ARMSNET
Military Equipment Database
Initializing 0%

M24 American 7.62mm Sniper Weapon System (SWS)

M24

Sniper Rifle
Spotted an error? Sign in to suggest an edit.
Basic Information
Name
M24 American 7.62mm Sniper Weapon System (SWS)
Designation
M24
Alternate Designation
M24
Equipment Type
Sniper Rifle
Manufacturer
Date of Introduction
1988
Description

The M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) is the military and police version of the Remington Model 700 rifle, M24 being the model name assigned by the United States Army after adoption as their standard sniper rifle in 1988. The M24 is referred to as a "weapon system" because it consists of not only a rifle, but also a detachable telescopic sight and other accessories. The M24 SWS has the "long action" bolt version of the Remington 700 receiver but is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO "short action" cartridge that has an overall length of 2.750 inches (69.85 mm). The "long action" allows the rifle to be re-configured for dimensionally larger cartridges up to 3.340 inches (84.84 mm) in overall length. The M24 originally came tapped for the Leupold Ultra M3A 10×42mm fixed-power scope, which came with a circle-shaped mil-dot glass-etched reticle. This was later replaced in 1998 by the Leupold Mk 4 LR/T M1 10×40mm fixed-power scope with an elongated-shaped mil-dot wire reticle.[5] The first number is the scope's magnification and the second number in millimeters (40mm) is the diameter of the objective lens. A fixed power scope has only one magnification (e.g., 10×) and a variable power scope can be adjusted to focus between a range of magnifications (e.g., 3–9× is adjustable from a minimum power of 3× to a maximum power of 9×). The rifle itself comes with a detachable Harris 9–13" 1A2-LM or Harris 9–13" 1A2-L bipod unit. The M24 SWS was to be replaced with the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System, a contract awarded to Knight's Armament Company. However, the Army still continued to acquire M24s from Remington until February 2010 and upgraded to the A2 and M24E1 standard in many cases, continuing to serve. The Army chose to upgrade all its M24 rifles in the arsenals to the M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle, with the final M24 being converted in April 2014.

Variants
XM24A1 An experimental variant re-chambered for the .300 Winchester Magnum (7.62×67mm) round. It was not adopted by the US Army due to concerns that operatives in the field would not be able to acquire the special ammo. Also, the available .300 Winchester Magnum ammo that was procured sometimes misfired due to incompletely-burned propellant in the longer cartridge.
M24A2 Remington has developed an improved version of the M24 rifle, known as the M24A2. The A2 model features a detachable 5-round magazine, top-mounted and adjustable side-mounted Picatinny rails (advertised by Remington as "MARS", or Modular Accessory Rail System), barrel modifications designed to accommodate a sound suppressor, and an improved H-S Precision PST-026 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 re-barreling of the weapon so it can take the OPS silencer.
M24A3 Remington developed the M24A3 SWS, a variant of the M24 chambered for the .338 Lapua Magnum round (8.58×70mm) and feeding from a 5-round detachable box magazine. It comes tapped for the Leupold Mk 4 M1LR/T 8.5–25×50mm Variable Power day scope. It can also use detachable front and rear Back-Up Iron Sights in an emergency (BUIS units are standard accessories that can be fitted to the Picatinny Rail that runs on the top of the receiver and along the barrel).
U.S. Army 2009 solicitation for an M24 reconfiguration The U.S. Army put out a solicitation in May 2009 for reconfiguring M24 Sniper Weapon Systems currently available in Army inventory consisting of a: *Rebarreling/rechambering the SWS's barrel optimized to accommodate Mk 248 (DODIC A191) .300 Winchester Magnum ammunition. *Replacement of existing weaver rails with a MIL-STD-1913 rail capable of accommodating both a day optic and in-line forward mounted, AN/PVS-26 (NSN 5855-01-538-8121) image intensified (I2) night vision device. *Reconfiguring the stock with a stock that incorporates a detachable box magazine, adjustable comb and length of pull. *Addition of a detachable sound suppressor as well as any necessary barrel modifications required for a sound suppressor interface. *Replacement of the existing day optic sight (DOS) and rings with an Army specified variable power day optic and compatible rings. The US government purchased MK 248 MOD 1 .300 Winchester Magnum match-grade ammunition in 2009 for use in .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifles like the U.S. Navy Mk.13 MOD 5 rifle or reconfigured M24 SWSs. This ammunition was developed as a .300 Winchester Magnum Match Product Improvement (PIP) and uses the 14.26 g (220 gr) Sierra MatchKing Hollow Point Boat Tail (HPBT) very-low-drag bullet fired at a nominal muzzle velocity of 869 m/s (2,850 ft/s) ± 15.2 m/s (50 ft/s). According to the U.S. Navy this ammunition should increase the maximum effective range of .300 Winchester Magnum sniper rifle systems to 1,370 m (1,500 yd), decrease wind deflection on bullets in flight and use a reduced muzzle flash propellant that remains temperature stable across an operational temperature range of −32 °C to 74 °C (−25 °F to 165 °F). According to JBM Ballistics, using the G7 ballistic coefficient provided by Bryan Litz, the Mk 248 MOD 1 .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge, when fired at its nominal muzzle velocity of 869 m/s (2,850 ft/s), should have approximately 1,286 m (1,406 yd) supersonic range under International Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level (air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m3).
2010 M24E1 Enhanced Sniper Rifle reconfiguration competition In September 2010 the United States Army's Joint Munitions and Lethality Contracting Center awarded Remington a Firm Fixed Price Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract (W15QKN-10-R-0403) for the upgrade of up to 3,600 M24 Sniper Weapon Systems currently fielded to the Army pending type classification as the M24E1 Enhanced Sniper Rifle (ESR). Later the Enhanced Sniper Rifle was classified as the XM2010. The major configuration change for this system is the conversion from 7.62×51mm NATO to dimensionally larger .300 Winchester Magnum ammunition exploiting the M24's "long action" bolt to provide additional precision and range.
IDF modernized M24 In 2019 the Israel Defense Forces started to upgrade the M24 and replace the stock and receiver of the old M24 rifles with a modern stock with AR15/M16 pistol grip, adjustable stock, magazine feeding and Picatinny rails around the barrel.
System
Alternate Designation M24
Type Sniper Weapon System (SWS)
Caliber 7.62mm
Length 1,092 mm
Barrel Length 610 mm
Weight 5.4 kg (11.88 lbs) empty, w/. sling, without scope (M24) 7.3 kg (16 lbs) max weight with day optical sight, sling swivels, carrying strap, fully loaded magazine
Action Bolt-action
Rate of Fire 20 rpm
Muzzle Velocity 790 m/s
Maximum Firing Range INA
Effective Firing Range 800 m
Feed System 5-round internal magazine
Sights Telescopic; detachable backup iron sights
Ammunition
Type Rifle
Caliber 7.62mm
Cartridge 7.62×51mm NATO
Basic Load INA
Details
Country of Origin United States
Category Sniper Rifles
Land > Infantry Weapons > Sniper Rifles
Filter Label
M
Classification
Domain
Ground
Equipment Status
Active
Dimensions
Length
1.09 m
Width
Height
Weight
2.45 kg
Operators (19)
United States
Israel
Japan
South Korea
Brazil
Afghanistan
Algeria
Argentina
Bangladesh
Egypt
El Salvador
Georgia
Hungary
Iraq
Lebanon
Malaysia
Nicaragua
Philippines
Somalia
Something went wrong. Please reload the page. Reload