Over at tactical-life.com, commentator Private Blanchard is not impressed with the FBI’s decision to purchase the Anzio Ironworks Mag-Fed 20mm (yours for $11,900).
What a waste of money on the government’s part. Why in the world would, of all Federal Agencies, the FBI need 20mm rifles to engage targets a thousands of yards away? The only time these rifles are going to be fired is at the shooting range, then after that they will be placed back in the armory until the next time they are taken to the shooting range. The FBI has no worldly reason to 20mm guns other than to say they have them. The fed’s need to get priorities straight.
I say, take those rifle’s away from the FBI and put them in the hands of U.S. Army and Marine Corps snipers and let them have a night out on the town in Afghanistan, where they will have legitimate purpose because the ranges that this rifle can hit targets at are comfortably within reach. Our snipers could definitely have a serious effect on the morale of the insurgents. Not only would the insurgents have to contend with air power and artillery, now they will be sniped away at 4,900 yards, hundreds of times farther than Rob Furlong’s record breaking shot. Sorry if I’m venting but does everyone else see my logic?
Perhaps Lon Horiuchi had input on the purchase.
I was wondering exactly the same thing when I heard about this. What are they going to do with them??? I have more use for them than the FBI and at $10 a shot I doubt I'd be firing it much either.
Cool gun but pretty useless unless you are trying to inmoblize trucks from half a mile away.
Or 3 miles with 38,000ft/lbs kinetic energy.
Half a mile? Ahhh… that's only 800 meters. All you need is .338LM or .50BMG for vehicles and buildings……. 20mm is impractical.
I work at US Army with FBI and let you know that they use these sniper rifles with termal intra scope to pentrate the buildings then explode against the terrorists in Middle East – Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The bullets are special; not current 20 mm bullet because the civilians can’t get special bullets so it is illegal.
Guess grammar wasn’t a job skill requirement.
FLAME DELETED
I work at Mall of Amarica and we have a sum of thesee. Th Fbi adn athe Armee and mareens all come to the mall fo traiinig.
I don’t see an issue, depending on how many were purchased. Firstly, $12k per rifle is trivial when speaking in terms of any Federal Agency’s budget. Secondly, private citizens are increasingly able to purchase and maintain med-high quality, high caliber long range weapons, not to mention the crew served weapons also available on the common market (privided one lives in the right place and has the right credentials). God forbid someone actually manage to amass this type of equipment and attempt some sort of insurgency in America- we know that Hezbollah and Al Qaeda have already been trying- a weapon that can make an effective vehicle kill at 2 miles away, or a personnel kill at nearly 3, would be exceptionally useful to the FBI. Even more so since the military is not authorized to operate on a combat footing within US borders, and the FBI, US Marshals, and DEA are.
i work for a private security company and we recently got 4 of these rifles and while fun to use (if you like blood noses and headaches) these rifles are a impractical b very heavy c expensive and to be honest a m107 barret is ligheter smaller cheeper and wayy more adaptable then these monsters and i agree give these to mareins or rangers hell even the navy would be better suited then the fbi. its like swat buying rocket launtchers. or civies buying tanks. why waste the money?
Because they can?
It would probably be useful in situations like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4nlcmmt8X0
@ Rick Muller: good point,but what a shame to end this rampage any sooner then it did end. entertainment that good is hard to find.
they can shoot lots of vicky weavers with one of those….
Even a wholelotta Branch Dividians, should they escape the fires…
Dobre na kaczynskiego
Well I can think of a great reason why the FBI would have need of one. Kennedy assassination for one. I didn’t hold with the politics of why but that may have useful then. The whole car would have gone up. With suppressor, shooter could have been in the sewer and no one would have been the wiser. Actually(I was thinking of conventional firearms’ capabilities) shooter could have been several miles away with a clear line of sight. Now remember, bullet’s path is not a true line but an arc. It may take a while to sight in but the angle would be tens of degrees off the horizon going up then coming down at the halfway point. Lots of practice. I also think a new kind of optic. You know the kind where the naval battaries would lead the targets? That kind of thing. CIA Army Marine Corps needs this more than FBI. Troy Lawson