It has been
almost a year since I reviewed the original Alexander
Arms .50 caliber "Entry Gun"
here on Gunblast.com, and by all indications, the gun has been a
rousing success. I have received correspondence from as far away
as Afghanistan and Iraq from US soldiers that are using this
weapon for serious social purposes, as well as from shooters who
just enjoy plinking with the Beowulf. The heart of the Beowulf
rifle is the cartridge, and it is a big heart indeed! The
Beowulf rifle is based on the AR-15 system, and factory
ammunition specs list a fifty caliber 325 grain bullet at 1950
feet per second and a 400 grain bullet at 1800 feet per second.
This is like a hot loaded .45-70 or .450 Marlin cartridge but
with a bigger bullet, in a handy AR-15 carbine! After several
months of producing the Entry Gun, Alexander Arms is now
offering the .50 Beowulf in a longer barreled model that they
call the "Overwatch", and that is the subject of this
article.
The new
Overwatch model has the same basic features as the excellent
Entry Gun, with a few changes. The Overwatch wears a twenty-four
inch stainless match-grade barrel that measures .988 inch
diameter from the gas block forward, and finishes off with a
good-looking and effective muzzle brake. The brake has thirty
holes spaced around its circumference to redirect propellant
gases, effectively reducing felt recoil. The barrel is
also free-floated inside a synthetic hand guard to deliver
better practical accuracy. The Overwatch wears a standard A2
buttstock, and has all of the features that we have come to
expect on a quality AR, such as case deflector and forward
assist, plus a handy extension on the charging handle for use
with a scope sight. The standard magazine holds seven of the fat
cartridges, but a standard thirty-round AR-15 magazine will hold
twelve of the .50 Beowulfs, with only a slight modification of
the feed lips needed to function properly with the big
cartridges. As with the Entry Gun, the Overwatch shares many
components with a standard AR-15, and Alexander Arms also sells
complete upper assemblies (at surprisingly affordable prices) to
fit your existing rifle, if desired.
Shooting the
new Overwatch rifle was indeed a rewarding experience. The
Overwatch weighs in at a bit over ten pounds with scope and
bipod added. The weight, along with the effective muzzle brake
makes the gun a pleasure to shoot from the bench. The longer
barrel also moves the muzzle blast a bit further forward of the
shooter, and no discomfort was felt wearing good-quality hearing
protection such as Dillon's
electronic ear muffs. Another added benefit of the extra
barrel length, is that the velocity increases about 150 feet per
second, as compared with the shorter barrel of the Entry Gun.
Mounting a Swarovski
6 to 18 power scope atop the rifle, I settled down at the bench
for accuracy testing. Using Alexander Arms factory 325 grain
hollow point ammunition, I was able to fire three-shot groups
measuring one-half of an inch at 100 yards. This is excellent
accuracy, beating most factory bolt action varmint rifles, but
shooting a heavy half-inch slug with the power to kill anything
that walks, swims, or crawls! Based on the reports that I have
received from soldiers overseas, the Beowulf also delivers
excellent penetration of hard targets.
As well as the
Beowulf Overwatch performed from the Target
Shooting, Inc. rifle rest, the
really fun part of our shooting experience involved some
long-range plinking using a Harris bipod. We fired the
rifle at life-size steel targets of black bear, antelope, and
mule deer at ranges of from 400 to 600 yards. After a few shots,
the 400 yard targets became easy hits, and even the mule deer at
600 yards resulted on a satisfying clang a few seconds after
pulling the trigger, if I held over properly. After shooting
over a hundred rounds from the bench, the effect on my shoulder
was insignificant. A sustained string of twelve gauge target
loads hurts worse.
Again, as I
did with the original .50 Beowulf last year, I passed the
Overwatch around at the range. Everyone who handled the gun was
favorably impressed. Everyone who shot the gun was grinning like
an idiot, and muttering phrases like "I gotta get me one
of these!"
For more
information on the original Entry gun, read
my article in the Archive section of Gunblast. For a look at
the entire line of excellent firearms, ammunition, and
accessories from Alexander Arms, check them out online at:
www.alexanderarms.com.
For an AR-15
with enough power to hunt anything on the planet, or a precise
target-grade weapon for law enforcement that really packs a
decisive punch, look into the .50 Beowulf Overwatch. Also, if
you just want a powerful, long-range fun gun………this is
your baby!
Jeff Quinn
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