50 GI range trip tomorrow

Skribs

Skribs

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My tax refund became one of my dream guns: a .50 Glock. I had already bought the G21 in preparation for this, but now I have a .50. I'm going to take it to the range for the first time tomorrow.

One thing that really excites me is not only the unique caliber and that I'll be shooting a .50. It's that I've assembled some extended magazines for this thing. I had emailed Guncrafter Industries and asked if they had plans to make some. The response I got back was basically, "No...but here's how you can make them yourself."

I got a Kriss 30-round extension for the G21 magazine, and a +4 extension from Taran Tactical. In addition to testing function out of those, I'll also be testing capacity. My assumption is that I will get 20-21 rounds into the Kriss and 11-12 in the Taran. This is based on (9/13)*30 and (9/13)*17 being roughly 20.76 and 11.76, respectively.

I did follow up with Guncrafter Industries and let them know I'm testing these out, and they want me to let them know how they work out.
 
CDW4ME said:
In for pics and range report. :thumbup:

Also, you are now GOLDEN to address the cliché phrase, "I carry a 45 because they don't make a 46"
You can be like, "No, but they make a 50 - You only have a 45?" :D
View attachment 1151879
Click to expand...

I always hear it as "I carry a 45 because they don't make a 50."

So I can say "Uh...yeah they do. And this holds 1 more than your 1911." (Since I know most hold 8+1 now).
 
Overall, very impressed. Shoots just like the .45 ACP. They definitely hit their design goal for making a controllable .50 handgun. Accuracy was about the same as .45. That is, I still have work to do.

Magazine Extensions
The Taran magazine held 12 just fine, right from the start. Functioned flawlessly.
The Kriss I was only able to fit 15 in at the range. It otherwise functioned flawlessly. I'm working on breaking it in. I'm up to 17 in it right now. My math says it should hold 20 or 21, since (9/13)*30 = 20.76 ish.

Function
There were no malfunctions when firing. With the 300 grain FMJs, it was absolutely flawless. The 185 grain CHPs were getting stuck on the feed ramp loading the first one in. However, once loaded, further rounds fed and fired flawlessly.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. I think I'll load CHPs into the Taran magazine and use that as my nightstand gun.

50 GI with extended magazines

50 GI with extended magazines

 
21H40 said:
Now I want to see a thread discussing how this 50 may not be as good as 380 for SD…
:rofl:

I am jealous tho! I’ve always wanted one of these GI 50s. Would it work on the G20 like it does on the 21?
Click to expand...

Yes, it does. G20 and G21 share the same frame. Also 40 and 41.

They make versions for Gen 1-3 and for Gen 4. Make sure you get the right version. (Also doesn't go on the Gen 5, at least not yet).
 
I have always been intrigued by the 50GI. 45acp-ish power with bigger holes, what's not to like?

Does the .50GI make your Glock double stack magazines in to single stack? I would appreciate hearing more about you Glock 20 in 50GI?
 
Very cool.

I have been contemplating getting a 10mm slide / upper for my Glock 21. Checking prices, it makes more sense to just buy a NIB Glock 20 for $500.
 
My waistline is about a 50 but I think yours is lighter.

Interested in this. I am a 10MM fan but maybe I rather a .50 than the .45 series. Not familiar with this caliber.
 
That is awesome! I would assume the slide is wider than a regular Glock 21 slide, do you know if it fits in a regular holster? Probably not, but I thought I would ask.
 
The 50 GI has a rebated rim that is identical in size to .45acp (30-06, 308, etc.) so I believe it was designed to be used in .45 acp hand guns with .45 acp slides. The body of the cartridge is a fair bit bigger in diameter than a .45 acp so I don't think the 50 GI would double stack in a 45 acp magazine?

10mm is a great round for penetration of things like thick heavy bear skulls. I like the larger diameter hole the .45 acp makes in bipod creatures (just and expression of preference with no scientific data to back it up). This is what made the 50 GI and 460 Rowland interesting to me. I haven't jumped on either yet. I would love to hear some real life experience about these rounds especially as far as reliability of the handgun is concerned???
 
21H40 said:
Now I want to see a thread discussing how this 50 may not be as good as 380 for SD…
:rofl:
...
Click to expand...

CDW4ME said:
Another good thing about having a 50 ... :D
Ever see that dookie poop cliché posted, "All handguns suck at stopping people" :barf:
A 50 caliber 300 grain bullet "sucks" at stopping people same as a 32 FMJ? Really, o_O .... really o_O? Take it back. :evil: :D
Click to expand...
Just wait till I get the Ellifritz chart and my Sharpie and you'll see the proof for yourself. :neener:
 
ECVMatt said:
That is awesome! I would assume the slide is wider than a regular Glock 21 slide, do you know if it fits in a regular holster? Probably not, but I thought I would ask.
Click to expand...

https://www.guncrafterindustries.co...es-50gi-drop-in-conversion-for-glock-pistols/
Will fit standard holsters for your Glock® model.
Click to expand...

