.50 Beowulf
- Thread starter Colvin
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Double Naught Spy
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What do you mean by sub par ballistics? What isn't to folks' liking?
chris in va
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I think he means ballistics like a rainbow. It was never meant to be a long distance round from what I understand, but rather stop a renegade car from breaching checkpoints.
Technosavant
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There's a few "thumper" round (.458 SOCOM, .450 Bushmaster, .50 Beowulf) threads in the rifles forum, but generally that isn't the forte of TFL. AR15.com has an entire subforum dedicated to AR variants, and that has a wealth of info on the various choices.
The ballistics of the three thumpers are not that terribly different; .458 has the most to offer a reloader at the cost of factory support, .450 has more available factory ammo but not too many variations in bullet weight available, and the .50 just seems to me to have the drawbacks of both (not much factory ammo out there, not reloaded all that economically). Still, any of the three will be very effective at under 200 yards on most any game you're likely to find in North America. If you want longer range, you're going to need to look elsewhere; the design of these rounds (large diameter bullet + need to fit through a magwell sized for the 5.56x45mm) pretty much means the aerodynamics of the bullets aren't too hot. It doesn't take too far for them to start dropping speed and falling back to earth rather rapidly.
The ballistics of the three thumpers are not that terribly different; .458 has the most to offer a reloader at the cost of factory support, .450 has more available factory ammo but not too many variations in bullet weight available, and the .50 just seems to me to have the drawbacks of both (not much factory ammo out there, not reloaded all that economically). Still, any of the three will be very effective at under 200 yards on most any game you're likely to find in North America. If you want longer range, you're going to need to look elsewhere; the design of these rounds (large diameter bullet + need to fit through a magwell sized for the 5.56x45mm) pretty much means the aerodynamics of the bullets aren't too hot. It doesn't take too far for them to start dropping speed and falling back to earth rather rapidly.
Yes the Beowulf was designed for short range use giving the M-16 style platform a punch like an old 45-70 round. The idea is to give anyone trained in the use of the M-16 a rifle that operated just like the 16 but has a low velocity .50 inch heavy slug to stop anything short of armor at a check point.
Kinda wonder just what sort of entry gun it would make?
Kinda wonder just what sort of entry gun it would make?
Double Naught Spy
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Thanks Chris, and as sgms noted it is much akin to a semi auto .45-70 in terms of ballistics. If you want a .50 caliber round that shoots flatter, you are going to have to go to a much more heavy duty cartridge.
As a defensive round, it is going to handle just about anything you need handled in the urban environment. Since most self defense shootings even with long guns are nearly 100% inside of 100 yards, you would not have to worry about rainbow ballistics. Get a 2 MOA red dot optic and you could be set for anywhere from about 20-130 yards with your shot falling either in the red dot or touching it (shoot speering Gold Dot 325 gr. @ 2010 fps). In other words, set up properly with a red dot, it is a point and shoot caliber inside 110-130 yards (depending on round being fired) with no consideration needed for distance holdover.
Like the .45-70 or the similar calibers noted by Technosavant, the .50 Beowulf is going through soft armor with no problem even out to 100 yards. However, that means it may also be going through additional walls and people that you may not intend to be overpenetrating.
As a defensive round, it is going to handle just about anything you need handled in the urban environment. Since most self defense shootings even with long guns are nearly 100% inside of 100 yards, you would not have to worry about rainbow ballistics. Get a 2 MOA red dot optic and you could be set for anywhere from about 20-130 yards with your shot falling either in the red dot or touching it (shoot speering Gold Dot 325 gr. @ 2010 fps). In other words, set up properly with a red dot, it is a point and shoot caliber inside 110-130 yards (depending on round being fired) with no consideration needed for distance holdover.
Like the .45-70 or the similar calibers noted by Technosavant, the .50 Beowulf is going through soft armor with no problem even out to 100 yards. However, that means it may also be going through additional walls and people that you may not intend to be overpenetrating.