AR-15 - Uppers with Higher Calibers

[Werewolf]

I've read here and there - mostly here - about people putting uppers on their AR-15's with calibers higher than 5.56.

How can this be?

The lower has a mag well made for the standard 5.56/.223 caliber so how in the heck can a Beowulf upper be put on a standard AR-15 lower and work? How can a magazine made to hold a larger caliber cartridge fit in the mag-well made for 5.56? Same holds true for 6.8mm or the other higher caliber uppers.

What am I missing here? :banghead:

Inquiring minds want to know?

 

[pauli]

6.5 grendel, 6.8 spc, and 50beowulf were all designed specifically to work with standard ar15 lowers.

the max oal for 50beowulf is actually *shorter* than for 223.

 

[ScottsGT]

The .50 Beowulf stacks in the mags one on top of the other. The .223 is side by side.
Tell you what you can do. Go order one and have it shipped to me, and I'll send you about 100 photos so you can see how it works

 

[rbernie]

The key dimensional attributes would seem to be the overall length of the chambering and the diameter of the case. So long as the OAL is equal to or less than that of 223 *and* the diameter of the case is less than the width of the AR magazine, then that chambering can potentially be used in the AR.

 

[Too Many Choices!?]

The,"True Versatility" of the AR-15 design shines through....

.50 beowulf, 6.8, 6.5, .270 wsm ,7.62.39, and basicly anything else you can cram into the AR lower/magazine well and still get function, could theoretically be done . Even if you can't cram it into the magazine/ magwell, you could stilll build a straight pull, single shot upper that ejects and locks back on empty ,or a bolt action upper like the .50bmg uppers(helluva snip...er..um deer rifle) . As calibers become more abundant(less expensive), the AR may become the Homeland Defense gun of choice of the new gun owning America...