Posted on 11/25/2005 10:02:03 AM PST by BenLurkin
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- When U.S. soldiers need to penetrate a tank's armor from a mile away, they count on a weapon that evolved from the garage tinkering of a former wedding photographer.
The .50-caliber rifle created by Ronnie Barrett and sold by his company, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc., is the most powerful firearm civilians can buy. It weighs about 30 pounds and can hit targets up to 2,000 yards away with armor-piercing bullets.
That kind of power has drawn a customer base of gun enthusiasts, Hollywood actors and Barrett's most loyal buyer, the U.S. military, which has been buying Barrett's rifles since the 1980s and using them in combat from the 1991 Gulf War to the present.
But the powerful gun has drawn plenty of critics, who say the rifle could be used by terrorists to bring down commercial airliners or penetrate rail cars and storage plants holding hazardous materials.
For years some state and federal lawmakers have sought to limit or ban the gun's sale, as California did this year.
Tom Diaz, a senior policy analyst with the Washington-based Violence Policy Center, says the guns should be more regulated and harder to purchase. The gun can now be bought by anyone 18 or older who passes a background check.
"They're (.50 caliber) easier to buy than a handgun," Diaz said. "These are ideal weapons of terrorist attack. Very dangerous elements gravitate toward these weapons."
The majority of Barrett's sales come from military orders, for armed forces and police departments in some 50 allied countries. Every branch of the U.S. military uses the rifles, and the Department of Defense last year spent about $8 million on his firearms, Barrett said.
Barrett estimates about 1,000 of his rifles - which each cost between $3,500 and $10,000 - have been used in both the 1991 Gulf War and the current war in Iraq.
The guns are used by most civilians for hunting big game and in marksmanship competitions. Civilian sales are crucial to business because military and police orders can fluctuate year to year, Barrett said.
"It's like, what does a 55-year-old man do with a Corvette? You drive it around and enjoy it," said Barrett, 51, whose customers include doctors, lawyers, movie makers and actors. "I know all the current actors who are Barrett rifle shooters, some Academy Award-winning people. But they don't publicize it. They love to play with them and have fun. Shooting is very fun."
A 1999 investigation by the U.S. General Accounting Office found the rifles were available on civilian markets with fewer restrictions than those placed on handguns. Ammunition dealers were willing to sell armor-piercing bullets even when an agent pretending to be a buyer said he wanted the ammunition for use against armored limousines or "to take a helicopter down."
Other reports have observed the rifles have made their way to terrorists, drug cartels and survivalists.
Joseph King, a terrorism expert at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said terrorists could use the weapon to take out a plane.
"I don't understand what good a .50-caliber is going to do you," King said. "I don't understand any civilian use of it. The only thing it's good for is for military or police application. You can't really hunt with it because it would destroy most of the meat."
Barrett and gun advocates say the gun's power has been exaggerated and doesn't pose a threat to citizens because the weapons are too expensive and heavy to be used by criminals.
Barrett and other gun advocacy groups heavily lobbied the state of California, the first state to pass a law making it illegal to make and sell the gun. Several other states and some federal lawmakers have introduced similar legislation.
Despite these efforts, Barrett says sales are up nearly $6 million from last year thanks to recent military and police orders.
The New York City Police Department recently announced it's training officers in its aviation unit to use the rifles, which will be on board some of the department's helicopters to intercept potential attacks from boats or airplanes. In 2002, the Army placed an order for 4,200 of the guns, Barrett said.
Other manufacturers now make the gun, but Barrett dominates the market.
In the next few years, he said he plans to more than double the current number of employees, 80, and the size of his 20,000-square-foot gun-making facility located in Murfreesboro, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville.
A lifelong gun enthusiast, Barrett never went to college and worked as a commercial photographer and reserve deputy for years before he started tinkering with the .50-caliber Browning Machine Gun in the early 1980s.
The heavy recoil of the Browning made it nearly impossible to shoot without it being mounted on a turret, but Barrett's rifle reduces recoil to the point where it can be shoulder-fired, while the weapon rests on a bipod.
