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In a classic illustration of fear porn, the Royal Australian Air Force shut down airspace over an air force base to test fire a “high-powered” single-shot .50 caliber rifle. When it comes to firearms, it’s all about sensationalism in service to civilian disarmament to help convince the public to surrender guns that are seldom, if ever, used in crime.

Those of us living in the free states here in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave just giggle at such an absurd reaction to a discharging a single-shot rifle. Then again, the bed-wetting bureaucrats in Oz succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

They even had those present wear face diapers — outdoors — because COVID infections apparently skyrocket in the presence of such wickedly powerful boomsticks. And the Australian media ate it all up.

From the West Australian . . .

The Australian Defence Force was forced to restrict air space at RAAF Base Pearce as a high-powered 0.50 calibre sniper rifle was fired during a demonstration to promote new gun laws.

Premier Mark McGowan, then-police commissioner Chris Dawson and Police Minister Paul Papalia attended the media event at the WA Rifle Association’s firing range in Pinjar in March last year to illustrate why the high-powered weapons needed to be taken off the streets.

If this kind of knee-knocking fear Aussie officials feel over firing a bolt action rifle permeates the rest of their society, the Communist Chinese Party could likely pull off a successful invasion of Australia by sending in the People’s Liberation Army marching band. Sad!

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107 COMMENTS

    • “Australians Shut Down Airspace Before Test Firing a .50 Caliber Rifle”

      LOL! 🤣🤣🤣

      • Following the demonstration the demonic rifle was placed in chains, beaten and returned to its cell in a dungeon.

        • “These 50s need to be taken off the streets.”

          No one needs a .50cal anything, except military and police.

          Now, a Javelin missile is a whole ‘nuther thing.

        • Yeah, I haven’t seen anyone carrying a .50 in open carry in — well, actually never. Awful hard to carry concealed in my view. Maybe I am just not man enough to carry a .50 concealed. I would venture to say if you are big enough to carry a .50 concealed you probably don’t need it anyway.

        • Actually it’s 12.7mm in REAL math… Largest round used in hand guns and shoulder fired rifles… .50 equals 1/2 inch in diameter.. .50 BMG would be 13.0×99 (.510 inch in diameter actual size)… (BMG = Browning Machine Gun aka The .50 Cal)

    • It’s Western Australia which has always been a defacto police state even apartheid South Africa would consider excessive.

      They clearly took Al Sharpton’s statement at face value. Luckily there were no trains in the area.

      • I remember having to stop at the WA/SA border on the Eyre Hwy… it was almost like entry into another country.

    • The Brits successful killed most of the Aussies with any balls off in two WW.

      The Airfarce does not accept the big sky/little bullet theory. All wimps/grow a pair.

    • There is also an issue with the range used for the test is not approved for that caliber.

    • Well, if as Ole Two-Short aIS, ns if the prez says it, it must be the absolute truth, right, a .223 will rip your lungs out, just think a .50 cal must just turn the whole body into red mist. I was reading an article about the early days of special forces and in the article it states the Col. Beckworth was once shot in the gut with a .50 caliber round. The article didn’t state whether it was “just” a wound that barely caught him or it was a dead center shot, although I suspect that it was the former rather than the latter. I remember reading in a book about the Korean War that a Skyraider went over some Marines while strafing enemy positions. Planes ejected the shells as they fired. No sense in hauling empty brass back to the base. An empty .50 cal case hit a Marine on the top of his shoulder and with the velocity of the case, it crashed down through his chest killing him instantly. Can’t attest to the veracity of that statement. I don’t even remember what book it was, but it was describing real action during the Korean War, so I would say the veracity was more likely than not.

  2. ‘absurd’ is not the right word exactly, more like ‘delusional fear mongering’ unless the Aussies are simply not trustworthy enough to not take an intentional shot at their own aircraft.

  3. Airspace was shutdown so that the sound of the aircraft would not distract the propagandists from where their focus was needed. Fear theatre at its finest.

  4. “high powered rifles taken off the streets.” every gangbanger and their cousin walking around with a 30 pound .50 cal rifle in their trousers for sure! Definitely need to put a stop to that, it’s all too common.

