Fortunately, this problem is self-correcting. Around the same . A standard .50 BMG cartridge fires a full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet weighing 647 grain, nearly double some of the 50 Beowulf bullets. Jacketed 45 ACP bullets measure 0.451 in diameter while the 450 Bushmaster requires the slightly wider 0.452 diameter bullets. Will it take out a Grendel? Not a little .45 or .458its a real FIVE OH! That said, I had to have a big bore too. Thats it. LeGendre cites Lt. Col. Jeff Coopers writings on the Thumper concept as his inspiration for creating the 450 BM. Plus Ive dealt with Bill Alexander when I had some questions about a different rifle and hes a really great guy who cares very much about his customers and the companys customer service is also excellent. Even though you reload, 50 Beowulf bullets and brass are nowhere near as cheap or available as converted .223 and .30 caliber bullets. In Michigan the only way I can have a loaded gun in my truck is if its a pistol with my cpl. Sure there are the other two members of the big three but only the Beowulf actually matches the ballistics of the .45-70 and if you have a job that needs a big hammer, why not use the biggest, meanest, most powerful hammer in the toolbox? Like a good facelift, theres a visible but not a dramatic difference. Even Arnold cant handle fifty cal, right? Unless you configure the worlds most unwieldy AR pistol, youll need to obtain an ATF short barrel rifle tax stamp for that one. As the .300 Blackout was designed to work within the parameters of the existing AR platform, only the barrel needs to be replaced . lb Muzzle Velocity ft/sec. Any way you want it, the .50 Beowulf is a reloaders delight because of its case design and the ready availability of .50 caliber bullets. The 450 Bushmaster and 458 SOCOM have similar ballistic performance out to 250 yards, which is the maximum effective range for both rifle cartridges. This however has been on it for quite some time. Although their case length is different, the 450 Bushmaster and 458 SOCOM have the same maximum overall length of 2.26 as this is the longest cartridge length that can be used in an AR-15 receiver. In contrast, a 10 round Beowulf magazine, which is identical in all respects to a 30-round 5.56 mag except for the feed lips, may be legal. Why does it belong in your AR collection? I love the Wulf. 300 Blackout Rifles ; 300 Blackout Pistols ; 300 Blackout Complete Uppers ; 300 Blackout Barrels ; 7.62x39 . in this video we compare the 308 winchester. They have several other varieties too, as well as other sought after calibers, generally all for the same price. On the plus side, it is a high quality stainless steel barrel. Example my 338lapua,I have never shot it,never had enough real-estate but hey I got one lol the same with the Beowulf, Some things are just for shits and giggles, I love my Beowulf many years shooted shotguns muzzleloaders couldnt get that long-range to kill the nice big bucks dont have to worry about that with the Beowulf knock down power is phenomenal one shot one kill. To avoid any potential trademark litigation, ammo manufacturers will often brand their 50 Beowulf ammo by its metric designation, 12.7x42mm. . I have the basic Entry model and its listed @ only 4.5pounds w/o optic. . Ha! The fun factor alone merits four stars. The 450 Bushmaster dominates in terms of muzzle velocity as it leaves the barrel at a whopping 2,200 fps, which is 300 fps faster than the 458 SOCOM and 425 fps faster than the 50 Beowulf. I see some B.S. The 450 Bushmaster and 50 Beowulf are excellent deer hunting options for Midwest states that require the use of straight-walled cartridges. In this article we will analyze each cartridge to help you decide which Thumper round will work best for your shooting needs. 2. Thank you for the details Accur81 now I can stop fantasizing about an AR-15 in .45-70 Government! *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win. 12 gauge slugs are more common but I will go with the 50 BEO because its semi-auto, mag fed, & can be reloaded cheaply, I use the same powder as I use for loading my .410 shotgunHodgen lil gun, just my 2 centsand thanks for the rantlol, Myself I just love guns and sometimes buy things I have no business in. Sourcing reloading dies is fairly simple for each cartridge as Lee and Redding both have die sets for each caliber. Im referring to recoil. You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers. My entry upper will put every round into a cloverleaf (granted its a BIG cloverleaf) at 100 off the bench all day long. I bought one of Mr. Alexanders early .50 Beowulfs, and Im here to tell you, theyre a ton of fun. The limiting reagent is the magwell. THE GOD DAMNED NEW GUN JAMMED ON THE FIRST ROUND. The soft case isnt long enough to comfortably close on the gun WITH the tank muzzle brake. Too much? He changed