LWRC .499

what ever happened to this big bore ? there is no mention of this rifle and caliber on their site as once promoted.
i know some folks who bought one of their rifles or uppers and they have functional problems and no one at the company seems to want to make it right, what ever happened to their lifetime warranty ??
are they ever going to produce this rifle and caliber or is it DEAD ? and those who own one are just plain S.O.L. ??
ammo, where does one find the ammo ? are there dies for reloading ?

You may want to go to LWRC and ask this question. When I was in their shop last week there were 3-4 .499 uppers being serviced so LWRC seems to still be supporting them. No clue about the reloading stuff. Again, your best source of info would be on the LWRC forum.

The 499 was only really being kept alive by the outright lies of Paul Leitner-Wise on the internet. Best I can tell, it was "dead" a long time ago.

USCG flatly rejected it as a viable option, and they were having some real operational issues with the platform.

Though this was all obfuscated by PLW's lies and fabricated internet "personalities".

ETA: However, having seen the weapon, I think it's shameful that PLW didn't attempt a more conventional marketing campaign to sustain what could have been an interesting AR caliber.

Shi,
i believe you are very wrong in your assesment of Paul L-W

" the outright lies..."

care to to be more specific ?

"could have been an interesting AR caliber. "

still is !! i believe the one i have is a "Tank Killer" and i love it !!

i am one of those suckers who bought one with the thousand rounds of ammo deal.., i say "sucker" because the company will NOT support the gun they sold !

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Originally Posted by M4 Colt

Shi,
i believe you are very wrong in your assesment of Paul L-W

" the outright lies..."

care to to be more specific ?

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We will not go down this path. PLW's antics have been well documented on several other sites so they don't need to be resurrected here.

The USCG contract foundered on two warranty issues; corroding ammunition and unreliable magazines. The Alaskan owners of the company at the time did not financially support the replacement program.

Last I heard on ammunition, it was coming from Silver State Armory although demands for their 6.8 production may have stopped that. LWRC seem to have their hands full building 5.56 and 6.8 piston guns and trying to develop their 308 rifle so I wouldn't anticipate them doing much with the 499.

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hands full building 5.56 and 6.8 piston guns

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building 20 or 30 guns a month don't sound to me like "hands full", if they are producing THAT many.

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Originally Posted by M4 Colt

building 20 or 30 guns a month don't sound to me like "hands full", if they are producing THAT many.

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Probably true.

I agree that they should be supporting the 499 though.

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Originally Posted by M4 Colt

building 20 or 30 guns a month don't sound to me like "hands full", if they are producing THAT many.

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When I was there last week there were hundreds of guns being assembled and shipped out.

There were also a few .499 uppers around and the impression I got was that they were still supporting them.

SW,

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There were also a few .499 uppers around

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were they the new "improved" models or were they the old USCG rejects ?

i heard rumors of an "improved" .499LWR did you ask about it ?

when you were there, did you see any real manufactureing (lathes, mills or CNC machines operating) or merely an assembly line ??

how many employees did you see ? know any of their names ? was your visit just that or did you get a tour of the mfg. area ?

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Originally Posted by M4 Colt

building 20 or 30 guns a month don't sound to me like "hands full", if they are producing THAT many.

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They are shipping 3-400 complete rifles a month and probably twice that many uppers and/or conversions.

Stephen

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Originally Posted by Stephen_ATS

They are shipping 3-400 complete rifles a month and probably twice that many uppers and/or conversions.

Stephen

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Stephen, I heard from an employee of one of their suppliers that production was at around 250 units a quarter - not that it matters or is of any consequence, but that's a big difference between the 1,200 units you've indicated. That sort of volume would probably explain why they are not supporting the 499.

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Originally Posted by Moose

Stephen, I heard from an employee of one of their suppliers that production was at around 250 units a quarter - not that it matters or is of any consequence, but that's a big difference between the 1,200 units you've indicated. That sort of volume would probably explain why they are not supporting the 499.

