so i get to choose a new ar upper as a gift from my wife... ive been thinking about getting a 50 Beowulf a buddy of mine says i should get a 458 socom... what do you think? 50 Beowulf seems cheaper to shoot... this would be my you can have them bullets first gun as its a brutal round... another consideration... how much difference is there between a 12 guage slug and 50 Beowulf for this purpose... slugs and 50 Beowulf cost about the same...
50 Beowulf vs 458 socom
- Thread starter JohnnyK
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WardenWolf
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At that point I'd honestly buy a DPMS AR10. Their lightweight models start at only 8 pounds. Then you can shoot real rifle calibers from .243 on up and save a ton of money.
firesky101
Member
Get the .458 and reload it. The bullet selection is far better in .458.
Lloyd Smale
Member
ive got a beowolf and my buddy has both a beo and a 458socom. He likes both but if push came to shove the beo is the one hed keep. It just seems to hit harder. By the way my wife shot a 1600 lb water buffalo with my beo using punch bullets and it did just fine.
Love my Wulf! I would compare recoil to a 3" 12 gauge mag round. Not to bad free handed but it can get a little rough locked down on the bench. The Beowulf is an easy round to load for, it is easy on the brass. My preference for bullets are the 335 grain Raniers.
CmdrSlander
Member
.458
Craigman
Member
More bullets selections for the .458 but brass seems to be harder to find. Dont get me wrong, both are hard as heck to find but the .50 brass should last longer too. Do you really need a bigger selection of bullets? .500 bullets are almost always in stock and most any bullet is going to do what you need it to anyway for both rounds. Some of the .458 bullets available are too big or tough anyway. Meant for more speed and OAL. Most of the .500 bullets are designed for the velocity you need.
but the 50 is reloadable and Much cooler!! AR Follow up shots are quick too. If you need one.....
I vote 50 Beowolf
but the 50 is reloadable and Much cooler!! AR Follow up shots are quick too. If you need one.....
I vote 50 Beowolf
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blueskyjaunte
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I had this same "problem" a few years ago. .458 was my choice, primarily because .458 has a huge selection of bullets. 600gr solids? Yep. Hornady 325gr FTX? Yep. I also had no trouble with using standard, unmodified GI mags.
I have a bunch of load data that was sent to me by a gentleman at SBRAmmunition. PM me your email address and let me know if you're interested in a copy.
I have a bunch of load data that was sent to me by a gentleman at SBRAmmunition. PM me your email address and let me know if you're interested in a copy.
Txhillbilly
Member
I have always enjoyed my 458,but I strictly handload for all of my guns.
If you don't reload get the 50 Beowulf,If you reload get the 458 SOCOM.
Either round has about the same knock down capability as the other,but you really have a better selection of projectiles with the 458.
Brass is easy to get for the 458SC,I've always ordered mine directly from Starline,and it was in stock everytime I ordered 250/500pcs.
If you don't reload get the 50 Beowulf,If you reload get the 458 SOCOM.
Either round has about the same knock down capability as the other,but you really have a better selection of projectiles with the 458.
Brass is easy to get for the 458SC,I've always ordered mine directly from Starline,and it was in stock everytime I ordered 250/500pcs.
Sheepdog1968
Member
Then there's the timeless classic, a 45-70 lever action. Used you likely pick up one up,for less than an upper.
I see a lot of talk about bullet selection but I have been shooting the same type bullets pretty much from day one, you will probably find that too. Plinking or hunting the same bust will do both. The 335 grain plated HP bullets I use are cheap, accurate and very effective. I have tried one or two others but found I didn't really need them, not like you're looking for a 1000 yard bullet or one hat has knock down power. No matter what you use it won't do 1k and being a .50 bullet, even an FMJ round has a lot of knock down power!
OilyPablo
Member
I favor the 458SOCOM.
The question I have - which one feeds better? Anyone have stories about feeding issues?
The question I have - which one feeds better? Anyone have stories about feeding issues?
Lloyd Smale
Member
my beo works fine with unaltered c products mags. What would Bill Alexander being a control freek have anything to do with it. Id about bet the president of bushmaster and stag arms are a bit of a control freek too or they wouldnt be in charge. You dont have to go to alexander arms for anything. Starline now sells the brass and most use renier bullets.
jmorris
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I looked all of them over pretty good before I went with the. 458 bullet selection was the inal factor. Not as cheap as the handgun bullets the 450B uses but "cheap" rifle weight bullets are more common than with the 50B.
