Posted on 09/20/2005 10:59:19 AM PDT by freepatriot32
If I gave you $7,000 to spend on whatever you wanted, what would you buy? Seven thousand dollars may not be a huge sum of money, but it is still a significant chunk of change. I mean, you could buy a car, pay your room and board at EMU for the year, or have 70% of the buy-in for the World Series of Poker main event. The list is almost endless, but there is one item in particular that really struck me as surprising when I learned that my gift money could purchase it. It is the Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle, and for the fairly modest amount of seven grand, you could take one home today.
To those of you unfamiliar with the M82A1, as I was, my saying that it could be purchased for that price may not strike you as startling or worrisome. Upon researching this firearm further, my opinion rapidly changed. Just looking at the weapon, totally ignorant of its capabilities, I could tell that this was no peashooter. It looks like a modern-day cannon, but with a comfortable pistol grip slapped on the bottom. Thanks to war movies and an uncle who's a card carrying NRA member, I have seen and fired my fair share of weaponry, but never had I even seen a firearm as intimidating as this one.
Reading the gun's specs proved to be more than intimidating; it was downright scary. According to the product's website, the M82A1 "easily fires the largest commercially available cartridge in the world, the .50 caliber." The weapon doesn't just fire .50 caliber cartridges like a few other weapons, but does so with ease. What sets it apart from other .50 caliber rifles is the fact that it is not bolt action, but semiautomatic with a ten round clip. Instead of having to manually discharge the empty cartridge then load the next, you can snap off ten shots as fast as you can pull the trigger. Ten rounds at a buck from any .50 caliber rifle will leave hunters with very little to mount. I also learned that the gun has an effective range of over 2,000 yards. Hunters generally shoot at targets 150-200 yards away, so accuracy over ten times that distance is understandable, right? No, it really isn't, especially with a weapon so powerful. Unless the gun was designed for hunters planning on shooting game from over a mile away and then walking 15 minutes to go retrieve it, this weapon could not have been made for hunting.
Sure enough, the M82A1 was not created for civilian gamesmen. It was designed for use in the military and in law enforcement, both of which herald the M107 as the premier big bore rifle (the M82A1 is the civilian version). Used by the United States armed forces as well as over 40 others worldwide, the weapon has won several awards and Barrett has yet to have a contract not renewed due to the military being unsatisfied. What makes the gun so loved by armies across the globe? Not only does it boast incredible range and extremely destructive ammunition (standard rounds can go through brick walls); it has minimal recoil and is extremely easy to fire. With the recoil of a 12-gauge shotgun if fired from the shoulder and considerably less when fired from the stock bipod, it is very easy for a soldier with little practice or training to become very proficient with the weapon. This reason for praise quickly becomes cause for alarm if the gun falls into the wrong hands.
Now that I knew how effective the weapon was, I looked up what its applications are. Due to their gratuitous power, these guns are used to attack stationary or landing aircraft, tanks, armored personnel carriers and concrete bunkers. They are very rarely used on single enemy combatants, just as I rarely swat flies with a baseball bat. Like a rocket launcher with a tighter shot pattern, these rifles destroy enemy aircraft and tanks cleaner, faster and from farther away.
I think I have established the fact that the Barrett M82A1 is any target's worst nightmare, but now I think we all need to look at why I can get one of these easier than I could get a handgun. There is absolutely no reason why a civilian would need to own this weapon, yet background checks are looser on this gun than on a handgun because the M82A1 falls under the category of "hunting rifle" (Honestly, who are they kidding?). The amount of havoc that can be caused by this weapon if it found its way into the wrong hands is off the charts. Pedestrians would have to worry the least; the rounds can go through motor vehicles, walls or aircraft shells from over a mile away. Whether it be terrorism or just criminal use, no one would be safe. Another feature of the weapon that should get the thing banned is its ease of use. With minimal training, anyone could become extremely accurate with this weapon, endangering everyone within a mile radius.
