M107 Long Range Sniper Rifle

TOYS FOR THE BIG BOYS. Gentlemen, beware of this gun! If you're just a sniper wannabe, you are a candidate to get the 'apprentice cut' like two friends I know. Before you try this toy, go to the gym and flex your muscles for at least a month while committing to memory some lessons on bullet drop, MOA adjustments and wind drift calculations.

Wikipedia describes my fave long range weapon this way:

The M107 semi-automatic Long Range Sniper Rifle (LRSR) is a direct-line-of-sight weapon system that employs greater destructive force than other US sniper rifles against light materiel and personnel targets at longer ranges. The weapon fires .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun (BMG or 12.7x99mm NATO) ammunition and is capable of delivering precise, rapid fire on targets out to 2,000 meters, greatly exceeding the terminal effect capability of the M110 or M24 sniper rifles. It is especially valuable during military operations in urban terrain where greater firepower and standoff ranges provide counter-sniper capability while enhancing sniper survivability.

The rifle is a commercial, off-the-shelf weapon that incorporates a dual-chamber detachable muzzle brake, dual barrel springs, and long mainspring design to reduce weapon recoil. It leverages a variable power day optic sight and a 10-round detachable box magazine. It weighs 35 pounds (combat ready) and includes folding front and rear sights, fluted match-grade barrel, detachable carrying handle, rubber recoil pad, rear grips, and a MIL-STD -1913 accessory rail. Accessories include hard and soft cases, detachable folding bipod, detachable sling, extra 10-round magazines, cleaning/maintenance equipment, and manuals.

The 3-lug bolt of the M107 locks rigidly into the barrel extension, to accommodate the widest variety of factory ammunition loads. The adjustable bipod may be detached by removing a single quick-release pin. The M107 is set up to mount a variety of telescopic sights and with good ammunition this combination usually produces minute of Angle (MOA) accuracy. The M107 may be disassembled for cleaning without tools.

The .50 caliber Barrett Model 82 series, including the M107, produce modest recoil energy. The weapon operating mechanism (which includes a recoiling barrel assembly), combined with an efficient muzzle brake, reduce recoil energy to about 36 foot-pounds. When fitted with a sound suppressor, the weapon produces significantly greater recoil energy than when using the muzzle brake, and was a good candidate for recoil reduction efforts.

US Army snipers deliver precision fire against enemy targets that are outside a rifleman's limitations of range, size, location, mobility and visibility. In the US Army it was intended to be used to defeat materiel targets located at distances beyond the range of the standard M24 7.62mm Sniper Weapon System. 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 2,000 meters.

Compared to the M24 7.62mm Sniper Weapon System, the M107 has more powerful optics and fires a variety of .50 caliber munitions. This provides sniper teams greater capability to identify and defeat multiple targets at increased ranges. The M107 enables Army snipers to accurately engage personnel and material targets out to a distance of 1,500 to 2,000 meters respectively. The weapon is designed to effectively engage and defeat materiel targets at extended ranges including parked aircraft, command, control and communications, computers, intelligence sites, radar sites, ammunition, petroleum, oil and lubricant sites and various lightly armored targets. In a counter-sniper role, the system offers longer standoff ranges and increased terminal effects against snipers using smaller caliber weapons.

The M107 is derived from the commercial M82 rifle series (the M82A3 specifically) manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc. of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Barrett subsequently offered the specific configuration commercially for sale as the M107, and offered a commercial "Close Quarters" (M107CQ) variant with a shorter, 20 inch barrel. The functional commonalities between the M107 and the commercial M82 eventually led Barrett to fold it in with the M82 product line commercially, with all configurations of the base weapon being part of Barrett's commercial M82A1 family (the M82A1A, A1M, and A3 commercial nomenclature also having been dropped). In 2011, Barrett introduced a lightweight variant of their semi-automatic .50 caliber rifle, which also featured a Barrett-designed quick-attach sound suppressor, which it offered commercially as the M107A1.