good luck with both N-110 and H-110 powders. I get roughly the same velocity with each, but the H-110 is much more loud and flashy. I use Zero 44 JSP bullets, but unfortunately they don't make a 50 bullet. I have a friend that has used the Berrys bullets for his 500 S&W, but I don't think he pushes them very hard. You don't have as much leeway with an auto-loader, though, as they have to be hot enough to cycle the action.

[Steamdonkey]

Hey guys,

I made it out to the range but had a little trouble getting consistent readings from my 'ProChrono Digital' chronograph. After reading through the instructions again I'm thinking it was probably user error. Long story short I didn't see much difference between the min and max recommended loads with the H-110. The IMR-4227 on the other hand would not even cycle the gun properly with the min charge and didn't quite match the velocity of the H-110 with max charge. I don't have my notes in front of me but I think the highest velocity recorded was around 1375 fps, which is quite a bit lower than the advertised numbers from Hornady and Underwood. My DE50 has the integral muzzle brake which effectively makes it a 5" barrel so that may explain some of the difference. Foolishly I didn't bring any factory ammo with me to the range so I didn't get velocities to compare against the reloads.

Possibly the most important thing I learned from this latest batch of reloads is that the Underwood brass has a thicker wall than the Hornady brass and is able to get a better grip on the bullet. I had a few reloads with the Hornady brass that were so loose that the bullet could be rotated with your fingers. Adding a bit more crimp helped a little in some cases but it was very easy to overdo it and make it worse. I measured the bullets with a micrometer and all were .500 inches. Maybe my Lee (non-carbide) resizing die is slightly out of spec or my technique needs improvement but I definitely had better luck with the Underwood brass.

[Steamdonkey]

I went to the range again to try the chrono on a cloudy day and I'm more confused than ever. The Hornady XTP 300 gr. was very consistent but averaged 200 fps lower than the advertised velocity. The Underwood 300 gr. was also 200 fps below the number on the box but was much less consistent with a difference of 115 fps between high and low and a standard deviation of 43.

My 300 gr. reloads averaged close to the Hornady XTP but had inconsistency similar to the Underwood. The real surprise was the 325 gr. reloads, which were about 50 fps FASTER than the 300 gr. reloads with the exact same powder charge. Huh???

[oughtsix]

The real surprise was the 325 gr. reloads, which were about 50 fps FASTER than the 300 gr. reloads with the exact same powder charge. Huh???

Maybe the 325 is a longer bullet meaning less room in the case for powder and higher pressures if you loaded the 325 and 300 to the same OAL???

I just ordered my first DE, a .50ae L5 yesterday. I am researching different loads (different bullets mainly). I think I setteled on the Berry's 325's. I was worried about plated bullets but it seems many are using them without issue.

[Steamdonkey]

Maybe the 325 is a longer bullet meaning less room in the case for powder and higher pressures if you loaded the 325 and 300 to the same OAL???

Short answer:
Yes, same OAL for both.

Longer Answer:
My Lyman reloading manual shows loads for Hornady XTP HP 300 gr. at 1.580" OAL and Speer HP 325 gr. at 1.575". Not sure why the 325 is shown with a shorter OAL. I was using Speer HP for both 300 and 325 loads and the 325 is a bit longer so I figured I'd play it safe and load them both to a long-ish 1.585" OAL which is still well below the max. OAL of 1.595" if I recall correctly.

For the next batch I'll try reloading the 300 gr. bullets with slightly shorter OALs and see if velocity changes.

[oughtsix]

Short answer:
Yes, same OAL for both.

Longer Answer:
My Lyman reloading manual shows loads for Hornady XTP HP 300 gr. at 1.580" OAL and Speer HP 325 gr. at 1.575". Not sure why the 325 is shown with a shorter OAL. I was using Speer HP for both 300 and 325 loads and the 325 is a bit longer so I figured I'd play it safe and load them both to a long-ish 1.585" OAL which is still well below the max. OAL of 1.595" if I recall correctly.

For the next batch I'll try reloading the 300 gr. bullets with slightly shorter OALs and see if velocity changes.

I would be interested in your results?????

[oughtsix]

I tried my first 50ae reloads in my new Desert Eagle L5 (Light weight 5" barrel). I took 18 handloaded rounds to the range with me. 300gr Berry's in Hornady brass with CCI 350 magnum pistol primers:
6 rnds @ 30.5 grains H110
6 rnds @ 31.5 grains H110
6 rnds @ 32.5 grains H110

With some of the 30.5 and 31.5 loads I felt little pin pricks on my face which I believe were un-burnt powder (Yes, I was wearing safety glasses). The 32.5 loads I did not notice this.

I am guessing that the lighter charges did not develop enough pressure to completely combust the powder and the breeze blew it back into my face. Does this sound reasonable?

The 32.5 grain loads are near the max load and I believe I did not get powder blown back in my face because of better combustion. Does this sound reasonable?

The 32.5 grain loads felt very near Hornady 300gr XTP factory loads as far as recoil (The 7th round in each mag was a Hornady 300gr factory load... so I could compare the recoil). The lighter loads, especially the 30.5gr loads were real nice light recoiling target loads. ALL loads cycled the action just fine and left a nice puddle of brass ~6' to ~8' behind me over my right shoulder.