the bolt dimension/head space to leave a little more metal in the lug area which means they wont head space properly when mixed (AA bolt, other bbl or AA bbl and other 7.6239 bolt). I didnt want it, but it shows sloppy management that the invoice says it was in the shipment. I'm pleased with my 300 BLK, waiting on the stamp to put a rifle stock on it. . However, comparing the entry wounds on paper from the .50 and the 5.56 made a very cogent point. Wouldn't give hunting with either a second thought. The 458 SOCOM also has slightly more recoil. At a glance, it looks like every other EBR on the range, but after the first shot, a crowd begins to gather. Initially the recoil was an issue but after installing a muzzle brake and a LimbSaver recoil pad the recoil is almost comfortable. In contrast, the 458 can fire bullets between 200 to 600 grains with 250gr, 300gr, and 350gr being more common. Practical Applications 300 Blackout was designed as a combat cartridge, but it also has found a role in home defense and hunting. Already have a 12.5 inch barreled 308 but the 300 blackout keeps sticking in my head. Thought a Beretta shotgun was out of your budget? For a 300 blackout, what is the optimum barrel length for AR? However, as any AR-15 rifle is a potential host with a simple barrel, bolt, and magazine change, this means there are a lot of potential rifles on the market for all three cartridges. The upper can be ordered all dressed up, or it can be fully accessorized by you to the financial limit of your wallet and the physical limit of your biceps. [emailprotected], the other question does any one cast bullets for this Cal. 308 would barely scratch the surface and 338 lapua is too expensive. Pistol Buffer 5.0-8.5 oz. On the other hand, the 450 Bushmaster and 458 SOCOM can remain supersonic past 300 yards. .50 Beowulf.22 Nosler.45 Bushmaster.458 SOCOM; . Yes, precisely. Think again. I would also guess that .45-70 Government factory ammunition is less expensive than .50 Beowulf as well. Only if I can get it in a pistol version. Maybe half a box ought to re-balance the old Yin and Yang, Im thinking. Check out the two holes at 9 oclock on this target. I will try to post a report after I have assembled it and taken it for a spin. Wow. Later, to get the renewal on his man card, he has to travel somewhere to slay a dragon but is mortally wounded in the process. barrel. A normalslug gun runs in at less than half of this price, and shoots ammunition thats commonly available so, you can have more fun, cheaper, than with this thing. Although factory loads can be a little pricey for these big bore AR rounds, handloading is one method shooters utilize to reduce their overall cost per round. The Ranier 335gr HPs make FINE whitetail medicine. Utility be damned. The wrong, stupid part of my brain took one look at that sucker and thought Well thatll definitely get rid of the squirrels in the backyard.. then the rational part said Does the phrase pink mist mean anything to you? and the stupid part said You going somewhere with this or are we gonna get to blast some tree rats?. 300 Blackout vs. 5.56 Bullet Energy (ftlbf) Range 110-grain Hornady GMX 300 Blackout . We know, because we used traditional double-stack 5.56 mags, including PMags and C-Products metal mags, and they all functioned perfectly as single-stack .50 Beowulf mags. See the .458 SOCOM or .450 Bushmaster. However, custom ammo manufacturers often make their own 50 Beowulf loads under the metric designation 12.7x42mm. It should be noted that none of these cartridges would be described as having low recoil. Bear hunting or protection? Theres a lot of Why? However, this massive case capacity is needed for the massive 0.458" diameter bullets that the SOCOM round fires. I stole one from an inexpensive starter AR(Stag model1+) I have a 2 stage tactical trigger and an PRS stock ready to assemble for it.. Its a great gun and the accuracy was excellent. . Way cool- but if Im looking for a rifle that weighs over 100 lbs, Im looking for a Solothurn. Its not really a measurement of error, so much as an estimation of destruction. Sure, the upper kit makes it muzzle heavy, but that doesnt make it too clumsy to handle. I miss it and I'd really like to get another one. None of which has an adverse effect on my love of lever guns. However, free recoil can be used to give a general idea of how hard a round kicks. Maybe for me, but not for you. We often hear about the average self-defense scenario, but the truth is every encounter is unique. Among others, this list includes cartridges like the .300 Blackout, the 6.8 Remington SPC (also known as the 6.8 SPC), the .450 Bushmaster, the .458 SOCOM and the .50 Beowulf. Thats also why AAs Grendel and Beowulf barrels/bolts arent compatible with other Grendel and 12.742 (Beowulf w/o the copyright) barrels/bolts. Seems like the perfect Great White solution to me, but then again, Im not a Hollywood gun expert.On the defensive and tactical side, those big bullets carry a lot of momentum, so theyre good for applications where penetration is required. In other words, the .50 hits hard. Customer service sucks. If you have a 308, I don't think you'd get much out of a 300 blackout. 