The Barrett M99 (Model 99) is a
single-shot
Single-shot firearms are firearms that hold only a single round of ammunition, and must be reloaded manually after every shot. The history of firearms began with single-shot designs, then multi-barreled designs appeared, and eventually many ce ...
anti-materiel rifle
An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware (materiel). Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to elimin ...
that was first introduced in 1999 by the
Barrett Firearms Company
Barrett Firearms Manufacturing is an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition located in Christiana, Tennessee. It was founded in 1982 by Ronnie G. Barrett for the purpose of building semi-automatic rifles chambered for the .50 BMG (12. ...
as a less expensive alternative to the company's higher-priced offerings.
[ The rifle uses a ]bullpup
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...
configuration with a pistol grip
On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pist ...
.
Design
The M99 rifle is a single shot bullpup rifle that debuted in 1999. Its primary market was long range competitive target shooters and in 2001 a shooter set a world record at 1,000-yards with the M99 by shooting a 5-shot group which measured 4.09″. The M99 features a hard-core construction, 7000 series aluminum alloy extrusion, match-quality trigger design, heat-treated steel M1913 rail, match grade barrel, and S-7 tool steel bolt. It has three quick assembly pins, allowing it to be assembled or disassembled without the use of tools. The M99 is very accurate because of its heavy contour barrel. With the .416 round, the accuracy and increased velocity compared to .50 BMG enables greater long range precision. The bolt is machined from a single piece of S-7 tool steel. To make the rifle very reliable and easy to maintain, the M99 has just three moving parts: the extractor, ejector
An injector is a system of ducting and nozzles used to direct the flow of a high-pressure fluid in such a way that a lower pressure fluid is Entrainment (hydrodynamics), entrained in the jet and carried through a duct to a region of higher pre ...
and firing pin
A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...
assembly. For bench rest
Benchrest shooting is a shooting sport discipline in which high-precision rifles are rested on a table or bench — rather than being carried in the shooter's hands — while shooting at paper or steel targets, hence the name "benchrest". Bot ...
shooting, the bi-pod can be detached easily. The design of the trigger is virtually maintenance free. The barrel is locked into the extrusion by being hydraulically pressed, allowing the user to mount a rifle scope
A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate p ...
on it. The steel gun barrel and the aluminum extrusion surround the cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
, making the firearm safer.
Variants
The rifle is offered in two calibers: .416 Barrett and .50 BMG. The .416 Barrett version is available with a 32" barrel and the .50 BMG version is available with a 29" or 32" barrel. Barrett also designs and makes a QDL suppressor
A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity
Sound intensity, also known as acoustic intensity, is defined as the power carried by sound waves per unit ...
for the M99. The 360 degree welding on the dual layered heat treated high strength alloys makes it the safest large bore suppressor on the market. The suppressor slides over the muzzle brake
A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...
directly into the index point, allowing accurate alignment. The recoil
Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
of suppressed fire is reduced using an auxiliary two-port muzzle brake.
See also
*Barrett M82A1
The Barrett M82 (standardized by the U.S. military as the M107) is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle, semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle developed by the American company Barrett Firearms Manufacturing.
Also called the ...
*Barrett M95
The Barrett M95 is a bolt-action rifle chambered in .50 BMG (12.7×99mm), and manufactured by Barrett Firearms Company. It has been adopted by a number of militaries around the world.
Overview
The M95 is an improved version of the earlier Barret ...
*Barrett REC7
The Barrett REC7 (designation stands for "reliability-enhanced carbine") is an American firearm manufactured as a selective-fire fully-automatic and semi-automatic rifle by Barrett Firearms. It is an M4 carbine utilizing a short-stroke gas pisto ...
*Barrett M98B
The Barrett Model 98B (also known as the Barrett Model 98 Bravo) is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70mm or 8.58×70mm) and manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. The Model 98B was officially announced in O ...
*Barrett MRAD
The Barrett MRAD (Multi-role Adaptive Design) is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed by Barrett to meet the requirements of the SOCOM PSR. The MRAD is based on the Barrett 98B and includes a number of modifications and improvements. The Barre ...
* Barrett M107A1
References
External links
Barrett M99 Owners Manual
Official Barrett M99 page
Video demo of the M99
{{Barrett
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1999
Barrett firearms
Single-shot bolt-action rifles
Anti-materiel rifles
.416 Barrett firearms
.50 BMG sniper rifles