Key Points and Summary – Gun expert Christian D. Orr unpacks the mystique of the Barrett .50-cal M82/M107, a semi-auto anti-materiel rifle that fires the same .50 BMG round as the M2 “Ma Deuce.”
-He walks through its origins, specs, and combat pedigree from Desert Storm to the Global War on Terror – and even its early misuse by the IRA.
Belgian Special Forces sniper teams fire upon long-range targets from an elevated shooting range at the High Angle Sniper Course, in Hochfilzen training area, Austria, September 30th, 2020. The high angle sniper course lasts two weeks and is designed to teach and train sniper teams the necessary skills to operate in mountainous terrain. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Patrik Orcutt)
-Orr then shifts to the range, describing punishing recoil, eye-watering ammo costs, and why the gun is still an undeniable draw wherever it appears.
-For shooters who can’t afford to own one, he notes you can still rent a Barrett in Las Vegas and feel the thunder.
IN ONE WORD: Brutal.
.50 Caliber Barrett M82 Rifle Report
There’s just something about .50 caliber (12.7mm) firearms; crossing that half-inch threshold has a certain magically, mystically masochistic appeal to us gun enthusiasts.
This is true of handguns such as the .50 Action Express (AE) Desert Eagle, the Smith & Wesson’s .500 S&W, or the lesser-known .500 HWP Magnum and .500 Linebaugh. It’s even truer of long guns such as the McMillan TAC-50 and our current subject at hand, the Barrett M82A1 AKA M107A1.
Barrett History and Tech Specs
The big, booming Barrett was born in 1980, courtesy of its eponymous designer, Ronnie Barrett, who began producing it in 1982. Ronnie wound up making three variants: the original M82A1, the bullpup M82A2, and the mil-spec M107A1. The weapon has an overall length of 57 inches (1448 mm), a barrel length of 29 inches (737 mm), and a rail length of 23 inches (584 mm) with 27 MOA. It weighs 32.7 pounds (14.8 kilograms) and holds a magazine capacity of 10 rounds.
Spc. Alexander Day, a scout sniper with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, fires a Barrett M82 .50-caliber sniper rifle during a basic sniper course being taught by a mobile training team Nov. 9, at Fort Bragg, N.C. The MTT is part of the Army’s Sniper School based at Fort Benning, Ga.
The Barrett uses the .50 BMG (Browning Machine Gun) round, which is the same chambering as the “Ma Deuce,” i.e., the iconic M2 .50-caliber machine gun.
Now, before any hoplophobe out there kvetch that that’s overkill for individual marksmanship work, bear in mind that no less than the legendary U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam War sniper Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Norman Hathcock (gone but not forgotten) used the Ma Deuce for a kill shot at 2,500 yards back in 1967, which stood as a military record for the longest confirmed sniper kill shot all the way until 2002 when Cpl finally broke it—Rob Furlong of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry during the Afghanistan War.
Speaking of the Afghanistan War, when it comes to sniper rifles used in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), arguably none is more famous (infamous to the surviving comrades of its victims) and iconic than the Barrett.
Unfortunately, nearly a decade before the weapon earned its well-deserved fame as a tango-popping (that’s slang for “terrorist-killing’) tool in the GWOT with the U.S. Armed Forces it was a terrorist group, that being the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA AKA “Provos”) during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland, that first used the gun against flesh-and-blood targets.
Image: Creative Commons.
A paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team scans for targets behind a Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle while on patrol June 25, 2012, near Muqor, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. His unit deployed to southern Ghazni Province to help bring security to the economically vital Highway 1, which runs north-south through the province. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod, Task Force 1-82 PAO)
That distressing bit of history aside, the Swedish Army (Svenska Armén) was the first legitimate government entity to purchase the Barrett, doing so in 1989. The following year, the U.S. Armed Forces followed suit, just in time for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Fast-forward 14 years, and the U.S. Army selected the M107 variant as one of the “2005 Top 10 Inventions.” And some Hollywood filmmakers have taken quite a liking to Ronny Barrett’s invention as well.
As stated by Travis Smola of Wide Open Spaces, “Almost every major firearms development in the United States has come from someone who has a crazy dream. That is the case with Barrett rifles. The development of the Barrett Model 82 is a true American success story.”
Live-Fire Range Impressions
Back in 2011, I had the honor and pleasure of being able to fire a Barrett M82 at the Burro Canyon Shooting Park in Azusa, California. It was one of my most memorable shooting experiences, to say the least.
I work out fairly regularly—including upper-body workouts—and am in reasonably good physical shape for a 50-year-old. Still, I’m pretty sure that my shoulder would not hold up to an extended firing session with one of these big ballistic beasts … and neither would my bankbook (more on this in a moment). That said, the two or three rounds I did 14 years and 15 pounds ago were definitely worthwhile, and ditto for the “Ma Deuce” I fired in the same range session.
Aaahhh, the memories.
151023-USAN-2994B-014 – SIERRA DEL RETIN, Spain – A Dutch Marine sniperfires a Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle during live fire target practice in Exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2015. The Royal Netherlands Navy is being certified to lead the amphibious forces in the 2016 NATO Response Force. Ships in Task Group 445.03 include the landing platform dock (LPD) HNLMSJOHAN DE WITT, the frigate HNLMS TROMP, the hydrographic survey vessel HNLMS SNELLIUS, and Dutch Marines. Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Commander David Benham (Released)
Barrett M82 in 2006. Image: Creative Commons.
Cpl. Kaden Prickett, machine gunner and team leader with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command, fires a .50 caliber Special Applications Scoped Rifle at a target 1,200 meters away, in the Central Command area of operations, Jan. 6, 2015. Marines and sailors of Golf Company spent time on the range getting acquainted with various weapons systems and cross-training one another in their respective areas of expertise. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Carson A. Gramley/Released).
I owe the honor and pleasure to my friend Pulgas (he asked that I only use his first name for the purpose of quoting him in my writings), a USMC veteran who’s doubly lucky enough to own both a Barrett AND a “Ma Deuce” (semi-auto only, but still!).
Here’s what he had to say about owning this modern-day legend of a rifle: “I can confirm it is a ‘chick’ magnet at the range (hahah) – as long as you can afford the $3-7 per round.” On a more serious note, Pulgas added, “In my opinion, Ronny Barrett was about as innovative as John Garand.”
Regarding “$3-7 per round,” remember that’s a 2011 price figure, i.e., before inflation adjustments.
Barrett M82 Rifle: Want Your Own?
William Taylor of TheGunZone wrote back in December 2024 that “A new Barrett M82A1 typically costs between $9,000 and $15,000 USD,” whilst True Gun Value states that “A BARRETT M82A1 rifle is currently worth an average price of $8,192.57 new and $6,746.21 used.
The 12-month average price is $8,192.57 new and $6,746.21 used.” Omaha Outdoors’ current asking price range starts at $9,803.06 and tops off at $10,059.00.
For the benefit of you dear readers who’d like to fire a Barrett M82 but have neither (A) a personal friendship or professional acquaintanceship with Pulgas or (B) the bank-breaking amount of money to buy your own, take heart: you can go to so-called “Sin City” and rent one at Battlefield Vegas for the comparatively reasonable price range of $35.00 – $165.00 (depending if you want to fire just one round or five).
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (with a concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the newly published book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series.”