    • It ain’t the ganbangers knocking about withwunna these in their britches that’s the worry. Its about the Gummit operators nipping round the corner in their Toyota pickups with the TRD deckles on the side and one of these on a tripod fixed solidly to the bed. With an operator directing it…… except those will NOT be bolt guns. No mate, they’ll be beltfed full auto fire.

  5. I watched the 1980s movie Crocodile Dundee again not long ago. Was probably twenty years since the previous time I’d watched it. I recall seeing it for the first time and thinking fondly of the Australian outback culture, similar to the American Western Frontier.

    My, how the mighty have fallen. The Aussies are now in the same camp as the Brits and the Kiwis.

    • @Haz

      The Aussies are a constitutional monarchy with King Charles da Turd as their de facto Head of State. Most former British possessions are still linked to the Motherland by very tight apron strings. It appears that the USA and India are the only two former possessions that have thrown off the yoke of the crown and become truly independent countries…and the Brits have never forgiven us for it.

        • Dysfunctional cesspool/chicom, yawn/irrelevant, Militant Chicom, Dysfunctional cesspool/chicom.

        • MADDMAXX March 13, 2023 At 15:10
          Your comment is awaiting moderation
          What about Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, or Bangladesh?

          Okay, I give up, what about them?

          Fukking joking, RIGHT? Name four shithole countries and get MODERATED… Truly a sad day in this world…

        • MADDMAXX March 13, 2023 At 15:15
          Your comment is awaiting moderation
          So did YOU get moderated for mentioning Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, or Bangladesh?

          How about YOU neiowa: Did you get moderated for mentioning Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, or Bangladesh?

          Must be the REAL deal if it gets MODERATED for the same thing twice… So whose ass do I need to kiss or will an OPEN letter apology do?

      • “…and the Brits have never forgiven us for it.”

        And neither have all too many Americans.

      • except that in our own csee we’ve practically replaced the prissy kings whose every word was law and would fly into rage if challenged, we’ve replaced that fool George Three with the now all-ppwerful gvernment agents who now rule with fear and covert power behind the scenes. WHO are pulling the strings of our current sockpuppet? Not “we the people” by any stretch. When the great kings of old rode a horse at the head of the column, banners waving, leading the charge they were honoured and respectd, and did right by their people. Think William the Conqueror and Henry Five. Henry Eight was one of the worst, and did much of the work that set England on her road to world domination of tyranny. Tyranny is always costly and fragile. He who has the most toys that kill people holds the reins.That cah change almost overnight. Witness EnnZed’s recent change in Blatherer in Chief. Oz are no longer the hardy innovative can-do hard working gritty folk they were half a century back. The green lizard flogging motorcar insurance is a more accurate depiction of them. They’ve in the main accepted their own disarmement, meekly knuckled under to the lockdowns and jabs and quarantines, destruction of their economy and production, Sure glad I dod NOT ualify” to immigrate to there. Did not hve enough money to bring along so was deemed “unacceptible”.

      • Especially as our ruling classes consider themselves as “British to their bootstraps” even though the nation was declared independent since 1901.

        • declared independent since 1901.

          I was in Sydney in 1970, young lady took me to a movie and before the show everyone stood to God Save the Queen (British National Anthem). I understand that a few years later it was replaced with an “official” Aussy anthem, but over 70 years of fealty to the crown after declaring independence? True it took about 150 years to codify our National Anthem after OUR little breakup, but we didn’t spend all those years playing the Brits tune at football games and such… (the football call out is a fukin joke for THAT smartass that wants to gloat over my “mistake”…

        • that “subject” mentality never truly goes away…as for our elites,..sucking around the royals behinds is pretty routine for them

        • elites,..sucking around the royals behinds

          Is exactly why every time one of them farts it’s wall-to-wall news 24/7 til the cloud clears…

      • Sadly I wish we were still under our constitution no we are a corporation registered & run by America hence why our government is no longer Commonwealth Government its the Australian Government

  7. How did some of the toughest people on the planet become the second biggest pussies on the planet in just one generation? They should be aware they are a couple of hours away from China….

