Deputy Says .50 Sniper Rifle Found Near Olympic Venue 'a serviceable weapon'

Utah Standard-Examiner Newspaper ^ | February 3, 2002 | Matthew Flitton

[codebreaker]

The condition of the .50 caliber gun found 5 miles from the Soldier Hollow Olympic Venue is under debate.

Governor Mike Leavitt said Saturday he was told the weapon had no link to the Winter Olympics.

"It was rusted and did not appear to be operable," Leavitt said.

That information contradicted the observations of Wasatch County Deputy Rick Benson, who took possession of the weapon from a hunter who found it January 26 while hunting coyotes in the hills above Wallsburg.

"It doesn't look brand new, but it looks to me like a servicable weapon, " he said.

The hunter who wished to remain anonymous, also said the gun had papers dating back to 1992, indicating it was not an old weapon.

The gun often used by military and police as a sniper rifle becuase of its power, is currently being tested in the state crime lab.

[ozzymandus]

I'll make 2 guesses about the origin of a rusty rifle which had lain in the open for 10 years: 1. It was stolen somewhere, and later ditched by the genius criminals who discovered nobody wanted a 100-lb. rifle that a blind man could identify. 2. Some anti-govt type hid it from the gun-grabbers and then died or forgot it. Why can't the mighty ATF trace this rifle? I'll leave the theories to the tinfoil-hat crowd.

[Poohbah]

I think number 1 sounds like a viable theory. Number 2 is a little doubtful, because most of the anti-government whackos are actually fairly competent about caching weapons and supplies.

Still, it's possible. What has the weather been like in the Soldier Hollow area the last few years? Heavy rains might wash away the overburden from a cache.

I wonder if there's a gun thief who burgled a gun shop now sweating over whether the cops can recover prints from a ten-year-rusted weapon?

[FreePaul]

The ammo is military surplus.

I saw in another thread that it was military ammunition. Some still in the belt for automatic weapons. I doubt if the military sells this as surplus. My guess is that it is either stolen or bought through some foreign source. All this speculation is made on the condition that the whole thing isn't some scam by law enforcement agencies.

[Poohbah]

It sure doesn't. I can think of no reason a "terrorist" would want only one or, possibly, two targets before being swarmed.

It depends on the target. One .50 cal round into the right part of an electrical substation, and you have trouble, right here in Salt Lake City, trouble that starts with T and rhymes with B and that stands for BLACKOUT! Once the lights are out, other players could make THEIR move.

And a .50 cal round can go a LONG ways. One or two shots, and then the shooter does the di di mau. Identifying exactly where gunfire is coming from in an urban area is always a challenge. With a big-bore rifle, you will have a very large uncertainty area, and it will take time to localize the shooter--and a resourceful bad guy might be able to use that time to successfully E&E.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Did it have Lynx hairs on it?

[Dutch Boy]

You can buy belted military surplus ammo from just about anywhere. It's surplus. You get it the same way they military does, in cans, or crates. This story smells like a 3 day old beached carp. No one that spent that kind of cash on a weapon will leave it outside. I have an old $60 .22 cal rifle I treat much better than that.

[Arkinsaw]

If I found it I would certainly turn it in, especially after Sept. 11. Who knows, turning it in might just provide a lead to break open a terrorist cell.

[Sir Gawain]

Nothing would surprise me anymore.

[MonroeDNA]

Welcome, member of less than 90 days!

[ExSES]

That information contradicted the observations of Wasatch County Deputy Rick Benson, who took possession of the weapon from a hunter who found it January 26 while hunting coyotes in the hills above Wallsburg.

Hmmmh... Someone finds a .50, rusty, with "papers" and ammo and decides to give it to a deputy? Give me a break!

Somewhat straying from the thread, but...

Gee, in 1956 (as a kid) I found a .50 BMG (aircraft) rusty but restorable, with no papers and a couple of ammo boxes of linked .50s about a mile from an old NAS facility. It was buried along with a number of other various bits and pieces of ordnance of far less identifiable nature. Hey, it was a WWII Dumping site!

Here in Florida, it is not unusual to still find ordnance at the bottom of lakes and in coastal waters. Much of the ordnance is very corroded and only a fool would remove it as a "collectible".

Suffice it to say, the military's concept of ordnance disposal has often left much to be desired!

[MonroeDNA]

Welcome, member of less than 120 days!

[zog]

--MUCH more likely my opinion someone bought it and buried it for a future 'worst case' totalitarian scenario, and being on a hill and not buried correctly the rain and weather uncovered it. This is just a guess, but I doubt any el jihaders buried it.

[MonroeDNA]

Yes, this stinks. The libs so want to ban the big .50

[DesertWalker]

The Deseret News said this morning that the rifle was found 10 MILES from Soldier Hollow, nowhere near the Olympic Venue. The big media always leaves out these little details.

[LibKill]

This is a batFAG setup.

[ExSoldier]

I agree...this is either a "survivalist cache" OR it's a BATF "plant" designed to raise hysteria and engender more laws against this class of firearm.

God bless those freedom lovin' folks in UTAH...if there is (GOD FORBID!) a terrorist action there which does not involve either planes or high explosives...I hope and PRAY some alert citiznes with concealed firearms are on hand to help shut it down.

[JeepInMazar]

bump for this story that does smell fishy.

[wcbtinman]

"I doubt is the military sells this as surplus."

They don't as of about 2 years ago. Prior to that, the company that had the contract to demill the .50 surplus was selling the ready to fire rounds and the components. Then, for some reason the components only were available. You could buy all of the armor piercing incendiary, tracer, or ball rounds (bullets) that you could afford or could carry. I know, I bought a bunch.

Just recently, the govt went to the co that was demilling the stuff and offered them the same amount of income that they were getting by both demilling and selling the components if they would destroy the components after demilling the rounds. That is what recently dried up the mil surplus 50BMG. Some of it is still available, but in limited quantities. Try Widener's in Johnson City, TN if you want some.

Another source that is still avail is from Israeli Military Industries (IMI) Widener's, and several other suppliers have that also.

The point I'm making is that this ammo was and IMO still is plentiful enought to not get anywhere near the "rare" category, although articles like this may hasten the day when it will be.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Mark it down (in case I'm first).

The hunter planted it and is trying to look like a hero.