Pauza P50: A Failed Barrett .50BMG Competitor

Developed in the late 1980s by machinist Robert Pauza, the P50 is a .50 BMG semiauto rifle that was introduced in 1990. It uses a short-stroke gas piston and tilting bolt closely copied (and scaled up) from the SVT-40 Tokarev. It has a single-stack, 5-round magazine, and a clever retained-but-freefloated bipod design.

The rifle was featured in the film Robocop 2, but this failed to give it the commercial success that I’m sure Pauza hoped for. Production numbers are unclear, but definitely less than 100 and probably less than 50. It went through three separate iterations, first made by Pauza Specialties in Baytown TX. It then moved to Freshour Manufacturing in Texas City TX, and lastly returned in the mid 20-teens through MG Arms of Spring TX. It is unclear if the second and third iterations actually involved any production beyond a few prototypes.

Thanks to Brandon Herrera for giving me access to this example to film for you! If you want to see some really good footage of it shooting, check out his video here: