John Moses Browning gifted upon the world a large variety of firearms gifts. From the still-in-service 1911 handgun, to the BAR, and the venerable M2 or “Ma-Duece” machine gun, his designs have persisted and even thrived over the last century. Calibers he created are still being chambered and refined today with an excellent example being the various Barrett “anti-material” rifles chambered in .50 Browning Machine Gun.

The superiority of the Barrett designs has persisted for over 20 years. Its short-recoil action responsible for some of the longest confirmed kills within the sniper community. But, that weapon has had its fair share of detractors. Specifically, reliability, while generally considered good, could be improved upon by sealing up the action. Second, accuracy is hampered by the short-recoil operation where the barrels moves each shot.

Seeing the opportunity to bring the .50 BMG further into the 21st century is Brandon Herrara, otherwise known as “The AK Guy”. Brandon has been chronicling his journey of developing an AK inspired .50 BMG rifle. Posted to his YouTube channel and shared across social media, Brandon has highlighted the joys, pain, and sheer will it takes to get a gun from concept to delivered product – though he’s not quite shipped one yet.

News2Share recently caught up with Brandon and can quickly bring one up to date on the history and development of the weapon: