Barrett M107

About the Barrett M107

The Barrett M107 is the U.S. military-standardized designation of the Barrett M82A1, a recoil-operated, semi-automatic .50 BMG anti-materiel rifle. Adopted by the U.S. Army in 2002 as the 'Long Range Sniper Rifle, Caliber .50, M107', it fires the 12.7x99mm cartridge from a 10-round detachable box magazine through a 737 mm fluted barrel fitted with a large dual-chamber muzzle brake. The short-recoil action and recoil buffer system make the powerful cartridge controllable from a prone, bipod-supported position. The M107 is used to engage materiel targets such as parked aircraft, light vehicles, radar dishes and unexploded ordnance, as well as personnel at extreme range.

Ronnie Barrett designed the original .50 BMG semi-automatic rifle in his garage in the early 1980s with no formal engineering background, sketching the action on a napkin; two decades later the U.S. Army formally standardized his rifle as the M107, the first .50 caliber semi-automatic sniper rifle adopted by the United States.

Barrett M107 specifications

The M107 designation covers the M82A1M variant standardized for U.S. service; the later M107A1 (2011) introduced a titanium-heavy lightweight design and suppressor-ready muzzle brake. Barrel length is the standard 29-inch (737 mm); some sources list a 20-inch (508 mm) barrel which corresponds to the shortened M107CQ carbine variant.