Barrett back on top

Well, it has happened again. The record for longest sniper kill has been broken. Two unnamed snipers from the Australian Army have made what is apparently the successful longest rifle shot in the history of warfare. The snipers both used Barrett M82A1 .50 caliber rifles. The snipers fired simultaneously at a Taliban commander, hitting and killing him. It is not known which of the snipers fired the successful shot. This will likely remain an unofficial record for longest shot in warfare as it is unknown who fired the shot or for that matter, who the snipers were. The implication being that they were both members of Australia's Special Forces, probably 2 Commando Regiment, and will likely not be identified. The distance as measured by GPS was 3079 yards or 2815 meters. At this distance the flight time of the bullet is estimated at 6 seconds. At distances like this, great skill is of course needed, but luck certainly is a major factor. It would be next to impossible to measure the crosswinds, anticipate the targets position after the shot is fired and a dozen other factors that are important for super long range shooting. The previous record for longest sniper kill shot was held by Corporal Craig Ferguson of the British Army. His shot(s) were taken at a distance of 2707 yd or 2475 m with a .338 Lapua fired from a L115A3 rifle.

I am sure that they are pleased with this at Barrett Firearms Mfg, Inc. The last three records were made using their competitor's rifles. Congratulations to the Australians, I hope they will all come home safe and soon.

Completely unrelated picture of a American sniper with a Barrett M82A1 in Iraq

GAU-19/A .50BMG

Well, it is Gatling gun week here at Homemade Defense, and the next on our list is the GAU-19/A. The GAU-19/A is a tri-barrel Gatling type weapon chambered in the steel-shredding .50BMG cartridge. Designed by GE in an attempt to boost the power of helicopter gunships, it is reportedly in service in the USA, Colombia, Mexico, and Oman.

It was designed to be mostly on helicopters, although a Humvee mounting kit is also exists.
It was origninally designed with a 6 barrel setup, and a linkless feed, but can be fed from a standard M9 linked belt if a delinker feeder is used. The rate of fire is selectable to be either 1,000 or 2,000 rounds per minute. The Humvee kit version fires at 1,300 rounds per minute. The average recoil force when firing is 500 lbs, so the staff here at Homemade Defense do not suggest any attempts at firing it offhand, unless you let me take a video for youtube.



I have not actually seen any photos or reports of the GAU-19 mounted on US military vehicles deployed to a war zone, but that does not mean it isn't there. There was talk that it would be mounted underneath the fuselage of the V-22 Osprey, but that plan has apparently been shelved for now. A shame.


The GAU-19/A is an unbelievably powerful weapon, and its greatest weakness is probably that it is difficult to carry enough ammunition to stay in the fight long. The very high rate of fire, combined with the immense power or the .50 caliber and the accuracy of Gatling weapons makes this something you do not want to see coming. I guess you don't want to not see it coming either, but at least you might take comfort in dying with clean drawers.