A 500 count box of 405g JSP's came in the day before yesterday, price went up from $129 to $159 but still not that bad considering that is the most expensive part of 500 rounds.
I also already had a 45-70, just not a semiauto, suppressed one.
Its also quieter than my suppressed AR 10 and better for hogs at night.
Once you reduce the velocity of the bullet to subsonic speeds, the only way to gain back energy is by adding to bullet mass.
A 500 count box of 405g JSP's came in the day before yesterday, price went up from $129 to $159 but still not that bad considering that is the most expensive part of 500 rounds.
I also already had a 45-70, just not a semiauto, suppressed one.
Its also quieter than my suppressed AR 10 and better for hogs at night.
Once you reduce the velocity of the bullet to subsonic speeds, the only way to gain back energy is by adding to bullet mass.
Loc n Load
Member
50 Beo & 458 socom / 12 ga slugs
THese are all big "hammers" in the tool box.....I own and have been shooting the 50 Beo, the 458 Socom and 12 & 20 ga slug guns ( slug & sabot) for years.....the 12 &20 ga for forty years......I have followed the running debate pro vs con from the 50 Beo & 458 soc camps for years.....bottom line they both provide for an awesome ballistic package in an M4 platform......I have shot them side by side for years, doing drills, shooting up every kind of "hard target" that I could put down range......In my state the 50 Beo is legal for deer and for the past couple of years I have harvested deer with the 50 Beo with a Nikon slug scope mounted on it......deer go down as if struck by Thor's hammer.....I have shot hogs with the 458 Soc & 50 Beo and they go down the same way.
I have hunted with 12 ga slug guns for decades and consider the foster slug or Brenneke a 50 - 100 yds proposition depending on the platform/optics setup......I have a Savage 20 ga. bolt action slug gun with fully rifled barrel with Leupold optics that will shoot sub MOA at 100 yds with sabots and close to MOA at 200 yds.
If you reload the 458 and 50 you have a lot of bullets to choose from.....I don't get to caught up it in all of that.....
The bottom line is that in an M-4 platform the 458 Soc and 50 Beo are great.....and today's 12 ga & 20 ga" shotguns" when set up correctly are very potent "tools in the tool box." They will all serve you well at 200 yds or closer.
THese are all big "hammers" in the tool box.....I own and have been shooting the 50 Beo, the 458 Socom and 12 & 20 ga slug guns ( slug & sabot) for years.....the 12 &20 ga for forty years......I have followed the running debate pro vs con from the 50 Beo & 458 soc camps for years.....bottom line they both provide for an awesome ballistic package in an M4 platform......I have shot them side by side for years, doing drills, shooting up every kind of "hard target" that I could put down range......In my state the 50 Beo is legal for deer and for the past couple of years I have harvested deer with the 50 Beo with a Nikon slug scope mounted on it......deer go down as if struck by Thor's hammer.....I have shot hogs with the 458 Soc & 50 Beo and they go down the same way.
I have hunted with 12 ga slug guns for decades and consider the foster slug or Brenneke a 50 - 100 yds proposition depending on the platform/optics setup......I have a Savage 20 ga. bolt action slug gun with fully rifled barrel with Leupold optics that will shoot sub MOA at 100 yds with sabots and close to MOA at 200 yds.
If you reload the 458 and 50 you have a lot of bullets to choose from.....I don't get to caught up it in all of that.....
The bottom line is that in an M-4 platform the 458 Soc and 50 Beo are great.....and today's 12 ga & 20 ga" shotguns" when set up correctly are very potent "tools in the tool box." They will all serve you well at 200 yds or closer.
T.R.
Member
About a year ago, FUR-FISH-GAME magazine featured an article about Rock River's 458. Amazing accurasy at 100 yards: all three holes touching each other at 100 yards! By calulating bullet drop carefully, this should be a 225 yard elk, moose, and bear rifle.
TR
TR
Hunter125
Member
Not sure about the .50, but wasn't the .458 designed to be used with a suppressor?
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