.50 Caliber Barret Sniper Rifle!

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bullethole1

Moderator
How many of you folks own one,Im seriously thinking about buying one since I love these type of guns because they look seriously @$$ kicking tough and told to be well proven and honored throughout the US Military,Im sure the rounds would cost alot but Id like to get an opinion from you guys how much you think would be a good fair price to pay for one! Thank You! God Bless the USA!
 
Its a very specialized weapon. You can go out and buy one just because you think its cool, but most people who get one are very experienced high power long range shooters. I recommend doing a lot of research before you blow that kind of cash ;)
 
First, I agree that they are extremely cool. However, I seriously doubt one of them will meet your needs as a shooter. For game and personal defense, there are many better choices. The .50BMG is an equipment destruction weapon. There aren't many uses for it.

Of course, if you have the thousands upon thousands of dollars to buy one, by all means, enjoy! But there are two variants at a gun store near me, and one is $7,000, the other $9,000 :eek:
 
It will cost you 7000+ and about $5 a bullet. You definitely do NOT need it, but f you have enough money that you don't know what else to do with it. Go for it, I'm sure it will be enjoyable to mess around with.
 
There's several .50BMG rifles on the market. Most don't cost anywhere near the Barrett M82. In fact, if you're just in it for fun, a single shot bolt action like the Armalite AR50 is probably a better idea. Still, you're going to be into the rifle for a few thousand dollars, and you'll still need some quality glass (figure another thousand or two for something good enough to keep up with the rifle), and every time you make it go BANG, there's about $5 (that was the last time I saw it in a local gun shop). You can reload for less, and you probably will need to in order to get the most out of it.

There's no denying the cool factor, but if you don't have a LOT of money and access to a range that starts at 500 yards (and preferably goes out to 1000yds if you really want to use the extent of its abilities), you're just going to have the price of a decent used car tied up in a 4-5 foot long rifle that is too heavy to even hang over the fireplace. I don't want to dissuade you, but you'd best be realistic going in.
 
I have the M82. It is a 1-2 MOA gun (Barrett says 2, but we have gotten better results with good ammo, which right now is really expensive). Chances are that you don't need a semi-auto to have fun with a .50, but if you have the bucks and know what you are getting yourself into, the go for it. As was said, there are now a lot of .50s out there.

I would really suggest a bolt gun for better accuracy.
 
It's like having a pet tiger

I hope you know a good place to shoot it, because the sheer amount of power and range on these rifles make it unsuitable for most public ranges. If you know a place that has about 1500+ yards of leg room, you should be set. If the range has less than 1000 yards, they'll need a darn good berm to stop that round. Those rifles usually weigh upwards of 25lbs bone stock, and are obviously very large, getting a case for the rifle will be expensive.
Oh, I hope you won't mind the throngs of people lining up to check out your $9,000+ rifle. Other than that, rock on!
 
I shiver every time I hear a person call it a sniper rifle. It's an extremely powerful rifle, but just because the bullets are able to fly far doesn't make it a sniper rifle.
 
I have the M82. It is a 1-2 MOA gun (Barrett says 2, but we have gotten better results with good ammo, which right now is really expensive). Chances are that you don't need a semi-auto to have fun with a .50, but if you have the bucks and know what you are getting yourself into, the go for it. As was said, there are now a lot of .50s out there.

I would really suggest a bolt gun for better accuracy.
Click to expand...

Are the 50 BMG rifles really that inaccurate?? Seems like with every other caliber anything over 1 moa for a factory rifle is considered bad! I thought the point of it was to be extremely accurate over long distances because of the shear size of the bullet. Otherwise, my 750 dollar savage 308 should make it out to 1000 yards at under 1 MOA.
 
A optic that will hold up against the barrets recoil is also gonna run you a 1000 plus. Or leupold mark 4 and above IMO
 
So I must ask if you want a semi are you planning on shooting short or long range. If you just want a semi that can hit a pie plate at 300 yards get a .50 cal beowulf. They run around 1500 bucks, are semi auto guns, ammo runs cheaper but they arnt nearly meant for long range shooting. A few hundred yards is all you get. So if just fast shooting for fun at under 300 yards this is your gun. Now if you want a rifle with pinpoint accuracy for those 1500 yard shots you have to go bolt, theres no way around it, the little beowulf is a great gun for fun for a cheap price for that much gun, now if you have 7500-10000 laying around I wouldnt get a M82 anyway. Id look at the Tac .50, very awsome looking gun for the same price as the M82
 
timelinex,

It's also part the 50 BMG ammo itself. It's hard to come by top quality bullets, like you would find for 338 Lapua Magnum. For ultra-long range 338 seems to be more capable in most scenarios. (I'm leaving proprietary calibres out of it)
 
I just got into 50BMG shooting. I Have a AMAC 1500 (32"BBL) and a GeoAZ State Arms Shorty (18"BBL)so far. Still working on the Shorty. These are both single shot shell holders. I get 50BMG in bulk for around $2.50 a round.
Here is a web sight where you can get more INfo...more 50BMG shooters..

http://www.barrettrifles.com/home/forum/index.php

I got mine for fun. I have a 50Beowulf and there is no comparisons to the fun, noise, and back blast from my 50BMG. Ammo not that much different in price from 50Beowulf.
Check on GunBroker..all types and prices of 50BMG ammo and rifles.
 
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If you want the M82 for the cool factor then by all means buy it, if you want it for long range precision shooting then skip it. I don't know who added the "sniper" moniker to the M82 but they sure as hell didn't know what they were talking about.

Sure it can hit a target out to 1000+ yards but that doesn't make it a sniper rifle. If you're looking for precision then look at the bolt action .50's that are on the market. That's where your money will be better spent in the long run as it will save you money that you'll need for a good scope.

Ammo is coming down in price, I've seen 50 BMG for sale for under $2 a round but the brass isn't reloadable. You won't really find any deals on match bullets (for reloading) as most run about $2 each or more. New brass runs from about $1-2 dollars depending on which brand you buy.

So, just a couple of things to think about before you lay out a wad of cash for any 50 BMG rifle. I'll also add to the opinions about places to shoot it, call your local ranges to see if they even allow 50's. That and if you don't have a place to shoot it at least a few hundred yards... It can be disappointing shooting it at 100 yards all the time.

Here's a picture looking through a scope at our 2000 yard target.

dss06_2ktgt72.jpg
 
This is what it looks like looking down range, if you look closely at the picture you can see the 2k target. There's also some closer ones, 1000 yards, 1300 and 1 mile.

dss06_2ktgt71.jpg
 
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