Posted: 5/7/2005 8:39:24 PM EDT
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Too much firepower Mark Serbu is the kind of entrepreneur that politicians love to tout as the backbone of the American economy. And maybe he is, though his product hardly evokes local pride. Serbu's Tampa company makes .50-caliber sniper rifles that are powerful enough to pierce armor plating from 10 football fields away. The civilian rifle is legal, Serbu points out, and "is the biggest, baddest gun you can buy without a special license. It's like having control of lightning in your hand." In the wrong hands that's not a good thing, which is why even the Terminator - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger - banned the .50-caliber rifle in his state. That only helped Serbu's sales, as California residents swamped his company with orders to beat the deadline - a testament to the ineffectiveness of piecemeal gun control. Gun enthusiasts say the rifles are used for target shooting, and are too big at 4 feet long and 22 pounds to be a criminal's weapon of choice. Research done by the Government Accountability Office suggests otherwise. Although the 1999 report included none of Serbu's guns, the GAO discovered "examples of criminal misuse of the .50-caliber rifle with a nexus to terrorism, outlaw motorcycle gangs, international and domestic drug trafficking and violent crime." Obviously, a weapon with such lethal potential should be a concern. We don't begrudge Serbu his success. But how would he or Tampa Bay residents feel if a weapon used to do great harm was produced here? Gun advocates usually answer such questions with the Sept. 11 example, saying those terrorists hijacked airplanes with box cutters, which weren't banned. Yes, even tools can be used as weapons. But a gun as powerful as the .50-caliber rifle, which could possibly bring down an airplane or ignite a chemical storage tank from afar, is a threat this nation cannot ignore. It's spreading  ETA: There are two letters to the editor about it too. Idiots. Too many guns on the streets Re: Small shop builds one big gun, May 5. The owner of Serbu Firearms boasts that the company is making "the biggest, baddest gun you can buy without a special license." He also wants me to believe that these weapons will be used only by gun enthusiasts, for fun, in target shooting competitions. Please! It's bad enough that in the same issue of the Times, two other headlines reported that a second-grader found a Magnum pistol in his school backpack, and that a silent gunman shot a man in front of his daughter for no apparent reason. Are there not too many guns on the street now? Do you really want me to believe that this new weapon, with a range of half a mile, will be used only for target shooting? No, eventually some deranged, angry, vengeful person will, for whatever reason, create havoc on someone, something, some place. In the name of reasonableness, where are our lawmakers? It is unconscionable that a weapon the military designed to stop trucks, blow holes in buildings, bring down airplanes, can so easily end up in the hands of ordinary citizens. What next? Can I expect to see a neighbor in his front yard with a rocket propelled grenade on his shoulder? Shades of an Iraqi marketplace. Disgusted! -- Orfeo Trombetta, Seminole Don't promote this big rifle Re: Small shop builds one big gun. Was this a paid advertisement for the company that builds this rifle or just bad judgment by the editor to publish a very detailed article and photos with "the biggest, baddest gun you can buy" on the front page of the City & State section? It's not surprising to see an article below it about a second-grader with a gun in his backpack! Kids read the papers, too! Come on, St. Petersburg Times: Freedom of the press is one thing, but when I see articles like this it only confirms my decision not to renew my subscription and why your circulation has decreased! -- Sharon Griffin, Tierra Verde |
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I know all all about Serbu's.....I own the 128th one built. Mark is onehellofaguy! He has done allot for us gun owners, and the .50BMG shooters in general. He has placed ads in magazines(SGN I think!) along the same lines as Ronnie Barret(sp?). I wish these asses would all just STFU! Tall Shadow 
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Um, ten football fields is 1000 yards and yes it can. |
| I recall reading an article in our local rag that complained that any 18+ year old could walk into a gun show and purchase .50bmg rifle without a background check. In theory they are right if they were buying it from a non-FFL and if the 18 year old in question had two the eight grand to spend on a gun and even if they do, who's to say they shouldn't? |
Does he have a website? link? I'll be in FL come fall so maybe I'll check him out. |
Don't you just love how they conveniently quote the GAO, but fail to name any specific crime a .50BMG has ever been used in? Typical liberal fuckstains. |
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My take on how the 2nd amendment reads is that if I want an M1A2 Abrams tank and I had the money for it, I should be able to buy one and take it out and target practice with it. I think that all of these sorry ass people that think that the government is in place to protect them is wrong. We have the natural RIGHT to protect ourselves and the community, and not the government protecting us. I want one of the .50's I just need $8000.00 dollars more and I can get one. |
Class 3 toys are neat, BUT unfortunately I live in Class 3 unfriendly Washington Socialist Republic and they kinda frown on neat toys like SBR, FA, SBS, but wait we can own a suppressor but we cannot attach to firearm. |
Yeah, I always see motorcycle gangs with Berrets slung over the back 
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