Steve Johnson

Founder and Dictator-In-Chief of TFB. A passionate gun owner, a shooting enthusiast and totally tacti-uncool. Favorite first date location: any gun range. Steve can be contacted here.

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  • Kurgen99

    I have a video of people being hit by .50 shots in Afghanistan. Unbelievably devastating.

  • Lance

    Gotta love the light .50!

  • Maigo

    Didn’t notice it was camo’d at first, but I guess at the range that it amputates people’s bodies it doesn’t matter so much

  • jdun1911

    That going to cause a lot of dust and clay go airborn every time he pulls the trigger. I sure hope he got a blanket to preven it else it will light him up for enemy snipers to see.

  • Aurelien

    The guys testing the XM107 said the rifle tends to shoot multiple people with only one round, and/or cut them in half.

    Agree with jdun1911, it’s gonna move dust all over.

  • Josh

    Kurgen99 –

    You mean the video that’s been circulating the internet for a while now that claims to be from Afghanistan but is really footage of varmints being shot?

    You shouldn’t believe the caption on every video you see on the internet. That video has been around for awhile now and has continued to be mislabeled by those who don’t know any better.

    http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=14430
    http://forum.ebaumsworld.com/showthread.php?t=88969

  • Destroyer

    i couldn’t think of a better, more advantageous weapon in that situation…

  • DavidR

    i was thinking just the opposite, that the sniper was being very smart by getting the muzzle off the ground and away from potential signature-making debris…

  • http://thefirearmsblog ded led

    hey jdun1911 at that weapon systems max affective range they would never know. The .50 is not used at shorter ranges that can be handled by the NATO 76.2 round. Besides the muzzle looks to be about 3 feet past the top of the roof.

  • DavidR

    just to restate Josh’s point, the direct source of the body-ripping “Afghanistan 50BMG sniper footage” can be found here:

    http://rmvh.com/Scenes.htm

    specifically: “Varmint Safari II previews, Rock Chucks” (http://rmvh.com/Movies/ChucksShort3.wmv)

    just a bunch of rodents ;)

  • Destroyer

    yes, except the 50 has a longer range and would suit better than a 308 if the shooter is perched on a high vantage point. The muzzle blast would give away the shooter’s position, though i do not know their exact position or METT-TC…obviously marine snipers have a better understanding than most people and would never unnecessarily place themselves or their equipment in jeopardy.

  • jdun1911

    ded led,

    I am aware of the range of all small arms caliber. Second don’t assumed anything. For all we know he is sniping less the 100 yards, like this guy in Iraq.

    http://rpginn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=334&Itemid=39

    In any case, I seriously doubt he is engaging target beyond 7.62X54R range.

  • Josh

    jdun1911-

    7.62x54R? Are you saying the alternative to using the .50 is a Dragunov? Or maybe a Mosin-Nagant?

  • jdun1911

    I’m saying that hitting a target over 1000 yards is hard. It takes a lot of skills and a lot of luck. I also pointing out that there is no such rule that you have to hit targets greater then 1k if you’re using a .50 BMG rifle. That’s why I posted the video. The sniper with the .50 BMG in the house was probably engaging targets less than 100 yards. For all I know he could be hitting the targets over 1k but I seriously doubt it.

    Sure the .50 caliber will be a better choice over 1k range then a 7.62x54R but there are limitations such as the scope. Optical distortion will take a greater toll on the accuracy of the weapon at that range. You have to deals with cross winds, moving targets, etc.

    You do not see a constant stream of news stating that our snipers getting kills over 1000 yards or more. The vast majority of kills are sub 1k and that is well in the range of 7.62x54R.

  • Cymond

    Yes Josh, insurgents are known to use Dragunovs and PSLs. They may not be capable of our western-thinking ’1 shot, 1 kill’ approach to sniping, but 10 rounds semi-auto gives a decent chance of hitting a target to 600m and possibly beyond.

  • Carl

    Anyone know what kind of accuracy the M82 really has? I know it’s a dependable and sturdy weapon, but I have a feeling the recoiling barrel design is perhaps not the best for extreme accuracy.

    • David/Sharpie

      I’ve heard 1.2 MOA @ 1000 yrds. From a benchrest though.

      3 of the top 4 long range sniper kills have been with the .50, I have no doubts about it’s lethality and range.

  • Josh

    Cymond –

    My point was that it appeared to me that jdun1911 was confusing 7.62x54R with 7.62 NATO (7.62×51), and indicating that the snipers were taking shots with the Barrett that could be handled with a more “standard” military sniper rifle, chambered in 7.62. For example, in the latest post he states:

    “… .50 caliber will be a better choice over 1k range then(sic) a 7.62×54R but there are limitations…”

    He seems that to be saying that the alternative to using the .50 would be 7.62x54R, and since the U.S. Marines do not (to my knowledge) use Dragunovs, this seems like an unlikely alternative cartridge to the .50 BMG.

  • Lance

    The dragonov is a very accurate gun and enemy snipers can kill you with 1 shot easly. Never understemate your enemy no matter how fanactic and subhuman they are.

  • charles222

    The whole point of the .50 is that you can engage at nearly 2 klicks, not that you’re absolutely going to or not. Also, a far more likely use for this is VBIED destruction; that’s hard with an M240, let alone a pansy-on-the-firepower M40; a semiauto .50 is a pretty ideal tool for that.

    The mainstream military doesn’t use the Barrett as an ‘exploding heads at 2 kilometers’ weapon; it’s an antimaterial weapon with standoff range.

    • Jakub Dolezal

      Very funny review on an iPhone 4S using a Barrett 50cal.