Basically derived from the 7.62 x 39 - the base of the Beowulf is the 7.62 x 39 size to fit a modified AR 15 bolthead. The rest of it is pure designer imagination.
Actually, the .50 Beowulf is not derived from the 7.62 x 39. It only shares its head size. The case itself is just a longer version of the .50 AE with a rebated rim to fit the 7.62 x 39 bolt face.
So perhaps it has an ancestry based on both of these cartridges . It isnt just a longer 50 AE , nor is it a blown out 7.62 x 39 , but it is a case combining features of both parent cases.
Posts: 4474 | Location: Eltham , New Zealand | Registered: 13 May 2002
I don't think you could say it is based on the 7.62 x 39 since you could not form a 50 Beo case by starting with a 7.62 x 39 case. That's like saying that the 30-06 is based on the 45 acp since they have the same head size.
Posts: 18352 | Location: Salt Lake City, Utah USA | Registered: 20 April 2002