By Mike Arnold
As my wife, Frances and I made our way slowly down the one-lane paved road, the impressive expanse of the Clinton House Plantation opened. Like my Precision Rifle Series friend, Tommy Goodson, promised, Clinton House did not disappoint. But, despite the wonderful venue, my anxiety hit a peak as we neared the clubhouse. My thought: “The things you do for friends!” Don’t get me wrong, Kerry and Carol O’Day are VERY good friends, and on top of that, I love their firearms. In fact, two weeks previously, I’d returned from another overseas hunting trip on which I’d used my pet rifle, an MG Arms Ultralight in 7mm Remington Magnum. I’d taken a wonderful Roebuck and Fallow Stag in Sweden with the rifle. But, today, Kerry and Carol had me on a mission that would test my rifle skills to the very limit.
Behind Frances’ and my seat rested a new MG Arms prototype, the aptly named, Behemoth, chambered in 50 BMG. A prototype now, the Behemoth will be available for order beginning at shows like the Dallas Safari Club’s annual convention in January 2024. Possibly for future military use, but primarily designed with the long-range shooter in mind, today would see me attempting an unimagined objective – hitting a target located one-mile away. My previous work at so-called long-range ended at 900 yards; today I’d be sending bullets towards a target positioned nearly 1800 yards, or almost 15 football fields stacked end-to-end, in front of me. Hence my nerves. My initial interview with Mike Sexton, the visionary and designer of the myriad rifle and pistol courses scattered across the 2500 acres of Clinton House Plantation, did nothing to allay my fears of failure. Mike, a retired Marine Chief Warrant Officer, and two-time National Champion in three-gun competitions, cut to the chase, “If you hit the one-mile target with a rifle chambered in 50 BMG, I’ll be amazed. The 50s are inherently inaccurate weapons.” “Hmmm, tell me what you really think” was my unspoken response.
Ironically, after my day at Clinton House, when I shared Mike’s statement with Kerry O’Day, he related an anecdote from a military sniper friend of his. Kerry said that his buddy had proven himself with every rifle and caliber necessary for a new qualification, except a 50 BMG. When arriving at the range and meeting the officer there who conducted qualification exams, the instructor said, “So, you want to qualify with a 50 BMG?” The sniper said “Yes, sir.” The range officer pointed to a Sherman tank in the distance and asked, “You see that tank?” “Yes, sir”, the sniper answered. “Hit the tank” the officer stated flatly. “What part of the tank, sir?” asked the sniper. The officer glared and snapped back, “Just hit the damn tank and you’ll qualify!” I’m glad Kerry had not shared that anecdote with me before I headed to the range with the MG Arms Behemoth.
So, let’s list some of the factors working against any measure of success from me in attempting qualification as a One Miler:
1) Some experts consider 50 BMG caliber rifles as inaccurate to the point of not allowing anything, but miracle impacts on targets at one mile.
2) The shooter (me) never shot at a target further away than 900 yards.
3) Being a prototype, the rifle did not fit my body, with the stock way too short for my long arms, resulting in me holding it loosely against my shoulder, with every pull of the trigger resulting in significant felt recoil.
4) I brought only sandbags as a forearm rest and my much used, and loved, Armageddon Gear, Game Changer Shooting Bag for the butt rest.
5) The power limit on the Nightforce riflescope mounted on the MG Arms Behemoth went to 15X. I have old eyes, and a mile is a long, long distance.
We began our shooting on the 300-yard range, zeroing the rifle to that distance, and getting me used to how I needed to hold the Behemoth while shooting. Before you conclude that I limited the session with the 50 BMG because of recoil, I fired 30 rounds of the 750-Grain A-MAX Match ammunition provided by Hornady’s Marketing Communications Manager, Seth Swerczek, over the course of the morning. Simply put, I LOVED firing that beast. At 27 pounds and change with the riflescope, the felt recoil was noticeable, but obviously, after 30 rounds, not unmanageable.
