XDA

This is the Steyr Mannlicher HS50 sniper rifle. It is a single shot, .50 BMG bolt action with a major league muzzlebreak, no internal magazine, and the useless, built-in, downfolding bipods. In the hands of a competent shooter, it is accurate out to a thousand meters, or more. The venerable 30.06 Springfield round has a muzzle velocity of 3000 feet per second and 2998 footpounds of energy (for a 150 grain bullet). That's a competent man-stopper and often a chest shot is instantly fatal. The .50 BMG, with the 750 grain ball round only goes 2769 feet per second but carries 12,775 footpounds of energy--the bullet packs a huge punch, through about an inch of steel or a couple of inches of otherwise bulletproof glass. Such bullets laugh at body armor. If it hits you, generally pieces of you fly off spectacularly. There's a video of our guys' work doing just that in Afghanistan.

Despite an EU imposed arms embargo against Iran and us begging them not to sell these to Iran for fear they would be used against us in Iraq, the Austrians sold about 800 to Iran and within 45 days they were being used against us in Iraq. We have captured about a hundred of them. I'm led to believe the rifles have serial numbers on them.

I'm not saying we should nuke Wein or anything, but there should be repercussions for Steyr Mannlicher Gmbh & Co KG.'s stupidity here. If only we had a serious House and Senate, they could pass a binding resolution to hurt Austria and Steyr Mannlicher a little bit.

UPDATE: I hardly noticed this the first time but Bill Roggio is writing about the same thing and says each rifle costs 10,000 pounds, that's nearly $19,500. What a rip off! Although you have to wait, you can get a semi-auto ten shot Barrett (in .50 BMG) for under $8,000, and there will soon be a new single shot Barrett (in updated .416 Rigby) which is accurate out to 2,500 yards, nearly two miles. Reach out and touch someone indeed.

UPDATE 2: It just hit me (after talking to Doug Sundseth) that there is a second reason that Barrett is leaving the .50 BMG for the .416 Rigby update, I mean besides that the smaller round goes faster and therefore farther with accuracy--the company can also avoid the silly law passed in California regarding citizen ownership of a .50 BMG rifle and still deliver a long distance express train of a round.

# posted by Roger Fraley @ 5:35 PM