New Marksman Rifle to Showcase More Accuracy

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After 9/11, the U.S. Army and Marines saw a need for a rifle that could reach out and hit targets at a greater distance than the typical M4 carbine or M16A2/A4 rifle could manage. Typically, such a rifle would be equipped with a long-range telescopic sight bipod, and ideally have some work done by military armorers to increase accuracy.

Now, the Marines are getting a new designated marksman rifle. The M38 Squad Designated Marksman Rifle is designed to give Marine infantry squads the ability to hit individual targets at ranges of up to 600 meters with greater precision than Marines equipped with ordinary M4 carbines.

According to popularmechanics.com, the M38 is basically an M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle with a Leupold TS-30A2 Mark 4 MR/T scope. The M38 shoots 5.56 rounds, the same as the Marines’ M16A4, M4, M249, and M27 rifles and takes the same thirty round magazine. It can technically shoot fully automatic but as an SDMR rifle, it will primarily shoot semi-auto. It is based on the Heckler and Koch 416 assault rifle.

The TS-30A2 Mark 4 MR/T scope was formerly on the Mk. 12 Special Purpose Rifle. It has a magnification range of 2.5 to 8 power and at full magnification has a field of view of 13.6 feet. It is waterproof, fog proof, and shockproof.