The rifles were tested with both M80 and M118 match ammo, but the results were not very positive. They first tried using the M84 scopes from the old M1D sniper rifles and mounting them on top of a M14 with a modified swing over mounting system. The M14 itself was an adaption of the original M1 but chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO (308 Win) and fitted with a detachable box magazine (DBM). The US Army began its search in the same year that the USMC did, 1966, but the US Army did not go the route of a bolt action sniper rifle like the Marines, instead, they were believers in the semi-automatic and they started with modifying the M14. The US Army dabbled with scoped M-16s with very little luck, so finally a serious effort was made to develop and adopt a proper sniper rifle. This time around, the M1D rifles that were still around were not only old and out dated, but their 30-06 chambering was no longer the standard and the M1 Garand rifles were no longer in service. Then the Vietnam conflict broke out and the US found itself in a guerrilla style war with a huge demand for qualified snipers and sniper rifles. The M1C/D rifles made an appearance briefly in the Korean conflict, but they were never widely used and after those hostilities came to a cease fire, the M1C/D rifles were again packed away. So while they had gone through the effort and cost during WWII to first field the stop gap M1903A4 sniper rifle, and then develop and field the M1C and M1D sniper rifles, once the war ended, those rifles were stockpiled and packed away. Redfield/Leatherwood 3-9x Automatic Ranging Telescope (ART)Īs is common knowledge, the military forces in the 20 th century had a very bad habit of disbanding sniper units and training between the major conflicts and after WWII it was no different for the US Army. Additional Notes: Rotating bolt, gas operated, air cooled, semi-automatic magazine fed rifle. Trigger: Specially tuned 4 1/2 pound match two-stage military trigger.Magazine: 20 or 5 round detachable box magazine.Barrel: Hand Selected National Match Barrels.Most just wanted to drop the program and use XM21 sniper rifles with the add-on Sionics sound suppressor. Snipers were not confident of being able to make hits at ranges out to 250 meters and beyond. This weapon system was evaluated in the field during the Vietnam War but was apparently not popular with troops - the rifle was big and bulky, and all of the bugs in the design were not worked out. The loading capacity is three rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. The firing signature should be essentially inaudible beyond 100 meters. The weapon, with scope mounted, weighs 14-1/2 pounds and is 45 inches long. An adaptor mount base permits mounting the Starlight Scope for night use. The sight system is the Adjustable Ranging Telescope with the ballistic cam tailored to the ballistics of the 500-grain projectile. Muzzle velocity is subsonic and the 500-grain projectile will provide lethal energy at longer ranges. 458 caliber 500-grain steel jacketed projectile. The ammunition was made from a shortened. 458 caliber, with barrel modified for noise reduction. The Silent Sniper System was fabricated from the Winchester Model 70 bolt action in.
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