A twin-strut extension that pulls out of the butt allows a 2-inch [50.8mm] adjustment to length-of-pull, as well as allowing for the weapon to fit inside the M-1950 Weapon Container for Airborne Operations. The rifle is 43 inche in overall length with a 24-inch stainless steel barrel. Today, if youre a civilian shooter and want an M24 reproduction, you basically have three options: a gun can be custom built by a gunsmith or you can order one from one of the two firms that offer them in their regular lineups, those being Texas Brigade Armory and GA Precision. The action is screwed into the block with two screws torqued to 65 in.-lbs. These upgrades were performed by Remington Arms, the original manufacturer of the M24, and included modifications to the barrel, stock, trigger, and other components to improve accuracy and reliability. You have entered an incorrect email address! Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the Gun Digest 2014 annual book. A few barrels were tested past 20,000 and accuracy never went below the original accuracy requirement. I would have to say that is very impressive! Not much to look at either. Additionally, the barrel is completely free-floating in the stock and the fore-end has a flat, benchrest-style bottom. Indeed, the rifles procured by the U.S. military from the 1960s onward reflect a renewed focus on marksmanship training. And, now, there was sitting in front of me a current production sample of the default sniper rifle used by the U.S. Army for the past decade and a half. That flash of brass could give your position away. He also pointed out that a solidly built boltaction will maintain its zeroa quality of the utmost importance. I do NOT like the fact that it has a long action (even if it is adaptable to .300 Win), it causes feeding problems with the M118 & M118LR (7.62x51mm) if the rounds are not pushed all the way to the rear of the magazine. The optics-ready CR920 Elite pistol neatly checks the boxes of the micro-compact checklist. The Army sniper racks the bolt for another shot, but the mission is over; the caravan of terror speeds away. Five years before Remingtons fulfillment came to an end, Knights Armament Company had been awarded an Army contract to replace the M24 with its M110, a semi-automatic weapons system. Maximum effective range is given as 800 meters (875yd), but record shots have been made with the M24 at over 1,000 meters (1,094yd). Get the latest news and reviews from Gundigest.com. Other than a change in the type of back-up iron sighting system, it was the same rifle as the one introduced in 1988. As stated earlier, I took the M24 out to the Test and Evaluation Facility at the Quantico Marine Base. It is said that whe fact that they could convert them to .300 Win Mag was an unexpected benefit to the SF groups and was never actually designed into the system. It has a shorter effective range than the M24, but its accuracy is comparable and more modular, allowing for easier customization. The M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) is the military and police version of the Remington Model 700 rifle, M24 being the model name assigned by the United States Army after adoption as their standard sniper rifle in 1988. On April 25, 2014, the 2,558th M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle was completed. Get 12 Issues a year of the country's best firearms writing. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The arms maker invested heavily into materials, testing, and workmanship and could not only hand the Army a rifle that met all its requirements, but also one that could boast of attaining levels of performance never before seen in a sniper rifle. A second contract for the M24 was issued to Remington around 2001 (give or take a year) for some more systems with some minor changes. As told in Sniper magazine, Brig. The rifle, locked into the Universal Return To Battery Fixture, was fired for accuracy. Apparently there were several other rifle makers who said they could build a better rifle for the required price, but they were not interested once they heard it would be 10,000 rifles and that they would be required to provide maintenance on those rifles for at least 5 years and with an Army option for 2 additional procurements. As a complete unit, the M24 SWS includes the following; a rifle mounted with a Leupold Mk IV M3 10x42 mm scope in Mk IV rings; OK Weber iron sights; Harris bipod; a deployment kit that includes a cleaning kit, tools and emergency replacement parts; M1907 sling; drag bag; and an operator's manualall in an extremely heavy duty case. The M24 has an effective range of 800 meters, although shots have been successfully made at