Barrett M82: Improbable Legend Among Sniper Rifles

The Barrett M82 is a well-known.50-cal rifle. It is unlikely that the Barrett M82 will ever be a sniper rifle. There are now 28 of them, from end to end. Are you not a football fan at all? What about Minute Maid Park, the Houston Astros’ home? It’s difficult to know exactly how 1.5 miles looks even with common and tangible reference points. It’s easier to say that it’s plum. This distance is a man-sized target. The military’s long and strange history with the M82 has been fascinating. The rifle is a legend, with some of the longest recorded kills. Although it was not originally intended to kill enemy combatants, it has since become a legend. Photo: Barrett FirearmsNye impossible? An unnamed soldier from Australia’s 2nd Commando Regiment scored a kill somewhere in the mountains of Afghanistan in April 2012. Technically, the second-longest recorded killing was 2,815 yards. Who’s counting at these lengths? The legendary M82A1 Barrett, small-unit long range supremacy, is pictured on Barrett’s shoulder. This semi-automatic has become synonymous with the.50-caliber sniper gun in most peoples’ minds. Movies and gun articles have made the large-caliber iron a symbol of death, telling stories about how the rifle kills enemies before they even hear it bark. It’s quite a reputation. One that is, in many respects, accidental.Misunderstood WarriorWait … what did he say?You heard correctly. This is the role of the M82A1 variant, which is perhaps the most famous sniper rifle of the past 40 years. The M82, and in particular the M82A1 variant (designated M107 at its formal adoption in 2002), has not made much of the serendipity. The semi-automatic rifle has been responsible for five of the longest sniper kills, more than any other weapon system, in history. U.S. During Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Marines practice firing a Barrett M82A1 rifle outside of An-Numaniyah Airfield, Iraq. Photo: WikipediaThe M82 was not a glamorous weapon and is not headline-worthy. It was designed to smash stuff, not people. The term “sniper rifle” is incorrect. It’s actually an antimaterial rifle. The U.S. military defines the Special Applications Scoped Rifle as an antimaterial rifle. Its greatest impact on the battlefield is through the infliction of material deprivation. Don’t be dismissive. It’s important to not scoff. For example, take a fighter aircraft. You can poke a hole of.50 caliber into the engine of a fighter plane and not only will you have cost the enemy a few million. You’ve also sent a number of techs to fix it, and protected your comrades. The Barrett M82 is well-equipped for this task. The.50-cal. is not accurate in anti-personnel combat. Despite contradictory data that it has been successful in putting down enemy combatants for good and with authority, This type of engagement is not suitable for the rifle. The Barrett M82 is not suited for this type of engagement. You can tighten groups to approximately 1 MOA if you go top-shelf with what you put in its chamber. This is a 1.5-mile group that measures 55.3 inches at the top and 18.4 inches at the bottom. These numbers aren’t much if your target is a 15×30-foot radar array mounted on the back of an 40-foot truck. It’s not ideal if you’re trying to dial in on a human target who’s only a few centimeters tall. Very shootable. Photo by Barrett Firearms. Much of the Barrett M82’s inherent inaccuracy is due to the rifle’s short-recoil operation. The.50 Browning Machine Gun (12.7x99mm NATO or.50 BMG) cartridge has plenty of kick. This issue is not so obvious when the M2 machine gun is hosed out. The M2 machine gun weighs in at 82 lbs without its tripod. The marksman is a crash test subject every time he pulls the trigger on a shoulder-fired weapon. Rifles that were chambered for similar cartridges, such as the.55 Boys Anti-Tank Rifle from World War II, were known to cause injuries to shoulders and retinas. The M82’s reciprocating barrel, twin return springs, and heavy twin springs play a significant role in reducing the rifle’s terrible kick. This is combined with the rifle’s 30-pound weight and large muzzle brake makes it a very shootable weapon. You can see soldiers shooting the rifle from the hip on YouTube. Important as this aspect is in making the semi-auto shootable, it doesn’t exactly foster shot-to-shot consistency.The Barrett M82 suffers the same malady of every semi-auto–particularly recoil-operated–in that it’s a different rifle with every shot. The rifle fires, cycles, and returns to battery every minute. This means that the components of the rifle are in a different place from the shot before. Even the barrel. A fraction of an inch is not much, but it’s noticeable at intermediate ranges. It adds up over a mile. It makes sense that it was primarily used for the Ma Duce’s loose chamber specs and as ammunition. The M82 is a successful sniper despite these drawbacks. The.50-cal can also be used to destroy comm equipment, light armored vehicles, and to kill enemy combatants. But how do you know? But how? These skilled technicians may have some tricks to improve the accuracy of the M82. It is now more accurate than it was when it came out the crate. Despite its shortcomings as a sniper rifle, the skill and fortitude of Army, Navy and Marine snipers has helped it to this position. Photo: WikipediaAdditionally, particularly pertaining to Afghanistan, the terrain enhanced the sniper’s ability. The rifle was able to perform at its best. Every sniper dreams of unopposed shooting lanes, and the advantage that elevation offers. These were abundantly available in Afghanistan’s mountains. Three of the five long shots of the Barrett were taken in this area. Four of the five long shots were taken with the rifle that pitched the Raufoss Mk211 round. This multipurpose anti-material round is capable of armor-piercing and contains high-explosive, incendiary and other elements. This powerful package does maximum damage to a hard target.
It also greatly reduces the margin of error for snipers seeking to kill. For example, Marine Staff Sgt. Steve Richert killed three insurgents in Iraq using the Mk 211 from his M82. Richert still had to find them, but he wasn’t crazy enough to make the shots count. He used the Mk 211 from his M82 to take out three insurgents. It overlooks the man who triggers the rifle. This is the most important asset. These shots were not delivered by a novice marksman. These were not novice marksmen. The M82A1 version of the M82 was designed to be used with the.50 caliber round. Photo by WikipediaArmy Spec. Nicholas Randstad shot boulders and other targets in his Afghanistan operation area. He kept meticulous records in his dope notebook on how his M82 performed under any circumstance and faced with any variable. He was able to defuse the situation when the Taliban attempted to attack the road crew he was overwatching with a 2,288 yard kill. His knowledge was more important than the rifle’s reach. He was able to defuse the situation with a 2,288-yard kill. It doesn’t matter. Wars are not fought with rifle specs or engineering perimeters. The M82 was a well-equipped sniper’s weapon when the rubber touched the road and all was at stake. This is enough to make the M82 a legend.
M82A1: An improved variant with a redesigned muzzle brake. It was officially adopted by the military as M107 in 2002.
M82A1A is optimized for the Raufoss 211 round.
M82A1M – Lengthened accessory rail that includes rear grip and monopod socket.
M82A2: Shoulder-mounted bullpup version.
M82A3: Production rifles made to M82A1M standards. The M82A1M/M107 accessory rail is usually raised higher than the M82A1M/M107. It does not include a monopod socket and a rear grip. Target grids and bullseye sizes can be downloaded in MOA. Perfect for long-range shooting! Get free targets