How's the .50 Beowulf coming along? Is it here to stay and safe to buy?

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Maelstrom

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I've been looking at a big-bore upper for my AR and really like the ballistics of the Beowulf over the Bushmaster and Socom.

Do you guys think the Beowulf is here to stay or is Alexander Arms more likely to drop it, making the round impossible to find in five years?
 
I am quite sure they will be around a long time.
The Beowulf has a large following with waiting list for complete rifles as well as Uppers and lowers. I waited 4 months for my lower to come in, I just got it recently which allowed me to complete my build that I have been working on for the last 6 months. I am sure it will be around for a long time. The ammo is expensive for these rifles but since I reload and components are not too difficult to find I have built up a decent stock pile.

Here are a few pics of mine....
BeowulfARFX1.gif
BeowulfARFX2.gif
BeowulfARFX3.jpg
BeowulfARFX4.jpg
Rifle specs:
16" A.A. Beowulf Upper
Laser etched dust cover - and A.A. said it couldn't be done!
Yankee Hill 2 piece quad rail
Brownells riser .75 height
Burris Signature Safari scope with "Fast Plex" 1.75-5x32mm
A.A. Beowulf engraved lower
Art work by me.
CMT lower parts kit
DPMS Buffer tube, spring and buffer
Hogue Monogrip
Ace ARFX 9.9" skeleton stock
bipod I don't remember; just a cheapy off ebay.
6 1/2" rail covers coming from MagPul Industries installed since pictures were taken
 
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I, too, believe that there is a lot of interest in this cartridge and it should be here for a while. If you're at all worried, stock up on ammo or reload a lot of it and keep your supply healthy.
 
It'll be around, but I never see it being popular. If you don't like paying $1.50/shot you will want to reload. If you do reload, no worries.
 
Good timing on this thread, as I was just wondering the same thing.

An issue I've wondered about on this cartridge is availability... I've heard rumors that AA is restricting the folks who may manufacture ammo, and not allowing anyone else to build rifles in this caliber... I'm honestly not sure how this stuff works with new calibers? I know that other new calibers (think .45 GAP) have been used by other manufacturers, but I don't know if the rumors I've heard on the .50 Beowulf being restricted are true.

If this is the case, I don't ever see this cartridge taking off in a huge way... Having other folks in the industry pick up on a caliber seems to be the best way to insure it's survival!

I think this caliber would fill the niche I'm trying to fill very well, but I really don't want to get into a wildcat caliber that is going to all but disappear down the road.

I guess time will tell.
 
coloradokevin

I have the same concerns, as should you go with a more mainstream cartridge that's made by several different companies; or go with one that's a propietary design and fixes you to only a single maker. For myself, I would probably stay with a mainstream round that's already in the marketplace, rather than tie myself to a single company, even if their cartridge is somewhat superior to other offerings.
 
I think that the .458 Socom fills the same role as the .50 Beo.

I am probably leaning towards the .458 a little more... as it would be easier to suppress.

Thoughts?
 
Ditto; while ".50 Beowulf" is viscerally more attractive, .458 Socom seems to have the technical/economic edge.

That said, .50 Beowulf has been around for a while now, obviously does have a small but stable following, and won't be going away any time soon. May or may not be the best choice, but certainly is not a losing proposition.
 
I think that the .458 Socom fills the same role as the .50 Beo.

I am probably leaning towards the .458 a little more... as it would be easier to suppress.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I would put my money on the .458 SOCOM as well. It has a much larger selection of bullets, and most importantly, you don't need to buy any expensive special magazines for it.
 
Don't bet just yet

"I would put my money on the .458 SOCOM as well. It has a much larger selection of bullets, and most importantly, you don't need to buy any expensive special magazines for it."
Though the .458 Socom DOES have a larger selection of .458 (read 45/70 bullets) caliber rounds, the Beowulf is rapidly closing the gap. What you are mistaken in is that Beo's take standard stock AR15 mags WITHOUT any modifications required. As far as ballistics go, they're both very similiar. There's room in the market for both calibers to do just fine. So I wouldn't bet on either fading away.
As far as suppression goes, again, neither is better. The Beowulf may be ordered with a threaded muzzle to allow any 3rd party muzzle brake or suppressor.
 
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theshootist,

Welcome to the Highroad :)

.458 suppresses better than .50.

Smaller hole. IMO, the .458 is better for suppressed fire because it has large bullets (so does the .50) but a smaller hole. Obviously 9mm suppresses even better and so does .22LR but we are looking for heavy bullets so have to choose a base camp.

