Posted on 05/02/2010 2:03:44 AM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Recognizing the differences between conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is now selecting a contractor to upgrade the 22-year-old Remington bolt-action rifle to become a more effective killing machine. The Army will pour about $5.6 million into upgrades to the M24, with the new gear expected to be delivered to troops by this fall. The M24's barrel is being modified to shoot heavier .300 Winchester Magnum rounds, instead of the 7.62mm NATO ammunition, which should extend the rifle's maximum effective range by hundreds of yards to a maximum of about 1400 yards. The suppressor will reduce the noise and flash of the gun so snipers can stay in their hiding positions much longer after they fire.
The Army is also adopting a new chassis that allows for more "real estate" on the riflemeaning the ability to attach accessories, especially much-needed night-vision devices that clip on directly to the rail in front of the scope. The scope itself will be improved, adding a variable power system that can reach 16.5x to 25x magnification. The Army will also fit the rifles with a rangefinder so troops will no longer have to perform calculations on distance. "The engagement is a lot farther [in Afghanistan] than in Iraq," says Milo Afong, a former Marine Corps sniper who researched the experience of snipers in Afghanistan for his new book, Hunters: U.S. Snipers in the War on Terror. "You are looking at higher altitudes and less populated areas."
(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...
Back during WWII entire German towns would surrender when the first US Sniper opened up. In part that is because the US Army preferred sniper weapon was the 155mm artillery cannon.
“When the US Army is sniping with 155mm cannons, it is time to give up!”.
25x zoom is nice, but should not this kind of improvement be incremental, as a SOP with the general technology improvements, instead of being done every quarter century or in a fork lift fashion?
.300 Win Mag BANG!
That has been tried, but what ends up happening often is that the incremental improvements expose other bugs or weaknesses, which then have to be corrected with incremental improvements, which expose other bugs or weaknesses... you get the idea.
5.6 million dollars to upgrade a rifle?
Yeah, it's a part of standard R&D cycle, but I was not suggessting to subject the snipers in the field to alpha or beta-test, and a quarter century seems a bit long for the version 1.xx on a sniper rifle. The improvements described seem to be technologically fairly incremental, not 2.0...
What’s the barrel life difference between .308 and .300WM?
It's not as much money as it used to be.
In terms of a sniping rifle, probably none. Both should hold premium accuracy for more than 2,000 rounds. A rebarrel is cheap and quick.
Bookmark
Sounds reasonable. So they are keeping the old M-24 receivers/stocks?
Why not go to all new rifles in .338L if they want long range?
About 7,000 versus about 2,700.
I really enjoyed a TV segment featuring this rifle. When the hand held “puter” calculates, in part, the rotational spin of the earth for an exact aiming point you know you have a long range precision weapon. I recall that it’s based on a new cartridge the 408 Cheytec and others like the 338L. On target groups to 2,300 yards documented.
“.300 Win Mag BANG!”
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A couple of weeks ago, I bought a ticket from Friends of NRA. They will have a drawing for one rifle, from a 10 rifle limited edition, of the Browning BLR Lightweight ‘81. I am not absolutely sure, but I think the one they had was chambered in .300 Win Mag. I AM absolutely sure it was beautiful, and I would love to be the winner!
“I really enjoyed a TV segment featuring this rifle.”
I saw that. Amazing!
Hey, it's a pretty nice rifle!
And Uncle Sugar is paying for it. I would think that the heavy barrels used on the .308's could have their chambers reamed to accomodate .300 Win. mag., but they'll brobably just buy new rifles.
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