.50 beuwolf

[wsmarines]

what do you guys think of this cartridge? is a reasonable alternative to a regular AR upper? im considering buying buy i dont know much about the upper or the cartridge.

[40khammer]

I'm leaning towards the 458 socom myself. It's alot cheaper to reload because .45 bullets are in plentiful supply. The only reason I can see getting the .50 beowulf would be so I could say "I've got a .50"

[wsmarines]

I'm leaning towards the 458 socom myself. It's alot cheaper to reload because .45 bullets are in plentiful supply. The only reason I can see getting the .50 beowulf would be so I could say "I've got a .50"

i dont have a reloader but is it cheaper to own a 458?

[Carry-a-Kimber]

.50 Beuwolf runs about $27 for 20 rounds; 458 SOCOM will run closer to $60 for 20.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

what do you guys think of this cartridge? is a reasonable alternative to a regular AR upper? im considering buying buy i dont know much about the upper or the cartridge.

Wether or not it is a reasonable alternative to a "regular" (I assumme you mean 5.56/.223) AR upper depends on what your intended use will be. The. 50 will limit your magazine capacity, increase felt recoil, and cost 4-5 times the $$ to shoot. If you are just looking for a paper puncher you might want to stick to 5.56; if you are wanting a dedicated medium game rifle, a larger caliber might be in order. I have several AR in different configurations and calibers for different purposes. The gap between a 5.56 and a .50 is huge and neither will perform all duties perfectly.

[mrvmax]

I can tell you that you need a muzzle break with the Beowulf, it has a pretty healthy kick to it. It is not a long range cartridge, but within 200 yards or less it should be fine.

[OldCannon]

Easy: .50 Beo or .450 Bushmaster if you don't reload.
.458 SOCOM if you do reload (much larger variety of bullets)

No matter what you choose, I sure hope you have money to burn

[rm9792]

If you already got .50s and reload then Beowulf isnt bad. I share bullets between .50AE, .50GI and .50 Beowulf. I got the bullets at 18 cents each a long while back so I can shoot .50 reloads less than .45 factory. Reloading the .50 runs about 24 cents total if my math is right. Once components run out for me then it will likely go up. Does the SOCOM use regular .45acp bullets?

[OldCannon]

Does the SOCOM use regular .45acp bullets?

Nope.

[SRH78]

450 Bushmaster = .451, the same as 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 454 Cassul, 460 S&W etc...
458 Socom = .458, the same as 45-70, .458 Mag, .458 Lott, 450 Rigby, 460 Weatherby etc...

If you reload for the 450 Bushmaster, the 230 gr fmj bullets for the 45 ACP would probably be ok for punching paper but if you plan to hunt with it be sure to use bullets designed for the 454 and 460. The 45 ACP bullets will not even come close to holding together. I once loaded some 230 gr HPs for shooting varmints with my 454. At longer distances, they literally came apart before reaching the target.

[OldCannon]

450 Bushmaster = .451, the same as 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 454 Cassul, 460 S&W etc...
458 Socom = .458, the same as 45-70, .458 Mag, .458 Lott, 450 Rigby, 460 Weatherby etc...

If you reload for the 450 Bushmaster, the 230 gr fmj bullets for the 45 ACP would probably be ok for punching paper but if you plan to hunt with it be sure to use bullets designed for the 454 and 460. The 45 ACP bullets will not even come close to holding together. I once loaded some 230 gr HPs for shooting varmints with my 454. At longer distances, they literally came apart before reaching the target.

I'm not familiar with a load where 230gr .45 bullets are recommended. I guess it's _possible_, but I'm certainly no expert on thumper loads (or any other load for that matter ).

[Kabong30]

One of my buddies has a .50 Beowulf. Expensive to shoot (factory ammo anyway), kicks like a mule, it's not for me. But hey, if you need to run a checkpoint and need the ability to stop a vehicle I guess they'd be good. It is funny when we've taken it to the range though, head's turn for sure when you throw that first hunk of lead downrange.

[flintknapper]

Flintknapper on THR uses one to dispatch hogs.. he's loving it..

Nope, mine is a .458 SOCOM, but you got the "loving it" part right.

[SRH78]

450 Bushmaster = .451, the same as 45 ACP, 45 Colt, 454 Cassul, 460 S&W etc...
458 Socom = .458, the same as 45-70, .458 Mag, .458 Lott, 450 Rigby, 460 Weatherby etc...

If you reload for the 450 Bushmaster, the 230 gr fmj bullets for the 45 ACP would probably be ok for punching paper but if you plan to hunt with it be sure to use bullets designed for the 454 and 460. The 45 ACP bullets will not even come close to holding together. I once loaded some 230 gr HPs for shooting varmints with my 454. At longer distances, they literally came apart before reaching the target.

I'm not familiar with a load where 230gr .45 bullets are recommended. I guess it's _possible_, but I'm certainly no expert on thumper loads (or any other load for that matter ).

I am not either and there is a good reason they aren't recommended. I went off the reservation a bit for those. At close range, they were spectacular. At long range, though, you could literally see where bullet fragments were hitting the ground in mutliple spots. I wouldn't recommend pushing any of the hollow points designed for the 45 ACP very fast. If you look at the jacket, for example, of a 230 gr XTP and the jacket of a XTP mag, it is not even close. While the 230s blew apart, an XTP mag will penetrate an awful lot of hog with no problem. I should have been more clear earlier. I was just speculating that the 230 gr fmjs could probably be used for cheap plinking loads since they were asked about in an earlier post. I certainly didn't mean to suggest they were a good idea.