M82A1 Introduced, Minus the PSH

This is a pretty good Marine Corps video introducing the Barrett M82A1 .50 Caliber sniper rifle system:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9lMViBr6d8[/youtube]

You will notice the penetrating power of the .50 BMG through 22 millimeter plate armor with conventional ammunition is negligable. The military, when it employes that M82A1 in anti-materiel operations, uses the MK211 HEIAP “Raufoss” round, which is demonstrated in this video.

It’s rather important to note, for folks like Bryan Miller, and the Violence Policy Center, that the MK211 anti-materiel round is considered a destructive device, as it is explosive ordnance, and is therefore unavailable to civilians.

Related posts (automatically generated):

  1. Look Who’s Teaching
  2. Video Finale
  3. Rifles I Can’t Afford

7 thoughts on “M82A1 Introduced, Minus the PSH”

  1. Pingback: SayUncle » M82A1 Demonstrated Without PSH

  2. Good ol’ range 4.

    Just in case anyone in the DC area doesn’t know, there are a few ways that us civvies can get to shoot on Quantico’s ranges. (Such as: quantico shooting club, matches of various sorts, NRA/CMP High Power practice) It’s a great way to get to shoot out to 1000 yards (though I’ve never been past 600, I’ve pulled targets for 1000 yard shooters) if you want.

  6. I would presume that the Raufoss round is NOT a Destructive Device that civilians can get licensed for (unlike an SBR or SBS?) Or at any rate, that the local LEO will laugh in your face if you try to…

  7. That video actually has a sinister history. It was commissioned in 1999 by then-Representative Rod Blagojevich (now governor of Illinois) and Representative Henry Waxman in order to promote anti-.50 legislation.

    http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=564

    Friday, June 18, 1999
    Civilian Access to Military Armor Piercing Ammunition

    At the request of Reps. Blagojevich and Waxman, the Special Investigations Division in conjunction with the Office of Special Investigations of GAO worked to reveal how the Department of Defense indirectly armed citizens with some of the most powerful and destructive ammunition available. Armor piercing ammunition for fifty caliber weapons can pierce armored vehicles and bulletproof glass when fired at a distance of over a mile. Until Congress acted in response to the investigation, military surplus fifty caliber armor piercing ammunition was readily available in the U.S. civilian market as a result of a little-known Department of Defense demilitarization program. As part of the investigation into fifty caliber sniper rifles, expert Marine snipers provided a demonstration of the power and accuracy of these weapons. The demonstration was recorded on video tape. Also as part of the investigation, undercover investigators from the Office of Special Investigations of GAO taped conversations with ammunition dealers who sell specialized armor-piercing ammunition for fifty caliber sniper weapons.

    http://www.henrywaxman.house.gov/news_files/news_statements_50_cal_gun_5_3_99.htm

    As part of the investigation, the U.S. Marines invited the minority staff to Quantico to see the weapon in action at their test-firing range. We have a video that shows what we learned about the weapon from the Marines. This video was made possible by the efforts of Captain Ukeiley, who is the Officer in Charge at the Scout Sniper Instructor School at Quantico; Staff Sergeant Bryan Zickefoose, who helped brief us; and Major Mike Walker, who set this up and organized everything. We thank them for their help. I would like to play the video now.

    What they were trying to accomplish that year was this:

    http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20040830104241-89232.pdf

    A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to regulate certain 50 caliber sniper weapons in the same manner
    as machine guns and other firearms. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Sniper Weapon Regulation Act of 1999’’.

    All that they were able to accomplish, thankfully, was defunding of DoD sales of surplus 50-cal armor-piercing ammunition thru September 30th, 2001:

    http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20040830104218-49101.pdf

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