XM3 Sniper Rifle?

[Ratamacue]

I posted this in today's pics, but I figure it might be worth putting here as well.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=28505&stc=1&d=1181795897

ABOARD USS ESSEX – Cpl. Trisan Wimmer, a scout sniper with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, the ground combat element of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, engages a floating target with an XM-3 sniper rifle, June 2.Does anyone have any more information? Is the USMC replacing the M40A3?

[Sneeker]

http://www.deathfromafar.com/htm/iba_weaponsys_xm3.html

Here you go buddy, have at'er.

[Far]

OMG...sexy.

[Mountain Man]

I stand corrected!

[ZoneOne]

Complete System Pricing (Open To Individuals):

Rifle, Scope, Suppressor, Bore Sighted Night Sight – Titanium* $17,995.00
Open to Individual Sales w/ BNS Night Vision vs. UNS
All NFA Rules Apply

Rifle, Scope, Suppressor, Bore Sighted Night Sight – Steel* $17,295.00
Open to Individual Sales w/ BNS Night Vision vs. UNS
All NFA Rules Apply

Anyone want to through in some cash for a group buy?

;-)

[Jippo]

Ridiculous price for a .308 rifle!

[John Crighton]

Ridiculous price for a .308 rifle!

No kidding,

You can custom build the same or better for about 5K (at worst ) less.

No doubt a great weapon, but the price is way out of line.

[California Joe]

Pretty damned nice piece there, hopefully the Marines are buying them in bulk to get a price break. :) That's a retarded amount of money.

[lt tahoe]

But it has a titanium Picatinny rail! Totally worth it!

[....]

I wish we (AMERIKA!!!!) would just buy Accuracy International bolt guns. I know, don't hate me, but the AW are teh ***.

[SMGLee]

Ridiculous price for a .308 rifle!

those price also included the thermal night vision device that can be bolted to the front picatinny rail in front of the day scope.

You figure approximately 10-12k for the thermal, the . The S&B PM scope and surefire suppressor add another 2500.00 so the actual bolt gun with the rail cost about 3000-4000

so the thermal plus the Surefire suppressor and the rifle for 18000 dollars, it is not that expensive in comparison to the Knights Armament's M110 for the Army.

[maw]

Chen, read the sales sheet. it says the rifle is $9k without the night vision or the can.

iron brigade has always been pricy. the guy who runs it is a former usmc armorer. i've attended the chandler sniper class they run at blackwater. a lot of the shooters had the chandler sniper rifles, i showed up with a gap/mike rock/700/aics and a pimped sr-25 and never felt out classed. there's a guy from italy on this board (maurizio) who owns one of their bang sticks, is it worth the dough? don't know, you'd have to ask him.
imho, for $4k you could have a gap gun built around a surgeon or nesika action. for the kind of bucks this gun is asking i'd go over the border to canuckistan and talk the folks at pgw out of their igloos into selling me a timberwolf and never look back.


those price also included the thermal night vision device that can be bolted to the front picatinny rail in front of the day scope.

You figure approximately 10-12k for the thermal, the . The S&B PM scope and surefire suppressor add another 2500.00 so the actual bolt gun with the rail cost about 3000-4000

so the thermal plus the Surefire suppressor and the rifle for 18000 dollars, it is not that expensive in comparison to the Knights Armament's M110 for the Army.

[SMGLee]

ok.. I see, UNS NVD, not the latest Thermal stuff...

10k for the bolt gun with a can or 11k for the M110 from KAC with a can....I would want the KAC.. LOL.

[maw]

yeah, the m110 would definately score high on the cool dude factor. especially with that new kac nvs on top.

i'm a simple guy with simple tastes. so santa, if you're out there please score me a pgw timberwolf in .408 and i promise to be a good kid.


ok.. I see, UNS NVD, not the latest Thermal stuff...

10k for the bolt gun with a can or 11k for the M110 from KAC with a can....I would want the KAC.. LOL.

[Jippo]

Sako TRG-42 Black(.338 Lapua Mag) 3050€
Zeiss Victory Diavari 6 - 24 x 56 1900€
can 500€

Coming to less than 5500€ for a ready sniper rifle leaves a hell of a lot of room for accessories. :) Even for thermal sight.

[Sneeker]

Ratamacue (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/member.php?u=521) may be a "Cunning Linguist" but sure has no manners.

