What caliber do US Snipers use now days?

[HELLSING]

Just curious as to what caliber Army/Marine/etc. force snipers are using now days.

 

[msinc]

They are all still using the old workhorse...7.62X51, also known by its civilian name 308Winchester. The rifle is called a M40 and is basically just a worked up 700 Remington. Scope wise the Army used Mark 4 M3 Leupolds and the AN/PVS 10 which can switch from day use to night vision. The Marines use Schmidt and Bender PM2 scopes and some units have the Premier Reticles Heritage. I am not sure if the Army even changes out the barrels on their M40's, as far as I know they use Remington barrels. I have heard that the Marines swap theirs out for Schnieder barrels and one source says they have used Rock Creek barrels too. Some Army special ops units and USMC marsoc use the Barrett 50 cal. Supposedly Leupold has finally come out with a new MIL/MIL sniper scope called the Mark 5, but I dont know if any have been procured/issued yet.

 

[cmort666]

The rifle is called a M40

Not in the Army. The Army uses the M24, which is a slightly different adaptation of the Remington 700.

Several services also use AR-10 platform semi-auto 7.62x51mm sniper rifles.

In addition, .50BMG sniper rifles, including the Barrett semi-auto are used.

 

[LVSteve]

I believe the Marines went to a 300 WinMag in their bolt guns after much testing. The choices were 7.62x51, 6.5x47 Lapua, 300 WM and .338 Lapua. 7.62x51 went away pretty quickly. If you look at the way the Army loads their they are all custom loads with the SAAMI spec thrown away and burnt. The Marines wanted an off-the-shelf solution.

AFAIK 6.5x47 Lapua was dropped due to US supply limitations and limited anti-materiel performance at long range. It's a small bullet that is very accurate and penetrates well but it was felt that a heavier bullet was needed. .338 Lapua was rejected on cost grounds despite its monster reputation for accuracy and terminal ballistics. That caliber holds the record for the longest sniper kill ever.

After the final decision was made the off-the-shelf 300WM solution became a custom load to get 300 WM as close to .338 Lapua as possible. Even so, it is still way cheaper than .338 Lapua.

 

[BigBill]

I think the 308 is the most popular in our services.

The britts use the 338 lapua and i think the canadians use the 50 barret.

I found my remington 700 in 338win mag to be very accurate. I got a 1 in a million rifle. She can put two bullets thru the same hole at 100yds benchrested using new over the counter winchester super X 225gr ammo. I may have to retire it soon with my bad back to a local police dept maybe she will save some ones life someday.

 

[badguybuster]

Actually the 300 win mag is becoming the army standard

 

[A10]

And the Canadians a few years ago were using the AR 50 bolt gun, in .50 browning.

 

[chud333]

I believe the .50 cal has the record right now for longest
confirmed kill if i'm not mistaken.

Chuck

 

[Straightshooter2]

Navy Seal CPO Chris Kyle used a .300 magnum to start with, if I remember correctly but was later issued a .338 Lapua for his last deployment around Fallujah. It was the .338 that he used on the 2100 yard shot to drop a bg in the next village! It's also the one he blamed for most of his hearing loss.

CW

 

[LVSteve]

I believe the .50 cal has the record right now for longest
confirmed kill if i'm not mistaken.

Chuck

Aha! An Aussie with a 50 has upped the distance since I last looked. The new record is 3,079 yards. The 338 kill was made by a Brit at 2,707 yards.

 

[J Rich]

Aha! An Aussie with a 50 has upped the distance since I last looked. The new record is 3,079 yards. Then 338 kill was made by a Brit at 2,707 yards.

I do believe 3,079 will be very hard to beat. That's 1.75 miles 0.21 miles farther than the last record. It's hard to believe someone can land on a target at that distance.

 

[A10]

Afghanistan is a target rich environment......I think our boys get a chance to shoot regardless of which direction they are looking. With the advancement of optics technology and the use of high tech gadgets for their doping, I would not be overly surprised to see the record broken again. I'd rather see them come home, though.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Afghanistan is a target rich environment......I think our boys get a chance to shoot regardless of which direction they are looking. With the advancement of optics technology and the use of high tech gadgets for their doping, I would not be overly surprised to see the record broken again. I'd rather see them come home, though.

Amen Amen Amen

 

[GLV]

A10, I agree with you--love to see them all home.

 

[DWalt]

The .300 Mag is now pushing the 7.62X51mm aside in both USMC and Army service.

 

[DWalt]

See: .300 Winchester Magnum for sniping - Sniper Central

The .300 is pushing aside the 7.62X51mm for typical sniper service with USMC and U. S. Army service. More lethality and longer-range capability in essentially the same rifle.

 

[Cyrano]

The services are still making 7.62, though: I picked up a few cases at the Rod & Gun Club range recently that were headstamped LC 08 and WCC 10.

 

[jdh]

There are still M24s in 308 in service. They are being converted to 300 WM as they go in for periodic maintenance according to the armorer at the local guard unit. He said his main concern is getting the correct ammo in the shipping box before each deployment.

 

[BigBill]

Back in '94 I went browsing for a new caliber for hunting thin skinned game anywhere in the world incase I ever do a once in a lifetime hunt. I had to go beyond the 30cal to get a better knockdown power wise. The 338 winchester magnum has 4,000ft lbs @ muzzle and @ 200yds its 2,700 ft lbs, thats the muzzle energy of an '06 at 200yds. Its my new bear rifle for now. I passed on the 300win mag but i may still get one as back up. I'm getting too old for the 375 H&H or anything bigger.

I don't think any caliber will ever beat the 50cal machine gun round with its 700gr bullet.