M24 Sniper Weapon System

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M24 SWS
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
Wars	First Gulf War, Second Gulf War, U.S. Invasion of Afghanistan
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
Caliber	7.62 mm (.308 in)
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 the M24's use of a longer Remington 700 action that could be converted to a more powerful cartridge, should the U.S. Army want to take this route in future.

1 Specifications
2 M24A2
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Specifications

Sights: 10 x 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: 1.5 MOA with M118, 1 MOA with M118LR, and 0.50 MOA with commercial match grade ammunition.

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

[edit] M24A2

Remington is currently developing an improved version of the M24 rifle. 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. As of February 2005, the M24A2 remains in prototype phase.