Background: I will be receiving a fairly large inheritance in the future and have been toying with the idea of buying and arming an armored car. For the record i have very little debt and my wife and i make good salaries so I can pretty much do whatever i want with this money, so please no lectures on my finances or how to invest.

Budget: About $50k total. Assuming $30k for the vehicle leaves $20k for the main gun and the coaxial rifle (probably a semi-auto m1919 and upgrade to a full-auto later)

Vehicle: FV721 Fox Armored Car

What options do i have for cannons in the 20-30mm range?

The Fox comes with a 30mm Rarden Auto cannon but when the UK sold these off they demilitarized the cannons so its basically a 30mm pipe sticking out of the turret. Im an Engineer and am pretty good at designing and building things but building a 30mm auto cannon is beyond my capabilities and would prefer to buy and mount a existing cannon. I considered going with a 50cal M2 BMG but at $30k+ for a transferable full-auto its out of my budget and i would rather buy a semi-auto large bore cannon that can be registered as a DD.

If possible i would prefer semi-auto but a single shot is fine, it also needs to have ammo that is fairly easy to find, no point in having a cannon if you cant find ammo for it. The only cannon Ive come across thus far that seems like a decent fit would be the 20x102mm Anzio for around $13k, its bolt action but mag fed. Practice ammo can be found for around $10-15 a round and AP and Sabot ammo can be had for around $50+.

Since the Fox is proofed against 7.62 and lesser threats (.50bmg easily penetrates it, as well as HME), you'd be better off getting a Barrett and a good thermal optic that would let you detect threats at a distance before they can hit you with one of the numerous weapons that can defeat the outdated Fox.



Also the Fox lacks NBC protection, so even simple chemical munitions like tear gas are going to enter the vehicle, making it an overall poor choice as far as armored cars/APCs go.

Hmm, well got any better options?

Im interested in light weight scout cars, APC, etc...I dont want the maintenance of a tracked vehicle or tank. With that being said most wheeled vehicles are going to be lightly armored, so i understand finding anything with protection for anything over 7.62 or .50 will be tough. I want something reasonably small in size that can be driven on the road and parked in a garage or small barn, probably no much more than 5 tonnes in weight. I originally was thinking about a Ferret, but its only armament was a m1919 and it seemed really outdated so i started researching the Fox. Finding a vehicle with NBC protection is pretty tough, its only going to be available in larger and more modern vehicles, gas mask for each crew member should suffice. I dont have the land or finances to shoot anything bigger than 20-30mm, keep in mind this isnt the start of a multi-million dollar armor collection, its more of a bucket list thing ive always wanted. Most people have that mid life crisis and buy a Sports Car, im just buying a "tank"

Since $$ is not an object.

90% Fun, 10% SHTF

I dont mind if it doesnt match the original look of the Fox, more focused on punching holes through steel plates and dead trees, i dont have time to drive around to car shows and stand around answering questions. I guess it makes sense that if a target cant be stopped by .50 cal AP rounds its probably not something i want to mess around with. If i went the .50 cal route i would use a semi-auto M2 (Ohio Ordinance or similar brand), they cost about the same as a Barret and eventually save up for a transferable full-auto M2 at some point. But if i go with .50 cal i really dont need a Fox as i can just modify gun cradle in the Ferret to hold a M2 instead of a M1919. It would fit in my garage easier and and leaves money left over to mount some IR optics.

But a Ferret with a M2 just doesnt give off that tank vibe like a Fox with a 20-30mm cannon would.

WIN!

That or a cartoon barrel that shoots out a Coyote vs Roadrunner flag that says "Bang!"

Then go with the M2, or get one of the Anzio 20mm rifles. Short answer is no one makes a semi-auto 20mm cannon for civilians. You could possibly talk to Anzio about doing one but I'd bet it would destroy your tank budget.



Armored car wise, get the Ferret. They are easier to drive and maintain (they don't roll over as easily either) and you could always just get an automatic 1919, which are great as they can be switched between four calibers (30-06, 8mm, 308 and 7.62x54r) so you'll always have ammo. So far I've failed to meet anyone who's not had fun with a 1919 either.



Alternately, get a flamethrower built for it, as they are unrestricted (considered an agricultural tool) and those are a definite crowd-pleaser.



 

Edited...VA-gunnut

I would highly recommend an armored car over a tracked vehicle.  The maintenance on a wheeled vehicle is less than a tracked vehicle.  There also aren't many tow trucks around for heavy tracked vehicles.

I cannot recommend this enough: GAS GUNS

We use a version of them for RED FORCE exercises in the US Army.

