My last comment (for now) on rifles

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

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.

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