distances beyond 1,000 meters. These changes included two piece Leupold Mark 4 scope ring bases instead of the one piece on the first series rifles, and a switch from Redfield-Palma International iron sights to another manufacturer OK Weber. This equates to a 1.1 MOA requirement at 548.6 m. 300 yd: 3.5 in (after first Production Lot). Had the Generals first shot landed off-mark, the outcome of this interesting firearm's history could have turned out much differently. I used it for two seasons of PRS w/suppressor and Schmidt Bender PMII 5-25. This equates to a 1.1 MOA requirement at 274.3 m. IMI 7.62 51mm 175 Grain Match OTM-BT Razor Core: a 175-grain. The rifle is chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO round and can fire machine gun-grade ammunition. First were sniper versions of the, In 1985, a survey was issued to the firearm manufacturing community that requested proposed specifications for a new sniper rifle. As in the USMC M40A1, the M24 uses the Remington 700 action, although the receiver is a long action made for adaptation to take the .300 Winchester Magnum round. McMillan TAC-50: A rifle behind the longest-recorded sniper kill in history, Barrett M90: A successor of legendary Barrett M82. The M24 SWS is a bolt-action sniper rifle developed specifically for sniping and is used by the US Army and Air Force. For the past two-and-a-half years he has also been a Sniper Team Leader. The M24s trigger is externally adjustable for pull weight via a screw located on the face of the trigger. The advantage of the long-range semi-auto option quickly gained popularity with soldiers and, in 2008, the first Army unit went into battle, in Afghanistan, armed with M110s. There have been kills made beyond 1100 meters, though those are not standard fair. After extensive testing, the rifle was approved by the U.S. Army in 1988 and became the M24. The M24E1, or XM2010, is an entirely different animal. and has an internal, non-detachable magazine with a capacity of five rounds. This design reduces bullet deformation, theoretically improving accuracy. This sniper rifle is referred to as a "weapon system" because it consists of not only a rifle, but also a detachable telescopic sight and other . With my handloads, I achieved .3moa making 2600+ fps w/180gr Bergers OTMs. As in the USMC M40A1, the M24 uses the Remington 700 action, although the receiver is a long action made for adaptation to take the .300 Winchester Magnum round. As development of the system was moving forward they discovered that there was not enough .30-06 ammo in a single lot in the Armys inventory to test and develop the system so they quickly changed to the 7.62x51mm NATO (308 Win) and left the action the same as there was not enough time for the manufacturers of the stock and floorplate to make the change to short action. With its long action, the .300 Winchester Magnum was a top contender to make the M24 a 1,000-yard and beyond gun, but other ideas were floated, in particular, the .338-416 and the early incarnation of the .338 Lapua Magnum. The M24 Sniper Weapon System is widespread in the Army. The average mean radius shall be less than or equal to the values stated below. The Redick Arms Development company continued researching this concept, leading to the RAD M91A1 and M91A2 rifles adopted by the US Navy SEALs. The metal finish is powder coated for extreme durability. Each of these rifles has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the choice of the rifle will depend on the mission requirements. Aman, but that is pretty common for these rifles., I was a bit taken aback by his phlegmatic response, but the more I thought about it, the more it began to make sense. The M24 SWS has the "long action" bolt version of the Remington 700 receiver but is chambered for the 7.6251mm NATO "short action" cartridge that has an overall length of 2.750 inches (69.85mm). He stated, Interesting side note was there was a 10,000 round requirement for the barrel to maintain the original accuracy. The M24 is referred to as a "weapon system" because it consists of not only a rifle, but also a detachable telescopic sight and . The actual rifle requirements for accuracy were .35 MOA from a machine rest and according to Major John Mende (ret.) The average extreme spread for 10-round shotgroups shall be less than or equal to the following values: 600 yd: 7.0 in (first Production Lot). The US Army M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) has been in service since 1988. This was later replaced in 1998 by the Leupold Mk 4 LR/T M1 1040mm fixed-power scope with an elongated-shaped mil-dot wire reticle. It is comprised of a massive Hardigg case, a Leupold Mark 4 M3 10x scope, cleaning