In 1980, American weapons designers began designing a new large-caliber sniper rifle. The result of intensive work, testing and design refinement was the M24 sniper rifle. Information on the creation history, device and technical characteristics of this infantry unit can be found in the article.
History
Until the 1980s, American soldiers used M21 sniper rifles, the basis for which was the semi-automatic M14. However, soon the M21 began to deteriorate, and getting spare parts for weapons was quite problematic. Due to the changed situation in the world, American soldiers had to carry out their military operations in the Near and Middle East. In open desert spaces, the military needed a weapon that provided high-precision firing at a distance of at least 1 thousand meters. In connection with the requirements of the Marine Corps, US arms designers had to design a new sniper rifle with a longitudinally-sliding bolt, a polymer stock and a barrel of stainless steel. A competition was announced to create such a rifle unit. As a result, the finalists were SSG69 Steyr and Remington Model 700BDL. After the tests, the victory was won by Remington, in 1987 the United States Army adopted the M24 rifle.
Description
The M24 rifle with a monolithic stock, for the manufacture of which combined polymer materials are used: glass and carbon fibers, polymer foam reinforced with Kevlar. At the bottom of the forend and butt there are special fastening swivels, through which the weapon is equipped with a tactical belt. Adjustable folding double support bipods are attached to the forearm. In the version of the rifle, intended for use by special forces of the police, at the end of the forend there is an integrated integrated laser sighting device (laser target designator). The shooter has the ability to adjust the butt length to 5 cm, adjusting the rifle to his anthropometric data.
About Sights
The M24A1 uses the standard Leupold Ultra M3A or Mk4 LR / T M1 optical sight. They are characterized by a fixed multiplicity, the determining range and a special compensator are used, the task of which is to take into account the reduction in the trajectory of the fired projectile. Additionally, the rifle is equipped with an open mechanical sighting device: the whole diopter and the front sight. Initially, sights on sniper rifles were installed using special brackets. Later, the Picatinny standard rail was used for this purpose.
About the trunk
The M24 rifle is equipped with a barrel, for the manufacture of which high-quality stainless steel was used. The length of this element was 60.9 cm. The barrel was subjected to special processing, allowing the use of this sniper weapon with 7.62 mm NATO-style M118SB cartridges. For the barrel, a 5R drill is provided, which is represented by five rifling. According to weapons experts, in this drill, which is a development of Remington, the rifling has rounded edges. Unlike other sniper systems with a bevel angle of 90 degrees, it was 65 in the M24 rifle. This was done specifically to minimize friction and pollution. The length of the rifling pitch is 2.86 cm. The operational life of the barrel is not more than 5 thousand shots. According to military experts, due to the odd number of rifling, none of them is at an angle of 180 degrees, which reduces the deformation of the projectile during its movement through the barrel channel.
About options
On the basis of M24, American gunsmiths designed an improved model for a more powerful sniper ammunition WinMag 300. In the technical documentation, the rifle is listed as M24A2 SWS. Equipped with a detachable box magazine, which is equipped with 10 rounds. A tactical silencer can be mounted on the barrel. The stock is equipped with an adjustable cheek pad.
Also in the lineup is M24A3 SWS. It is equipped with powerful long-range ammunition 338LM (Lapua Magnum) and Nitro Express 470. A rifle with all the improvements from the previous version.
In 2010, American designers carried out a deep modernization of the M24, the result of which was the emergence of a new model - the M24E1 ESR. With this rifle plan to arm the army and police of the United States.
About technical specifications
- M24 is a type of sniper rifle.
- Country of origin United States of America.
- In service since 1988.
- With empty ammunition and without optics, it weighs 5.4 kg. The mass of the rifle with ammunition and other equipment is 7.26 kg.
- The total length of the M24, with a 61-centimeter trunk and a butt set to a minimum - 116.8 cm.
- The fired projectile moves toward the target at a speed of 830 m / s.
- The rifle works due to manual reloading with a sliding bolt.
- Shooting is effective at a distance of 800 m. With the use of ammunition 338LM, this figure was increased to 1, 500 m, from Nitro Express 470 - 2, 300 m.
