.50 Alaskan

Left to Right (line by line)
.44 Magnum, .445 Super Magnum, .45 Colt, .454 Casull,
.480 Ruger, .475 Maximum, .50 Action Express, .500 Linebaugh, .500 Maximum, .500 S&W Magnum, .50 Beowulf, .50 Alaskan

Type

Rifle, Large game

Place of origin

United States

Production history

Designer

Harold Johnson

Designed

1950s

Specifications

Parent case

.348 Winchester

Case type

Rimmed

Bullet diameter

.510 in (13.0 mm)

Neck diameter

.536 in (13.6 mm)

Base diameter

.553 in (14.0 mm)

Rim diameter

.610 in (15.5 mm)

Rim thickness

.070 in (1.8 mm)

Case length

2.10 in (53 mm)

Ballistic performance

Bullet mass/type	Velocity	Energy
450 gr (29 g) BAR FP	1,718 ft/s (524 m/s)	2,950 ft·lbf (4,000 J)
500 gr (32 g) JFP	1,674 ft/s (510 m/s)	3,112 ft·lbf (4,219 J)
525 gr (34 g) LFN GC	1,694 ft/s (516 m/s)	3,346 ft·lbf (4,537 J)

Source(s): Hodgdon

The .50 Alaskan is a wildcat cartridge developed by Harold Johnson and Harold Fuller of the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska in the 1950s. Johnson based the cartridge on the .348 Winchester in order to create a rifle capable of handling the large bears in Alaska.

Harold Johnson necked out the .348 Winchester case to accept a .510" diameter bullet, and Harold Fuller developed the barrel, marrying a .50 caliber barrel to an old Winchester Model 1886 rifle.

Since the rifle was designed for use on Alaska’s great bears, Johnson cut 720-grain (47 g) boat-tail .50 BMG bullets in half, seating the 450-grain (29 g) rear half upside down in the fireformed .50-caliber case. It didn’t take Johnson long to find out that the 450-grain truncated shaped "solid" would shoot through a big brown bear from any direction, claiming in 1988, "I never recovered a slug from a bear or moose, no matter what angle the animal was shot at."

Harold’s favorite load in the .50 Alaskan was 51.5 grains (3.34 g) of IMR-4198 with a Barnes 400-grain (26 g) flatnose, jacketed bullet for about 2,100 ft/s (640 m/s) and just under 4,000 ft·lbf (5,400 J)of muzzle energy..

The Alaskan is shorter than the .510 Kodiak Express and produces about 10% less energy or 33% less energy than the 50-110, out of a 71 Winchester re-barreled to chamber the 50-110 WCF 6,000 foot-pounds

Rifles for .50 BMF Bullet are available from some specialty gunsmiths and also conversions from Marlin and Winchester lever-action rifles. Reloading dies are available from Hornady. Although it is considered a wildcat cartridge, loaded ammunition is available from Buffalo Bore.

...
Wikipedia