Bill Alexander, the founder and chief engineer at Alexander Arms, left the company to take a new position within the defense industry according to a statement released by Alexander Arms. There is no word yet on where Alexander will now be employed.

Alexander immigrated to the United States from the United Kingdom where he was an armorer with numerous weapon and cartridge designs to his credit. In the US, Alexander created the Alexander Arms company and introduced a number of new things to the shooting public. One of his most known is the .50 Beowulf cartridge. Alexander also had an important role in the development of the 6.5 Grendel cartridge.

Both the Beowulf and Grendel cartridges were designed for the AR-15 pattern rifle. The Beowulf uses a heavy .50 caliber projectile for good penetration making it a reliable choice for taking hog in brush. The cartridge uses a straight wall case with rebated rim that is based on the 50 AE case. The rim has a .445″ rim to match the 7.62×39 case.

While the Beowulf is good for short to medium ranges, Alexander designed the Grendel to reach out a bit farther. This round uses the 7.62×39 as a parent case, though necked down with a blown out shoulder. The longer bullets used in these cartridges provide good accuracy at longer ranges making them suitable for target shooting and small game hunting.

Wherever Alexander is now, I hope the shooting community will continue to benefit from his innovation.