I haven't chosen yet, but I am leaning that way.

I don't think anyone will be disappointed no matter which way they go :)

Best of luck to you and again, welcome aboard :)

Semper Fidelis,

Kent
 
This is from AA's site.

"Will the Beowulf® magazine feed .223 shells?

No it will not.


Can any .223 magazine be used in the Beowulf®?

Yes, but the feed lips must be modified. The feed lips need to be opened up to allow for the much larger cartridge.
In addition, a new follower needs to be installed to allow for the single stack configuration of the Beowulf® cartridge."


That being said. I had to slightly modify mags, and especially P-Mags to get reliable feeding in my SOCOM.
 
USMC_2674, Thanks for the welcome!
Is/was 2674 your MOS? I was in the Corps from '85-'91 as a 2631/32. Either way, Semper Fi to you, too!
No suppressor can stop the supersonic crack, that's in the load of the round (must go subsonic) but suppressors are suppressors. Find the best money can buy and you'll be happy.
Big44mag, check out the forums at www.50beowulf.com and you'll see that it's common knowledge that standard AR mags work just fine. Best Regards in advance!
I just reread your sentence about the Beo feeding .223 shells and now I think I see what confusion there may be. A standard AR mag WILL work with the Beo, but I believe the website refers to AA's mod'd mag not working with .233 rounds. If you have a standard AR mag laying around at home, it'll work in both the Beo upper or an AR upper.
 
I'd love to get a .50 Beowulf, but I also worry about the cartridge fading off into obscurity. I dont reload, so availability of commercial loads is a huge consideration.
 
The beowulf is the best of the "AR big bores", IMO. It makes the most sense out all of them, all things considered - more sense than the .450 bushmaster, .458 soccom, .499 lrw. My guess is that it's here to stay.
 
isn't the Beowulf similar in oomph to a 45/70?

why not just use the 45/70 instead of creating a whole new cartridge?
 
isn't the Beowulf similar in oomph to a 45/70?

why not just use the 45/70 instead of creating a whole new cartridge?
Click to expand...

The .458 socom is very similar to the 45/70, and it uses the same readily available off the shelf bullets a the 45/70:cool:

Edit: the .45/70 won't fit in the AR-15 platform, The AR-15 AFAIK can't use a rimmed cartridge, and there really isn't many other choises out there if you want a semi-auto rifle that has 45/70 ballistics.

As far as other reasons go, I believe the .50 Beo was originally designed as a shoulder fired weapon to be used by Coasties and LEOs to put leaks in drug runners' boats.
 
The modded mags quote was listed under the FAQ section of AA's site, I was just relaying the information as presented by the manufacturer.

A friend had to modify his mags to get them to function properly, one of the reasons I went with the SOCOM, but I still ended up modifying some of mine anyway. The other nice thing about the SOCOM is you can run anything from a 250gr slug to 600 if you reload. The 500 and 600gr slugs are VERY easy to suppress.
 
I looked at the .458 Socom and ,450 Bushmaster before deciding on the Beowulf. While each has their own points I am happy with the decision for the .50 especially since I reload, it's an easy cartridge to work with.



Midway seems to have the upper in stock but no mags, no ammo, and no brass.
Click to expand...

You just have to watch for it I have bought brass, bullets and mags from them recently, it is just bought up quickly.





Don't take all the stuff under the FAQs at the A.A. site as gospel.

They say "The Beowulf was designed to not have an ejection port cover. Clearly the port is much larger than a typical AR-15, so no, you cannot retrofit one."
As you see in the pictures above I had a fully functional one on mine.
 
Well, from what I've gathered in doing some reading, it appears that ammunition for this caliber is being restricted by an inability to get other supliers to make it, rather than AA trying to prevent it. This is good to see, and a bit more positive than what I had previously been told!

Still, ammo availability is apparently still the major issue with this caliber. Guess we'll have to see how that shapes up!
 
We're going to have an excellent muzzlebrake coming out for the Beowulf in August. The muzzlebrake from A.A. is a joke. If you haven't shot a Beowulf I would recommend doing so before committing to buying one, the recoil is a bit much for some folks.
 
I would be interested in a good removeable brake for mine for range work along with a thread cap for hunting. Look forward to seeing what you have.
 
If you haven't shot a Beowulf I would recommend doing so before committing to buying one, the recoil is a bit much for some folks.
Click to expand...

What would you compare it to?
 
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