    • think that china thing is sinking in…what with the nuclear subs and out troops based in the north….

    • Even better because butthead is wearing an ACDC shirt. one of the only things worth a crap that has come from that continent.

  10. It must have been one of those guns Democrat politicians warn about with the “heat-seeking bullets!” Not to mention the “shoulder thing that goes up.”

    They were “forced to restrict air space”? Who forced them?

      • California did years ago. At first Barrett stopped servicing rifles sold to police units in the state , and ultimately he moved his entire business out of state (before he sold it).

        • then someoe developed the .338 Lapua…… and the CaliFunny Knotheads couldn’e figure out how to ban that one too.

        • If I recall correctly Barrett developed a .41 that shot just as far as the .50 and CA ignored that. I visited the company making a .41 caliber that the U.S. armed services were ordering. They were located in Arco, ID. The bullets for it were machined from special copper blanks. They test fired the rifles from the back of their rather small shop into a hill over a mile away where thee was a target set up. I could barely see the small square with my nekked eye. Had an interesting talk with them. Their rifle was labeled SECRET or TOP SECRET so they could only show me part of their operation Or at least that’s what they told me. That was following our first Northwest Tandem Rally held in Boise and our first trip to Idaho, so we were touring around after the rally.That must have been ore than 20 years ago.

        • um yea NO.. Barrett has always been and will probably stay in Tennessee. Now you are correct about them discontinuing servicing fireams in California.

  12. There was a link in the comments section of the TTAG article last week (the one regarding underground firing range) that related a seizure in Western Australia of an illegal .50 cal. In that article the WA police quoted that the .50 cal was able to demolish buildings. This is probably that same rifle being demo’d for a Media Show ‘n Tell. The Aussie Air Farce was afeerd that an aircraft or passing space station might have been accidentally shot down by the building-destroying firearm.

    Sadly, it appears that the Aussies have been successfully neutered…can’t have too many rams in a country of sheep…it makes the sheep (and their political shepherds) nervous.

    • if someone makes a gun that can shoot down a space station, they should shut up and take my money!

    • I have a friend that used his Barrett to shoot out the staves on a concrete silo until it collapsed. Less expensive than bringing in an excavator to do the job.

    • Old Guy

      That was my comment and about what I would expect from WA. They have always been the most anti gun state.

      To be fair the average house won’t stop a .308 let alone a .50 cal

  13. All they needed was air raid sirens to complete the theater of the absurd. And I love the part about the Chinese military band taking over the country. Death by bugle.

    • It won’t be totally one-sided though – the Australian Army keeps an emergency armory of silent dog-whistles at the ready.

  14. The Aussies were our allies in Vietnam. They were Kick-Ass tough MF er’s. It’s sad to see such a nation of men fall. This former prison colony was made up of some really tough men and women. They have forgotten what made them a strong people.

    • @Chris

      Agreed. It’s a shame that U.S. youth and politicians and the Aussie equivalents are unknowing (or knowing dupes) of China…the same enemy and ideology we fought in Vietnam.

      China gave up on Mao’s 5-year plans decades ago…they now plan in generational time frames…it appears to be working.

      • China is fubar. Listen to demographer Peter Zeihan talk about China’s dismal future on YouTube. They have an aging population with few in the child bearing age due to Mao’s one child policy. China’s population will drop in half by 2050 due to deaths of the elderly and few children. The Chinese eat imported food and their industry runs on imported oil. Xi has turned the government into a one man dictatorship and the country is too big for any one man to manage successfully. COVID started in China and is still raging there because they don’t have an effective vaccine and won’t accept help from the West.

        • WE don’t have an effecgive “vaccine” either and the kind of “help
          Ive seen from “the west” is the kind of meddling we, and they’ DON’T need. Their root problem is a givernment that claims wo “know what’s best”

        • Some of these demographers are eating up the WEST INTEL propaganda!!

          Check they brief the PENTAGON, WHITE HOUSE, European Gov’ts..

          They have their hands in the COOKIE JAR, and don’t want to say anything that will result in them loosing their $$$!!!!

          I remember reading predictions from DEMOGRAPHERS predicting the end of CHINA by 2000/2010/2020 over their one child policy!!!

        • Also, when China lifted their one child policy and gave immunity to families to declare their children..

          China was stunned to learn that families outside of the cities have been violating the “ONE CHILD” Edicts!!!

          They had 2/3/4 children in some households!!!

          They had to raise the number of Chinese in their census..

      • Ah, the BS myth of the chicom “patient waiting game”. The Han chinese are the same as for hundreds/thousand years.

        The current batch has a HUGE demographic/aging population problems. Chief being their primary cohort of “military age males” consisting of pampered princes (urban maggots from single child family). The brilliant innovative patiently plotting Chinese would have figured out this problem before they instituted the one child program. They are already past the optimal (demographic) point to attack Taiwan. 40yr old privates are NOT the ideal assault troops (horny single or married office worker).

    • Being a former prison colony may be part of their problem. Prisons are usually authoritarian by nature and try to condition prisoners to be submissive and compliant. This means they have little historic basis of being free. Perhaps that country is just returning to its prison roots.

  15. I hope they didn’t hurt themselves. oh that’s right they have their masks on that will protect them against everything. what a bunch of liberal leftist loonies.

  17. Everyone is bashing Australia as a whole. They are like America in that the cities are left loonies and the outback/flyover country are conservatives. Unfortunately for Australia the loonies out number the outback.

    America is heading that direction with all the well indoctrinated socialist youths coming out of school now days. It will not be long before loonies outnumber conservatives here.

    • Exactly. About 80%+ of our population lives in urban locales.

      Gun ownership rates are much lower than other countries and knowledge of firearms is largely from Hollywood.

      That said, there are over 15 thousand legally owned firearms in my postcode alone. Not the state. Not the greater Sydney area. Just one postcode in Sydney.

  19. A few years back a loaded .22 round was spotted on a sidewalk in England, the area was evacuated and a bomb disposal squad arrived to safely remove it.

    • About 12 minutes ago a .22 round was spotted rolling around the center console of my Jeep. Everyone is fine and I was able to avoid involving the EOD guys, whew!

  20. Check out the safety regulations and safety fans on US military ranges. Overflight and movement is hugely restricted even when firing 5.56. This is a stupid story.

  23. To be fair, however UNLIKELY it might be, an errant 50 Cal round COULD bring down an aircraft…

    • … not unless fins pop out and the seeker head engages before the rocket motor ignites.

      • It required TWO $462,000 missles fired from nearly the same altitude at a near-stationary $50 hobby balloon in US airspace just a few short weeks ago.
        You mean to tell me that we could have done it with a single ground-fired 50 cal. round ?

  27. At this point it appears the CCP could send a bunch of poorly equipped Girl Scouts to successfully defeat the Australians and they could stop by and trash the New Zealanders on a lunch break.

    • Yeah, just have them knock on every door while toting their wagons full of cookies, it’ll totally crush them into submission within days.

  30. Good move. Those fifty cal rifle bullet travels at near light speed and the shock wave of air is equal to the a bomb we dropped on Japan. No sense knocking good jets outta the sky mate!
    ROFLMAO at Australian gov.

  31. From what I can find it was more to do with the West Australian police’s absurd anti gun rules rather than the Air Force. When I was in the Australian Army we were expected to comply with local laws plus military law on most occasions.

    I’ve seen tracer rounds go up a few thousand feet after hitting rocks. Though I can’t think of a good reason why you would be shooting next to an active runway instead of a range. Staged photo for publicity seems likely.

    In rural Queensland my local range hosts sniper and other long range events to a 1000 metres ever two months. BYO .308, .338 etc.

    • Funnily enough 40 plus years ago we sometimes shoot at clays starting with .22 then 7.62 as a snap shooting practice. One of the better Australian army range days.

      The idea was dropped as a cost saving measure in the early 1980’s

  35. Taken off the streets is a big of an exaggeration. I don’t think anybody is walking down the street carrying that rifle. Bit heavy to lug to the supermarket. But even more ridiculous that shutting down an airfield to fire a rifle at a target with a mountain backdrop, is wearing those absurd masks while standing outdoors. They look like total idiots.

