Barrett M82

The Barrett M82 also known as M82 is a short recoil semiautomatic rifle, developed by the American Barrett Firearms Company in the early 1980s. The company was set up by Ronnie Barrett specifically to produce semi-automatic rifles that are powered by the .50BMG ammunition which were initially meant for the Browning M2HB machine guns. This rifle comes in two versions which are the original M82A1 / A3 and the M82A2 bullpup that is no longer in production.

The rifle was first made available in 1982 hence the name M82. The overall length of this rifle is 1448 mm and weighs in at 12.9kg when empty. The barrel length is 737 mm and its feeding device is a 10 round detachable box magazine. It has a muzzle velocity of 854 m/s and its maximum effective range is around 1800 m. All M82 rifles come attached with a foldable carrying handle and foldable bipod. The M82 loaded with a Raufoss MK 211 allows for extended range shots of between 1500 m to 2500 m hence making it a superb choice for targets like trucks, cabins, parked aircrafts and the list goes on. There was a time when the .50 BMG was banned from being used against human target however this ban was lifted by the US Army Judge Advocate General's office and have even legalized the use of Raufoss MK 211 on human targets.

By 1986 the new and improved M82A1 was ready. It is also known as the 'Ligh Fifty' because of the .50BMG ammunition and was the first large caliber sniper rifle. It did not gain much recognition until it got its first break when the Swedish Army purchased them in 1989. This was quickly followed by the US Marine Corps, US Air Force and then by the US Military in 1990 during the Desert Shield and Desert Storm Operations in Kuwait and Iraq. The M82A1 is called the SASR (Special Applications Scoped Rifle) by the US Military and fires using the Raufoss MK 211 Model 0 which is a sort of API (armor piercing incendiary) ammunition. All M82A1 rifles come equipped with a scope mount and foldable iron sights. This rifle is mostly equipped with the Leupold M series 10x telescopic sights.

Another addition to the line of M82 is the M82A1M rifle which has been adopted by the USMC as M82A3 SASR rifles. This version of M82 is slightly lighter, has a detachable bipod, muzzle brake and a rear monopod under the butt. It also comes with a full length Picatinny rail meant for mounting various scopes and sighting devices. Both the M82A1 and M82A3 can be mounted on the M3 or M122 infantry tripods or on vehicles which have the particular Barrett soft-mount. In the year 2002, the M82A1 was used as the base for the experimental OSW (Objective Sniper Weapon) prototype. The prototype showed high effectiveness but the recoil was way beyond human confines. This weapon is also known as the Barrett 'Payload Rifle' and has been reissued as XM109.

The M82A2 which has ceased production was available in 1987. It was designed to be fired from the shoulder however it did not quite capture the world market and neither was it that impressive therefore it resulted in being dropped from production. It was actually a low-cost weapon directed at fast moving targets like a helicopter, when firing from the shoulder. The difference between the M82A2 and the M82A1 is that the pistol grip and the trigger have been placed in front of the magazine and just after the magazine the butt pad placed below the receiver. The forward grip has also been added below the receiver and the scope mount shifted forward.

Other than the United States, the M82 and its variants are an immensely popular rifle and have been utilized by various military and police forces in over 30 countries such as France, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, UK, and Sweden just to name a few. It is also widely used in shooting competitions due to its accuracy. Today the M82 has been reissued as the M107 in the US Army. There are no differences between the M107 and the M82A1M / A3.

The M82 is a short recoil semi-automatic firearm. When the gun is fired, the barrel initially recoils for a short distance (about an inch/25 mm) being securely locked by the rotating bolt. After the short travel, a post on the bolt engaged in the curved cam track in the receiver turns the bolt to unlock it from the barrel. As soon as the bolt unlocks, the accelerator arm strikes it back, transferring part of the recoil energy of the barrel to the bolt to achieve reliable cycling. Then the barrel is stopped and the bolt continues back, to extract and eject a spent case. On its return stroke, the bolt strips the fresh cartridge from the box magazine and feeds it into the chamber and finally locks itself to the barrel. The striker also is cocked on the return stroke of the bolt. The gun is fed from a large detachable box magazine holding up to 10 rounds.

The receiver is made from two parts (upper and lower), stamped from sheet steel and connected by cross-pins. The heavy barrel is fluted to improve heat dissipation and save weight, and fitted with a large and effective reactive muzzle brake. On the earlier models the muzzle brakes had a round cross-section, later M82 rifles are equipped with two-chamber brakes of rectangular cross-section.