At 11:12 PM -0800 1/3/98, Alan wrote:
When I lived in Alaska I knew someone who built such a thing for hunting bears. I never got to fire it, but it was supposed to have a kick like a mule. (Even with the shock absorbing stock.)
The hardest part is getting the 50 cal ammo. (He had his Federal firearms license and was in the National Guard, so it was not too difficult for him.) Getting AP and other special ammo would be doubly difficult. (Non-specialty ammo could be reloaded as long as you could get molds and primer caps.)
I guess it depends on your military and/or black market connections.
You must be thinking of some other (larger) caliber, as .50 BMG is readily available. At my local gun shop, $3 a round. (It may be cheaper elsewhere.) A gun shop over in Silicon Valley was selling a belt-fed, semi-automatic .50 BMG for about $7K, if I recall the ad correctly. They were selling shots with it for $5 a shot, and advertising it as "Diane Feinstein's Worst Nightmare." .50 caliber is the largest readily available caliber (Uncle has limited larger calibers only for His own use, not for the use of the Rabble.) And there are several .50 BMG rifles readily for sale, mostly ranging from $3000 to $6000. The Barrett is the most commonly talked about version. Personally, I can't see the point of a .50, even for hunting bear. (Not that I would _want_ to hunt bears, as I find bears preferable to most humans, by far.) A .300 Winchester Magnum, a .375 H&H, or a .338 Lapua Magnum should be more than enough, and a whole lot cheaper than a Barrett or somesuch. The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^2,976,221 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."