accessories, M1903 leather sling, Harris bi-pod and Redfield Palma Match or OK Weber aperture-style sights. But variants have also crept into the picture in the M24A1, M24A2, and M24E1/XM2010. One of the M24's more interesting features is its adjustable aluminum alloy buttplate that allows the user to change the length of pull from 12" to 14". be a short action? This results in less barrel fouling, and more consistent point of impact, compared to conventional rifling when relatively high numbers of rounds are fired between cleaning, as might be expected in military applications. However, the Army still continued to acquire M24s from Remington until February 2010 and upgraded to the A2 and M24E1 standard in many cases, continuing to serve. After having inspected the rifle, I determined that it would be helpful to get an opinion on it from both the law enforcement and military communities. According to the account of that day, the Generals first shot smashed the X-ring, after which he stood up and said, Buy it. That same General later testified before Congress about the problems with the M-21s, and it was he who secured the program its official funding to proceed. This rifle is considered a total conversion upgrade, which includes changes to the barrel, stock, magazines, muzzle brake, suppressor, and more. US Air Force advanced designated marksmen also employ the M24. When the guns were finally delivered (the first batch on December 20, 1988), the cost was $4,995 eachbut being fully tooled up for production meant Big Green was able to drop per gun cost to $3,900. The stock of the M24 represents a joint design effort by Remington and H-S Precision. The M24 SWS is a bolt-action sniper rifle developed specifically for sniping and is used by the US Army and Air Force. Functioning was flawless, with no failures to feed or eject. All content is protected by copyright and may not be used for commercial purposes without prior written permission. It has been used in a number of conflicts, including the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Gen. James Guest attended a test firing not far from Fort Bragg, in 1985, and decided to do some shooting for himself. The M24 has been in use since 1988. The cheekpiece is fixed, while the buttplate is extendable up to 2 inches. The M24 Sniper Rifle is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) is outfitted with a 24" 416 stainless steel bull (#8 contour) barrel. Replacement of existing weaver rails with a MIL-STD-1913 rail capable of accommodating both a day optic and in-line forward mounted, AN/PVS-26 (NSN 5855-01-538-8121) image intensified (I2) night vision device. The classic design approved in 1988 is still available from Remington and is in use by the military in more or less its original configuration. The whole thing comes as a complete deployment-ready package: the Army would later designate it as the M24 SWS, or Sniper Weapon System. It is also worth noting that in the 1990s, Israel purchased and used M24s. Theyre up to no good, in plain view now, in the pre-dawn light. Ryan Link ejects an expended casing from his weapon while training with the M24 Sniper Weapon System July 11, 2014, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. But there were bedding issues in the early McMillans, and an H-S Precision-stocked weapon was brought in for testing by 1985. Save my name and email to use for future comments. The case was used to transport the rifle optic and placed inside . The minimum rate of fire for conducting this test shall be three rounds per minute.[3]. Mag., when logistics over ammunition could be worked out. Watch latest videos, sometimes even early releases! JBER Airmen train with sniper weapon system. This is effected by a thick wheel on a central grooved pillar for adjusting the length and a thin locking ring behind it locks the thick wheel in place. Other than some differences, such as the backup iron sights and the scopes reticle, the M24 is just about what I would ask to be built. There were other players in the field, of course. An estimated 3,600 elite XM2010s were to be created, either from upgraded M24s or newly produced. Remington would continue to supply Big Army with the new M24s through February 2010, ultimately producing 2,500 rifles over the life of the contract. Like the M24A2, it has a detachable magazine, but its optics are actually more robust; the gun is outfitted with the Leupold 6.5-20x50mm variable-power first focal plane scope. Checks the boxes of the rifle will depend on the mission is over ; the caravan of speeds... Digest 2014 annual book face of the trigger five rounds RAD M91A1 M91A2! 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