86# doe, shot in the left shoulder, the lump you see is the bullet under the hide on the off side. Quote RUTGERS95 NJGF Cornerstone Premier Member 874 3,532 posts Location: middletown, nj Home Range: cjrpc Trader Feedback 10 0 0 Total Rating 100% Posted August 10, 2013 neither, look at the 6.8 and call it a day Those cases are on the chubby side and need a bit more elbow room to escape.Most of the current upper-receiver models include 16.5-inch barrels. I didnt speak to Bill Alexander, but Dave did throughout his ordering process. The actual order went right through and the gun arrived quickly so I am happy. By the time your new upper arrives, youre going to be as excited as the time you had your first blind date with your first sure thing. 350 Legend is a growing cartridge with a growing fanbase. The .50 Beowulf has oodles of the former and just enough of the latter. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. Unlike Mike Schulte, Ive never had any issues with mine. Overall, if you want one gun that will break down into an extremely modest space that you can carry around unnoticed and has multi-caliber capability, this is the gun for you. Pistols give you more FREEDOM when you live in a liberal state. It looks odd, but it isnt. I dont see really see the niche where this cartridge fits in: Once you get over the giggle/fun factor, is there any application that this would really excel in? We worked the charging handles and fired ARs in 5.56, 7.62 and .50 Beowulf in rapid order just to get a handle on recoil. The .50 Beowulf and .458 SOCOM use a .50AE parent case and are almost similar in overall length and case capacity. Perhaps the biggest difference between these three cartridges is their case design itself. These three big bore cartridges give you the flexibility to turn a standard AR-15 into a deer hunting rifle, a semi-automatic hog slayer, and a heavy-hitting personal defense carbine all rolled up into one firearm. However, hunters generally lean on the 223 Remington for varmint control for its lower price point and flatter trajectory. If a related requirement calls for going into vehicle interiors without using the handles meaning right through the doors or body, the same benefits apply. I used the Beowulf for hunting- it's light, short, easy to pack, and packs a punch. Of the three rounds, the 450 Bushmaster is the easiest to find factory ammo for as it is SAAMI certified and therefore larger ammo manufacturers like Hornady, Remington, Winchester, Barnes, and Federal make ammunition for it. And wait. There are more cartridge choices than any one person would ever need and compared to more traditional big game calibers, the ammo is very affordable. Its not new Ive owned my AA 50 wulf upper for 7 years or so. In fact, outside of the first 100-yards, the differences are effective entirely negligible. Still with tried and true calibers for your first rifle. Wonder what that would do. BEST OF ALL: This message is generic and is incapable of knowing which one applies to your order. AND ONE of these is the reason you got this message. As noted, the straight-sided .50 Beowulf cartridge features a rebated rim the rim is narrower than the case. Thanks Phil in the great north west. Although developed under different circumstances, both the Beowulf and the SOCOM share the same parent case. Finally got to the range and guess what. Ralph, you want pictures of expansion from the wulf, here ya go. Unadulterated overkill for self-defense, not quite accurate enough for high power target shooting and possibly too much gun for whitetails or muleys, it seems like a rifle with limited utility. But, Sir Isaac Newtown giveth as much as he taketh away. FWIW, good quality .50 Beowulf ammo is a bit cheaper, too. .22 LR to .50 Beowulf, the ubiquitous 5.56 NATO still reigns supreme. Flawless. If you have either, your opinions will be helpful. Whats even less obvious is that the Alexander upper has an enlarged ejection port. View Quote. Easy to reload(no shoulder to reshape) Slugs and powder are easy to find(thank you 500 s&w). Most of the factory ammo for 50 Beowulf comes from Alexander Arms as they hold the trademark on the cartridge name. The 50 Beowulf fires a 0.50" diameter bullet that is intended for close-range engagements while the 5.56 fires a 0.224" diameter bullet that excels at long-range shots. Thanks for taking those trips for us. Dont insult the cartridge, please. It is most a Gee Wiz cool kid toy. In my mind, the two may have similar ballistics, but are different enough in charm that they both have room in my safe.