It has been
many years since I last had to give a report on Beowulf, and
this time, I actually had a great deal of pleasure in
researching the project. This article has nothing to do with
sixth century Scandinavian warriors or dragons, but deals with a
new cartridge that bears the name of the great hero of the
oldest surviving piece of British literature…….Beowulf.
Alexander
Arms LLC is the manufacturer of the new cartridge and weapon
system that is based upon the AR-15 family of rifles. Located at
the U.S. Army Radford Arsenal in Virginia, Alexander Arms
is involved in several interesting projects with military, law
enforcement, and civilian applications, but the focus of this
article deals with their innovative Beowulf rifle concept.
In building the .50 Beowulf
rifle, Alexander Arms has taken the proven AR-15 design and
adapted it to reliably fire and function with an entirely new
and much more powerful cartridge.
The Alexander
Arms .50 Beowulf cartridge packs awesome power in the AR-15
system. Think of it as a lightweight, handy, semi-auto .45/70
but with a larger diameter bullet and greater velocity.
The .50 Beowulf uses a bullet of a true .500 caliber, with
loaded ammunition offered from the factory in either a 400-grain
soft point or a 325-grain hollow point, with velocities listed
at 1800 and 1950 feet-per-second, respectively. This kind of
power radically changes the performance aspect of the AR-15 type
rifle while retaining the excellent handling and shooting
qualities of the weapon. The .50 Beowulf cartridge utilizes
possibly the maximum diameter bullet in the biggest case that
can be made to reliably function in an AR-15, while operating at
a relatively low pressure to assure smooth operation and
longevity of the rifle.
From outward
appearances, the Beowulf is just another high quality AR-15,
until you look into the hole in the end of the barrel, which
resembles a piece of rifled water pipe! That half-inch hole
looks completely out of place on an AR-15, and really changes
the performance concept of the weapon.
The gun that
was sent to me for testing is what Alexander Arms calls their
"Entry Gun". It has a flat top upper receiver with
Piccatinny rail and a sixteen-inch barrel. The gas block also
has provision for mounting a front sight or other accessory on
top, just forward of the hand guard. The sample gun came
supplied with an excellent scope mount which readily accepted
my 3-BUCC brass catcher. The standard magazine accepts seven of
the fat Beowulf cartridges. The magazine is a slightly modified
standard .223 AR-15/M-16 magazine, and larger capacity magazines
can be used with the Beowulf by carefully bending the feed lips
to reliably feed the larger cartridge. I managed to get
twelve of the .50 caliber cartridges into a 30 round AR
magazine. The .50 Beowulf cartridge has a rebated rim to fit the
standard and readily available 7.62x39 bolt face. In fact,
Alexander Arms has wisely built the Beowulf rifle to use as many
standard AR-15 parts as possible.
As I was very
anxious to test this new rifle, I wanted to mount a scope that
would be appropriate for the intended use of such a rifle.
Therefore, I passed over my selection of higher powered optics
in favor of a low powered variable and chose a Tasco
World Class 1.75 to 5 power scope. I was a bit concerned
that the Beowulf’s recoil would beat the inexpensive scope to
death, but the Tasco performed well, and proved to be a tough
little compact sight, well-suited to the Beowulf rifle.
Before bench
testing the rifle for accuracy, I did quite a bit of informal
shooting of the Beowulf at rocks, posts, and other targets of
opportunity to assess the handling and shooting qualities of the
weapon. The trigger pull on the Beowulf had a good feel,
breaking at a bit over six pounds. I fired the rifle in many
positions, rotating it sideways and vertically. The gun
functioned perfectly; feeding, firing, and ejecting without a
hitch, every time. While the .50 Beowulf recoils more than a
standard .223, the felt recoil is quite manageable, much like
shooting a twenty-gauge shotgun, and not at all in the painful
category when wearing a shirt. I did some shooting without a
shirt, and the checkered butt plate was somewhat abrasive to the
bare skin. This gun would be a real sweetheart to shoot if
fitted with a soft recoil pad, such as a Pachmayr
Decelerator, but the standard AR butt plate serves very well as
issued.
I carried the
Beowulf with me to the Shootists' Holiday in Raton, New Mexico,
where I passed the gun around for several others to shoot. The
first reaction of everyone who handled the gun was one of
delight. The word most commonly used to describe their
collective opinion was "awesome"! At Raton, we fired
the Beowulf at targets of both steel and paper, and at rocks
ranging in distance from 135 yards out to 577 yards with great
success. With little practice, hitting the distant targets was
almost routine with the handy little carbine. On paper, the gun
displayed its fine accuracy by consistently placing the shots
into groups of under an inch, when I did my part. The 400-grain
factory loads were a bit more accurate in the test gun than was
the 325-grain hollow points, placing three shots into
three-quarters of an inch. This is great accuracy from a target
grade .223 AR-15, and amazing performance for a big-bore
semi-auto. I believe that the design of a straight-walled case
operating at moderate pressure contributes greatly to the
accuracy of the rifle.
My intention
was to carry the Beowulf on a bear hunt in Idaho, which should
be the ideal situation in which to test the performance of the
.50 caliber bullets on game. The hunt fell through at the last
minute, but based upon past experience with large caliber
bullets at moderate velocity, I believe that the .50 Beowulf
would exhibit splendid performance on big game with the 400-grain
soft point, and do likewise with the 325-grain hollow point on
medium sized thin-skinned game such as whitetail deer and wild
hogs. Seven rounds of the .50 Beowulf in a semi-auto package
like this entry gun should prove to be an ideal defense against
large, dangerous animals for someone who travels in bear
country.
Besides the
obvious hunting uses for the Beowulf, there are many tactical
situations in which the penetration and power of a 400-grain
half-inch bullet fired from an AR-15 type weapon could be very
advantageous. The .223 is notorious in exhibiting poor
penetration of automobile glass and other obstacles. The .50
Beowulf can easily penetrate barricade material and still engage
the target with power to spare. There are many law enforcement
situations in which the standard-issue handgun or shotgun lacks
the power and accuracy to do the job. Every highway patrol car
should have a powerful, handy carbine such as the Beowulf as
standard equipment. Every rural sheriff’s deputy should have
such a rifle at his disposal.
In designing
and building the .50 Beowulf, Alexander Arms has taken a proven
weapons system and made it better. The .50 Beowulf does away
with the only valid criticism of the AR-15, that being the .223
cartridge. The Beowulf places real power in a compact, accurate,
and reliable package.
Alexander Arms
provides the rifles, ammo, reloading components, and accessories
for the .50 Beowulf through licensed dealers or directly to law
enforcement. View the .50 Beowulf and other weapons online at:
www.alexanderarms.com.
The .50
Beowulf is the first real improvement in the AR-15 in many
years, and adds greatly to the usefulness of that fine weapon.
Jeff Quinn
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