.50 Beowulf – The Half-Inch Heavy Hitter

There are many big-bore cartridges for the AR-15 platform. But perhaps the most mysterious is the.50 Beowulf. Alexander Arms is the one who came up with the idea of the.50 Beowulf. There is a certain lineage that would guide its development and use. This can help you understand the cartridge’s purpose and best-use applications. Is it worth buying an AR-15 (or an upper) in the.50 Beowulf cartridge? What are some good factory rifles for.50 Beowulf. Let’s look at the details and see if we can add one to our safe. 350-grain hollowpoint.50 Beowulf ammo from Minute Man Ammunition..50 Beowulf predecessors.50 Beowulf relies on a proven caliber formula that has been in use for over a century. A large-bore cartridge that uses a heavy projectile at medium velocity. Similar cartridges have been used since the late 19th century. They are made up of a large-bore cartridge with a heavy projectile loaded to medium velocity. .45-70 Government. Photo: Wikipedia. The idea of a heavier, larger intermediate cartridge in a semiauto carbine is not new. Winchester invented the.401 Self Loading for Model 1910 rifle. This bullet sent 200 to 250 grains downrange at just below 2000 fps. To address the shortcomings of 5.56mm NATO’s 6.5mm Grendel, Alexander created.50 Beowulf. He wanted to improve the barrier defeat, vehicle defeat, and “stopping power” at close range. The idea was to allow the operator the ability to change calibers by simply switching the upper. Both 5.56mm magazines feed both cartridge types. The cartridge was a wildcat cartridge that Tim LeGendre developed in the 1990s. It was designed to fulfill Jeff Cooper’s “Thumper” concept. Cooper envisaged an M1 Carbine in the.44 Magnum that would fire a heavy bullet at a moderate velocity and have a range of around 200 yards. The prototype of the.450 Bushmaster.45 Professional was made for the AR-15 platform. It also required the user to switch to the.45 Professional upper. The source of the proprietary parts was difficult. That lead to LeGendre redesigning the cartridge in conjunction with Bushmaster and Hornady to create .450 Bushmaster.Similarly, .458 SOCOM came about to address the limitations of 5.56mm NATO in close quarters based on the US Army’s experience in Somalia during Operation Gothic Serpent. The much-ballyhooed, green tip was not effective at vehicle defeat and barrier defeat. It also did not have sufficient impact at close quarters. The SOCOM cartridge was designed in the late 1990s and began testing in 2001. .50 Beowulf Ammo and SpecsBoth.50 Beowulf ammo and.458 Socom are based upon.50 Action Express brass with a rebated rim. SOCOM uses a different rim specification. However, the rim of the.50 Beowulf has a diameter that is almost equal to that of the 6.5mm Grendel. This allows for the use of a bolt head measuring 6.5mm, along with a.50 Beowulf extractor. 400-grain FP.50 Beowulf. Photo: Alexander Arms.The .50 Beowulf cartridge is proprietary, and Alexander Arms is the sole manufacturer of official .50 Beowulf ammunition.The ammunition industry, however, reverse engineered it, and you can get 12.7x42mm ammunition–the same cartridge just with a metric naming scheme to get around any patent issues–from multiple manufacturers.Alexander Arms sells proprietary .50 Beowulf magazines, but they are nearly identical to STANAG 5.56 models. Some users have reported being able to use standard, unchanged mags in their guns. Alexander Arms’ website and online forums discuss the modifications that are required for STANAG 5.56 mags to feed.50 Beo. A modified STANAG magazine (right) and an Alexander Arms.50 Beowulf mag (left). The red line indicates where material was removed. Photo by “Bolus” from NorthWest Firearms forums..50 Beowulf Ballistics Typical loadings are 300- and 400-grain projectiles loaded at approximately 1,700 to 1,900 feet per second from a 16 inch barrel. This yields between 2,300 and 2,900 ft-lbs energy at the muzzle. The cost of all the lead moving from an AR-15 is a drop in distance. The Beowulf sinks like stone. The Shooter’s Calculator graph shows that the two loads drop anywhere from 15 to 20 inches at 200 meters and well over 50 at 300 metres. This is not surprising considering the accuracy of the buffalo rifles of old. (Billy Dixon’s Second Battle of Adobe Walls is one example). The primary purpose of the.50 Beowulf is to be a shorter-range cartridge. The.50 Beowulf is best used at 200 yards. It was designed for a specific purpose and can be very useful in that role. MilitarySmall Arms Review and LE wrote that the.50 Beowulf was only used by a small number of military personnel. The caliber is limited in its military and LE applications. CQB, breaching and checkpoints where vehicle destruction (stopping a vehicle or shooting through to its occupants) was a ballistic need would be the best uses. Bill Alexander demonstrating.50 Beowulf weapon defeat capabilities. Photo: Alexander Arms Facebook Page. The most obvious benefit is that an operator can swap an M4 upper with a.50 Beowulf one in seconds. The.50 Beowulf