The Marine Corps is looking to retire two famous weapons systems that it has used since the Vietnam War in favor of sniper rifles and carbines first adopted by the U.S. Army.
The M40 family of bolt-action rifles was born in the Vietnam War when the Corps decided there was a need to standardize sniper rifles. The Remington 700-based 7.62 NATO-chambered rifle has evolved slowly through a number of minor chassis, optic, and barrel changes over the past five decades which enhanced its accuracy, but never extended its range beyond the 1,000 yards± practical limitations of the 7.62×51 NATO cartridge.
The Marines are looking to address that range deficiency, and while they have made no official statements on what their next sniper rifle will be, the current down-sizing of the military and a push for standardization suggests that the smart bet is on the adoption of the next-generation multi-caliber Remington sniper rifle system now being used by the U.S. Army, the Mk.21 PSR:
More @ Bearing Arms
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