.50 Beowulf

[tangoseal]

Actually, 12 gauge measurement is .729"; that is much bigger than .50 cal.

You have proven your point accurately and I give you that, however there is also caliber measured in barrel length/bore diameter at the breech where the bullet or projectile sits. Somewhere I remember the military schooling us on the fact that somewhere in the design of the 12 guage shotgun that the slugs were measured as .50 cal using whatever math at the time determined that. Alas it is truly a .72 caliber by normal modern measurement I would guess.

For instance on a US Naval destroyer that has a 5" deck gun it is a .54 caliber round that is projected from the muzzle. They even have a new Mk45 .63 caliber extended range model. It has same projectile diameter yet extends barrel length a few inches which changes the caliber.

Now why is a 5 inch round only measured to 54 caliber? I'll let you fellow sailors do the math on that one.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[HotGuns]

Actually, 12 gauge measurement is .729"; that is much bigger than .50 cal.

That is the measurement of the internal diameter of the barrel. Most slugs are smaller than that, mostly around .68 caliber which fits nice and snug with the plastic sleeve on them.

There are several brands of slugs, BRI is one of them that comes to mind that use .50 caliber slugs in a sabot. These are shaped like an hourglass and they are extremely effective at tearing things up. They shoot fast, hard, flat, and through most things they are shot at.

[HotGuns]

Now why is a 5 inch round only measured to 54 caliber. I'll let you fellow sailors do the math on that one.

Because that method uses the length of the barrel measured in caliber.

Just like some of the older guns were measured at 5" .38 cal, which was a 5" with a bit less range.

[10thmtn]

For instance on a US Naval destroyer that has a 5" deck gun it is a .54 caliber round that is projected from the muzzle. They even have a new Mk45 .63 caliber extended range model. It has same projectile diameter yet extends barrel length a few inches which changes the caliber.

Now why is a 5 inch round only measured to 54 caliber? I'll let you fellow sailors do the math on that one.

In artillery-speak, a 5 inch, 54 'caliber' gun has a barrel that is 54 times as long as the bore is wide. So, in this case, the barrel would be 270 inches long, firing a shell 5 inches in diameter.

Another example would be a 155mm (6 inch) howitzer, with a 68 caliber barrel - in other words, 34 feet long.

[razor02097]

I have tried the one on the right in my slug gun and I'll tell you that a 300g slug traveling at 2100fps will do some serious, SERIOUS damage

[Stranger]

I never looked that far into the slug measurements, thanks...some good less known info on this thread!!!! But in the end I think it all comes down to shooting big lead and other projectiles down range is always fun!

[RGUARD]

I own all of the guns being discussed and in my opinion, each has it's purpose.
The Mossberg pump 12Ga is by my bed if something should go bump in the night. Beowulf is in my work room, so it can go play on short notice, and the 308 and 30-06 are in the safe. All good guns, I trust my life to the 12Ga, I LOVE shooting Beowulf, it just "works", I relaod my own 350gr hollow points and within 200yds it is Thor's hammer! and is the first thing I reach for if I am going out shooting. the 308 and 30-06 are great guns, but they are more hyper acurate tools than toys, if I want to show someone that it does not take a 50bmg to hit a target at 1000 yds I bring out the 30-06. If I will potentially be shooting at stuff beyond 200 yds the 308 comes out.
Is Beowulf a toy, yea probably, I could easily cover the gap it fills with other "tools" but nothing and mean NOTHING will put a smile on your face like pulling the trigger of a Beo, it's just primal ;)

My $.0002 (my 2 cents after taxes ;) )