    All that being said, who wouldn’t love to have that rifle in their collection? I know I can’t afford one.

  36. With a military like that no wonder they approved a US nuke sub base. Upside down land downblunder.

  37. That Aussie has balls of steel!
    A high powered rifle like this has been known to circle the globe, and strike its user in the back of the head.
    #Lucky #Blessed #SteelBalls

    • Such sad news. Another American company succumbs to greed, and whores itself to the highest bidder.

  39. “The Australian Defence Force was forced to restrict air space at RAAF Base Pearce as a high-powered 0.50 calibre sniper rifle was fired.” 0.50 calibre. That’s pretty small isn’t it?

  41. Wonder what the reaction to my old Sharps .50 cal rifles would be.
    Great rifles for rear end shots at bison or Mack Trucks.
    Funny thing is both of my fifties are from the late 1800’s. And will still ring the 5 inch steel plate at 1000 meters all day long. Or as long as your shoulder and wallet will allow.

  42. i would say that Crocodile Dundee would be ashamed of them, but the Australians, murdered him decades ago.

  43. I wonder how many of the “Officials” and Journalists pissed their pants when the trigger was pulled?

  44. What Australia does or does not do a has sweet FA to do with American Gun Nuts. And casting aspertions on the courage of AUSTRALIANS would be extremely unwise to do to their faces I can assure you and Gun control measure inAUSR TRALIA have the overwhelming support of the electorate. If Australia has decided that the wearing of facxe masks is a wise thuing to do then that too is entirely their concern. It’s about bloodyntime that AMERICANS got it throughtheir e uneducted heads thatthe rest of the world does NOT share their viewpoint that unlimited FIREARM ownership is an indication of FREEDOM-in fact most would consider it to be the exact opposite because they do not live in fear of thereCHLDREN becoming regualr taagets fro unbalanced minds and thatthey may be shot down for the lightest of reason or that all tooften resorting to shooting is the first reaction to personal conflict.Get into an argument if a Aussie or UK bar and you are likely to get or give a thick lip but it would be extraordinarily rare to get shot

    • I got it buck-o… Anything Australia does is none of our business BUT everything we do is absolutely YOUR business whether YOU know anything about it or NOT… In fact it’s about time the REST of the world got it through THEIR ignorant minds that Americans give ZERO FUKS about what THEY think… You can go fuk off now…

  45. The West Australian newspaper is inherently anti-(civilian owned)gun. Not long ago they published, on the front page, a (quite hackable) map of Perth suburbs showing the locations of private firearm owners. This map was provided BY THE COMMISIONER OF POLICE with information collected from Western Australia Police firearms REGISTRY!!

    The same police that convinced the local politicians to ban gelsoft toys.

    Not airsoft.

    Gelsoft…

    “A threat to community safety…”
    “..in the wrong hands…”
    And I’m not even kidding,
    “..can be converted into real firearms…” !!!
    The same legislation includes the “26B”..
    Under 26B any firearm that resembles a Category D firearm (semi-automatic centrefire (or military) IN APPEARANCE is classed as a Cat D…
    I believe there is or, was a guy here that got his application to licence a 50BMG rifle knocked back, under 26B. He proceeded to have it painted, muzzle to butt in hot-pink. WA Police had to issue approval. 🤣

    Oh, and the .50 they used?
    WA Police purchased it, just for the stunt..

    Send green cards.

  46. “….it’s all about sensationalism in service to civilian disarmament to help convince the public to surrender guns that are seldom, if ever, used in crime.”

    Gun control has nothing to do with any connection with which guns are used in crimes. It is ALL about those guns, any gun in reality, that might be used against a tyrannical administration. It’s about saving tyrannts’ own asses down the road. That’s why a .50BMG makes gun control zealots piss down their leg.

    Although note, the .50BMG shoulder fired weapons…ala Barretts….are to be phased out in favor of .338Norma Magnum rounds for anti-material applications. Those Barretts are loved for stationary applications, but get left in the armory when mountain humpin’ in the action plan. Still, nothing, but nothing, brings out the smiles like the bark of a Barrett .50BMG.

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