Despite my firm agreement with the Second Amendment, there are specific cases where the right to bear certain arms is significantly more dangerous than what may happen if one could not. This is one of those cases. The Barrett M82A1 .50 caliber rifle, as well as all other semiautomatic .50 caliber rifles, has no place in society. They are not effective hunting weapons, and anyone could defend themselves more than effectively with a less powerful gun. This weapon is extremely dangerous and not worth the risk.
Well, which is it? Firm agreement or shallow cowardice?
The Loons of the Left. Still just trying to disarm law-abiding Americans. Karl Marx would have wanted it that way...and they cannot even approach their anti-Second Amendment agenda with ANY intelligence...
A clip huh?
"I have NO USE for a .50 Calibre rifle.
I can't see that far!"
LOL!
Firm agreement some of the time. Was he in favor of the 2nd Amendment before he voted against the 2nd Amendment ?
WTH is a clip?
LMAO. Great post. :-)
We are all entitled to our own opinions. We are not entitled to our own facts. No .50 cal rifle has ever been shown to have killed anyone in the U.S. To the contrary, the only New Orleans business and home owners who were not the victims of looting after Katrina were those who stood guard with their own firearms. On the other hand, it can be successfully argued that “you owe me” Liberals politics played a major roll in the deaths suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Speaking of self-defense, the EMI HELLHOUND round fired by the MLG-140 has entered the market. The MLG-140 fires six rounds in three seconds at ranges up to 400 meters, effectively covering a minimum destruction area/zone of 20x60 meters. The primary specialized round for the MLG-140 is the MEI HELLHOUND (High Order Unbelievable Nasty Destructive Series) Round, or HELLHOUND 40mm Low Velocity Multi-Purpose Round.
Yours in better self-defense,
I suppose this is supposed to show just how scary this gun is. I just LOVE how leftists cower in fear when they read the specs. It makes me wanna buy the gun even more.
The Militia of the United States has three constitutionally defined missions - Article I Section 8 of the US Constitution says "To provide for calling forth the militia to [1] execute the laws of the union, [2] suppress insurrections and [3] repel invasions." The Second Amendment defines the right of the people to keep and bear arms which are needed for the necessary well regulated militia to function. That doesn't mean a .22 LR single shot amigo. When the Army uses laser ray guns they will be protected too, and for the same reason.
There's also no reason to own a TV set, or a microwave , or a DVD player, etc. Also, I'd like this bozo to show me the word hunting in the 2nd Amendment.
As I don't have the cash for a safari, and my local range only goes to 200 yards, neither do I. But the guy that has one there has let me shoot it! He calls it "Testosterone in a can!"
It is fitting that this screed comes from a student at a school that has no committment to its own history. If they didn't have the scruples to stick with "Hurons", then I'm not surprised he doesn't have the scruples to stick with the constitution.
The MSM has had blood on the tips of their tounges for .50 Cal rifles ever since that 60 minutes piece.
Handguns are more carefully controlled because they are affordable, easy to acquire and favored by small time criminals. Nobody is going tospend $7,000 on a .50 cal rifle to knock off the local "stop and rob" mini-mart.
Notice this weenie appoints himself as one who can dictate what other persons need. As soon as you cede the control of what you need to a politician or bureaucrat, you are forever screwed.
And the second amendment was not created just for "gamesman".
I cant believe those againts our Right to Bear Arms think they can deflect us with this "we wont take guns away from hunters" bit.
I have a Firearm (and some think its an intimidating piece). If I ever have to seriously use it - it wont be to hunt deer and antelope..
> Despite my firm agreement with the Second Amendment,.....
Anyone here believe this? If so, contact me about buying some swamp land in New Orleans.
I can't read this article. I'm working and my blood pressure can't take it, but I have a question. Did the author ever mention how many Barrett's have been used in acts of crime? I bet not. So how would banning this firearm reduce crime rates? The author needs to visit the Knob Creek Machine gun Shoot and meet a few of the owners. Nice people. Thugs buy cheap guns.
"Also, I'd like this bozo to show me the word hunting in the 2nd Amendment"
Or sporting for that matter.
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