Whoa!…another example of singular badassery: A shot of Marine snipers dialing down the barrel of a tricked out and camo-clad Barrett .50cal sniper rifle.
My question: What are they freakin' looking at that requires a hunk of lead like that? Or were they just fed up to the gills with the Talib sniper who keeps plinking their Leatherneck bros and decided to get all Medieval on him?
Either way, it's rare to see a Barrett team in action on the battlefield. And I've never seen one all painted up like this one.
Let's get into some discussion here. What do KU readers think of the Barrett? It's been in action and while and I know the army is looking at alternatives that are lighter and more transportable. But I've fired the Barrett and the Bushmaster player in that class of weapon and while I liked the Barrett, the Bushmaster is pretty sweet.
– Christian
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http://www.defense.gov//dodcmsshare/homepagephoto/2010-02/hires_100216-M-5645B-006a.jpg
a close up of the weapon — the CO of 3/6 has a real good rep. have you noticed that all there guys are sporting p-mags with windows? they’re doing some good stuff with battalion funds.
The Barrett is a great weapon and a highly under-reported story in the media and even sniper community is the sheer number of long distance shots being made by Marines in Helmand. Plenty of 800m+ shots. The other story is that the .50 cal has a flatter trajectory than the 7.62 guns and is more reliable at greater distances. You sacrifice quite a bit in weight and mobility but the precision is exceptional with a trained Marine.
The Barrett gives you the ability to reach out and touch someone, without that someone touching you.
when I was in, each STA platoon usually deployed 2 Barretts along with the M40A1. That Marine more than likely painted his weapon himself which for Army maybe uncommon but not for HOGs.
We deployed Barretts to great effect in Somalia, I would say they are a perfect fit for Afghanistan.
i’d want to provide closein cover with these sniper barrels when my guys were on foot. you always want to see and reach out to the other side before they get you first.
it fits my sense of the type of perimeter i’d request. also include superior optics and the same in night imaging. no sense allowing someone to sneak up on your postion in the dark.
i’m all for this supplied mucho to every dozen or so men. let them use it to checkout and shoot first before walking up to an unknown area as well.
Whatever works! Give those lads anything and everything they need that leads to less of those bad guys walking this Earth.
Barrett is the weapon of choice because it is a tool that gets the job done. Recently one of the lads got tired of a sniper plinking away at his pals and held over over 12 feet to make a shot that was a one shot kill from an incredible range and he hit center mass too! Try that shot with an m-16? No what ever the boys in the field want, I say give it to them. If the US had this attitude in Vietnam things might have gone quite differently for us over there.
The IDF uses the Barrett too.
Take a look at the IDF Urban Sniper Team in full gear.
http://doubletapper.blogspot.com/2009/12/idf-shooters.html
DoubleTapper
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DoubleTapper, blogging on Guns Politics Defense from Israel
If the 50 cal hits body part wont it trear it off