[maw]

sako trg-42 is an outstanding rifle for the money. accuracy wise it can go toe-to-toe with the best of them. i've shot it several times side by side with the ai awm in .338 and the accuracy leaves no need for apologies. however, it's not as sturdy as the ai. the sako would make a great rifle for a private individual or a police department but i'm not sure it would fair as favorably in a harsh environment over several tours. just my opinion.


Sako TRG-42 Black(.338 Lapua Mag) 3050€
Zeiss Victory Diavari 6 - 24 x 56 1900€
can 500€

Coming to less than 5500€ for a ready sniper rifle leaves a hell of a lot of room for accessories. :) Even for thermal sight.

[Jippo]

sako trg-42 is an outstanding rifle for the money. ...would fair as favorably in a harsh environment over several tours. just my opinion.

Well, I haven't even shot it. It is just local gun easy to find prices for comparison. It is the long range sniper for FDF (of course for politics as well as performance) so I take it can stand rough conditions well enough. But as I said, no personal experience except for holding one.

[jagermeister]

I wish we (AMERIKA!!!!) would just buy Accuracy International bolt guns. I know, don't hate me, but the AW are teh ***.

Ya i think we should buy a new weapon on the fact that its "sexy" ya great idea:roll:.

[ZoneOne]

Ya i think we should buy a new weapon on the fact that its "sexy" ya great idea:roll:.

So you saying all of these guns I purchased wasn't a good idea?

Damn

[jagermeister]

noooo not at all i own a few guns based only on there *** appeal but to say the military should adopt a new one based on its looks is nothing short of crazy.

[digrar]

They are good bits of kit though, so there's no dramas with form over function there.

[Ratamacue]

Thanks for the info guys.

[BrianT]

I wish we (AMERIKA!!!!) would just buy Accuracy International bolt guns. I know, don't hate me, but the AW are teh ***.Look up the mk13.

[....]

Ya i think we should buy a new weapon on the fact that its "sexy" ya great idea:roll:.

No. but the only reason we use remington 700 m24 + m40 series is because it's american. Just like our insistance with the m14, 1911 etc. Besides, think about the very large number of countries and different military and police SOF units that use AW bolt guns. Mostly, just American influenced countries use rem 700 based bolt guns.

[....]

Look up the mk13.

Yes, I know the pic of it with all the SOCOM small arms. I always thought the mk13 was a AW. I may be wrong but after looking at some possible mislabeled pics of NAVSPECWAR weapons, it appeared as though it were a only a 300 winmag variant of the 7.62 bolt gun in service with them.

[jagermeister]

No. but the only reason we use remington 700 m24 + m40 series is because it's american. Just like our insistance with the m14, 1911 etc. Besides, think about the very large number of countries and different military and police SOF units that use AW bolt guns. Mostly, just American influenced countries use rem 700 based bolt guns.

We use the M24 cause its a great weapon system and the AIW brings no great advantage justifying a exchange. Tell me in your personal experiance what one did you find to shoot or handle better? Sorry but ive shot handguns from all over the world and ill still reach for the 1911 every time, being from america has little to do with it.

[zoot]

I'm sure our armed forces use m24s, m40s, m14s, 1911s, and m2s..etc for other reasons apart from the fact that they are made in USA.

Its not like we don't use foreign weapons when we need'em. It's no pride thing . The military uses what it thinks is best and I'm confident in their decisions.

[....]

We use the M24 cause its a great weapon system and the AIW brings no great advantage justifying a exchange. Tell me in your personal experiance what one did you find to shoot or handle better? Sorry but ive shot handguns from all over the world and ill still reach for the 1911 every time, being from america has little to do with it.

