[N8 v2.0]

CUT THEM DOWN: The Barrett XM-109 Sniper Rifle


Sniping just got a whole lot more deadly with the Barrett XM-109 sniper rifle, which marries improved range with the firepower of an Apache helicopter.

Sniper Nirvana: The high-powered Barrett XM-109 rifle.

Hakkaa Päälle -- the term is Finnish for "Cut them down," and it's been passed down from the Finnish cavalry of Gustavus Adolphus in the 17th century to the Finnish infantry during the Russo-Finn Winter War in the 20th century.

With any luck, America's light infantry will soon be saying it as well. Already established as the world's authority and leader in the production of heavy caliber long range sniper rifles -- including the M107 .50 caliber rifle -- Barrett Arms hopes to raise the bar even higher with the introduction of its new XM-109 25mm payload rifle. Based on the existing M-107 design, the XM-109 will give infantry the ability to lethally engage light armored vehicles out to 2500 meters, with the firepower of an Apache helicopter. For Soldiers needing an edge in combat, that's a pretty good can of Hakkaa Päälle to open up on the enemy.

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[Skookum]

To me guns are pretty boring.

Until i get hungry and see and nice lookin buck down the field.

 

[Changleen]

huhhuh - yeah, beavis - guns r cool, killing people is cool. huhuh..

 

[N8 v2.0]

Here's some kittens...

 

[nicklin]

huhhuh - yeah, beavis - guns r cool, killing people is cool. huhuh..

Dude, tha statement is so hilarious I don't know where to start......oh man, I think I just died and went to heaven......oh wait, i just got my Guns and Ammo magazine......screw you hippies, I'm going to eat dinner.....

BTW, what do you new Zealanders do with sheep now a days? :nuts:

 

[valve bouncer]

BTW, what do you new Zealanders do with sheep now a days? :nuts:

Word to the wise Frothly- Changleen ain't a Kiwi. Just keepin' you up with the game.

 

[Westy]

Reminds me of an old Soviet 20mm anti armour rifle from WWII that hung on the wall of the army surplus store where I grew up. Looked like a strange 3:1 scale model, but it was the real deal.

 

[Changleen]

Dude, tha statement is so hilarious I don't know where to start......oh man, I think I just died and went to heaven......oh wait, i just got my Guns and Ammo magazine......screw you hippies, I'm going to eat dinner.....

BTW, what do you new Zealanders do with sheep now a days? :nuts:

Holy Ignorancy, Batman. My Redneck twat detector just went off the scale!

 

[MikeD]

Holy crap. Having spent a lot of time shooting vehicle mounted 25mm cannons, I can't fathom how you could shoot that round off your shoulder (assuming it's the Bushmaster round, which it may not be. I think the Bushmaster would seriously injure the shooter.)

And the point of this thing? You need to hit a light vehicle with a few 25mm rounds to stop it, generally. I don't think you'll be able to engage too effectively with this thing. Just use an ATGM already, sheesh.

The Apache uses a 30mm chaingun, by the way.

MD

 

[ummbikes]

Does it come in a free-shooting version?

 

[MikeD]

Ah, had time to read the link. It's a small 25mm round (ha), not the full Bushmaster style antiarmor round. I still don't quite get when and how this thing will be useful. Gonna be a hell of a weapon for a sniper to pack...

Could be supremely good for very specific tasks, but if you're using a sniper to take out a specific individual, he's better off using a more accurate and precise traditional sniper rifle. If you're sending snipers off to hunt for vehicles, well, I think that's just inefficient. That's what cavalry and armored reconnaissance are for.

The sniper lacks mobility, which is key in the mounted battlefield. You could cover a mounted avenue of approach with one of these rifles, sure, but again, that's a pretty specific and somewhat menial task to dedicate such an expensive weapon and training program to. And while this thing can probably kill pickup trucks in a single shot, any lightly armored vehicle will need to be engaged with multiple rounds...which can't be easy to do, and defeats the stealthy first-shot-one-kill sniper MOA, not to mention weighing the sniper down tremendously if he has to displace after firing.

If, as the article says, they want light infantry in general to be able to lethally engage armored vehicles at range, this isn't the answer...better, lighter, smarter ATGM systems and/or supporting arms are. This just looks like pure big-round ego mastrubation.

MD

 

[RhinofromWA]

Does it come in a free-shooting version?

I don't care....does it come in Rootbeer?

 

[nicklin]

Holy crap. Having spent a lot of time shooting vehicle mounted 25mm cannons, I can't fathom how you could shoot that round off your shoulder (assuming it's the Bushmaster round, which it may not be. I think the Bushmaster would seriously injure the shooter.)

And the point of this thing? You need to hit a light vehicle with a few 25mm rounds to stop it, generally. I don't think you'll be able to engage too effectively with this thing. Just use an ATGM already, sheesh.

The Apache uses a 30mm chaingun, by the way.

MD

Mike:
What you said is true, the 25mm armor piercing round most definitely will be bad for the shoulder, idon't care if it's rambo, he would still have a dislocated shoulder after a few rounds.

I think the point of this little gem is to piece through the door/window of conventional vehicles, killing the driver and/or hit vital parts of the vehicle to render it immobile, hopefully igniting somthing in the process, not necessarily to stop the vehicle upon impact.

as for the recoil, notice the rear grip for the left hand.....think of it as a savage version of a 12 gauge: you are supposed to push foward with your left hand as you fire, easing the potential jarring impact to your shoulder, if you pull the rifle/cannon toward yourself, it's like giving the recoil a headstart.

this gun is not designed specifically for armored vehicle perse, but i can see how effective it cvan be in shooing commercial vehicle with armor plate designed for 223/7.62/6.8/12.7 conventional rounds, this thing will rip through an armored hummer, Limmo, or Escalade with ease and killing mutiple passenger's in the process. I think that's what they mean by being a sniper rifle.

quote from arcticle:
" Finally, the XM-109 is usable throughout its entire range, unlike missiles (and at a significantly longer range than an RPG), and is capable of being employed at far shorter ranges (such as those encountered in urban block fights) than would be possible with helicopter launched ATGMs or unguided aerial rockets. The XM-109 isn't going to turn the tide in the war on terrorism by itself, but it will make it a little safer."

a lot of times, sniper missions happen with targets under 1000 meters away, and at that distance the ATGMs have less aiming time, and slower to load. As a semi-auto action rifle, this thing can pump a few rounds in the time that takes the ATGM's to fire one, that's the advantage of a rifle, i guess.

nick

 

[MikeD]

Right, but the ponderousness of this thing in use will be a major obstacle; it kind of needs to be set up in advance to wait for a target. A shoulder-fired ATGM or dumb rocket is actually more flexible in use. Newer, lighter, smarter softlaunch-style ATGMs and bunker-buster/breaching rockets could overcome a lot of the limitations of current systems, and could be widely distributed like the old LAW and current AT-4 among your average infantrymen. This thing is a ninja weapon, to be used by ninjas only.

Thus, I could see it as an assasination-type weapon, used as you described (or in movies), but as a 'light infantry' weapon, it's pointless.

 

[MikeD]

Mike:

as for the recoil, notice the rear grip for the left hand.....think of it as a savage version of a 12 gauge: you are supposed to push foward with your left hand as you fire, easing the potential jarring impact to your shoulder, if you pull the rifle/cannon toward yourself, it's like giving the recoil a headstart.

No amount of human strength is going to ease up the impact of that round firing, no matter which way you push on the rifle. Recoil control is about positioning your body's mass correctly (and having a muzzle brake), not pushing or pulling. You have to relax your body fully if you're going to hit anything. You're basically hanging off the rifle, pulling it down with your weight, not your strength, and opposing its recoil with your bodymass and positioning

Firing a large-bore sniper rifle requires an immense amount of training and practice to do well. I've only fired a Barrett once, and it was both difficult and exhausting to do. (they started equipping our companies with two .50s per...also a pointless execise, especially for a light armored recon unit). Luckily, I did get the chance to shoot some .50 with it in Okinawa, just once.

MD