In addition the Navy also noted “long term cost savings to the government” as part of the rationale for developing a sniper rifle based on the M14 platform. The rationale for the Army Special Forces and Naval Special Warfare units was presumably similar, as noted in a Naval Operational Requirement document from the late 1980s: “The weapon must be capable of quickly and accurately engaging multiple targets at extended ranges during day and night operations.” While the Army, Navy and Marines continued to use two-man sniper teams with one operator carrying a traditional bolt-action sniper rifle, it was felt that arming the second team member or ‘spotter’ with a semi-automatic M14 rifle would be advantageous in meeting certain mission and operational conditions. Devens, MA, in conjunction with interest by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) at Crane, IN, both sought to develop a ‘Product Improved’ version of the semi-automatic M21 sniper rifle. Indeed, during the same time period in the mid-to-late 1980s when the M24 SWS was being evaluated and ultimately adopted, the U.S. Army (M24), there continued to be a small scale, evolutionary development of various M14 sniper rifles by special operations units, most notably the U.S. Original XM21 rifle with AR TEL scope, circa 1972 (Source: The Long-Range War, Peter Senich, 1994)ĭespite the formal adoption of bolt-action sniper rifles by the USMC (M40 variants) and the U.S. Army leadership began searching for a new sniper rifle system. Army’s M21 sniper rifles with Vietnam War era AR TEL scopes or the later ART II scopes were beginning to show their age, and given that the M14 platform had been out of production for over 20 years at this point, U.S. Post M21 sniper rifle development historyīy the mid-1980s the U.S. Anyhow, I hope others find this informative and perhaps interesting too.enjoy. (I am in the process of building a couple of replicas of the Navy M14 snipers and an XM25 too, so I gathered some info along the way that I thought I would share with other enthusiasts). I am only trying to increase the body of knowledge regarding these interesting but not especially well documented M14 variants. Please note: If you spot any errors and/or possible omissions re this post (or if you have pictures that can further add to this post) - please PM me and I will try to correct or add info as needed, but please try to refrain from public thrashing, if possible. His is really the only book that has details on the XM25 and Navy SSR rifles, but unfortunately his research did not really mention the Navy Port Security Rifles, and its co-mingled with the later SSR rifle, which was a different configuration. This is kind of long post, but I am hoping that Lee Emerson/Different might do an update of his excellent book on the history of the M14. military, and decided to write-up a quick chronological history of these various M14-based sniper or DMR rifles that were used by the US military from the late 1980s up to the late 201Xs. The civilian version, using the longer 24 in (610 mm) match barrel, is guaranteed to produce groupings of less than 1 in (25 mm) at 100 yd (91 m), or 0.3 angular mil, using factory match loads.For anyone interested, this summer I did some research/outreach re some of the "post M21" type sniper and DMR rifles used by the U.S. The Mk 11 Mod 0 has an empty weight of 15.3 lb (6.9 kg), and an overall length of 45.4 in (115 cm). The aluminum fore-end makes no contact with the barrel forward of the receiver, allowing for extreme accuracy. The RAS allows for quick attachment/detachment of MIL-STD-1913 components. The Mk 11 Mod 0 utilizes an Obermeyer 20 in (510 mm) match target barrel, along with a RAS (Rail Accessory System) fore-end made by KAC, consisting of an 11.35 in (288 mm) long match fore-end. Flip-up BUIS (Back up iron sights) are attached to the modified gas block and upper receiver. The Mk 11 system includes the rifle, 20 round box magazines, QD (Quick Detachable) scope rings, Leupold Mark 4 Mil-dot riflescope, Harris swivel-base bipod on a Knight's mount, and QD sound suppressor, which is also manufactured by Knight's Armament Co. ServerPerks Code: TraderInventory=3:Mk11SR.Mk11SRPickupīackground: The Mk 11 Mod 0 system comes in 7.62 mm NATO caliber, and is designed for match-grade 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition. I am simply uploading them to the Workshop for all to enjoy.
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