Was this issued to British infantry snipers or just SAS type units?
When did it come into British service?
The Barrett is available to SF units and the RE (Royal Engineers) for demining purposes.
It was trialled by SF in about 92/93.
The .50 is not issued to snipers, who are issued the L96 (now the L118A1) in 7.62 and the L115A1 LRR (Long Range Rifle) in .338 Lapua Mag. They are all Accuracy International rifles, the LRR and the L118A1 being AW (Arctic Warfare) models with the former now called the AWM model.
The original rifle was designed by Malcom Cooper, an olympic shot, and while it is a very accurate weapon it is much more cumbersome than the L42 for the stalk.
Confusingly, (or perhaps typically of the forces,) while every other country that employs the .338 Lapua Magnum uses that designation for the cart, the SASC in their infinite wisdom, decided that the Brit designation would be 8.59 mm.
Didn’t the RLC EOD units get them aswell or just RE?
No, the RLC use .50 dearmers.
Well you guys she that today’s best sniper rifle is non oder then the AS-50…It has a bullet of a 50 caliber…The gun is semi automanic …not bolt-action …and is easy to care…It hawes only 27 pounds …many of it’s parts are made out of titanium for reduceing the wait…It has a spring mecanisam made special to reduce the recoil…its accurace is from 100 yards can heat a target with 1.5 inch accurace…the AS-50 is made to shoot diferent tipes of ammo …it can shoot the normal 50 caliber ore the armor picing bullet…The armor pirceing bullet can penetrait a tank easylay …The manufacturers are the brithis the company is cold “Accuraci international”…They even develop the AWP Sniper Rifle…Thank you…
Well i don’t know about the armor pircing capabilities of this gun and i would like some one to comfirm it or you to put in here the article you wrote about it
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The armor piercing capabilities must be similar since both rifles used the same ammunition.
In service, in Iraq.
The Barrett 50 cal Sniper Rifle may have been the most useful piece of equipment for the urban fight – especially for our light fighters. The XM107 was used to engage both vehicular and personnel targets out to 1400 meters. Soldiers not only appreciated the range and accuracy but also the target effect. Leaders and scouts viewed the effect of the 50 cal round as a combat multiplier due to the psychological impact on other combatants that viewed the destruction of the target.
“My spotter positively identified a target at 1400 meters carrying an RPG on a water tower. I engaged the target. The top half of the torso fell forward out of the tower and the lower portion remained in the tower.”
325th PIR SniperThere were other personal anecdotes of one round destroying two targets and another of the target “disintegrating.”
My bold
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2003/oif_lessons_peo.doc
Yes PK i understand this . I guess i didn’t put it right . Is a .50 cal bullet penetrate a tank’s armor ?
No, the .50 does not have that performance , the maximum penetration is about 25 mm of rolled Homogeneous armor with the SLAP round (saboted ligh armor penetrator).
The armor of a tank like the t-62 is between 250-350 RHA and in a t-72 400-600 RHA.
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/slap.htm
However it could destroy lighter vehicles like armored personal carriers.
Destroy, or penetrate?
Well…let me say penetrate, the destruction will depend on the bullet placement.
In this video you can see the effects of the norwegian Mk 211 API-HE bullet wich teorically could destroy light armored vehicle by incendiary and explosive means.
Thanks PK about the info
Probably demonstrates my age, but I’d find it very difficult to fire a rifle just with one hand on a pistol grip as in the video.
It’d feel wrong not to have the other hand under the forestock.
I suppose is all about get use to…the recoil reduction is quoted as very effective.
Well, you could fire it as you suggest, but I wouldnt want to pay your Chiropractor adjustments bill,Really you could probably doit okay, a friend used to fire his Boys .55 A.T. rifle while standing, never hurt him any.(well, not much anyway,)
Looks like I couldn’t reach the forestock anyway.
This video is a bit on the hype side, but still interesting.
http://www.videosift.com/video/Future-Weapons-Barrett-50-Caliber-Sniper-Rifle
There is an ad in one of the recent American Rifleman for a new, California legal rifle in 416 Barrett caliber. “Shoots flatter, faster and is inherently more accurate than even our own .50 BMG rifles.”
I’m gonna have to get me one of these…I’ll give a full report