Col Art Alpin
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2026 10:50 am
Arthur B. Alphin Obituary
Colonel Arthur B. Alphin devoted his life to service, scholarship, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of excellence in military science, weapons technology, and justice. He passed away peacefully in his home on January 8, 2026.
Alongside his military career, Col. Alphin was an elite competitive marksman and lifelong student of sporting firearms. A member of the West Point Pistol Team, he earned All-American honors and later achieved Life Master status in pistol competition. His passion for African hunting began during a 1974 safari in Angola and Mozambique, where he experienced both combat and the challenges of conventional sporting arms firsthand.
These experiences led him to design his first cartridge in 1975 and, in 1979, to found the A-Square Company. Under his leadership, A-Square became the world leader in rifles and ammunition for trophy hunting, supplying international agencies and influencing nearly every major firearms manufacturer. His designs were adopted by companies including Ruger, Winchester, and Browning. A-Square was admitted to SAAMI in 1992, where Col. Alphin served on both the Technical Committee and Executive Board. His impact permanently shaped the civilian firearms and hunting industries.
Widely respected as a firearms and ballistics expert, Col. Alphin served as an expert witness in numerous court cases. Beginning in 1982 with a landmark case involving the Browning Automatic Rifle, he applied his knowledge in service of justice for nearly three decades.
In 2011, his professional life was set aside when his beloved wife, Elaine Marie Alphin, an award-winning children’s author, suffered a catastrophic hemorrhagic stroke. Col. Alphin transformed their home into a full-time care facility and devoted himself entirely to her care until her passing in August 2014. Following her death, he endured serious health challenges of his own, ultimately returning to strength and resuming professional work as a firearms, ammunition, and ballistics expert.
Colonel Alphin will be remembered as a soldier-scholar, innovator, teacher, marksman, and devoted husband—an individual whose intellect, integrity, and uncompromising standards left a lasting mark on the U.S. Army, the firearms industry, and all who had the privilege to know him.
Colonel Arthur B. Alphin devoted his life to service, scholarship, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of excellence in military science, weapons technology, and justice. He passed away peacefully in his home on January 8, 2026.
Alongside his military career, Col. Alphin was an elite competitive marksman and lifelong student of sporting firearms. A member of the West Point Pistol Team, he earned All-American honors and later achieved Life Master status in pistol competition. His passion for African hunting began during a 1974 safari in Angola and Mozambique, where he experienced both combat and the challenges of conventional sporting arms firsthand.
These experiences led him to design his first cartridge in 1975 and, in 1979, to found the A-Square Company. Under his leadership, A-Square became the world leader in rifles and ammunition for trophy hunting, supplying international agencies and influencing nearly every major firearms manufacturer. His designs were adopted by companies including Ruger, Winchester, and Browning. A-Square was admitted to SAAMI in 1992, where Col. Alphin served on both the Technical Committee and Executive Board. His impact permanently shaped the civilian firearms and hunting industries.
Widely respected as a firearms and ballistics expert, Col. Alphin served as an expert witness in numerous court cases. Beginning in 1982 with a landmark case involving the Browning Automatic Rifle, he applied his knowledge in service of justice for nearly three decades.
In 2011, his professional life was set aside when his beloved wife, Elaine Marie Alphin, an award-winning children’s author, suffered a catastrophic hemorrhagic stroke. Col. Alphin transformed their home into a full-time care facility and devoted himself entirely to her care until her passing in August 2014. Following her death, he endured serious health challenges of his own, ultimately returning to strength and resuming professional work as a firearms, ammunition, and ballistics expert.
Colonel Alphin will be remembered as a soldier-scholar, innovator, teacher, marksman, and devoted husband—an individual whose intellect, integrity, and uncompromising standards left a lasting mark on the U.S. Army, the firearms industry, and all who had the privilege to know him.