Sarah Palin Honored by NRA With Alaska-Themed Assault Rifle
BY James Gordon Meek
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON—Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was bashed for her pricey wardrobe, but now she's getting a lethal accessory.
The National Rifle Association Foundation will present Sen. John McCain's ill-fated running mate with a military-style assault weapon next week.
The all-white "Alaskan Hunter"—fashionable until Labor Day—is the civilian version of a modified M-4 rifle carried by U.S. troops overseas.
Alaska's feisty Republican governor, who is weighing a potential 2012 presidential bid, will receive the rifle made by Templar Consulting at a May 14 NRA banquet.
It's engraved with Palin's name and adorned with a map of the state on the collapsible stock—made legal after the expiration of the assault weapons ban in 2004. The Big Dipper from the state flag is etched on the magazine well behind a vented barrel guard.
The rifle is chambered in .50-caliber "Beowulf." It's the same caliber used by heavy machine guns, which can take down big game, and in war zones "can disable both motor vehicles and assailants with body armor," according to ammo manufacturer Alexander Arms' Web site.
Templar gun designer Bob Reynolds told the NRA's magazine that Palin had stood up for Second Amendment gun rights and "I just wanted to do something to give back."
advertisement
