 | Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf Advanced Weapon System |
| Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf Advanced Weapon System |
| FACTS | ||
| Brand | ||
| Make | Alexander Arms | |
| Model | .50 Beowulf (AWS) | |
| Method of operation | ||
| Semi Automatic | Gas, Rotating Bolt | |
| Trigger | 1 Stage | |
| Feeding System | Single Stack box magazine | |
| Technical | ||
| Weight | ~8.8 pounds | |
| Width | 2.44" | |
| Height | 8.58" | |
| Overall Length | 35" | |
| Barrel Length | 16" | |
| Twist Rate | 1:19" | |
| Advanced Weapon System | Free floating Barrel & quad rails | |
| Functionality | ||
| Bolt position when fired | Closed | |
| Bolt upon last round fired | Open | |
| Magazine capacity | 4, 7, 10 | |
| Decocking or Dry fire | Dry Fire | |
| Field Stripping | ||
| Tools required | No | |
| Small parts retained or loose | Retained | |
| Ammunition | ||
| Caliber | .50 Beowulf | |
| Energy @ Muzzle | 2,678 | |
| Velocity @ Muzzle | 1,900 | |
| Grains | 334 | |
| Opinions | ||
| Method of operation | ||
| Stoner Direct Gas System very simple system however its can get hot and dirty. better get some gun scrubber aerosol to clean the gas tube and if you can find them some very long pipe cleaners | ||
| Functionality | ||
| Price | High | |
| Availability | Limited | |
| Modularity / Accessories | Very Good | |
| Accuracy | Very Good (25-200yards) | |
| Reliability | Good | |
| Ease of field Stripping | ||
| Very good, No tools required | ||
| Ergonomics | ||
| The pistol grip make this rifle very ergonomically even though it is not reversible. Left handed shooters will have spent shell casing deflecting in front of their face. The addition of Ergo Grip, Ergo Grip Gapper help make it a very comfortable system. The free floating quad rail also allows you to place lights, sling mounts, forward grips pretty much where ever you want. I also added Ergo Grips low profile rail protectors that not only protect the rails but also your hands. | ||
| Sighting System (Optics) | ||
| Just like the entry model I have added a Trijicon TriPower and a 1/2 raiser. I found that using the 334 Rainer rounds are the best. 50 yards = -0.16 100 yards = 0.0 125 yards = - 1.10 I find that the effective range of the rifle being at the 50-125yrds works well with the none magnified TriPower. | ||
| Ammunition | ||
| Price | High | |
| Availability | Rare | |
| Punch | One of the biggest punches around | |
| Links | ||
| http://www.alexanderarms.com/beowulf.htm | ||
| http://www.trijicon.com/user/parts/parts_new.cfm?categoryID=11 | ||
| http://www.gunblast.com/50Beowulf.htm | ||
| http://www.gunblast.com/Alex_Overwatch.htm | ||
| http://www.gunblast.com/BFR-50Beowulf.htm | ||
| http://www.50beowulf.com/ | ||
My ramblings (Over all feelings; Why this Gun; is it worth it):
| I will update the page once I get a chance to do some real long range shooting with this particular rifle. So far I have just done the basic functional tests and the by the book barrel break in procedure. I didn't want to waste any time scoping it in until the barrel was properly broken in and I wanted to make sure the optics wouldn't shake loose. One thing about bore sighting a 16" .50 cal is when you look down the barrel you pretty much see the whole landscape and your not really sure how well its sighted in. You can therefore imagine how surprised I was when at at the end of the barrel break in procedure and the begging of the functional tests that I was hitting my short range targets in double and triple taps. I will do the long range distance report within a few weeks and I am anticipating to be very good. Additions: Trijicon TriPower 1/2" raiser Sling (comes with very nice soft sided tactical case) Ergo Grip: Right Handed Suregrip Grip, Gapper, Rail Protectors, and Rail Slide Mount M3 light Forward Grip Cleaning kit Reloading Dies Forward Grip: I have played around with forward grips on many guns and never been pleased. This rifle however works very well with a forward grip and helps with the recoil. Reloading and Amunition: The Lee reloading dies from Alexander Arms work very well and I have been very pleased with the fit and function of those dies. Also the size of the .50 cal and the straight walls of the cases are very easy to work with and relaod. Why not just use a 12 gauge Rifled slug? I have been doing a lot of thinking about this because they are a little similar in ballistics. The first thing you have to do is figure how many grains a 1 once slug is? 1 ounce = 437.56 grains. So even the biggest 400 grain Beowulf bullet is still slightly smaller than a 1 once 12 gauge slug. The diameter is also different with 12 gauge coming around .75 caliber significantly larger than as .50 cal diameter. As far as price the highest performing slugs are about $5.00 each compared to the $1.25 each Beowulf Round. Also most of the highest performing 12 gauge sabots are around ~300 grains not the top end 400 grain or even the 334 grains. That's where the similarities (if you could call them that) end. The riffled free floating barrel of the Beowulf offers better accuracy. The Beowulf Rail system allows for better aiming devices versus that of most shotguns. A detachable magazine offers a higher continuous rate of fire. So at the end of the day it will have better accuracy at longer ranges with faster follow up shots. |
Click for larger picture (Barrel view or to quote Jeff Quinn a "Stove Pipe")