So I have been wanting a sniper rifle for a while as I don't have any rifles other than my .223s and I want something bigger. So I have been waiting and thinking about the Barrett 98 bravo but I heard the .338 ammo is almost as much as .50 bmg and I will get a press for the .50 bmg anyways. I also was wondering if the barrett might be a decent investment since it is probably going to get banned and I think people will always like these rifles. If I do get a Barret I will probably get a rifle in .308 or something to practice with but nothing extreme.

So does the barrett have any SHTF value. I mean obviously it does, but is there some huge flaw about it or anything like that. I would love to hear some pros and cons about it. I do think it would pretty cool to say I have a barret to my friends though.

 

Wish we could still get the Barrett M82 here in Cali, I would have bought one. Ended up getting an M99 in .416. I don't think you are going to find any major flaw with a Barrett .50. They are big, heavy, and expensive to shoot though.

 

Yes, a Barrett .50 is a good investment. And, yes, I would certainly like to have a .50 in a SHTF situation. Get one if you can swing it.

 

Have you looked at the Model 99

Barrett Rifles

The .416 cal looks very promising - even outperforming the .50 cal for long distance performance

 

I was thinking about the M95, accuracy of a bolt action but still get the 5 round magazine. I gotta think its useful to have a weapon that you can just stop a vehicle dead in its tracks with.

 

Barretts are cool. You just need a place to enjoy the ability to shoot them. I was fortunate enough to be able to get to fire them in the desert, where you could see for miles.

As for the point about accuracy: I don't know that you're going to be a professional sniper, so it is highly unlikely that you will find the limits of the semi-auto version, and to take advantage of the slightly higher degree of accuracy of the bolt gun.

 

At $6-7 a shell, the fun in shooting one gets outweighed by the realization of how much it costs very quickly. The gun is useless for all intensive purposes, you can't find many places with a suitable range to realize the benefits of owning it and unless you plan on going on safari for large SUV's, hunting with it is pointless. It is also extremely heavy. There is nothing in the western hemisphere you would need more then a .300 caliber rifle for sans Kodiak bear hunting in Alaska.

That said, Brian is right. Semi-auto > bolt action.

 

95% of the ranges out there won't let you anywhere near their facility with a 50 BMG rifle. The cost of quality 50 BMG ammunition is also quite prohibitive. So, it being fairly impractical is quite correct.

It is "intents and purposes", not "intensive purposes". Sorry Jarod, just a pet peeve.

Nothing that would be classified as big game, however the 50 BMG is best suited as an anti-materiel round. It is up to you to decide whether you need that level of self-defense or not. Some people do.

 

I got to shoot one of those things. It belonged to a guy with a nice arsenal at a local shooting range. Don't worry about shooting it too much, the guy told me that he would get headaches after shooting too many rounds. He actually liked watching other people shooting his gun to get the full effect and without having to take tylenol.

The gun is awesome. TV does not capture the true experience of shooting or being around that monster. The gun feels more like a small cannon than a rifle. You "feel" each shot from a few meters away. Dust rises in a 6 foot or so radius after each shot. Let me tell you, it's an unforgettable experience.

The recoil from the .50 cal bolt action feels less than a WWII 8mm Mauser, but there is a lot of air that comes flying at you when you fire. It's hard to describe, but it feels like someone puts their mouth around your nose and blows air into it.

The owner of the rifle I shot bought his ammo in bulk and I believe he said he bought it at a surplus military type place. I don't remember the exact price of each round, but I remember thinking it was reasonable.

The only thing I did not like about the rifle was that the bolt would get stuck if you pulled the bolt all the way back. It was pain to get it sliding again. I've never owned a bolt action rifle so I don't know if this is common.

 

Good investment, probably. Practical, probably not. If you are getting a .308 to practice with, then go for it. But get semi.