Military guns too accessible to public(MEGA barf alert 3-4 bags)

http://www.easternecho.com ^ | 9 19 05 | Adam Slingwein

[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.

[Redcitizen]

Strippers? Oh yes, you mean gun stuff. :) My mind went elsewhere for a second.

[Leatherneck_MT]

Whoever this individual is, he obviously does NOT understand the intent of the 2nd Amendment.

It's not about hunting, it's about Patriots defending their country AGAINST THEIR GOVERNMENT!

[ScreamingFist]

Does this goofball realize .50 caliber long distance shooting was originally conceived by CIVILIAN shooters? The military benefited from civilians with big guns and know how, not the other way around. Now these same weapons are "too dangerous" for us dumb old civilians........simply amazing.

[absolootezer0]

i don't think i've seen many doubles in .416rigby. i've seen lots of bolt actions in it tho. check out holland and hollands web site if you want to see pics of some of the most beautiful (and functional) doubles made.

http://www.hollandandholland.com/home.htm

[MarkL]

Something I've counterd these idiots with in the past with, "if you can shoot an airplane out of the air with one of these rifles, even firing all 10 shots, how come during WWII, they would mount 6 or 8 .50 cal machineguns in fighters, and even then, a shootdown wasn't assured... How likely is shooting a plane out of the air with a rifle?

Mark

[ScreamingFist]

4-bore on the right, .465 nitro express on left.

Holy smoly, that will seperate the men from, errrrrrr, lesser men.......

[MarkL]

BTW did you know you can't go to SA store in Illinois and buy the weapons direct from them.

Well, you can't buy Jack Daniels at their Lynchburg, TN plant either...

Mark

[happinesswithoutpeace]

http://www.johnrigbyandco.com/pages/Boxlock.html

[dts32041]

Now why would I want to buy some guy by the name of Jack Daniels at his plant?

[Lazamataz]

It's just some stupid college kid.

I was one of those, once.

[Redcitizen]

Yahooo!!!

[Condor51]

Simply put, this guy Adam Slingwein, is full of shit.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

"I was one of those, once'

Yeah, but were you a gun grabber Laz?

[WKUHilltopper]

Nimrod, the 2nd Amendment has nothing to do with hunting...who cares how many yards "hunters typically shoot"?

[Lurker]

Typical liberal bedwetter.

L

[ScreamingFist]

It's not about hunting, it's about Patriots defending their country AGAINST THEIR GOVERNMENT!

The libs haven't a clue that outlawing scary looking weapons won't do diddly unless lathes, bar stock and knowledge are outlawed as well......

[King Prout]

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).

and that's as far as I could get before my allergic reaction to bullsh!t stopped me.

This spineless slackjawed asshat has it exactly backwards: The M82A1 was designed specifically for 1.civilian marksmen (target shooters) and 2.civilian BIG-game hunters; The M107 is the militarized version of the extant civilian design.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

Yeah, but you can buy the AR-50 for pretty cheap too.

[Dan from Michigan]

Eastern Michigan University is just down the road from Ann Arbor.

It is the Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle, and for the fairly modest amount of seven grand, you could take one home today.

$7,000 modest? He must be some rich kid from next door Ann Arbor or Scio Twp.

but never had I even seen a firearm as intimidating as this one.

Unless it was pointed at you, why were you intimidated?

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.

One trigger pull, one fires.

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?).

No it doesn't, fool. It falls under the category of longgun. Hunting doesn't even fall into consideration.

Despite my firm agreement with the Second Amendment

[funkywbr]

$7000 is modest amount of $?

Tell that to all the NO Katrina victims.