I agree that the Accuracy international and the Rem 700 based weapons are about the same, I just wish the military (Army + small amount of reg sr-25 mk11 marines bought) would press more xm110 sr-25 into service and move to .338 instead of .308 and 300 winmag. I'm absolutely right about the m1911. As an American it is built into us to insist on the m1911. The m14 was simply the DOD's insistance to not consider (though the tested) possibly better options as a more reasonable option to further develop the m1. I see the m24+m40/a3 as a further example of this. Yes it gets the job done; yes I've shot Rem based 700 bolt guns before, but not the Accuracy Inter. as I don't have access to one. Why I mentioned the later is 2fold. 1: as an unbiased observer, when you have a large number of people (mil and police) that have chosen the Accuracy over or use it with other comparable items: Rem 700, SAKO SIG-SAUER 3000, tIKKA, blaser, etc, we maybe should look at that. 2: While you can do ALOT with the rem700 family of weapons, with models that rival most commercial options, i.e. the model Canadian forces went with to replace the parker hale, I see Accuracy as offering more direct, more off the shelf options. Yes, you can do the xm3 package to the m40a3/rem 700, yes, the rem 700 family is equal to and possibly superior again to other options. I wish that the establishment (u.s. mil) would consider going with the .338 for bolt gun usage and go semi-auto for .308, but that's not going to happen. Sorry for my **** spelling and gram, I'm typing this on the side.

[....]

I'm sure our armed forces use m24s, m40s, m14s, 1911s, and m2s..etc for other reasons apart from the fact that they are made in USA.

Its not like we don't use foreign weapons when we need'em. It's no pride thing . The military uses what it thinks is best and I'm confident in their decisions.

Don't misunderstand me, we use foreign stuff, I know, I'm just saying we have a habit of preferring to use u.s. stuff over other options often because it's what's available
. It's not just us, Belgium and Germany's militaries both avoid using non national stuff. Why I mentioned the 1911 was simply that for serious American users, they will not use any other sidearm if given the choice. Yes, I know the 1911 is the best all round sidearm to many Americans, but ultimately, who besides us, the Philippines military , and some south American contries us it? very few. I'm not dissing the m24/m40/a3, 1911, or anyothers, yes, I'm american, yes i have a 1911...a kimber.

[D-gin]

You keep pushing Accuracy international rifles but can you show me some hard facts where it has out preformed the M24 or M40? I would just like to see what your basing your argument on.

[jagermeister]

so what your saying is we should adopt weapons based on world wide popularity?

[Seraphim]

so what your saying is we should adopt weapons based on world wide popularity?

AK-47 for everyone!!!

[maw]

You keep pushing Accuracy international rifles but can you show me some hard facts where it has out preformed the M24 or M40? I would just like to see what your basing your argument on.

just wanted to offer my unsolicited opinion. ai make nice sticks. the action is better in almost every way to the 700. the lugs, the bolt and the extractor are all superior. there are several other manufacturers who also have superioir actions compared to the 700, nesika bay, pgw, surgeon, dakota, et al but the 700 just plain works.

some folks deride the 700 in preference to the original control feed model 70, however for me the control feed vs. push feed debate isn't that big of a deal. you can hold a 700 upside and cycle it without the round falling out so what's all the fuss about anyway?

imho, ai's have two weak links, for me one is the weight and the other is the barrels. ai outsources their barrels to various third parties and even the best of those companies (probably border barrels) doesn't quite hold up to a top shelf maker like mike rock or boots obermeyer. to quantify my apperently subjective comments you'd need among other things an oscilloscope to determine the uniformity of the harmonics throughout the barrel and a microscope to observe the granularity of the surface inside the bore.

ai's aren't the most accurate guns out there. when you pony up the big bucks for an ai stick you're not paying for the ultimate in accuracy, you're paying for something which is much more important to a martial user and that is a stick that offers REPEATABLE accuracy in harsh conditions.

[D-gin]

Thanks for the insight.

[D.E. Watters]

The Mk 13 Mod 2 is just a modified Remington 700 in an AICS.

[BillySing]

just wanted to offer my unsolicited opinion. ai make nice sticks. the action is better in almost every way to the 700. the lugs, the bolt and the extractor are all superior. there are several other manufacturers who also have superioir actions compared to the 700, nesika bay, pgw, surgeon, dakota, et al but the 700 just plain works.

some folks deride the 700 in preference to the original control feed model 70, however for me the control feed vs. push feed debate isn't that big of a deal. you can hold a 700 upside and cycle it without the round falling out so what's all the fuss about anyway?

imho, ai's have two weak links, for me one is the weight and the other is the barrels. ai outsources their barrels to various third parties and even the best of those companies (probably border barrels) doesn't quite hold up to a top shelf maker like mike rock or boots obermeyer. to quantify my apperently subjective comments you'd need among other things an oscilloscope to determine the uniformity of the harmonics throughout the barrel and a microscope to observe the granularity of the surface inside the bore.

ai's aren't the most accurate guns out there. when you pony up the big bucks for an ai stick you're not paying for the ultimate in accuracy, you're paying for something which is much more important to a martial user and that is a stick that offers REPEATABLE accuracy in harsh conditions.

