![]() The commanders in theater put out an Urgent Universal Needs Statement, or “Unz” as it’s commonly called, for such a weapon that could engage light-skinned vehicles as well as personnel in close-quarter urban fights. forces in the winter of 2004, snipers in Iraq told their commanders they needed a 7.62mm precision auto-loading weapon they could use in conjunction with their M40A3 sniper rifles. When Fallujah, a hotbed of insurgent activity down the road from Ramadi, finally fell to U.S. The new sniper rifle can also fire M993 AP (Armor Piercing) ammunition in special situations. Regular 7.62mm ball ammunition should be used only in an emergency. The 7.62mm special ball (M118) bullet consists of a gilding-metal jacket and a lead-antimony slug, a boat-tailed bullet weighing 173 grains. The MK-11 and M110 sniper rifles fire the same 7.62mm M118LR (Long Range) cartridge as the sniper rifles they will eventually replace. But the more refined sights on the MK-11 and M110 allow shots about 200 to 300 yards farther than the M40A3 and about 600 yards farther than the Army’s M24 SWS respectively. Besides, they feel comfortable behind the familiar butt plate of their M40s. Marine snipers still believe, based on experience, that a bolt-action rifle is more accurate than a semi-automatic rifle when it comes to taking down a target at 1,000 meters. The Marines recently replaced Unertl 10x fixed scopes on upgraded M40A3’s with Schmidt & Bender 3-12X variable-power DS Scout Sniper Day Scopes. ![]() “The scope on the SR-25 has ¼ MOA (Minutes of Angle) instead of ½ MOA on the M40A3 and that makes for greater refinement and accuracy.” Even so, Anderson doubts Marine snipers will willingly give up their M40s in favor of the SR-25, like the Army snipers might do with the M24 sniper rifle. Anderson says Hooee was also very effective at detonating IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) at a safe distance with his SR-25. Anderson was with Hooee the day he killed an insurgent with an AK-47 at about 300 meters one of two who fell to the new sniper rifle. Anderson said, “It was his weapon of choice but we only had one of the weapons in ‘Seminole Bravo,’” the team Hooee commanded. Hooee was able to get his hands on one of the SR-25s in Ramadi. KAC (Knight’s Armament Company) was able to ship about two dozen of the new sniper rifles to Iraq in the spring of 2005, months before a USMC order for 180 sniper rifles was filled. Anderson saw first-hand what the MK-11 was capable of in the infamous “Triangle of Death.” Marine snipers who carry the MK-11 tend to blend in with their comrades, making them “less conspicuous on the battlefield.” Anderson served in the SSP in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar Province with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, the unit this reporter was embedded with during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Clay Anderson, a veteran of three combat deployments to Iraq. “Anyone with a scoped rifle is a target on the battlefield, but the MK-11 is hard to spot at a distance,” notes Sgt. The rifle’s exclusive Leupold long-range tactical 3.5-10X variable power scope allows snipers to fire at targets on the move with deadly accuracy. The suppressor for the M110 is just over 14 inches long. The quick-detach suppressor for the MK-11 is just over 12 inches long. sound suppressor that fits over the barrel of the rifle significantly reduces the weapon’s blast signature by 28 to 30 dB, and prevents the tell-tale cloud of dust when fired in dry climates like Iraq or Afghanistan. The new rifle can spit out 20 rounds of 7.62mm match-grade ammunition as fast as an operator can sight and pull the trigger. ![]() Army M110 SASS (Semi-Automatic Sniper System), look like an M16 on steroids. Close-up, the Marine Corps MK-11 Mod 1 SRS (Sniper Rifle System) and the U.S. It has a similar profile, especially when its sound suppressor is removed. ![]() “There are gonna be times when guys take off running, but you can stay on them with the SR-25 until they drop,” said Hooee, who had left Fallujah with four confirmed kills and four probables with his M40.Īt a distance, the new sniper rifle is difficult to distinguish from M16 service rifles carried by Marines and soldiers. He can fire five rounds of 7.62 match ammo and hit 4-inch steel discs between 100 and 500 yards in 8.3 seconds with an M40A3, but believed he could increase his rate of accurate fire if he could make use of an SR-25 semi-automatic sniper rifle in Ramadi. Clay Anderson in 2005, Hooee knew SSP (Scout Sniper Platoon) needed a semi-automatic sniper rifle to deal with insurgents who were running around the city in small bands of three or four. Gerald Hooee, chief scout sniper in 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, deployed to Ramadi with Sgt. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |