The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has bought 14 Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf AR-15 rifles.
The article is obviously written by someone with no clue about firearms. For example “…the new semiautomatic, .45-caliber Heckler & Koch machine pistols.”. I can’t be sure that the journalist understood the real reason why the Sheriff bought the .50 Beowulf rifles.
The journalist claims that the rifles are for ridding the expressway of cows and exotic animals, who sometimes escape from the local theme parks, such as elephant and lion.
I do not think killing cows would be money well spent on these expensive rifles. Surely a .308 will dispatch a cow just as fast and at a longer range. They are sure to have tactical rifles in their arsenal.
(Disclaimer: I have never hunted exotic dangerous game … the following is just my uninformed opinion)
If they were really worried about dangerous game a few .375 H&H rifles would be more effective.
According to Alexander Arms and Cartridges of the World 11th edition this is how the .375 H&H and the .50 Beowulf compare
Bullet (grains/type)
Velocity
Energy
.375 H&H
300/SP
2530
4265
.50 Beowulf
325/HP
1950
2743
The .375 H&H also offers much greater penetration due to the smaller caliber.
I do not think the Sheriff is really planning on using his new AR-15 rifles on elephants or lions! It is most likely for use against people and vehicles.
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 AR is defiantly a very nice rifle Here is a video of is being shot:
I have been getting quite a lot of visits from people searching google for M16 / M4 / AR-15 manuals. So I decided to post some of them. US Army M16 / M4 operators manual
This covers Disassembly, Cleaning, Reassembly, Magazine, Operation and Ammunition and more.
Izhevsk Mechanical Works is a Russian arms and vehicle manufacturer founded in 1807 by Tsar Alexander I.
Below are some of their firearm promotional videos. I enjoy watching and reading military promotional material which are usually designed to entice the buyer to purchase millions of dollars worth of goods, rather than consumer marketing trying to entice you to try another type of tooth paste.
The first video is about the AK, Dragunov and Bizon firearms. The second is about the Saiga-12 shotguns. These video are also available on the Izhevsk website here.
I came across an article showing you how to make the Glock trigger pull smoother and well as showing you how to detail strip a Glock. I have not tried this.
What we are going to do here is to polish (not alter) some parts to make the trigger pull (which admittingly is a bit different) smoother. I’ve also included the extra steps to completely disassemble the gun and get it back together again
I came across a company call Stellar Rigs who claim to be selling some pretty cool carbine conversion kits for 1911 and Glock pistol made by “Mec-Tec”
The website is out of date and I do not know if the kits are still sold. I do know that in most Western countries converting a pistol into a rifle is not allowed. UPDATE: I was wrong. See comments below.
ShelbyFan over at RFC warns about the use of hot .22 rimfire cartridges on game you plan on eating!
normally I use PMC Zappers, but I was in a hurry and used quik shoks to go grouse hunting, big mistake.
just saying, if you wanna blow something up the quik shok’s do the job nicely, not if the target is gonna be eaten.
i barely needed to clean her, she lost almost all her guts, the tail fell off.
ruffled grouse
I have not used CCI Quic-shot but plan of purchasing a box soon and seeing how effective it is on small game. I will be sure to post my experiences on the blog.
Knifes and hunting seem to go together. I have a modest collection of knives for use general DIY and for hunting.
Dave Markowitz over at the Survival & Emergency Preparedness blog has an interesting post about choosing a knife for survival. Something evey hunter should take into account.
Knives are among the most important items in your survival kit. They should be selected with care to maximize their utility in your environment. Between the SAK, LB7, and machete, I should be able to handle anything that needs cutting in an emergency.
The economist has a very interesting article about how criminals in the UK appear to lease firearms from each other for use in specific crimes. The same firearms are used in crimes all over the country!
Some have suggested that would-be thugs are renting guns to use as fashion accessories. Daniel Silverstone of Portsmouth University is sceptical: “It would be cheaper to buy a replica,” he points out. “Someone who hired a real gun would probably intend to use it.” Renters must either be very short of cash or in need of a gun at very short notice, he reckons.
Here is a video of is being shot:
