Boys Anti-Tank Rifle (1937–1943); Cal: .55"; Weight Empty: 36lbs.
Bolt Action w/ a 5-round magazine. Projectile (AP) weight: 2.15oz & each cartridge
weighs approx. 5.5oz [en.wikipedia.org]
(btw, it was useless against later design WW II German tanks.)
I would hate to be the poor guy lugging this thing & a few mags of ammo about



Boys .55 (left) & a BMG .50

---

39°36'17"N 75°44'43"W

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My Old Kentucky Retirement Home by MitchMcC & The Soggy Boxer Boys
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Back In the USSR by Bernie's Red Square Trio

Just as in modern combat, there was probably a ammo guy.

In Vietnam, it was common for a least one to two guys to carry extra belts for the M60 while the shooter carried the 60 and some ammo.

I don't doubt that is similarly done today.

The modern day equivalent of that Brit gun might be the .50cal Barrett, if one is talking a portable weapons system.

It's an anti-material rifle that can disable a vehicle.

There's a variant that can handle incendiary armor piercing rounds.

I don't know that it could stop any modern day tank, though.

The Barrett has also been used as a long distance anti-personnel weapon.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Replaced by the PiAT, Bazooka, and PanzerFaust for UK, US, and German soldiers.

I just find it amusing that leading up to WWII, most nations were fielding anti-tank rifles;
the U.S., though decided to build a machine gun instead (single shot? screw that - let's go 600 rounds per minute!)

Quote
SDGuy
I just find it amusing that leading up to WWII, most nations were fielding anti-tank rifles;
the U.S., though decided to build a machine gun instead (single shot? screw that - let's go 600 rounds per minute!)

Alternative History author Harry Turtledove had a character using one of these as a sniper rifle, using it as a sniper rifle hitting targets as far out as between one and half to two km away. I recall him describing the body part hit as basically exploding from the kinetic energy.

He usually bases these characters somewhat on reality, but I can't find a real life character that did this.

---

San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

He usually bases these characters somewhat on reality, but I can't find a real life
character that did this.

The late, great Gunny Carlos Hathcock, USMC. [en.wikipedia.org]
He made a sniper "weapon" from an M2 .50cal. BMG.
In 1967, Hathcock set the record for the longest sniper kill. He used an M2 .50 Cal
Browning machine gun mounted with a telescopic sight at a range of 2,500 yd
(2,286 m), killing a Vietcong guerrilla. btw, that's 1.42 miles!
iirc, He had the M2 as a breech load, single shot weapon; disabling the gas & feed mechanisms.

Silver Star
Purple Heart
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Combat Action Medal
U.S.M.C. Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnamese Gallantry Cross
RVN Campaign Medal

Semper Fi

---

39°36'17"N 75°44'43"W

DuckDuckGo
The search engine that doesn't track you.

DemComm Records 2021 Greatest Hits
includes:
Taxman by Joe & Nancy's Rich Ice Cream Band
The Humpty Dance by The Harris-Brown Hookup
Lets Spend The Night Together by The Fang-Swalwell Gang
Díaz-Canel Is A Friend of Ours by The AOC Squad
My Old Kentucky Retirement Home by MitchMcC & The Soggy Boxer Boys
Burning Down The House by Merrick & The Goons
Back In the USSR by Bernie's Red Square Trio





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2020 02:08PM by MrNoBody.

Quote
MrNoBody
He usually bases these characters somewhat on reality, but I can't find a real life
character that did this.

The late, great Gunny Carlos Hathcock, USMC. [en.wikipedia.org]
He made a sniper "weapon" from an M2 .50cal. BMG.
In 1967, Hathcock set the record for the longest sniper kill. He used an M2 .50 Cal
Browning machine gun mounted with a telescopic sight at a range of 2,500 yd
(2,286 m), killing a Vietcong guerrilla. btw, that's 1.42 miles!
iirc, He had the M2 as a breech load, single shot weapon; disabling the gas & feed mechanisms.

Silver Star
Purple Heart
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Combat Action Medal
U.S.M.C. Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnamese Gallantry Cross
RVN Campaign Medal

Semper Fi

Thanks!

---

San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

Quote
MrNoBody
He usually bases these characters somewhat on reality, but I can't find a real life
character that did this.

The late, great Gunny Carlos Hathcock, USMC. [en.wikipedia.org]
He made a sniper "weapon" from an M2 .50cal. BMG.
In 1967, Hathcock set the record for the longest sniper kill. He used an M2 .50 Cal
Browning machine gun mounted with a telescopic sight at a range of 2,500 yd
(2,286 m), killing a Vietcong guerrilla. btw, that's 1.42 miles!
iirc, He had the M2 as a breech load, single shot weapon; disabling the gas & feed mechanisms.

Silver Star
Purple Heart
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Combat Action Medal
U.S.M.C. Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnamese Gallantry Cross
RVN Campaign Medal

Semper Fi

A real Legend in the Marine Corp. His book is worth reading.

Quote
RAMd®d
Just as in modern combat, there was probably a ammo guy.

In Vietnam, it was common for a least one to two guys to carry extra belts for the M60 while the shooter carried the 60 and some ammo.

I don't doubt that is similarly done today.

The modern day equivalent of that Brit gun might be the .50cal Barrett, if one is talking a portable weapons system.

It's an anti-material rifle that can disable a vehicle.

There's a variant that can handle incendiary armor piercing rounds.

I don't know that it could stop any modern day tank, though.

The Barrett has also been used as a long distance anti-personnel weapon.

The Barrett is about 6 lbs lighter, but still a beast. I've heard that SpecOps may have dropped the 50 cal for a slightly smaller caliber (416 IIRC). Reportedly, the 416 has a longer reach without giving up much from an effectiveness standpoint.

JSOC seems to have embraced a special version of the McMillan TAC-338,
chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum.
That version has an optional suppressor to use with sub-sonic ammo.



You can get a civilian* version for about $7,500. [www.mcmillanfirearms.com]
*Does not include scope and bipod.

---

39°36'17"N 75°44'43"W

DuckDuckGo
The search engine that doesn't track you.

DemComm Records 2021 Greatest Hits
includes:
Taxman by Joe & Nancy's Rich Ice Cream Band
The Humpty Dance by The Harris-Brown Hookup
Lets Spend The Night Together by The Fang-Swalwell Gang
Díaz-Canel Is A Friend of Ours by The AOC Squad
My Old Kentucky Retirement Home by MitchMcC & The Soggy Boxer Boys
Burning Down The House by Merrick & The Goons
Back In the USSR by Bernie's Red Square Trio





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2020 07:12PM by MrNoBody.

The Lapua was built to be a sniper round, very accurate but still doesn't have the reach of a Barrett.

But it's very effective out to 1000-1200m, with some shooters getting effective hits out to 1500m, but I'm thinking that takes a little more talent at the switch.

Several units keep a Barrett on hand with the nature of the op determining if it's needed, as above all the others, it's an anti-material weapon that does have one-mile accuracy as a sniper weapon.

One of the SEAL kiss and tell guys mentioned killing a tango by hitting the wall behind him and the 'exploding' material taking him out like a barrage of shrapnel.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

“Harrison killed the two Taliban machine gunners with shots that took the 8.59 mm (0.338 inch) rounds almost five seconds to hit their targets, which were 900 m (980 yd) beyond the L115A3 sniper rifle’s recommended range.”

2,475 m (2,707 yd)

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2020 11:28AM by Speedy.