Barrett says he was nearly $1.5 million in debt at one point trying to get the business on its feet. He sold his first guns to the military in the late 1980s and the long-range weapons gained popularity after they were used to attack Iraqi tanks in the 1991 war.
Barrett's son, Chris, who works with his sister at their father's business, said he watched his dad build the gun in the family garage and is not surprised by the growth and success of his father's business.
"He's worked hard all his life. I think he would do as well at anything he pursued," Chris Barrett said. "He's not one of these big suits, a CEO at the top of one these big money machines. He's not one to back down. He can make anything work, no matter what he's doing."
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It's not anything like as rough as one might think. The recoil comes at you kind of gradually- it is more of a long push. My .300 is worse.
Well, if you had 1,000 Barretts lined up, SOMEBODY would have to hit it, right? But then I guess the terrorists, lacking 1,000 men, would say "Let's just call Muhammed and have him send us a machine gun and bring it in from Mexico on the back of illegals". Then Abdul would say "Muhammed, you silly man, for that kind of money we can get a shoulder SAM from Saddam!" Then Muhammed would have to tell Abdul the bad news about Saddam.
Clueless idiot.
This surely must be a typo...
"made their way to terrorists, drug cartels and survivalists."
Equating "survivalist" with terrorist and drug cartels!
I'm surprised they forgot to throw in "Militia's".
For the record, "Survivalist" and legitimate "Militia" are honorable and necessary components of the U.S. citizenry.
This supposed article seems very familiar, I think it's mostly written by the anti's, and regurgitated every few month's.
A while back someone posted pics of a women's 50 cal shooting club, all shooting these things !
--as an aside to this, in both the European and Pacific theaters of war in WW2, approximately 12000 rounds of .50BMG ammo were expended per enemy plane shot down--and that was trained, aimed shooting--
Actually, I know a couple of handicapped guys who hunt Antelope with a .50
They use .30 bullets Saboted to .50
Their grandsons drive them to the top of a ridge, then they sit in their wheel-chair and wait. When the game comes in range they bag it.
Load up and drive to the downed game.
Not the way I want to hunt, but so far I still have a choice.
But given the way my back is deteriorating, I may be doing the same in a couple more years.
True. I gather that they think that airplanes are a good deal sturdier than they are, as well. A lot of aircraft can be penetrated with a screwdriver and a forceful stab. Airliners and corporate jets can be damaged- assuming you could hit the thing to begin with- by virtually any small-arms fire.
But then, a lot of jouralists are far to busy doing more important things that doing their homework or finding out what the facts are. They're raising awareness.
"--as an aside to this, in both the European and Pacific theaters of war in WW2, approximately 12000 rounds of .50BMG ammo were expended per enemy plane shot down--and that was trained, aimed shooting--
But, don't you understand the nice gun grabber at all? That Barrett will be fired by an Arab terrorist - and the nice gun grabber says the nasty terrorist can do it with one shot.
Who are you going to believe? The nice gun grabber or some historical data posted on the Internet?
;-)
The 50 is lethal on some soviet era military vehicles, such as the BMP.
But then, these aren't main battle tanks, but just armored trooper carriers on tires.
Some people have used the Barrett to hunt the really big elephants in Africa. It is also a one-shot stopper on Rhinos, or so they say.
On some of the ammunition selling sites on the web, you can get commercially reloaded 50 for as little as two bucks per round.
Barretts, as I recall, cost a bit more than 8K.
Not against armored Hinds.
Does the word "Stinger" ring a bell?
Well, of course the stars buy them. They're elite and therefore exempt from the laws they prescribe for everyone else. Duh!
The crew I hunt with were just talking about that a few weeks ago, if there are tree stands available with wheelchair "lifts" for when we all get older. That's really cool that your friends don't let their handicap get in the way of enjoying the great outdoors.
Utter BS!!!
Obvious the he never heard of the second amendment.
Me too! :)
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