What sort of A.I do you have?

THe fuss between CRF and push feed is that the extractor on a rem' 700 is a little piece of spring steel, as opposed to a mauser style claw extractor on CRF's. With a non rotating, mauser claw extractor that grabs 1/4 of the cartridge rim, it makes for dead certain cycling. The most common failure in a rem' 700 is the little hook giving out. It's by no means a major flaw, and it doesn't happen very often....it's just a niggling point. I've had to replace the extractor only once on my accuracy international platform.


ai's aren't the most accurate guns out thereNo military "sniper rifle" is as accurate as say, a 20 pound "Heavy Gun" Chambered in 6mm BR. But AI's are catering for a completely different clientele. Most people wouldn't appreciate the beauty of an Accuracy International Chassis, because simply only 1 in 100 civvy shooters would require the "strong as a billet of tool steel" aspect of the A.I.C.S. , Most dislike the ergonomics of the stock.....A couple of blokes who shoot full bore with me comment on the fact that their millenium's are 10 times as comfortable as my AI...and just as accurate. But I enjoy my AICS, it's a cold, dead, hard, machine that gives me the same accuracy over and over again....

I'd agree with most of what you've said.

P.S: Mine has a Lothar Walther Custom barrel.

[martinexsquaddie]

L96 isn't a rifle armorers and people who love to tune rifles would like as theres nothing to do.
it goes bang and will hit just about anything its pointed at up to the limit of the skill of the operator and the quality of the ammo.
will survive military handling day in day out without needing any work done to it.
theres more accurate rifles and theres cheaper rifles.
but they won't give you ak type reliability with 1000metre hit capability
just a shame ai won't build an assault rifle

[xm3user]

The XM-3 is an awesome SWS, and contains many features that can't be seen in a photo. If anyone has any questions, hit me back.....

[xm3user]

johncrighton: In reponse to your page 1 post, each XM-3 IS cutom built, most of unit price is due to the AN/PVS-22(UNS).

[red dragon]

You keep pushing Accuracy international rifles but can you show me some hard facts where it has out preformed the M24 or M40? I would just like to see what your basing your argument on.

Counter Strike of course!

[BuffaloPhil]

Looks like a modified remington 700 action...thought i do like the sweeped ejection port, but for 17k? A bit of a hefty price. I can see alot of that money going towards the scope but a barreled action with a match grade barrel, kreiger, hart etc, shouldnt run more then $1000.

[xm3user]

The only thing Reminton about this gun is the receiver and bolt, everything else is fitted around those components. The sight isn't actually that costly, the UNS is. The rail, trigger guard, bolt knob, UNS mount, bedding, and mag box are all machined, fitted, parkerized, and painted, which adds more to the rifle. The suppressor and adaptor also add to the cost, because the barrels made for this SWS have to shouldered back to accomodate everything. This weapon is many good individual components, rolled into a strong, lightweight, accurate package.

[xm3user]

Also, everyone should understand that this SWS was driven by DARPA, to produce a weapon system that advances/builds on the M24 and M40. Although they are fine weapons, by rolling newer technology into as many aspects of this rifle as possible, to include binary composites that are strong and light, and including certain metals in critical areas, the end result is a fine weapon.

[BuffaloPhil]

Do you guys buy a pre blueprinted action, or do you modify the action yourselves? Does the UNS have a specific headspace measurement to go by or do you simply go by the feel of headspace gauges? Also, what barrel do you use?

[xm3user]

Buffalophil: The UNS is a Universal Night Sight, AN/PVS-22. It is a night vision device that doesn't need to be rezeroed after being taken off(as does a SIMRAD or BNS) and re-installed. I don't work for the people who make this weapon, but I have met the owners of the cpmpany. I know that have retired USMC 2112 armorers that build those gun, so those guys know how to headspace. I have used several different XM-3's and find them to be awesome systems. If you go to www.ironbrigadearmory.com (http://www.ironbrigadearmory.com) there might be some more information for you there about the barrels. Hope this helps. If there is anything else you want to know, hit me back....