Once zeroed at 300-yards, we moved to the long-range course with an array of metal targets ranging from 500 – 1000 yards. The one-mile targets were located up a rise, in front of a weathered, wooden trailer. We began the one-mile attempt by checking the estimated elevation change needed for the Nightforce NXS 3.5-15x50 riflescope. I’d entered all of the “dope” for the rifle and ammunition into my Kestrel 5700 Elite Weather Meter with Applied Ballistics and LiNK earlier in the week. The calculations from the Kestrel suggested an increase in elevation of 52 MOA. Mike was concerned that I might run out of elevation adjustment, but the Nightforce has a range of 100 MOA of Elevation and 80 MOA of Windage. As an aside, Mike’s gut about the elevation increase from the data was approximately 60 MOA. He was correct as he had to walk me up to the target when my first shots fell short by 20 feet or so. On the day, there was thankfully very little wind, and no cross breeze. So, we limited our windage adjustments to a few left-to-right MOAs.
I believe Mike was as surprised as I, when after several ranging shots, I connected with the right hand, bottom corner of the one-mile target. With a very large grin on his face, Mike announced “Impact!” He got up from his chair, headed down the steps from the elevated platform and opened the back door of his truck. Perplexed, I wondered what was going on, Mike soon answered my question when he climbed back up the steps, took off his hat, stuck out his right hand to shake mine, and handed me a red-white-and-blue colored disk embossed with bullseye, crosshairs, and the words 1 Mile Club. I was so relieved that I didn’t really take in the momentous nature of what had happened. A neophyte, long-range shooter, equipped with a rifle chambered to an “inherently inaccurate” caliber, hit a metal target at the eye-squinting distance of one mile.
The shooting did not end with the first impact. I sent two more Hornady 750-grain bullets into the same corner of the target. Mike then helped me adjust elevation so that three additional bullets connected in, and just outside the orange bull. Both, three-shot groups measured 10 inches across, or approximately 0.5 MOA. This, according to Mike’s experience, and Kerry’s anecdote, was incredible accuracy. Again, looking at the factors mentioned before, this accuracy was highly unlikely from this shooter and rifle combination. So, how was this result obtained? First, the engineering that went into the Behemoth, like every other MG Arms product I’ve ever reviewed, and/or used hunting, resulted in accuracy beyond that found for most, if not all, other custom-built rifles. Second, the Hornady ammunition, always excellent in previous trials with other calibers, produced very consistent trajectories shot-to-shot at an extreme range. Lastly, Mike Sexton, coach for this novice, gave precise, professional instructions resulting in target acquisition. Simply put, all these aspects, made up for shooter inexperience and any other limitations.
The MG Arms Behemoth proved to be an incredibly accurate one-mile rifle. This flies in the face of the opinions of highly-qualified coaches and instructors – both non-military and military. Because of my extensive experience with MG Arms products, including many rifles and a few handguns, I was not surprised by the rifle’s accuracy. However, ‘staggered’ describes my reaction when the rifle, ammunition and coach helped me accomplish this feat.
MG Arms Behemoth Specifications
Cost: $6995
Caliber: Single-shot 50 Caliber
Action: Bolt-action
Bolt Handle: Big-Ass Bolt handle
Barrel: Benchrest Quality Fluted Barrel – 28”, 30”, 32”
Trigger: 2 ½ lb Match trigger (Jewell installed on the prototype; Trigger Tech in future) with bottom safety
Muzzle Brake: MGA TANK custom muzzle brake
Metal Finish: Cerakote finish of your choice
Stock: Fiberglass Thumbhole Benchrest stock in the color or pattern of choice (Sporter stocks available)
Accuracy: <1 MOA with Match ammunition
Weight: 26-32 pounds (Lightweight version available)
Mike Arnold is a Professor of Genetics at the University of Georgia and author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s book is available for purchase now at bringingbackthelions.com.