50beowulf.com: Frequently Asked Questions

.50 BEOWULF (FAQs) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What is Beowulf?

"The poem Beowulf was composed sometime between the middle of the seventh and the end of the tenth century of the first millennium, in the language that is today called Anglo-Saxon or Old English. It is a heroic narrative, more than three thousand lines long, concerning the deeds of a Scandinavian prince, also called Beowulf, and it stands as one of the foundation works of poetry in English.

Q: Who is Beowulf?

The poem was written in England but the events it describes are set in Scandinavia, in a "once upon a time" that is partly historical.
It's hero, Beowulf, is the biggest presence among the warriors in the land of the Geats, a territory situated in what is now southern Sweden, and early in the poem Beowulf crosses the sea to the land of the Dames in order to clear their country of a man-eating monster called Grendel.
From this expedition (which involves him in a second contest with Grendel's mother) he returns in triumph and eventually rules for fifty years as king of his homeland. Then a dragon begins to terrorize the countryside and Beowulf must confront it. In a final climactic encounter, he does manage to slay the dragon, but he also meets his own death and enters the legends of his people as a warrior of high reknown."

Taken from: BEOWULF, A new verse translation by Seamus Heaney, bilingual edition. Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Copyright 2000

Q: What is the .50 Beowulf?

AR15/M16 weapon platform with a unique .500 inch projectile and cartridge, this semi automatic weapon is unsurpassed as a close quarter combat weapon on battlefields in the Middle East.

Q: Is the .50 Beowulf for civilians?

This unique weapon is equally at home in the brush, capable of knocking down virtually anything you may run across. For wild pig hunting the rifle is without equal and is being used not only by hunters, but by game control agencies as well. The combination of heavy large diameter bullets, moderate velocities and 100% reliability enables the Beowulf to tackle the largest game found in North America and it has been used against Elk, Buffalo and Bear with superb results.

Q: Do the Military and Law Enforcement use the .50 Beowulf?

The .50 Beowulf has found wide acceptance with Military and Law Enforcement agencies. The external ballistics of the Beowulf cartridge are well suited to urban environments where the shorter range template allows for more flexible application and the large projectile energy delivered by the ammunition can disable both motor vehicles and assailants with body armor. Windscreen glass does not affect the trajectory of the bullet nor does automotive body panels. The .50 Beowulf is not officially in service, but .50Beowulf.com has gotten reports that soldiers in both the US Army and the USMC have deployed them in instances. Law Enforcement is currently using the .50 Beowulf in some departments.

Q: How many models of the .50 Beowulf are there?

The Alexander Arms Beowulf is available in four configurations, the Entry, the Precision, Overmatch Plus, and the Law Enforcement / Military. The 24" Overmatch Plus is available as a special order item only starting in 2006. The Law Enforcement 12" is newly for sale to the public in 2006 (all NFA rules apply).

A new model is scheduled to debut in late 2006. Alexander Arms has tentative plans to develop a M4-style carbine. There are also other platforms chambered in .50 Beowulf such as the Magnum Research BFR Revolver, Brockman Rifles, and may more.

Q: Why doesn't my .50 Beowulf have a ejection port cover?

The Beowulf upper receiver has a custom ejection port sizing that helps accommodate reliable ejection of the large casing from the weapon. It is rumored that a Dust Cover that is functional is in development.

Q: Can I customize my Beowulf with different rifle stocks and fore grips?

The Beowulf is a AR15 platform weapon, which means that most all accessories will fit on the Beowulf. Because of the strong recoil, some accessories for a 5.56NATO rifle might not be as appropriate. Many railed foregrips fit on the Entry Model with little to no modification. There are many options on this website. If you have any concerns, please email.

Q: Can I use any AR15 Magazine in my .50 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 .50 Beowulf cartridge.

Q: What is the origin of the .50 Beowulf Cartridge?

The 50 Beowulf is the original big bore caliber for the AR style rifle. It parentage is from the 50AE which IMI introduced for the Desert Eagle pistol but as is obvious from its external appearance that this is a somewhat removed relation. From the ground up the Beowulf is simply the biggest cartridge that can be fed reliably through an AR style mechanism without massive internal changes. The case length is set to allow the use of near standard magazines without having to use filler blocks and equally the volume allows the cartridge to work at very modest pressures which is essential for such a large cartridge to be safe in the AR chassis.

Q: What is the recoil of the .50 Beowulf compared to?

Beowulf recoil can best be described as similar to a light 12 gauge load or a 20 gauge.

Q: Can I use a collapsible butt stock on my .50 Beowulf?

Any good quality collapsible stock may be used on both the Beowulf. It is essential that the buffer and spring is also changed at the same time and the gun should be fitted with a carbine type stainless steel or chrome-silicon steel spring. This spring is both shorter but is slightly different pitch with more pre compression . The buffer should be the carbine type which is externally identical to the rifle buffer but shorter. Some people chose to fit heavier buffers to slightly reduce the felt recoil, these being either the H1 type which has a mix of steel and tungsten weights or the H2 type which has all tungsten weights, but the function of the gun must be checked to ensure that it is cycling fully. The heavy buffers designed for 9mm guns should not be used.

Q: What is the range of effective accuracy of my .50 Beowulf?

The accuracy of any gun is a function of the velocity, the barrel twist rate and the bullet. The Beowulf is not optimized for accuracy but will typically report 1” to 1 ½” groups or better at 100 yards. Good hand loads will shrink these groups but the Beowulf is simply not a bench rifle.

Q: What rate of twist is in .50 Beowulf barrels?

The twist rate for the 16” Beowulf barrel is 1 turn in 19”, the twist rate for the 24” Beowulf barrel is 1 turn in 24 inches. The faster twist on the shorter 16” Beowulf barrel was designed to allow the widest possible selection of bullet types and loads to be fired from the gun even loads that are sub sonic. The slower twist on the 24” Beowulf is optimized for accuracy with 300 grain to 400 grain bullets.

Q: What thread pitch on the LE/MIL model Beowulf?

The thread pitch is 49/64-20. This is the standard put on my LE/Mil barrels and although strange it avoids someone putting on a brake that does not have the correct internal clearance and ruining the gun

Q: What is the actual bore dimension of the Beowulf?

The major bore diameter is actually 0.501"+- 0.0004" while the freebore sits at 0.5025"+0-0.0005" The minor diameter is 0.489" +- 0.0004". The aspect ratio is about 60%

Q: Is the Beowulf fun?

The Beowulf is about as much fun to shoot as you can have with your clothes still on.

"THIS AR-15 has what looks like a stovepipe for a barrel!" - Jeff Quinn 2002