[BuffaloPhil]

My mistake, I misread your post and thought that UNS was the manufacturer of the rifle. I'm not exactly familiar with night vision scope or the companies that produce them. Thank you for the correction and thanks for the info!

But I would like to ask, though the M24/M40 and the XM3 SWS are all based around the Remington 700 action, are they any major diferences between then, I.E. loading, feeding, bolt release. Bascially from your experiance, is there a major distinction between them all?

Sorry for the questions, I'm just very interested in this firearm. Hope you understand.

[xm3user]

ALL: there is good article on this weapon in this months Precision SHooting magazine.

Buffalophil: don't be sorry for questions, I'll answer what I can answer. Loading, feeding, and bolt release are all the same. They are all proven to work well, so I guess DARPA didn't want to re-invent the wheel there. What DARPA did want to do was use all current technologies, and put them into one package, to produce a current sniper weapon that was both shorter and lighter than the current M24/M40. The goal was to try to cut the current weights in half, which was basically acheived. This sniper weapon fully loaded is almost half of the other rifle(bare) weights, which is pretty impressive. This feature allows a sniper team to be able to carry more batteries, bullets, and beans, which means they can stay in the hide longer and gather more intel, or push farther out on patrol. Also, please note that while the statistics posted list the max range at 1000 yards, I believe this a conservative number. Hope this helps...

[BuffaloPhil]

Do you know the current weight of the XM3 SWS fully loaded? Basically, how much was the weight reduced from the M24/M40 systems?

[xm3user]

M24- weight 12.1 lbs---bare unloaded with no scope/length 43 inches, no suppressor
M40A3- weight 16.5 lbs---bare unloaded with no scope/length 44.24 inches no suppressor
XM-3- weigth fully loaded for day operations 16 lbs, night 18 lbs/length 40.5 inches w/o supressor, 46.5 with.
****Fully loaded in this context means the complete rifle, 5 rounds 175gr ammo, stock with all shoulder shims, sling, bipod, scope, UNS w/batteries, and suppressor.

The M24/M40 data can be verified through wikipedia, the XM-3 data can be verified through IBA's webpage, that also contains links to army and marine articles that also did studies.

Hope this helps.....

[wild_wild_wes]

Doesn't say anything in the link about the stock.

If it is a fibrglass stock that needs to be glass bedded, it is archaic and obsolete.

Synthetic stock with aluminum bed is the only viable game in town.

[xm3user]

wild_wild_wes: you have a point. Please understand fiberglass is synthetic, and again, I'm not an armorer that builds these, just an end user, but whatever bedding, aluminum or otherwise, it is very well done.

[wild_wild_wes]

Of course fiberglass is a synthetic, but it is not tough enough to secure a rifle action too. No synthetic is- yet.

I don't know how the XM3 is bedded. But if it is glass bedded, it is 25 years behind the times, ever since Accuracy International introduced its line of rifles with aluminum chassis.

Though no doubt the XM3 is a sweet shooter, glass bedding is ultimayly not durable- if one wants to totally dissasemble the rifle, the action must be "broken" from the bedding, and must then be re-bedded; with an aluminum chassis, a rifle is much easier to maintain, as you just have to unscrew the action from the chassis to dismount it, and re-bedding requires only the screws to re-torqued to the proper specs.

Could you ask an armorer about the XM3 stock?

[BuffaloPhil]

I most undoubtable believe that the stock would have an aluminum chassis...even the HS precision stocks have aluminum bedding, though it doesn't hurt the put some glass around the lug to keep it stable.

[California Joe]

Doesn't say anything in the link about the stock.

If it is a fibrglass stock that needs to be glass bedded, it is archaic and obsolete.

Synthetic stock with aluminum bed is the only viable game in town.

Why are you assuming that the company that builds these rifles is ignorant? In fact you seem to be assuming a whole lot about their rifle. All XM3 said was that he's fired it.

[xm3user]

Okay here's the data for the stock...McMillan A-6, 12.25”- 13.75” Adjustable LOP. If you check out www.ironbrigadearmory.com (http://www.ironbrigadearmory.com), scroll down, right under the picture of the marines shooting from the ship and above an XM-3 in the case, there is a link the all of the XM-3 data, it just says XM-3........hope this helps. As for the bedding, I'm sure the stock has some glass in it, but I think all of the barrelled action contact points are some new high speed binary that doesn't shrink, break down, or degrade, and is secondarily sealed with some type of industrial grade finish.

