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.50 cal. 1911 Beast

15K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  LongRider 
#1 ·
Does anyone have one of these or have any experience with one? Or know anything about Guncrafters? I have never heard of them. Pricey, with proprietary ammo but .50 cal sure is tempting and she sure is purdy
Guncrafters


.50gi Model 1


.50gi Model 2
 
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#2 ·
A friend of mine (the maker of those Alumagrips shown) has one and loves it. Doesn't shoot it often because of the ammo costs. He'll have it on display at the SHOT Show if you want to see one in person.
 
#5 ·
a .45 barrel swap too. hmm, this is tempting.
do you think you can get a .22 conversion for it? im assuming not.
if you could, i might consider it.
i cant imagine the recoil is THAT bad would it be?
i mean if i can shoot little polymer or aluminum framed .45s, would a big steel framed 50 be that much more?
 
#10 ·
The Guncrafter 50 GI pistol and cartridge has been around for over 5 yrs. now.
It's solid and the round is not like a normal 50 cal like folks might think in so far as power levels. It's more akin to a .45 Magnum leaving a half inch sized hole with ball ammo. Reportedly any standard 1911 with a .50 GI specific conversion barrel can support this round. I've not heard of anyone actually doing this though.
The Guncrafter 50 GI 1911 is a true 1911 in design and function and one could install a Ciener or Marvel or Kimber .22 upper to it no problem. The lower is regular 1911. The slide has been beefed up and of course the 50 GI slide is chamber specific is all. The cartridge fits in regular .45 ACP magazines. The whole unit is produced and offered as a package from Guncrafters for alot of money (!).

I've been tracking this thing since it's debut and would love to have one as a home defense autoloader.
But considering it's cost to acquire and train with at best it's a novelty unless I hit the lottery or Bush decides to 'rebate' (since when is a refund a "rebate"?) me all of my 2K decade tax money paid. Neither I expect to occur anytime soon though. :p

- Janq
 
#15 ·
I've been tracking this thing since it's debut and would love to have one as a home defense autoloader.
That has been my thinking, except probably bordering on the absurd make it my dress up gun. Night Stand jewelry, engraved chromed with custom grips. Practicing is a steep definitely but not prohibitive. Would have the .45 conversion and hope performance / handling between the two is not greatly different. That would help. What have you read about its workmanship, reliability and performance? I have never heard of Guncrafters so I don't know anything about their reputation. I'd be more comfortable if it was a Les Baer, STI or a Wilson Combat. Here are some additional stats in case you have not seen these



KE = Kinetic energy: Bullet weight in pounds (obtained by dividing the bullet weight in grains by 7,000) times the velocity (in feet per second) squared and divided by 2G 9 (64.32).

PF = IPSC Power Factor: Bullet weight in grains times velocity divided by 1,000. Used to determine Major and Minor calibers in IPSC competition. The threshold for Major Caliber is a score of 165.

RSP = General Hatcher's Relative Stopping Power Scale: Bullet weight in pounds times velocity times bullet frontal area divided by 2G and multiplied by 1,000. There are also bullet shape factors which I have omitted from these calculations.

Ko = Taylor knockout Values: Bullet weight in pounds times velocity times caliber (in inches).
Sorry for the redundant info the Taylor rating on the top chart is the same thing as the KO on the bottom
 
#12 ·
Looks like the 300 grain round has 350ft. lbs of energy and they 275 has 467ft. lbs.

Definitely falsifies their claim of it being more powerful than 10mm rounds, and it gives no advantage over 9mm, .40, or .45 other than bullet diameter.

Nice in a way I guess, but I would rather have an easier to handle/smaller handgun, with 2x's the rounds to boot. Seems like its similar to a .50AE Desert Eagle (only the .50AE is actually powerful as hell), only in 1911 form; Great for bragging rights and to mount on the wall, but expensive to shoot.

Just my opinion!
 
#13 · (Edited)
Garn it can break 500 ft. lbs...

Data From
The Fightin' .50 GI
By John Taffin (GUNS Magazine Sept, 2005)









Source - GUNS Magazine Features



I doubt I'd carry something like this on the street and there is better for use against four legged wild animals (such as 10MM), but for home defense being 24% heavier than 230 gr. .45 ACP it's got power enough behind it to make wince if not stop even drugged up two legged animals.
Counterpoint though one can get same and better performance more affordably and much more widely available ammo via 9x23MM which myself I plan to adopt as a drop in conversion within my 9x19MM 1911. Again for purposes of HD in specific.

- Janq
 
#16 ·
LR,

I have _heard_ from a couple of owners over at 1911Forum.com and read via product reviews that the GI pistols both in .50GI and .45 ACP are custom quality on par with others such as Les Baer and Wilson in specific. I don't think I've ever heard it compared to STI in specific but they are all in the same pond price and production quality wise. Workmanship is allegedly high as well as performance. As to reliability I don't know. Folks report such as in the article I linked having shot 100 or more rounds through a given unit with no errors, hiccups, and good accuracy. But frankly I personally expect as much and do not at all consider 100 rds. down range to be even a break in muchless a full functionality and reliability assessment for an autoloader. Revolver yes but not for an autoloader. I've not heard anything that I can recall about how their .45 conversion runs but having as much would make sense and cents if one could get past the initial investment cost.
I have read but not heard directly that these units are/have been under evaluation for use by LEO and military thanks to it's high net energy output per the cartridge and the pistols 1911 form factor being both familiar and functional.

IMHO this round would be supreme for HD in specific ,outside of a shotgun, thanks to it's high energy ratings and low muzzle velocity reducing possibility for over penetration be the point of impact human tissue or layers of drywall and wall studs.

- Janq
 
#17 ·
- Janq
I agree I'd like to see something more than 100 round reports. Even though I want to dress her up she'd have to be reliable because home defense would be her designated job. She definitely has the qualifications to do that in spades We don't let safe queens live here. Suppose my task is to find one to handle and see if the "need" set in :image035:
 
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