Barrett M82

Barrett Model 82 A1 currently known as the M107 was introduced in 1982 by the American Barrett Firearms Company was designed as a heavy scoped rifle called the “Light Fifty”. It fires a 0.50in browning 12.7 x 99mm round and was designed as a long range sniper weapon.

The first military sale was 100 M82A1 rifles to the Swedish Army in 1989. In 1990, the US Military purchased 250 of the M82A1 for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm for Kuwait and Iraq operations. The US Marine Corps purchased 125 rifles, and orders from the Air Force were received. The M82A1 is also known as the SASR — "Special Applications Scoped Rifle", and is still is use today as an anti-vehicle weapon and for exploding unwanted ordnance at a safe distance. The effective range is over 1500 m with hits up to 2500 m, using ammunition such as the API that has proven effective against targets like buildings, trucks, and parked aircraft, ect. The M82 has and will be used against human targets even if the targets are behind cover such as a block wall. However anti-personnel work is not the primary application for the M82. There is a mistaken belief that the U.S. has signed treaties that banned the use of the weapon against human targets; the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's office legal opinion is that a .50 BMG and even the Raufoss Mk 211 round are legal for use against enemy personnel.

The operation of the weapon uses a short recoil principle with a substantial amount of energy from the cartridge to the bolt face. Then both the barrel and the bolt carrier starts to travel to the rear. Once the bolt carrier disengages form the barrel the latter is moved forward again by a spring, while the bolt carrier extracts and ejects the spent cartridge case and reloads a new round. The M82A1 has iron sights and a x 10 optical sight. It is normal fired from the built in bipod, but can be adapted to use the US Army M60 tripod. The receiver is made from two parts (upper and lower), stamped from sheet steel and connected by cross-pins. The heavy barrel is fluted to improve heat dissipation and save weight, and fitted with a large and effective reactive muzzle brake. On the earlier models the muzzle brakes had a round cross-section; later M82 rifles are equipped with two-chamber brakes of rectangular cross-section. A variant M82A1A SASR, an almost identical model but needing a heavy barrel and modified extractor assembly specifically designed to fire the Raufoss Mk 211 Mod 0 round, a type of API, Armor Piercing Incendiary ammunition. The M82A1 can be fitted with a carry sling but according to those who carried it in the field, the M82 is much too uncomfortable to be carried on a sling due to its excessive length and heavy weight. It is usually carried in a special carry soft or hard case.

It is used by many units and armies around the world, including the American Special Forces. The United States Coast Guard uses the Barrett M82 rifle for fighting drug interdictions. Also Barrett M82 rifles are used by law enforcement agencies notably the New York Police Department. If it becomes necessary to immobilize a vehicle, a .50 BMG round in the engine block will put the vehicle out of commission.

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Last Updated: 7/6/2009