Serbu’s Single Shot .50 — One and Done

The new Serbu .50 is skeletal. Is there a lighter .50 on the market?

One gun you may have not heard about during SHOT Show 2016 is Serbu Firearms’ newest, the RN-50. Keeping with tradition Serbu’s new offering is chambered for .50 BMG and is just as unique as their other contributions to the firearms market.
Based in Tampa, Florida, Serbu Firearms has been a staple provider of unconventional and unusual firearms for years and are well-known for their uncomplicated and affordable .50-caliber rifles for people who want to get into long-range target shooting on a budget. Their latest .50-cal. takes simple and affordable to a new level.

The action is little more than a breach cap that screws into place.

The firing pin is exposed at the rear.

The RN-50 was actually designed as a collaborative effort between Mark Serbu and YouTube sensation Royal Nonesuch — putting the RN in RN-50. The new .50-caliber rifle was built to hit the $1000 price point — something that no company has ever done before for a production rifle.
The gun employs a straightforward break-action design, with a screw-on breach block. Having to unscrew the breach block for each shot makes the rifle a bit slow to reload, but the simple loading and firing system is what makes the gun so inexpensive. At this price a lot of people will accept the trade-off that the shooter has to manually load each round before firing, and manually extract and unload the gun after firing.
The video shows that unloading is still pretty easy to do by using the case rim of another cartridge as a tool for extraction, and that with a little practice, shouldn’t be too hard to get used to. And if the cases start to get too hot, there’s another inexpensive tool that can help: a glove.

The exposed hammer is manually cocked to fire.

The brake should help mitigate some of the intense recoil.

Due to the simple design it’s functionally a takedown rifle, and can broken in half at the hinge to make it easier to transport. The gun will ship without a buttstock, instead, it has buffer tube mount installed that accepts standard AR stocks. Other optional upgrades include a set trigger and a bipod in addition to the stock.
For a short time the gun will be offered at the introductory price of $875. You will have to act fast as the MSRP is going up to $1,199 on February 19. Even at the higher price point, this is an interesting new product from the folks at Serbu Firearms and it is definently the least expensive way to get into shooting .50 BMG.
Specifications:

• Caliber: .50 BMG, .50 DTC for restricted markets. Other cartridges possible with barrel change
• Barrel: 29.5 inches, alloy steel with 1-in-15 button rifling
• Chassis: heat-treated steel and aluminum construction
• Finish: manganese phosphate and hard anodized
• Action: modified break action with threaded breach
• Weight: 17 pounds
• MSRP: $1,199, introductory price, $875

The heatshield should let you grab the gun and run, if you need to. But it will take some time to reload.