[OMON]

can someone post more pics of it ?

[Fireglow]

Look at the first page.

[OMON]

Look at the first page.

i did, thats why i asked for ''more'''pics

[wild_wild_wes]

After reading supporting documentation, my next precision tactical rifle will have an 18" barrel as well. :)

[HansSolo]

Very nice looking rifle. I offer this picture of my .204 Ruger Squirrel rifle for comparison. Oh, and cost with optic, around $5K.

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/204m700b.jpg

Also, here is a picture of my target rifle which I guess now is obsolete. :)

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/CanHor900.jpg

I note in passing that this scope is equipped with lit HORUS reticle and .1 mil click METRIC knobs.

[OMON]

how much did ur m40a3 cost?

[HansSolo]

how much did ur m40a3 cost?


About $7K with the original optics as shown below:

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/M40A3fin_765t.jpg

I traded the above scope in on the SN-3 TPAL that is now on it.

[BillySing]

About $7K with the original optics as shown below:

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/M40A3fin_765t.jpg

I trade the above scope in on the SN-3 TPAL that is now on it.


Very nice looking rifle. I offer this picture of my .204 Ruger Squirrel rifle for comparison. Oh, and cost with optic, around $5K.

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/204m700b.jpg

Also, here is a picture of my target rifle which I guess now is obsolete. :)

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/CanHor900.jpg

I note in passing that this scope is equipped with lit HORUS reticle and .1 mil click METRIC knobs.

Do all these pictures belong to you?

[HansSolo]

Do all these pictures belong to you?

Is there some problem posting pictures of my rifles taken with my camera? I thought that was legal. :-(

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/M40a3.jpg

Camera is Nikon D1X with 17-35F2.8 Nikkor Zoom lens.

[BillySing]

Is there some problem posting pictures of my rifles taken with my camera? I thought that was legal. :-(

Camera is Nikon D1X with 17-35F2.8 Nikkor Zoom lens.

Are you Critter from snipercentral? He posted the same pictures a while back.....

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/CanHor900.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.snipercentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php%3Fp%3D41798&h=541&w=901&sz=567&hl=en&start=24&tbnid=cYvWcybdGcmZ7M:&tbnh=88&tbnw=146&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dm40a3%26start%3D21%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D21%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

[HansSolo]

Are you Critter from snipercentral? He posted the same pictures a while back.....

http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/CanHor900.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.snipercentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php%3Fp%3D41798&h=541&w=901&sz=567&hl=en&start=24&tbnid=cYvWcybdGcmZ7M:&tbnh=88&tbnw=146&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dm40a3%26start%3D21%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D21%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

Yup, seems somebody here already used Critter so I had to come up with a new one.

:)

[BillySing]

Very nice looking rifle. I offer this picture of my .204 Ruger Squirrel rifle for comparison. Oh, and cost with optic, around $5K.

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/204m700b.jpg

Also, here is a picture of my target rifle which I guess now is obsolete. :)

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/CanHor900.jpg

I note in passing that this scope is equipped with lit HORUS reticle and .1 mil click METRIC knobs.


Yup, seems somebody here already used Critter so I had to come up with a new one.

:)

Always gotta be careful of image pirates around here..... :)

Can you give us the full specs on these pieces of art?

[HansSolo]

You don't ask for much, how about I do one?

http://www.westcoasttactical.com/dmci/archives/M40A3fin_765t.jpg

Kelly McMillan as you probably know got the contract to provide the stock for the M40A3. He came on S/H one day and said he had a few stocks that were over runs available with DD ROSS bottom metal available on first come first serve basis. So I called him and said I would take one if available. Fortunately, he still had one left.

Then I called John Williams Sr. at USO and asked if he had any MST-100s. I had been doing business with him for a number of years, and he said he had one in stock. Then with the help of "TACTICAL" we negotiated a base and rings from DD ROSS and one of "Tacticals" really excellent slings with fittings for the sling cups on the stock. I ended up using a clip slotted 20 degree base from USO instead for some reason. We also managed to get the print for the modifications that the armorers were doing to the 700 Action.

I then got hold of local Riflesmith RICK FREUDENBURG and ordered through him a 24" LILJA 3 Groove 1/10 #7 pattern barrel, Two Stage Jewel Trigger with 1# Kit, and removable compensator (with nut for when the compensator was not allowed.)