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I just know what I saw. They have three cells set up that could produce a total of 4 to 5000 guns and uppers a month. They only have one of them running right now and like I said it is kicking out complete guns at a rate of about 300 a month and uppers at about twice that rate.

It is possible that they are getting their components from more than one supplier. We do. Also, my info is current as of a couple of weeks ago. They may have only made 5 guns in May as far I know.

Stephen

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Originally Posted by Stephen_ATS

I just know what I saw. They have three cells set up that could produce a total of 4 to 5000 guns and uppers a month. They only have one of them running right now and like I said it is kicking out complete guns at a rate of about 300 a month and uppers at about twice that rate.

It is possible that they are getting their components from more than one supplier. We do. Also, my info is current as of a couple of weeks ago. They may have only made 5 guns in May as far I know.

Stephen

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Steve,
PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

when you were there, did you see any real manufactureing (lathes, mills or CNC machines operating) or merely an assembly line ??

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Originally Posted by M4 Colt

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Steve,
PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION:

when you were there, did you see any real manufactureing (lathes, mills or CNC machines operating) or merely an assembly line ??

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Is there something I need to know about here? Do you have an agenda against LWRC? Have you tried, oh I don't know, calling them and asking about the status of their .499?

To answer your question; Little bit of both. They definitely have the equipment necessary to produce in house to some degree, but a lot of the parts are out-sourced to subcontractors. It's not like getting the KAC tour where there are dozens and dozens of CNC machines.

Stephen

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Originally Posted by Stephen_ATS

Little bit of both. They definitely have the equipment necessary to produce in house to some degree, but a lot of the parts are out-sourced to subcontractors. It's not like getting the KAC tour where there are dozens and dozens of CNC machines.

Stephen

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That concurs with what I was told; they have the machines and equipment, but not the operators.

At ~00:30 into this video you can get a glimpse of the small manufacturing area with several CNC machines, lathes, etc. It was shot last winter for SHOT Show 07 and they have expanded it a little.

http://www.lwrifles.com/Video/LWRC_VIDEO.wmv

Stephen, I don't think the guy has any "agenda" after all, he's a customer of theirs and is happy with his purchase. Seems to me, he's just trying to get a feel from site members whether anyone knows anything about the 499?

Manufacturers are sometimes less than forthcoming when the questions are difficult to answer.

Just my .02!

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Originally Posted by Moose

Stephen, I don't think the guy has any "agenda" after all, he's a customer of theirs and is happy with his purchase. Seems to me, he's just trying to get a feel from site members whether anyone knows anything about the 499?

Manufacturers are sometimes less than forthcoming when the questions are difficult to answer.

Just my .02!

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You're right. I apologize for my accusatory tone.

I still think the best bet is to contact LWRC and ask them about it. 'M4 Colt', please let us know if you find out anything new on the .499 status.

Stephen

Moose, thank you sir for that observation, you are correct.

Steve, please check your PM

M4 Colt - consider this a friendly warning that we will not tolerate insulting behaviours to our Staff, Moderators or members.

Futhermore this site will not support any further issues of the PLW fiasco.

-Kev

Does anyone know exactly where all the uppers are going?

I haven't seen any on the open market, since Shooter's Paradise burned down.

Err...I take that back, I saw one at VA Arms too I think.


A really cool story though: I got to handle LWRC Rifle #1. Which was on demo at Potomac Arms before they closed down. It had the basic 499LWR upper on it with the 4 way rail gas block and 360 degree muzzle brake.

I liked their later creations, without the 4 way rail block, and the longer Grenadier rails.

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Originally Posted by SHIVAN

Does anyone know exactly where all the uppers are going? what uppers are you refering to ? LWRC ? .499s ? or 5.56mm ?

I haven't seen any on the open market, since Shooter's Paradise burned down.

Err...I take that back, I saw one at VA Arms too I think.


