Liberty Belles Ring Out for .50s

Liberty Belles ^ | 5/24/02

[lowbridge]

	Liberty Belles Ring Out for .50s

The .50 caliber rifle is the largest firearm that civilians may legally possess. Averaging 34-50 inches in overall length and 25-35 pounds in overall weight, this firearm serves only one civilian purpose - sport. Bench rest, competition marksmanship to be exact. And if you've never tried it, you don't know what you're missing. Fifty-caliber marksmanship is a very precise, specialized sport. Fifty-caliber shooters take every aspect of the firearm and ammunition into consideration in order to maximize their marksmanship skills. Shooters are very technical and have a thorough understanding of every aspect of the firearm.

Deb receives instruction on how to properly fire a .50 caliber rifle. Special thanks to John Burtt for his patience and consideration in introducing us to the sport of .50 caliber shooting.

The .50 caliber rifle averages 34-50" in overall length and weighs approximately 25-35 pounds.

Jennille keeps the butt of the rifle tucked in tight to her shoulder.

Because of the highly specialized, technical nature of .50 caliber shooting, participation in the sport is expensive. Therefore, .50 caliber shooters tend to be very serious about their sport. Participants in the sport tend to be an average age of forty-five, with several competition shooters in their seventies. Several competitors are women, and they have distinguished themselves as excellent markspersons having set world records on more than one occasion. They tend to be college educated, salaried professionals or business owners and have annual incomes exceeding $50,000.

Members of the Liberty Belles had the good fortune of being introduced to .50 caliber firearms at the annual shoot hosted by the .50 Caliber Shooters Association and ARM USA at the Angeles Ranges. This was a particularly joyous occasion as the California legislature attempted, unsuccessfully, to ban .50 calibers earlier this year. The bill, AB2222, was introduced by the usual gaggle of gun-grabbers in Sacramento. Specifically, Assembly members Paul Kortez, Judy Chu, Jackie Goldberg, Fred Keeley, Christine Kehoe, Alan Lowenthal, Kevin Shelley, Juan Vargas and Senator Don Perata.

Anna is a natural markswoman.

Jennille, Paula (Manager of the Angeles Ranges), and Deb.
Special thanks to everyone at the Angeles Ranges for their friendliness and hospitality.

 

Anna looks downrange after firing a shot.

By employing their standard tactics of mislabeling and demonizing a particular type of firearm, the gun-grabbers hoped to ban the .50 caliber rifles. They labeled the .50 caliber "sniper weapons" which therefore must be banned. Californians weren't buying it, however. They organized and, under the direction of the .50 Caliber Shooters Policy Institute, were able to defeat the bill in the "Safety Committee."

The battle is not over, however, as a federal bill to ban .50 caliber rifles nationwide has been introduced by Representatives Rod Blagojevich (IL) and Henry Waxman (CA). Again, using the same mislabeling and demonizing tactics, gun-grabbers hope to add another one to the growing list of banned firearms. The bill is H.R. 3182 and can be read here. Anyone interested in preserving liberty and the American way is encouraged to get involved in defeating H.R. 3182. Please call and send a postcard to your legislator to voice your opposition to this despicable bill. Anyone interested in becoming more involved is encouraged to contact the Liberty Belles or the .50 Caliber Shooters Policy Institute.

Jennille lines up her target.

 

 

 

 

[lowbridge]

http://www.libertybelles.org/events/50cal.htm

[lowbridge]

Belles bump

[blackie]

Love those .50's !!

Stop the attacks on our God given Rights by the extreme wacko left !!

Guns Save Lives !!

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

The Right Of The People To Keep And Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed !!

An Armed Citizen, Is A Safe Citizen !!

No Guns, No Rights !!

Molon Labe !!

[facedown]

I am positively green with envy!

[Lurker]

Wow, I really, really, really, need to save up my money and buy a .50 caliber.

I'd go shooting a hell of a lot more often if I knew that the crowd at the range looked like this one.

Thanks for the post lowbridge.

Regards,

L

[backhoe]

Well, you'll get nothing but support from me- I keep telling my acquaintances who are lukewarm about RKBA issues that once .50's are banned their deer rifles, skeet guns, and target pistols will inexorably fall, too.

[VinnyTex]

Is that freeper Deb?

[glock rocks]

oh my, oh my... i can't thank you enough for the ping.

absolutely beautiful!

the rifles are very nice too.

[bruoz]

"The .50 caliber rifle is the largest firearm that civilians may legally possess."

Not true. A weapon with a bore greater than .50 is a "destructive device" and must be registered with the BATF. That doesn't mean that you can't own one. My boss has a 20mm Lahti anti-tank rifle that makes these .50s look like BB guns.

[glock rocks]

um, and what does that screamin sabot out of my 870 measure?

[bruoz]

The Sec. of the Treasury has determined that your 870 is particulary suitable for "sporting purposes" the same can not be said for 12 ga Street sweepers that have been reclassified as D.D.s

[genew]

Bump To The Top

[2Trievers]

50 cal BANGTTT ... Belles rule! Thanks Lowbie ... Hugs, 2T &;-)

[elmer fudd]

The gun grabbers attacks on .50 cals are nothing more than an appeal to peoples envy and fear of things they don't understand. There are virtually no crimes on record that were committed with such rifles. The only one I am aware of occurred in Ireland and was related to the conflict there. It's no wonder why either. .50's are very big, very heavy, very expensive and don't have a lot of firepower. As a weapon for criminals they are spectacularly poor. In order to scare people the left tries to paint them as sniper rifles and tells of their abilities to kill from a mile away, and while that is possible, it's also about as likely Ralph Nader winning the white house. Shots at that range require incredible marksmanship and a whole lot of luck.

Carlos Hathcock is on record as having made a 1500 yard shot at a Viet Cong on a bicycle with a .50, but he was also perhaps the best sniper the US ever produced and it was still a lucky shot.

[elmer fudd]

The Sec. of the Treasury has determined that your 870 is particulary suitable for "sporting purposes" the same can not be said for 12 ga Street sweepers that have been reclassified as D.D.s True. Although most folks don't know it, most shotguns are only legal because our government deems them sporting weapons. Shotguns with bores larger than .50 could be outlawed tommorrow by governmental edict. The law allowing the government to do this was passed back in 1934.

[Dan from Michigan]

I gotta get me one of those.

[bruoz]

"Shotguns with bores larger than .50 could be outlawed tommorrow by governmental edict."
Well technically the Treasury Department can't ban them under the NFA, but they can require them to be taxed and registered.