Before somebody asks, the reason for the compensator is to assist me in getting to my goal of a zero recoil weapon. I believe that mitigating recoil has all sorts of benefits when trying to shoot accurately and when combined with a crisp 1 pound trigger makes it vastly easier. The rifle weighed right at 17# with the MST-100 and that helped too. Turns out that the SN-3 with rings brings the rifle to exactly the same weight, but it is made of high strength Aluminum instead of steel.

The three groove barrel was developed by Lilja to make the task of cleaning faster and easier for bench rest shooters. But they found that the configuration shoots really accurately as well. I have used them exclusively when available for all my custom rifles.

I presented all this stuff when it came in to Freudenburg who blue printed the action, provided a bolt handle, made action mods and otherwise worked his magic. We then sent the metal parts out for Teflon Coating for a non-reflective black finish. Action and barrel are pillar bedded and free floated with .0002 or so perpendicularity and cylindricity. Rick is a precision toolmaker by training and takes great care in his work.

Load development for the rifle followed using LAPUA Brass, F210M, Varget and the 175 Berger VLD that seemed to shoot fairly well. Ballistically, it roughly duplicates the M118LR.

After playing with the MST-100 for a couple of years (and learning it's limitations), I traded it in for a USO 34mm Tube SN-3 3.2-17 Metric T-PAL with a Lit Horus H-25. (I call it the "Canadian Horus".)

Included in the system is a Horus Ballistic computer on a PDA with Software Chip, weather meter, and a Leica BRF. (Electronic Spotter? :D)

If the shooter does his part and holds consistently and the wind isn't too radical the thing will shoot under .5 moa all day long.

http://home.mindspring.com/~macsys/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/m40a3a-starlight.jpg

Sample of Ballistics:

Results for .308 are as follows
2627
2625
2627
2640
2628
2624
2622
2619

Avg 2626
SD 6.2
Mean 2625

T=75*F
Alt. = 125 ft

[BillySing]

Cheers for that, I'm always interested in knowing what precision rifle enthusiasts in the States are using.

How long is the throat? and how do you seat your bullet accordingly? What sort of firing pin are you using? What's the length of pull on this particular outfit? Did you do any sear engagement tests? Did you have the sear polished? If so, did you use a compound treatment? What sort of run in process did you use the for your particular barrel? Have you tried any Lost River bullets? If so, what did you reckon?

[HansSolo]

Cheers for that, I'm always interested in knowing what precision rifle enthusiasts in the States are using.

How long is the throat? and how do you seat your bullet accordingly?

I used a seating guage with 0.15" relief from lands. Chamber is standard match chamber as defined by M118LR round.

What sort of firing pin are you using?

It has a TI firing pin, don't know the brand.

What's the length of pull on this particular outfit?

Same as M40A3.

Did you do any sear engagement tests? Did you have the sear polished? If so, did you use a compound treatment?

No, not required with Jewell.

What sort of run in process did you use the for your particular barrel?

None required by recommendation of manufacturer.

Have you tried any Lost River bullets? If so, what did you reckon?

No.



Hope that answers all your questions.:)

[OMON]

more xm3 pics?

[OMON]

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=59459&stc=1&d=1181958020

[OMON]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g66/packrat1/img260.jpg

[Rob1bureau]

Does anyone know if US military is using the XM-3 on combat ops ? And how much were delivered to DoD ?

[OMON]

http://www.deathfromafar.com/images/DSC_0761.jpg

[Turkish-Power]

nice weapon :D

[martinexsquaddie]

accuracy international have just won the competition for the new british sniper rifle so more tea and cake at there factory:)
no pics or infor yet

[OMON]

accuracy international have just won the competition for the new british sniper rifle so more tea and cake at there factory:)
no pics or infor yet

the lapua one?

[xm3user]

To Rob1bureau, yes, the XM-3 is in use in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 52 weapons were initially distributed, 12 to East Coast USMC sniper teams, 12 to the West Coast USMC Sniper teams, 3 to NSW, and the Army got the rest. The Ranger Batt. has a few down in Benning for competitions. I don't have any information on any builds after the initial 52.

[xm3user]

http://www.deathfromafar.com/info/precision%20shooting_xm3.pdf