would, theoretically, abolish most roles for a combat shotgun. It is also ideal for hunting and sporting use. It is legal in straight-wall jurisdictions and would be suitable for bear defense in Alaska and select other states with extant populations of grizzly bears. Mild loads of.45-70 or other large-bore, moderate-velocity cartridges won’t cause as much damage as one might think. Enjoy it! There’s nothing wrong in owning guns that aren’t used for a specific purpose after all the practicalities have been covered. The.50 Beowulf might still be useful, however. It is a hammer and can be used to smash anything within close range. This would make it an excellent choice for brush hunting, where close shots (within 200 yards) are the only opportunities and brush deflection is almost guaranteed. It excels on larger game like elks, moose, and bears. However, it is less efficient than straight-wall cartridges for medium games. These include the.350 Legend, which has a flatter trajectory and less recoil, and the.450 Bushmaster. A rifled sluggun is also available. The final is similar in ballistics, but it is much cheaper to buy and fire. It would make a great bear rifle for grizzly country. Guides in Alaska prefer heavier, more powerful cartridges such as.45-70, the.416 Ruger, and the.375 H&H magnum. The.50 Beowulf is a good choice for that role. Photo by Alexander Arms. A bullet that penetrates a body with enough force or force to injure, kill, or damage another person will do so. Because the civilian who is armed is responsible for firing every shot, using.50 Beowulf to defend with neighbors carries many unnecessary risks. It is not possible to make a decision based on amature tests. There are plenty of data that suggests other calibers fit the bill. Keep your guns safe and stick with the proven. 5.56mm,.30-06,.308 and so forth are superior in this regard. Mad Max is a great series of movies. However, the way the S is likely HTF is closer than any other movie. It features a 16-inch chromemoly barrel with thread protector and thread muzzle. The furniture is by Magpul (CTR Stock, MOE grip, winter trigger guard, and winter trigger guard), a Radian charging handle, Midwest Industries MLOK handguard, and Velocity Precision’s single-stage trigger weighing in at 3 pounds. You can also add a tank, pepper pot brake, or Millennium compensator. It ships with one 7-round magazine, and while the price may be high, at least all Alexander Arms rifles come with the option of a free hat.MSRP: $2,349.95 // alexanderarms.comExoticAR15 50 Cal RifleExoticAR15 specializes in .50-caliber AR-platform rifles and pistols, chambered in 12.7x42mm for the reasons mentioned rather than the official .50 Beowulf. Their rifles are more feature-rich than the official.50 Beowulf. The upper and lower are matched for zero play, as well as color-matched, with a 12-inch M-LOK railed handguard.A Daniel Defense stock and Magpul MOE grip make up the furniture, along with an ambidextrous safety, anti-walk pins and an adjustable competition trigger.The rifle is offered in several different colors of Cerakote finish, and an 18-inch barrel model is available as well.MSRP: $1,699 to $1,999 // ExoticAR15.comAlexander Arms HighlanderThe Highlander is Alexander Arms’ pistol version, with an SB Tactical SBA3 brace and Ergo rubber grip. TCE made the M-LOK handguard for Alexander Arms. The Highlander pistol features a 12-inch barrel with a threaded mouthpiece and thread protector on its base model. You can add any muzzle device you like, as well as a single-stage Velocity trigger that weighs 3 pounds. Like the rifle, it’s also offered with different Cerakote finishes and ships with a 7-round mag.MSRP: $2,115.95 // alexanderarms.comBear Creek Arsenal BC-15 12.7x42mmIf you wanted to get into .50 Beowulf (or 12.7x42mm) for a bit less, Bear Creek Arsenal offers their BC-15 in this caliber.You get a 16-inch CMV barrel with a carbine-length gas system, birdcage-style flash hider, 15-inch M-LOK handguard and Bear Creek’s signature side-charging upper. The furniture is an M4 stock, A2-style grip, winter trigger guard and a mil-spec trigger group.MSRP: $527.99 // bearcreekarsenal.comAlexander Arms Hunter Standard .50 BeowulfAlexander Arms’ entry-level model is the Hunter Standard. The rifle features a 16-inch barrel, mid-length gas system, and an Alexander Arms-branded handguard. There are M-LOK slots at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions. The furniture is an Adaptive tactical stock, an ergonomic rubber handle, a safety and trigger, and a mid-length gas system. However, you have the option to upgrade by adding a muzzle device or a Radian Raptor ambidextrous charging handle.MSRP: $1,569.95// alexanderarms.comMore Non-Standard Caliber AR Info:NEXT STEP: Download Your Free Storm Tactical Printable Target Pack62 Printable MOA Targets with DOT Drills – Rifle Range in YARDSThis impressive target pack from our friends at Storm Tactical contains62 printable targetsfor rifle and handgun range use. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be found in MOA. Get Free Targets