50 Beowolf

Finding a upper from Alexander Arms will be either a long wait or buying used will be pretty much your only options.

The Beowulf is cool but, pretty limited.

The Beowulf won't be as cheap as shooting 5.56 even at today's prices.

The Beowulf will be $1.10 per round on the low end and $2+ on the higher end.

.223/5.56 will return to much lower levels sooner or later and the .50 will remain at it's level or go up.

If your looking into a good hog caliber for your AR platform take a closer look at another Alexander Arms caliber. The 6.5 Grendel is a fantastic option IMO.

Has much more rang than the .50 and is ideal for hog's and deer.

The 458 socom uses standard AR mags (except the center ribbed Pmags) and has heavy bullets. The 450 bushmaster uses "cheap" .452 bullets. Any one that knows "50" stands for a 50 BMG won't be impressed by a few thousands of an inch with the overwhelming difference in energy.

how does the 6.5 grendel compare to 50 beowolf?

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The Beowulf is again in my opinion a close range combat or hunting caliber while the 6.5 Grendel is not just good but great out at 200 yards. The Grendel really starts to shine the farther out you go.

The Grendel has .308 like ballistics but, from what I have read has better accuracy at long ranges then the .308.

I've shot lot's of pigs and a few deer with the Beowulf. For me it's a 150 yard gun max, simply because the drop gets pretty excessive after that. Of course better shooters will get different milage.

It's not much fun shooting at the bench by the way, 4-5 rounds and I put it up and go back to a .223.

I have the Grendel and the Beowulf, both are really nice guns and I have taken pigs and deer with both rifles. I like the Grendel for more of an varmint rifle and the Beowulf to me is really a range toy, not one of the top 5 in my safe for a hunter. I much prefer an AR in .308 above either rifle but as I said they are really nice and is joy them both. I would suggest hand loading for them. Here are mine.

Beowulf


Grendel

love my beo. Its taken game as big as a 1500 lb asian water buffalo. Its a hard hitting short to medium range gun. that said its certianly more expensive to shoot then a .223.

How does it compare to the .458SOCOM?

50 Beo

I have shot several thousand rds thru my 50 Beo and my best buddy has a 458 socom.....we have had the opportunity to shoot up cars, trucks, concrete block walls and other "hard targets" when training & instructing....and both rounds wreak havoc on those mediums.....I have shot deer and hogs with my 50 and my partner has shot hogs standing next to me with his 458 socom.....everything we shot with the proper bullet placement were "hammered" to the ground when shots were within 100yds.....there is running commentary from both camps about which is better, but both the 458 and 50 Beo are "big hammers".....I have also shot a lot of precision long range with the 6.5 Grendel 1000yds plus and I really like it. It's all good.

JK,

I bought a .50 Beowulf from Umlaut Arms about 4 years ago. I took it hog hunting in FL about 2 years ago. I killed two nice sized sows with the rifle. Both were head shots using 334 grain HP's! Both pigs stopped in their tracks.

The rifle is tons of fun, however ammo can be very hard to find even in good times. I reload my own ammo. Sometimes it's difficult to find components. This is a better choice if you reload as it will give you more possibilities!

I had my rifle customized with a Samson free float rail and a Kings Armory brake. i also put in a drop in trigger. Forget who mace that. I managed to break one Samson rail but it was replaced under warranty!

If you buy the rifle just understand what you are getting into. It is very specialized and ammo, components and supplies can often be hard to find. I would definitely contact Lars at Umlaut Arms if you want one of these rifles. He sells a lt of them. That is where I got mine! Think you might BR on for a long wait however. Just put in your order and forget about it!

CB

must have been interesting to shoot a water buffalo...

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It was actually kind of a comical day, at least for me My wife has very short arms and is left eye dominant and has problems with scopes. I had a 2x7 leupold on it and before the hunt she was having problems finding eye relief so i retracted the stock all the way not thinking about the recoil. When she shot the buffalo ran and she dropped the gun. I picked the gun up and went running after it and pumped two more shots into it before it went down. She had hit it right behind the sholder and it was running dead but i wanted to anchor it. I turned around and saw blood all over her face. She wore the scope right in her nose and broke her nose. I took alot of razzing from my buddys who claimed i left my wife to die and was more conserned about my gun laying in the mud and the bufflalo running off.

$

be able to shoot a 50 at a little over $1 a around sounds way too fun to pass up... cheaper than shooting .223

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.223 at more than a dollar a round? I know that one can spend that kind of money - when you can find the ammo - but ten bucks a box or so is more normal. I know, I know....out of stock.
The Beowulf round, as neat as it is, is never going to be cheaper than the .223....especially if you roll your own.
It does make a bigger hole, though.
Pete

how does the 6.5 grendel compare to 50 beowolf?

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It doesn't. Apples and oranges my friend. The Grendel is a scalpel the Beowulf is a sledge hammer. The Grendel is a sports car, the Beowulf is a Mack truck. While the Beowulf can be, and often is very accurate, it's efective range is limited- think of it as basically as a 45-70 lever gun. The Grendel Uses bullets from 95-144 grains and, if you are able, will put them exactly where you want. My 18" Saturn barreled Grendel will bug hole at 100 yards and is sub Moa out past 300. A good shooter could wring more out of it.

I was having some awesome results with a 450gr Lyman mold swaging the bullets to .501 with the Lee push through sizer in my Beowulf. With the current market and no real world application, I sold it recently. Anyone who is interested, let me know and I can drop a few in the mail. I had ~300 through it to date with no leading in the barrel and only a hair more carbon in the BCG, I'm guessing due to the bullet lube.

The Grendel does better than the .243 Winchester in many respects. Better wind drift and better game-harvesting potential when the bullet hits.

You can read more about it in the newly published 6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbook, Vol I

The 50 BW would be a hoot to use as a brush hog gun, talk about stopping them in their tracks. For ranged work I want the 6.5 Grendel it is just a cut above the rest of the AR compatible cartridges at range (except the ultra wide cased WSSMs with their 50 gr of powder!)

The 50 BW would be a hoot to use as a brush hog gun, talk about stopping them in their tracks.

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Yes it is and yes it does!

How does it compare to the .458SOCOM?

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They are about the same. Pretty much the same ballistics as the 45-70 had in 1873 but in a semiauto short action.

^ PIG OWNAGE! Gatta love Texas hunting

I have not hunted hogs with my Beowulf, but I do love the rifle. It hits hard and is a blast to shoot. I went with the Millenium brake and am pleased with it, definitely cut recoil way down. The tank brake is supposed to be a little better. I used it for bear calling this year (no luck) and it will be my primary bear calling rifle. I will eventually kill an elk with it, and I would like to a hog hunt next year. I say go for it, the Beowulf is good stuff.



In bear camp:


350gr Speer Deep Curls: