St. George bullpup .50 BMG makes a splash at NRA (5 PHOTOS)

The Leader 50 A1 is only about as long as your typical Mini-14, but packs a much bigger punch and was on display at the NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Louisville.

Manufactured entirely in the U.S. in their Chandler, Arizona facility, St. George Arms’ representatives told Guns.com last week that the big bullpup set to fire John Browning’s .50 caliber (12.7x99mm) cigar is not a prototype– but is in active production and prepping to ship.

Using a muzzle brake the size of a coke can (and different from early photos on their website), the short-stroke pistol gas-operated semi-auto helps to further minimize felt recoil by stopping the action at the midpoint against the barrel extension, so it never touches the rear of the receiver.

Overall length, even with a 24-inch barrel, is just 39.5-inches while weight is 18.5-pounds with the 10-round detachable mag empty. The gun comes with a generous length rail and was set up in Louisville with YHM sights for the purpose of display.

For comparison, Barrett’s bolt-action light bullpup Model 95 runs 45-inches overall with its longer barrel and tips the scales at 23.5-pounds.

The Leader 50 A1 is already turning heads, being selected as one of the 10 most innovative firearms and related accessories for 2016 by the Blue Book of Gun Values.

MSRP? $8,200, which is the world of .50 cals, is relative.

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