NRA Gun of the Week: Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf Hunter

by
posted on January 10, 2020
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
What Alexander Arms set out to achieve with the development of its .50 Beowulf round ended with a cartridge that mimics the ballistic performance of the .45-70 Gov’t cartridge and is designed to be fired from a short-action, AR-15-style rifle. Suited for big-game hunting, as well as military and law-enforcement applications, the Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf cartridge utilizes a large-diameter .500” bullet propelled at a moderate velocity.

Combining this cartridge design with the company's dedicated .50 Beowulf AR-15-style Hunter rifle, sportsmen may appreciate its use for the myriad hunting opportunities North America has to offer, whether it's hunting black bear of the northeast, feral pigs of the south, whitetail deer of the heartland, elk and mule deer of the Rocky-Mountain states, Coues deer of the west and every other big-game animal in between.

Looking at the Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf Hunter rifle, you’ll discover initially the gun’s Prym1 woodland-camouflage finish covers much of the exterior. Internally, the company’s aluminum receiver features adjustments to accommodate the increased case size of the chambered cartridge. A Velocity single-stage trigger with a factory-set 3-lb. pull weight was included in this model.

Controls are a standard AR-15 configuration, and the gun’s grip is provided by Adaptive Tactical. Attached to the front of the receiver you’ll find a carbon-fiber TacStar handguard withMagpul M-lok attachment points, allowing for the use of a range of accessories. Within the handguard is a 16.5” button-rifled, chrome-moly steel barrel, which comes threaded for muzzle devices. At the reverse end, Alexander Arms leaned on Adaptive Tactical again for its adjustable stock.

To learn more about the Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf Hunter, check out our NRA Gun of the Week video above hosted by American Rifleman’s Christopher Olsen.

Specifications
Manufacturer: Alexander Arms
Model: .50 Beowulf Hunter
Chambering: .50 Beowulf
Action Type: gas-operated semi-automatic center-fire rifle
Receivers: aluminum
Barrel: 16.5” chrome-moly steel
Magazine: seven-round detachable box
Sights: none; Picatinny rail
Trigger: single-stage 3-lb. pull
Stock: adjustable
Finish: Prym1 Woodlands camouflage
MSRP: $1,795

Additional Reading:
A First Look at 2020's New Guns - by American Rifleman Staff
Modern Big-Game Bullets - by Craig Boddington
Big-Bore AR Cartridges - by Bryce Towsley
Handloads: 6.5 mm Grendel - by John Haviland
Review: Alexander Arms Ulfberht Rifle - by American Rifleman Staff












Extras:

NRA Gun of the Week: Alexander Arms Incursion Rifle


NRA Gun of the Week: AR-15 Rifle


I Have This Old Gun: Beretta AR 70 Rifle


I Have This Old Gun - Argentine Mausers


The Unstoppable AR-7 Survival Rifle


NRA Gun of the Week: U.S. Springfield Armory M1 Garand Rifle

Latest

.308 Win.
.308 Win.

Handloads: A Quiet .308 Win. For Large-Format Pistols

Of the many commercial .308 Winchester loads, few, if any, are designed for barrels shorter than 16". The one that follows helps address this gap while remaining simple to suppress and light on the wrists.

Court Approves Watchtower Firearms DIP Financing

Watchtower Firearms was granted final approval for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in late June.

Review: Ruger LC Carbine In 10 mm Auto

Following the success of its .45 ACP-chambered LC Carbine, Ruger realized that this platform would go a long way toward making the 10 mm Auto more controllable and fun to shoot, and a new 10 mm version was released in 2024.

The Armed Citizen® July 14, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Favorite Firearms: A Little Stevens From Chicago

"Over the next five or six years, and before I went off to college, I fired hundreds and hundreds of rounds of .22 BB Caps, CB Caps, Shorts and Longs through this rifle."

Preview: Strike Industries T-Bone Charging Handle

The T-Bone from Strike Industries is an ideal fit for suppressed applications, as it can be configured by the user to redirect gas blowback entirely to either side ...

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.