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By David Crane
david (at) defensereview (dot) com
February 1, 2016
Last updated on 2/02/16.
DefenseReview (DR) recently got a chance to try out a Beck Defense .510 Beck tactical AR carbine utilizing a suppressed Lancer Systems DGI (Direct Gas Impingement) upper receiver and mag (rifle magazine), and we came away pretty impressed with it, to say the least. Let’s just say right off the bat that it was easily one of the most interesting things DR saw and handled at SHOT Show 2016 Industry Day, and potentially one of the most important AR developments in the last…well, ever, assuming the ammo becomes plentiful via multiple major manufacturers, is affordable, and remains civilian-legal and thus commercially available (please God).
It’s that badass.
Anyway, the .510 is a straight-cased (straight-wall case) .50-caliber heavy cartridge that ranges between 327-grain supersonic rounds (2780 fps) all the way up to 900-grain subsonic tungsten rounds (1000 fps). Wow.
The launching platform is either a DPMS-pattern small-frame or SR-25-type large frame 7.62mm NATO (7.62x51mm NATO)/.308 Win. tactical AR lower receiver platform and a smoke-translucent polymer Lancer Systems L12AWM (also written L12 AWM) Advanced Warfighter Magazine, which Lancer developed specifically for the .510 Beck cartridge, using the L7AWM (or, L7 AWM) as a design base. Editor’s Note: We love Lancers (mags) here at DR. Love the translucent polymer. Love the wraparound spring-steel feed lips. Love it all.
Anyway, Lancer’s currently working on a 10-round mag for the .510 Beck, but DR believes the one we used and photographed was a 7-rounder. We were in a pretty big hurry at the Industry Day range.
The kicker? The kicker is, the gun we shot didn’t kick much. It recoiled relatively gently, actually, gently enough to surprise us. The gun’s felt recoil seemed similar to a 20-gauge shotgun, rather than the shoulder-pocket-bruising, flinch-inducing Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf or .499 Leitner-Wise, to which the .510 Beck will likely be compared. The .510 Beck’s a totally different animal. It’s much gentler on the shooter.
The other thing that surprised us was the .510 Beck “Controlled Chaos” hybrid round we were shown (not that the more convential pointy round they showed us looked particularly pleasant to get shot with). “Controlled Chaos”. Catchy…and seemingly accurate. If DR remembers correctly, and judging by the accompanying photo that we shot at Industry Day, it’s comprised of a smaller OTM (Open-Tip Match) bullet inside a .510 Beck holowpoint bullet. Here’s how it works: When the bullet hits soft tissue, the smaller inner bullet expands and assists in mushrooming the larger .510 Beck hollowpoint bullet, making for nice, devastating temporary and permament wound channels. When I initially saw it, all I could do was smile and shake my head, thinking what one of those rounds will probably end up doing to some unfortunate enemy combatant at some point. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see the video footage of that, along with autopsy footage. I dig ballistic forensics.
Oh, and it gets even better. The evil geniuses at Beck Defense (and Lehigh Defense and Starline Brass, apparently) are also developing a 492gr explosive supersonic Nano/RDX round that zips right along at 2530 fps (feet per second). That round’s gonna’ really ruin someone’s week if/when it makes it to combat. Oh, and there’s even a SLAP (Saboted Light Armor Penetrator) round in the works, just to not leave any stone unturned. The Nano/RDX and SLAP rounds (and we presume the tungsten round, as well) are for military use only, i.e., only available to approved military end-users.
Here’s the current complete list of rounds, right from the Beck Defense Weapons Systems data sheet:
“Subsonic rds at 1000fps
900 gr tungsten rounds [military use only?]
680 gr monolithic brass rds
650 gr monolithic expanding
Custom subsonic rounds can be manufactured based on end user requirements.
Supersonic rds
327gr monolithic hybrid rds at 2780fps
This round is a brass sleeve and can be assembled with different tips.
Aluminum tip penetrator
Tungsten tip penetrator
Steel tip penetrator
Titanium tip penetrator
This same round can be used as a payload delivery system.
30gr up to 100 gr of Nano/RDX 492gr monolithic rd 2530 fps [military use only]
We are developing SLAP round of various grain weight at this time. [military use only]”
Defense Review is currently waiting on cost and availability data on all the .510 Beck weapons and ammo in current production, and we’ll update this article accordingly. We’ll also try to obtain MOA accuracy specs on all the respective rounds. In the meantime, let’s just say this thing’s looking pretty damned good so far. We just hope it’s reliable, durable and accurate under adverse conditions and high round count. If it is, look out. We would like to see a 12-15-round L12AWM mag developed for the .510 Beck, though.
In the meantime, check out the 5.11 Tactical video below on the Devil Dog Arms .510 Beck tactical AR. Looks pretty good.
Editor’s Note: Our friend Rob Curtis at Recoil also seems to like the .510 Beck.
Company Contact Info:
Beck Defense
213 N Rupert St.
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Phone: 817-935-8377
Email Contact Page: http://beckdefense.net/contact
Website: http://beckdefense.net
Lancer Systems
2800 Milford Square Pike
Quakertown, PA 18951
Phone: 610-973-2600
Fax: 610-973-2601
General Info Email: ls_info@lancer-systems.com
Sales Email: ls_sales@lancer-systems.com
Tech Support Email: ls_techsupport@lancer-systems.com
Website: http://www.lancer-systems.com
Lehigh Defense, LLC
130 Penn Am Drive, Suite D-1
Quakertown, PA 18951
Phone: 215-536-4100
Fax: 267-373-1654
Email Contact Page: http://www.lehighdefense.com/pages/contact-us
Website: http://www.lehighdefense.com
Contact our Departments
Sales Department
Tyler Mitchell: 215-536-4100 | Tyler.mitchell@lehighdefense.com
Product Development/Engineering
Mike Cyrus: 267-733-3569 mike.cyrus@lehighdefense.com
Dealer Accounts
Pete Vogel : 267-733-2654 | pete.vogel@lehighdefense.com
Law Enforcement/Military
Dave Fricke: 267-733-2573 | dave.fricke@lehighdefense.com
Technical Support
Greg Schmell: 267-372-1018 | greg.schmell@lehighdefense.com
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