By Terry Houin
When I was tasked with reviewing the Barrett MRADELR chambered in .416 Barrett, I was less than stoked given my lack of enthusiasm for shooting the big guns like the .50 caliber. Yes, I know most people will never get the opportunity to shoot some of the larger calibers. Maybe I should appreciate my fortune of having this awesome rifle to shoot, but I have lots of time behind the old .50 cal sniper rifles. With several thousand rounds shot over the years, the novelty of shooting these massive calibers has passed.
For a bit of background on my experience with the .50s and why the joy has been lost, we have to jump back to the 90s. In the olden days for a sniper to get his DOPE (Data On Previous Engagement), we had to shoot a rifle at each yardage from 100 yards to max range, which was a long way on the .50. To get good data, it was critical to shoot in varied conditions and locations as environmental factors like temperature, humidity, altitude, etc. will impact the bullet trajectory. So in the days prior to Kestrels, rangefinders, and ballistic computers, this meant we had to write down the conditions each time at the range and use this DOPE to make an educated guess when engaging the enemy.
With previous experiences in the back of my head as I set up the Barrett MRADELR, I took my time getting the fit right and bore sighting the Nightforce ATACR. The first shot completely negated my disdain for the .50 cal as this rifle settled right back onto the target and recoil was easily manageable. Two shots later, I was zeroed and ready to stretch it out and continue gathering data for my ballistic profile.
Here’s a quick rundown of the MRADELR’s specs. Starting in the back we have an adjustable recoil pad for height and length of pull and an adjustable cheek piece. It has a 60-degree bolt throw for quicker cycling and rapid follow up shots, an adjustable trigger, and five-round magazine. The upper receiver has an integrated 24.6 inch top rail with 10 mils of elevation built in along with being M-LOK compatible giving the shooter plenty of real estate for optics and clip-on options like a thermal scope. Like the other MRADs, the barrel is interchangeable if you had the desire to swap the 36-incher. With a starting weight of 23 pounds before optics and accessories, this rifle is purpose-built to send large bullets a long way in a comfortable fashion.
Now let’s get into what really interests me and makes this thing so much fun: the ballistics. The .416 Barrett cartridge is a hammer to say the least. This rifle was pushing the 500-grain A-tip bullets with an average muzzle velocity of 2829 fps giving me an astounding 8,884 ft-lbs of energy. When you combine a heavy bullet with a ballistic coefficient of 0.976(G1)/0.492(G7) traveling that fast out of an accurate rifle we’re going to have a blast. For reference, at 1000 yards with a 3 o’clock 10 mph wind the .416 Barrett has a .69 mil correction and my .300 Win. Mag. would have doubled the hold at 1.42 mils.
After gathering the data and building our profile we jumped to 1000 yards to confirm our DOPE and shoot some groups. After two shots, I made a couple tweaks and then laid down a few sub-MOA groups that reaffirmed my assessment that this MRADELR is very accurate and fun to shoot. After the testing was done it was time to stretch her out and see how the big bullets do in the West Texas winds. 1,347 and 1,662 yards were both first-round hits. Switching directions, we sent it at 1,854 yards aiming at a 12-inch target—this took a couple of rounds to impact the sub-moa target. As the light began to fade, we found a rather nasty looking rock at 2,212 yards that needed to be dealt with. Three shots later, the face was cracked and we felt confident we could pack up for the day. Plans have been made to return in a few weeks to push the rifle out to 3000+ as well as test some terminal ballistics on soft tissue. With the .416 Barret carrying roughly 1500 ft-lbs of energy at 2500—which is more than my .308 at 500 yards—it’s almost taunting me to find out the lethality.
Cost: $9,995
Pros: It’s heavy which makes it easy to shoot and manage recoil; it’s very accurate; it looks badass.
Cons: It’s heavy, so carrying it is no bueno; large bullets are loud but fun.
