The stupid, it hurts: City looks to add to gun list

[friendly_iconoclast]

This is from a local Boston weekly. Hey, who needs good schools, competent city government or decent jobs. Ban teh scary guns!

http://www.bulletinnewspapers.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=182&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=3457&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1725&hn=bulletinnewspapers&he=.com


City looks to add to gun list

Joseph Mont 27.MAR.08


The Boston City Council is once again looking to ban weapons some say are among the most dangerous available.

The council attempted a Home Rule Petition last year that would have banned the Herstal 57, the .50-caliber Smith & Wesson and Barrett .50-caliber long arm. Because the State Legislature did not act on the matter by the close of its annual session, the council must refill the matter. State Rep. Martin Walsh of Dorchester has agreed to be the petition’s legislative sponsor

"Time ran out before this could get signed into law," City Councilor Michael Flaherty, who is spearheading the effort, said.

"One, they advertise as being able to stop a charging rhino," he said. "Another is able to take down an aircraft that was in take-off mode. Another is a Kevlar-piercing weapon. These are weapons that can penetrate body armour."

Looks like someone saw "Miami Vice" and paid attention to something other that Colin
Farrell and/or Gong Li. Despite what noted criminologist Michael Mann would have you
believe, Barretts aren't very popular among criminals. Anyway, if the guns noted are
banned, they'll simply return under new names, and the Barrett will be a .460 Steyr
Barrett.

[krispos42]

1. Too much gunguys.com

Long on rhetoric, short on logic.

The .50 S&W is a GIANT REVOLVER that weighs twice what a .45 auto does, had a foot-long barrel, and kicks like a damn mule. Oh, and they cost about $1500 bucks for a new one.

It's a specialty weapon that only a select few will EVER buy.

<sigh> If I ran S&W, you couldn't get me up to Vermont or New Hampsire fast enough. I'd be out of Mass in a hearbeat.

[bluerum]

2. ... don't let the door hit when you leave

[Elmer1007]

3. The Barrett 50 and the FN 57

The Barrett 50 cost over $7,500 and is over 5 feet long. I am sure that every gang banger has one in his car.:sarcasm:

The FN 57 cost about $900 and the ammo available is restricted to soft point hunting ammo of about the same power as 22 magnum rimfire. LOl.

facts hurt dont they.

[SteveM]

5. Prohibition: when the Right and the Left play touchy-feely in the dark.

[WWFZD]

4. It is a huge weapon

That thing weighs, I think, 6 pounds. I had the opportunity to shoot one. The ammo costs around $50 for 20 rounds. The first guy to shoot it, outside, used no hearing protection, no idea why but it was his gun. He shot one round, put the gun down and walked off holding his ears. Indoors, as in a robbery? Everyone in the room would be temporarily deafened.

Surprisingly the recoil is not as bad as one might expect, given the muzzle energy. It's very heavy and with the long, compensated barrel, it's manageable. Not much worse than my model 65, .357 with powerful ammo.

I'm going to try to find the statistics. I'd be surprised if a homicide was ever committed with one. Not that that matters, it's scary looking and has a real scary name.

[spin]

7. Barrett 50 cal rifles used in homicides...

Homicide: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=homicide+&x=0&y=0

1. the killing of one human being by another.
2. a person who kills another; murderer.

Under the above definition, homicides have been committed with the Barrett 50 cal. rifle. The army uses them as sniper rifles. Snipers are soldiers who believe in the "one shot, one kill" philosophy.

************
The M107 .50-caliber long range rifle is semi-automatic and is being fielded to infantry soldiers. It can engage targets to 2,000 meters with precision. At 29 inches long, the frame mounted, bolt-action XM107 weighs 28.5 pounds with optics. It is manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc. The XM107 is a rapid-fire; man portable, shoulder-fired, recoil operated semi-automatic system utilizing military standard .50 caliber ammunition. The primary components of the system consist of a rifle, day optical sighting system and hard carrying case(s).

Army snipers deliver precision fire against enemy targets that are outside a rifleman's limitations of range, size, location, mobility and visibility. The M107 is derived from the M82A1 commercial version of the weapon that is manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc. of Murfreesboro, TN. It can defeat materiel targets located at distances beyond the range of the standard M24 7.62mm Sniper Weapon System, Galeazzi said. In the hands of a trained sniper, the M107 can surgically take out strategic targets while minimizing collateral damage. It is capable of hitting personnel targets as far away as 1500 meters and materiel targets out to 2000 meters.
***

According to Operation Iraqi Freedom PEO Soldier Lessons Learned "The Barrett 50 cal Sniper Rifle may have been the most useful piece of equipment for the urban fight – especially for our light fighters. The XM107 was used to engage both vehicular and personnel targets out to 1400 meters. Soldiers not only appreciated the range and accuracy but also the target effect. Leaders and scouts viewed the effect of the 50 cal round as a combat multiplier due to the psychological impact on other combatants that viewed the destruction of the target.

“My spotter positively identified a target at 1400 meters carrying an RPG on a water tower. I engaged the target. The top half of the torso fell forward out of the tower and the lower portion remained in the tower.” 325th PIR Sniper

"There were other personal anecdotes of one round destroying two targets and another of the target “disintegrating.”

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m107.htm
*******

In the wrong hands this could be a terrifying weapon. Imagine a freeway shooter with one.

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/crime/ci_8763987
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=83629

To be fair, I don't believe any have been used by common citizens to murder others in the U.S. A 50 cal. rifle would be an awkward weapon to use to hold up a convenience store and would be worth far more than any loot obtained.

[Boomer 50]

10. To date, no .50 BMG firearm has been used in a crime in the US

By the civilian population. No telling what our current adminstration has done though.

I doubt there will be any criminal use of the .50 BMG. The firearms are far to large, cumbersome and heavy. You won't see any drive by shootings with them (unlike what the gun grabbers want you to think) and I've challenged many gun grabbers to try to conceal carry a .50 BMG rifle. Not one has been able to do it yet.

[ManBearPig]

6. Morons didn't mention AR-50.

It's the same sh*t, different day. They know d*mn well that .50 calibers are rare for crimnals to use and not-to-mention the Barret is an $8,000 gun. Most people are not going to buy it unless they really really want the novelty of a semi-auto .50 cal. Just wait until we get our individual ruling so we can silence these morons. Besides, they didn't say anything about the AR-50; which is a bolt-action .50 caliber that costs around $2500.

I plan on getting an AR-50 before the end of the November elections and I already own the Smith & Wesson 500. I think McCain can win, but I've been stocking up on everything that I think would be banned if we get Hillary or Obama. Better to buy now, just in case they try another assault weapon ban.

[spin]

8. How is the recoil on the S&W 500?

Compared to the recoil of the S&W 44 mag. I doubt I'll ever have any purpose for the S&W 500, but it does look like a fun gun to shoot...just for "kicks and grins".

[WWFZD]

9. Oops, should have been more specific

That's the firearm I was referring to in post #4.
The S&W 500 is very loud but the kick is less than one would expect.
Not much worse than my S&W model 65 with powerful ammo.
You'll feel it but it's not that bad. And yes, it is fun to shoot, for a little while. You can get one, around here anyway, for ~ $900, but the ammo will set you way back.

[Callisto32]

11. Reloading....

That, sir. Is why you "roll your own" cartridges and cast your own bullets from wheel weights and tin. ;D