I think H110 is one of the slower pistol powders. Should I try a faster powder for target loads?

[Steamdonkey]

I'm not sure why the lighter charges are throwing material back at you, but lower pressure / unburnt powder sounds possible. It might be little flecks of copper plating that didn't stay attached to the bullet. H110 is on the slow side but according to my Lyman reloading handbook, "Slow-burning powders are required to generate enough gas volume to properly cycle the gas-operated action." Maybe the L5 can operate satisfactorily with a faster burning power but I'd want some way to verify peak pressures are within limits before trying it.

I've not yet been back to the range to see if the 300 gr. bullets with a slightly shorter OAL are more consistent but will report my results when I get around to it.

[DE MAN]

I'm setting up to start loading for the 50AE. I do load for other 500 calibers but with a semi-auto I think the DE will be more sensitive to pressures. The pressures on the big 500 are actually lower than one would think. My understanding is that plated lead bullets will result in lower pressure because the bullet is softer than a Jacketed bullet. I'd like to find out what minimum pressure the DE 50AE was designed to function at. Maybe MR can fill us in. My experience with the DE in 41 and 44 is that it functions better with loads in the mid to upper range of charge weights. I pretty much use Win 296 and H110 for Mag loads and make sure that my crimp and bullet tension is tight.With the 50AE it will head space on the edge of the shell so shell length will be more critical than OAL.

[MrBlackCat]

Magnum research is very resistant to providing anything technical about engineering on these gun in my experience. They also don't condone/suggest reloading in general. From a business/liability standpoint, this is understandable.

It is my opinion that the original Samson 50AE was much more tame than most rounds of the day. Legend has it (read this on the internet years ago) their powder was a tri-mix.

From my personal experience with these guns and a chronograph, I have seen factory ammo with equal bullet weights in which the higher velocity round would not reliably cycle the slide as the lower velocity round. I just mean that there is more to it than "pressure"... the pulse timing must be critical. Pressure over time must make the volume necessary to make these guns work as designed.

I don't reload by the way. (yet)

When I get a chance, I will run some Samson across the Chronograph anyway just to give an idea of where these rounds fall. I am thinking they were between 1150 and 1250 (300gr, yeah, low)... but I can't remember where that came from. It isn't from my own Chronograph and gun however. I do think Samson is a very comfortable round to shoot compared to some of the high powered loadings of today.

Good luck, and thank you for sharing your experiences.

MrBlackCat

[Bawanna]

In an earlier life when I was experimenting with reloads for my 30-30 contender I got a hold of a nice fella at Winchester.
I'm sure they are all nice but this guy was really helpful.
I found that I could only match the accuracy of factory ammo regardless of what efforts I made to improve it.

Back in those days I thought I could always do better than factory.

Anyhow after much prodding and cajoling this guy finally told me that the powder they used was indeed a mixture of 3 or more different powders. Begging and bribing could not get the recipe out of him. He said it was mixed in such large quantities that I could never duplicate it. I tried to get him to send me a few pounds and I think he was actually pondering that but in the end it was a no go.

[lockhart]

Although this is an old thread, I thought I would provide my go-to load for my XIX .50. I wanted a load that would function the gun, but would not be hard on it. I settled on 22.7 grains of Alliant 2400 propellant. This came from the Hornady 8th edition reloading manual. The actual starting load was 22.9 grains, but I used a Lee dipper that was listed at 22.7 grains. Unlike H-110 and Winchester 296, 2400 is a very forgiving powder, so I wasnt worried about that miniscule difference. Shooting over my Oehler model 33 chrono, the load averaged 1114 feet per second, worked the guns action with no jamming, etc. To my delight, it also shot clover leaf groups at 25 yards. The bulllet was the Speer 325 grain hollow point. So, if you want a soft shooting load that is not hard on the pistol and also accurate, try this one out.

[JakeG91]

Steamdonkey, i am new to reloading for the 50ae ive owned a desert eagle for 5 or 6 years i love shooting it great gun. Ive recently started reloading and i have had the same problem with the bullets spinning easily with 2 fingers. I have the lee non carbide reloading dies. I got the dies all set according to the instructions. I am running 24 grains of alliant 2400 with hornady 300 gr xtp hollowpoint. Im running them at 1.575 OAL as it recommends in my hornady 11th edition reloading book. I loaded a couple up messured them thought i was good to go then just for the hell of it i tried to spin one of the projectiles and it spun very easily. I adjusted the crimp to the point where it was actually putting a groove in the copper jacket of the bullet and i could still turn the bullet by hand. I tightened the crimp to the point that it started crushing the case like an accordian even still i could spin the bullet. I obviously backed it back off so it wouldnt ruin the case im just stumpted as to why the bullets are loose did you find a solution

[deagle]

@jakeg91 I had the same issue with loose projectiles using Lee dies. Setback was a huge issue after several firings. Talked to Lee, got some advice, not much improvement if any. Decided to try other dies. RCBS die (P/N 22262) fixes the problem. Took out the seating stem and use it for crimp only. Lee is adamant they can't make a 50AE factory crimp die, yet they have one for the S&W 500. They call it a collet style "rifle" die. I assume it makes headspacing off the case mouth an issue or the taper is wrong. Maybe. Should have named that pistol the honey badger. It doesn't give a... That, and it attacks your face.