M24 Sniper Weapon System

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Rifle, 7.62 mm, Sniper Weapon System, M24
The M24 Sniper Weapon System (U.S. Army Photo)
Type	Sniper rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1988–present
Used by	IDF, U.S. Army, ROC Army, JGSDF
Wars	First Gulf War, Second Gulf War, War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
Production history
Designer	Remington
Designed	1988
Produced	1988–
Variants	M24A2
Specifications
Weight	5.5 kg (12.1 lb) empty, without scope
Length	1,092 mm (43 in)
Barrel length	610 mm (24 in)

Cartridge	7.62 × 51 mm NATO, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .338 Lapua Magnum
Action	Bolt-action
Muzzle velocity	853 m/s (~2,800 ft/s)
Effective range	Over 800 m (ammunition/sniper-dependent)
Feed system	5-round internal magazine
Sights	Telescopic; detachable backup iron sights

The M24 SWS (Sniper Weapon System) is the military and police version of the Remington 700 rifle, M24 being the model name assigned by the United States Army after adoption as their standard sniper rifle in 1988. It is also used by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). The M24 is referred to as a "weapons system", because it not only consists of a rifle, but also a detachable telescopic sight and other accessories.

The United States Marine Corps also employs another variant of the Remington 700 as their standard issue sniper rifle, with the model name M40. The main difference between the M40 and the M24 is that the M24 uses the "long" version of Remington 700 receiver versus the M40's "short action". The M40's short receiver is dedicated to cartridges that do not exceed the length of the issue 7.62 mm NATO round. In contrast, the M24's longer receiver allows the rifle to be converted from 7.62 mm NATO to the more powerful .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge. The U.S. Army specified this capability in case future tactics required the larger cartridge's extra range and penetration.

1 Specifications
2 Variants
- 2.1 M24A2
- 2.2 M24A3
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Specifications

Sights: 10 × 42 Leupold Ultra M3A telescopic sight (Mil-Dot), detachable emergency iron sights (Redfield Palma International).
Barrel: 1 twist in 11.2 in (284 mm), 5 radials, free-floating.
Stock: HS Precision — adjustable for length of pull.
Expected accuracy: 1.0 MOA with M118, 0.75–0.50 MOA with M118LR, and 0.50 MOA with commercial match grade ammunition.

M24 SWS system components (U.S. Army photo)

[edit] Variants

[edit] M24A2

Remington has developed an improved version of the M24 rifle, known as the M24A2. The A2 model features a detachable 10-round magazine, side and top-mounted Picatinny rails (advertised by Remington as "MARS", or Modular Accessory Rail System), barrel modifications designed to accommodate a sound suppressor, and an improved stock with adjustable cheek height and length of pull. Existing M24s can also be converted into M24A2s, which replaces the stock and adds the new detachable magazine feed. The conversion requires a rebarreling of the weapon.