.50 Alaskan
Encyclopedia
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.
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 gr boat-tail .50 BMG
bullets in half, seating the 450 gr 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.”
The Alaskan is shorter than the .510 Kodiak Express and produces about 10% less energy.
Reloading dies are available from Hornady
. Although it's a wildcat, loaded ammunition is available from Buffalo Bore.
Wildcat cartridge
A wildcat cartridge, or wildcat, is a custom cartridge for which ammunition and firearms are not mass produced. These cartridges are often created in order to optimize a certain performance characteristic of an existing commercial cartridge.Developing and using wildcat cartridges does not...
developed by Harold Johnson and Harold Fuller of the Kenai Peninsula
Kenai Peninsula
The Kenai Peninsula is a large peninsula jutting from the southern coast of Alaska in the United States. The name Kenai is probably derived from Kenayskaya, the Russian name for Cook Inlet, which borders the peninsula to the west.-Geography:...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
in the 1950s. Johnson based the cartridge on the .348 Winchester
.348 Winchester
The .348 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge. It was introduced in 1936, and developed for the Winchester Model 71 lever rifle. The .348 was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever rifle.-Performance:...
in order to create a rifle capable of handling the large bears in Alaska.
Design
Harold Johnson necked out the .348 Winchester.348 Winchester
The .348 Winchester is an American rifle cartridge. It was introduced in 1936, and developed for the Winchester Model 71 lever rifle. The .348 was one of the most powerful rimmed rounds ever used in a lever rifle.-Performance:...
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 gr boat-tail .50 BMG
.50 BMG
The .50 Browning Machine Gun or 12.7×99mm NATO is a cartridge developed for the Browning .50 caliber machine gun in the late 1910s. Entering service officially in 1921, the round is based on a greatly scaled-up .30-06 cartridge...
bullets in half, seating the 450 gr 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.”
Performance
Harold’s favorite load in the .450 Alaskan was 51.5 gr of IMR-4198 with a Barnes 400 gr flatnose ,jacketed bullet for about 2100 ft/s (640.1 m/s) and just under 4000 ft·lbf (5,423.3 J)of muzzle energy..The Alaskan is shorter than the .510 Kodiak Express and produces about 10% less energy.
Availability
Rifles for .50 Alaskan are available from some specialty gunsmiths and also conversions from Marlin and Winchester lever-action rifles.Reloading dies are available from Hornady
Hornady
Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition and handloading components, based in Grand Island, Nebraska.The company was founded by Joyce Hornady in 1949 and is currently run by his son Steve Hornady who took over after his father's death in a plane crash in 1981.Hornady...
. Although it's a wildcat, loaded ammunition is available from Buffalo Bore.