A really cool story though: I got to handle LWRC Rifle #1. Which was on demo at Potomac Arms before they closed down. It had the basic 499LWR upper on it with the 4 way rail gas block and 360 degree muzzle brake.

I liked their later creations, without the 4 way rail block, and the longer Grenadier rails.

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got any photos of the "later creations" ??

Once it was made common knowledge, by the owners of AR15.com and by the board of LWRC, that there was a running scam @ Leitner-Wise, I deleted those pictures off my hosting @ TOS.

I had hosted them for "hipfiredgun", aka PLW, for a discussion on the 458 SOCOM vs. 499LW.

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Originally Posted by SHIVAN

Once it was made common knowledge, by the owners of AR15.com and by the board of LWRC, that there was a running scam @ Leitner-Wise, I deleted those pictures off my hosting @ TOS.

I had hosted them for "hipfiredgun", aka PLW, for a discussion on the 458 SOCOM vs. 499LW.

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""I deleted those pictures off my hosting @ TOS.""

what a shame, those photos would be very interesting to see, so how did the .458 fair with the .499 ??

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Originally Posted by M4 Colt

....so how did the .458 fair with the .499 ??

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Corbon and others make ammo for the 458 SOCOM.

Teppojutsu, Tromix, SSK Industries, AR15Barrels.com, and Rock River Arms will sell you uppers in 458 SOCOM.

Projectiles for 458 SOCOM are readily available in just about any configuration you'd like. After all they are just 45-70 rifle bullets.

Brass is available from Starline, and several of their distributors.

Dies are available from Hornady and CH4D.

Load development spreadsheets are widely available from Marty ter Weeme and others.

I think this thread speaks for itself, as to how the 499LW is doing. :p

what is your opinion of the .50 Beowulf ?

or

the new .450 BM ?

The .50 Beo is widely available, yet still semi-dependent on Alexander Arms' timetables. Which in some cases can create backlogs of needs.

However, with the success of the 500 S&W, there has been a huge influx of projectiles for the Beowulf.

Cabela's sells the uppers and ammo.

The 45 Bushmaster ammo is being produced by Hornady, which could end up being a Godsend for BM. I personally think it was a bad idea to base a high capacity case rifle round, on a pistol projectile.

Yet there it is....

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I personally think it was a bad idea to base a high capacity case rifle round, on a pistol projectile.

Yet there it is....

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i agree, i have written to several bullet mfgrs. and requested a .50 cal. bullet with a longer ogive for use in semi-auto feeders such as the AR-15, i have even gone so far as to make a set of swaging dies to reshape the ogive on the Rainier .50 cal. 335 G. bullet, the feeding in rapid fire is greatly improved.., but only a damn fool like me will rapid fire a .50......., or in my case a .499LWR ;)

I wish they would have produced that high capacity mag for the .499. They were trying a quad stack style design to get 25 to 30 rounds in a standard size mag. Would have been cool...

Spooky

PS - I like my .458 SOCOM

Guys, is LWRC the same as LWRC?

Has Leitner-Wise Rifle Company changed their name to Land Warfare Resources Corporation? I can't seem to find a site for the former but can for the latter. The latter does not seem to say anything like "we used to be Leitner-Wise", and I don't see any mention of the .499 there either.

Ned,
if i am not mistaken yes it the the same company under new management. Stephen ATS may be able to fill you in.

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Originally Posted by Ned Christiansen

Guys, is LWRC the same as LWRC?

Has Leitner-Wise Rifle Company changed their name to Land Warfare Resources Corporation? I can't seem to find a site for the former but can for the latter. The latter does not seem to say anything like "we used to be Leitner-Wise", and I don't see any mention of the .499 there either.

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They are indeed the same company, renamed. For reasons described in detail elsewhere they are keen to distance themselves from their former founder. They still do provide service to the .499 system but no longer actively promote it. For more details about the status of the .499 you should contact the company directly.