They sound real as hell being fired at you!  WITHOUT the whizzing of bullets, and tracers going by.

If its for show, this system ROCKS.

Our set-up without wireless remote control was about $900.

It uses a 5 gallon tank of Propane and a small welding cylinder of O2.

There is some adjustment based on pressure to get the solenoids fine tuned, but, it is GOOD FUN STUFF.

~Will

Details man, details.

Hispano-Suiza 20mm?

Anyone mention the Lahti yet?




How about the Solothurn?




If you look real hard and drop a few more duckets, there's also Oerlikons avaiable, albeit very few of them.


And just because
 

Why an armored car? Go big

http://www.mortarinvestments.eu/products/tanks-2/t-72-42#currency=USD

Im not a millionaire. While the tank itself may only be $50k, the importation fees, deliver, and registration can run nearly as much as the cost of the actual vehicle. Compared to buy a small armored car already in the US which i can borrow a pick up truck, rent a uhaul trailer and deliver it myself for a couple hundred dollar. The the cost of fuel, about 0.25-0.50 MPG for a tank vs 5-10 MPG for a armored car. Also, from what i have read the maintenance of tracked vehicles is a nightmare, often several hours of maintenance and repairs for ever hour of driving. if i throw a tread on a tank im screwed, i have to bring in a crew to repair it, but if i pop a tire on a armored car it has run flat tires so i can just drive it to a repair shop. Something like a ferret will fit in also any garage as its about the same dimensions as your average SUV, a tank would need a large barn for storage and probably several dozen acres of land to drive it on, a ferret can just be driven around you neighborhood for fun, sadly tanks are not street legal

If my priority was flipped, 90% SHTF and 10% fun and i had a militia to help me man, and maintain the tank it would make sense

Fair enough. Speaking of wheeled vehicles, I do like the idea of a BRDM, and it can probably be made street legal very easily.

Would be a lot of fun if you had a lakes or rivers near by, an armored car and boat all in one!

Fun until it submarines.  Nothing like trying to get OUT of an AFV while water is trying to come IN.  It is amazing what it takes to swamp a vehicle too.  Coming INTO water too steep, or trying to exit too steep; a little choppy water or fast moving water and ANYTHING to bump into...

Even with a HABD its a nerve wracking freak-show trying not to panic!

The Germans were not fans of the BRDM & water ops.  The Russians, well, they are Russians.  They will damn near do anything 3 or 4 times.

Good luck in your purchase.  Me, I'd buy a dune buggy or something useable & fun.  An armored car.  They are heavy, so they can get stuck easily.  They are almost all underpowered (battlefield fuel economy).  They require maintenance and they break (especially if you go some places 'FUN').  But at least they aren't tracked AFV's.  Which are 10x worse.  Recovery of a tracked vehicle is the SUCK.



Again, good luck.  I think AFV's are a lot like high-end sportscars.  Some folks buy them without fully realizing the time & upkeep required of them.

~Will

Build a replica metal housing/barrel for the Rarden, then use the propane/O2 firing system or, hide a 12ga Streetsweeper or Barret .50 semi auto inside for shooting blanks at airshows, or shoot 12ga slug or .50BMB at plywood tank silhouettes on the range for fun.



The replica 2,0 cm Flak 38 Vierling we built, we found prints for the Flak 38 cannon, built full scale metal model of the cannon, then worked in the propane firing system, all the hoses/spark plug wires run into the center console via the brass ejector chute mech, hid a 25lb propane tank inside the center console.



Edit: Here's an uncut 30mm Avenger Cannon Barrel and other cut lengths you can use for the exposed part of a replica cannon;

http://www.cdvs.us/30mm-Uncut-full-length-barrel-P763.aspx

Have you considered an m35a2 (maybe bobbed, definitley with the single tires conversion) and the m2? Still within budget, not armored per se, but you end up with a honkin' big multifuel truck that can run over a prius without noticing, and enough left over for accessories, parts, a weapons mount, a couple thousand rounds of ammo and a transferable machinegun. And you can find parts on ebay.

Something like this (not mine, maybe someday, much more likely that i will be mounting my barrett to my Tacoma once it is a bit older), and it has room for coolers and a grill, something the ferret lacks.

If im going to pay $9,000 for a barrel ill just put a little more money and time into it and make a real fully functional NFA registered cannon.



Ive got my heart set on something that looks and feels more like a tank so im actually kind of expecting cramped quarters with limited storage space for anything other than ammo.

But i have to admit that truck would be a pretty sweet ride, ill add that to my dream list in case i become excessively wealthy.

call grady at 931  432 5588 for info details

try shady grady hes got them  20mm 30mm