I'm 99.99% sure the outside dimensions are the same. Just like how a G20 and G21 are the same, or how a G19 and G23 are the same.

MikeInOr said:
The 50 GI has a rebated rim that is identical in size to .45acp (30-06, 308, etc.) so I believe it was designed to be used in .45 acp hand guns with .45 acp slides. The body of the cartridge is a fair bit bigger in diameter than a .45 acp so I don't think the 50 GI would double stack in a 45 acp magazine?

10mm is a great round for penetration of things like thick heavy bear skulls. I like the larger diameter hole the .45 acp makes in bipod creatures (just and expression of preference with no scientific data to back it up). This is what made the 50 GI and 460 Rowland interesting to me. I haven't jumped on either yet. I would love to hear some real life experience about these rounds especially as far as reliability of the handgun is concerned???
Click to expand...

I don't know if it's quite that simple. I don't think it's like some guns where you can just swap the barrel.

The bullets aren't quite double stack, but they're not single stack either. They fit more in the Glock conversion (9) than they do in their full-size 1911s (6 or 7).

The 50 GI is a very weird round. In the 300 grain bullets, it's only going ~700 FPS. The .45 ACP has more energy, but the .50 GI has more momentum and, if you subscribe to it, a bigger Taylor KO factor. I don't believe there's been much in-depth testing of the round to compare the penetration to a .45, but I imagine the bigger momentum would help carry it through.

They have, to my knowledge, 5 bullets in this caliber:
  • 185 grain copper hollowpoint
  • 230 grain copper hollowpoint
  • 255 grain lead semi-wadcutter
  • 300 grain lead flat point
  • 300 grain jacketed flat point
They used to have a 275 grain jacketed hollowpoint, but I don't believe I've ever seen a single water test or gel test where those expanded. They appear to be discontinued, and for good reason. The copper hollowpoints are similar to the Lehigh Defense Maximum Expansion bullets. They don't mushroom. They flatten out in prongs, so you have a 1" wide cross-shaped mass that dumps its momentum very quickly. These seem to expand with extremely high reliability through bare gel. I don't know that there's been much testing through clothing or barriers. If there has, and I'm just ignorant of it, then I don't know about it.

Personally, I would probably rather have a Lehigh Xtreme Defender in .45 ACP. For bears, maybe even the Xtreme Penetrator, which might not go as deep as a .50 GI JFP (again, pure guess on my part, no evidence to back it up), but would probably do more damage through the tissue it does go through. If Guncrafter Industries were to incorporate these, I'd definitely be on that bandwagon.

However, I would also prefer my 9mm over my .45, for many of the same reasons I think .45 is objectively better than the .50 GI - more rounds in the magazine. 9s also tend to be slightly more ergonomic. But the .50 GI is a nice round, and it's my newest gun, so it gets some preferential treatment.

One last point of note - after shooting the .50 GI, wash your hands and forearms. I had no problems with the gun cycling with either the JFPs or CHPs. But I did have problems with the CHPs loading from manually cycling the slide.
 
Follow-up on the Kriss extension. I managed to fit 20 in. No idea if more would fit, although it seemed very far from full based on the windows (sized for the 45 rounds). However, every single round after #15 was very difficult to insert, even with the uplula speed loader.

I left it full with 20 rounds overnight, took them out, put them back in. Same thing. #15 went in fine, #16 was significantly more trouble.

I've decided that it's not worth it to use this magazine. It holds 3 more than the Taran extension, and it's twice as long. It doesn't fit well anywhere with the extension on. I've disassembled it (back to the 9 round magazine). I might get a few more Taran extensions. I also might use the Kriss extension on the G21 .45 ACP magazine, and hope it works better there.
 
1KPerDay said:
Just for fun while we’re on the subject

Click to expand...


I pretty much never watch posted videos posted in forums because of the number of creators that try to boost their watch stats by posting their own videos... But that video was pretty good. Most of Ian's videos are good.

Their inference that a swinger target has anything in common with a ballistic pendulum is completely erroneous though. For one a ballistic pendulum completely captures a the projectile being measured instead of the projectile glancing off a plate. Second you measure the height the pendulum rises for a single captured projectile and compute the force from the mass of the pendulum plus mass of the projectile and the height it rises. Third a spinner target is as much about timing as it is about the force of the projectile impact. Forth where the projectile impacts the plate will make a difference in how much energy is imparted to the spinner.

Good video all the same through. :) Even if my Physics professor would be pooping his pants at the videos egregious assumptions and what they are implying.
 
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