If you're going for a .50, get a Cobb/Bushmaster BA-50. It's an honest-to-God sub-MOA rifle. Recoils like a .223 or .243. My Mom's example in the "Gun Porn" thread will routinely shoot sub-MOA even inside 300 yards, when the .50 calibre bullet isn't even supposed to be stabilized yet. The recoil's so light it lets you watch the bullet fly into the target on a moist day, and then cycle the bolt with your left hand before a Barrett shooter can even get back on target. The Barrett is a great rifle for what it's designed for, but the Cobb adds genuine sniper-level accuracy into the equation. The Barrett isn't designed for shooting at people, it's designed for shooting at material; truck engines, radar dishes, missile warheads, that kind of thing. It's nothing I'd want anyone shooting at -me- with, but it's not -really- designed for that.
That's not to say the Barrett can't do admirable anti-personell service in the right hands. The Cobb/Bushmaster simply makes "The right hands" a much larger catagory by virtue of its' accuracy, low recoil, and practical rate of fire.
One disadvantage to the C/B, however...that low recoil comes from a truly outsized muzzle brake, and the noise is HORRENDOUS. The whole bloody valley rings when that thing goes off, and you do -not- want to be standing beside the gunner. The only safe place is dead behind.
I can live with that, however, since the C/B is also about $4,000 cheaper.
