I admit he may be correct. Thanks for the help.
/john
One thing about the Barret (and all of the others I suspect) is that anyone standing anywhere other than directly behind the rifle is gonna get some severe blast and concussion from the brake when fired. At Knob Creek, you can pick out the sound of the Barrett over all of the other guns being fired. A very loud and sharp report.
I agree with your brother, fiftys are gonna recieve a lot of scrutiny and attempts to ban them. The govt already started with the demilled ammo by cutting off the supply of components. Good stuff is still available, but you'd better get it while you can. Right now, Wideners in Johnson City TN, has IMI loaded rounds for about a dollar each, and that's cheaper than you can realistically hand load. I expect that situation to change soon.
Good luck, and enjoy.
If he is looking for ammo, let me know. My business partner just got back from Bagram - with 100 rounds of API that someone put in the bottom of his pack as a practical joke. He wondered why everyone kept asking "is your back was hurting yet, old man?"
Regards,
I've got a BFG, and I've been as happy with it as any gun I've ever owned. Fit and finish are excellent and Mark is a really great guy to deal with.
The BFG will set you back about 2 grand, then you need rings, scope, and bipod if you prefer.
It's a regular bolt action rifle, not a shellholder or breechloader. It's a true sub moa gun. It probably shoots much better than I can shoot it. I've only shot it out to 400 yards so far, but am planning to hit the 1000 yard range soon. Some Guys on the .50 cal bulletin board I hang out at claim 6 inch, 3 shot groups at 1000 yards with hand rolled ammo.
As far as the recoil, there really isn't much, thanks to the brake. I can shoot it all day and my shoulder doesn't feel the least bit sore the next day. The concussive pressure it throws out is what takes a bit to get used to. My nose tingles like somebody punched me in it every time I set a round off. You never want to shoot it with a hangover! ;)
Mark has a semiauto version in the works which is supposed to retail for about 5 grand. I'm already saving my pennies!
Gee, funny you should ask. This is what I've been doing this week. The owner is standing next to me as I shoot his L.A.R Grizzly. Forget about the Shotgun Similarity reasoning. When these bad boys decide to go to the rear, you can't stop it. There is no problem with the shoulder, it's your head that whips forward. Also a bare arm on a rough table isn't a problem either. The scope just kissed my glasses so I was lucky unlike the owner who now has a black eye. I was concentrating on the target which was a bowling pin at 400 yards.
I can't really say there is much difference between the makers. I would go with a single shot with no magazine because you can forget about follow-up shots and you'll save a thousand or two or three. The scope is a cheap $39 Tasco that held up for the morning[so far so good].
Taken down in case: 
1. They change owners quite a bit.
2. The ammo can be a tad expensive for 'accurate' shooting, and the .50 BMG that's priced well is usually de-linked surplus MG ammo that's got questionable accuracy.
3. Some of them aren't as accurate as the owner expects them to be, and they become a real letdown (See Item #1). This is especially true after spending $1500+ on scopes for a $3000+ rifle. Few of them are ever going to be as accurate as a genuine M-2 .50 is off the tripod.
4. If it's a bolt-action .50, it can be absolutely brutal on the shoulder (See Item #1, again).
5. All I know is that when .50 BMG shooters talk, they praise the 'Windrunner' and the semi-auto Barrett.
It's just my opinion, but if it were me:
I'd completely ignore the .50 rifles and get a *real* long-range accuracy rifle like the Accuracy International AW/M.
Every time I see a .50 gunner at the range, all they're really doing is denying people on both sides of them a lane to shoot on (thanks to the side-blast of their Soviet tank-styled muzzle brake) and firing much further away than they can even see or score. The range I go to doesn't even have a shot longer than 500 yards. What's the point?
I would have a hard time not busting out laughing if your pal came to my range with a $5500 "ultra-accurate" rifle that shot 9" groups at 300 yards at several bucks a shot even using a bipod (See #1, yet again).
I have witnessed that firsthand.
Before one gets a .50BMG, one should get a GOOD .308 first, and take both the Cooper General Rifle course at Gunsite (for "practical" uses) and the Long Range Rifle course at Storm Mountain (for "sniper" uses) to learn how to use it right. A good .308, and solid training in its use, will be far more useful than a .50BMG.
Lather, rinse, repeat.