Tennessee designates a “State Rifle”

| February 25, 2016

Barrett 82A1

Chief Tango sends us a link from Nashville which announced that the Tennessee legislature has named a “state rifle” – the Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle;

The vote was 27-1 for House Joint Resolution 231, which designates the recoil-operated, 50-caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Ronnie Barrett, a Tennessee native and owner of the Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Co.

Barrett, a National Rifle Association board member, was 27 when he invented the rifle. The weapon is manufactured in Christiana, Tenn., outside Murfreesboro.

This comes while California and New Jersey have outlawed the sale and possession of .50 caliber rifles, a favorite of long-range shooters. I can’t think of a single crime that has been committed with the rifle which usually sell for more than $5,000 – out of most criminals’ price range. Ammunition is about $5/round.

But they are scary-looking aren’t they?

Category: Guns

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Sapper3307

If that’s what evil looks like I will take two.

Hondo

Would it still look “evil” if it had pink or baby blue “bluing”, or was stainless steel? (smile)

Yes, I’m joking. But the left does seem fixated on those “scary black guns”, don’t they?

B Woodman

Da Lef’ is fixated on da EEEEvil Black Guns because dey be raaaaacis’.

Tony180a

I’m a Black American and I LOVE SCARY BLACK WEAPONS!
(having a Full Metal Jacket flashback and I don’t want to imply that I love “scary black guns”.

Silentium Est Aureum

Ah, but I bet the stank ass hippies have no problem with a pink “Hello Kitty” AR-15, right?

Ex-PH2

Does it come with a gun turret?

I’ll get it repainted hot pink and some Hello Kitty decals on it, just to make you happy, SAE.

Aysel

I’d love to shot one, and bonus points if it were pink, but I’d want it to have Hello Cthulu decals instead ^_^

Ex-PH2

Yeah, and I’d really rather have Tank Girl decals on it, myself.`

GI JANE

I LIKE IT.

Yef

Oh please. That weapon in the picture looks like a version of the M107.

Shittest weapon i ever carried in Iraq. If it is the M107, that’s a 3 MOA gun, and if you don’t have Mk211 rounds, its performance goes down to about 4 MOA.

The army calls it an anti-material sniper weapon system, because it is so inaccurate by sniper standards that you can only hit vehicle or a building with that thing. Shot group at 600m is 18 inches, not shooter dependent, this is just as accurate as the weapon is, about as wide as your average iraqi at center mass.

Now, if we were talking of the original .50 cal barret, bolt action instead of semi auto, then yeah.
I have never shot this one, but i hear is a 1 MOA gun, unlike our M107.

Yef

Now don’t get me wrong, the M107 has its uses, especially as a counter sniper weapon system, cause if you shoot an enemy position in a building the whole room feels the impact and the bubba either runs to break contact exposing himself or stays and die, because now every joe is gonna be opening on the dust out of that position.

But the M107 ain’t accurate at all.

This is why the Army went over to the M2010, .300 win mag, which is both accurate and has the legs to hit far and hard.

OWB

If wanting one makes me bad then I don’t wanna be good. Could we just mount it in the attic with a trap door and elevator to take it to the roof? Yeah, that should do it.

A Proud Infidel®™

Kudos to the legislators, that’s gonna put a big cocklebur in many an anti-gunner’s pantyhose! Come to think of it, just how many times has some goblin used one of those to commit a crime? I remember reading the results of one study where they asked convicted felons what their choice of weapon was and most said either a revolver or pump shotgun neither which has been screeched about when the blithering libs called for more fun bans.

Just An Old Dog

I read through a report a while back on firearms used in murders… The most prevalent were cheap 9mm automatic pistols.

OldCorpsTanker72

Maybe it’s a generational thing, but when I think of Tennessee and rifles, I think of Davy Crockett and flintlock squirrel rifles.

Frankie Cee "In the clear"

“flintlock squirrel rifles”, and they left their mark on history too. As have other Tennessee icons, such as Jack Daniels whiskey, Nashville Country, and more. But none with the “Kaboom” of the Barrett .50

Just An Old Dog

Heres another candidate for Tn state rifle,,, although it was a one of a kind.

Fjardeson

It’s like the idiots who blather about NFA arms. Have you EVER heard of a crime committed with a Class III weapon? Ever?

AW1Ed

Look up the North Hollywood shootout. Technically Class III AKs, they were illegally modified to fire full auto and used by convicted criminals. So the real question should be, “Have legally owned Class III firearms ever been used in the commission of a crime?”
The answer is somewhere between none and damned few.

A Proud Infidel®™

The fact is that nearly any semi-automatic firearm can be converted to full auto, thus I concur with you, AW1Ed!

David

Actually there have been a couple – both misused police weapons. None by non-police civilian owners, and none by .50 BMG-chambered weapons.

2/17 Air Cav

Okay. TN now needs a state target. I’m thinking the ISIS flag will do. (A word to the wise. If you want to suggest a state target, please be sure it’s an inanimate object.)

A Proud Infidel®™

I thought that “Rev’ nooers” were already the favored target up in “Them Thar Hills” but it’s never been made official.

Tony180a

Ronnie Barrett is a good man. Met him a few years ago at a mutual friends retirement party. Quietly supports a lot of veteran programs without screaming hey look at me.

Silentium Est Aureum

And that price is just for the rifle. The optics will run you close to that much again.

Tony180a

Yes proper optics will have a premium price tag. Don’t skimp on the spotter scope either.

Tony180a

Just wanted to add the spotter should take care of his placement with this particular system. Muzzle brake can make calling trace difficult and painful if you’re in a sandy environment.

MCPO NYC USN Ret.

I need a safe space to retreat to just because I looked at the scary black gun!

I am now traumatized!

Perry Gaskill

Slightly off topic but you might be interested, MCPO, to know that the University of Missouri professor who started the whole “safe space” thing just got her butt fired.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/02/25/mizzou-professor-who-pushed-reporter-away-from-protesters-is-fired/

Ex-PH2

Wonderful news. Employers, including taxpayer-supported universities, should have the right to fire employees like Click if they can’t behave themselves. She was completely out of control, with no excuse for her behavior. They were right to fire her.