#Dmr

Polish arms maker Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów (ZMT) has released a new large-caliber semiautomatic sniper rifle system. The 100 year old company, formerly known for their bolt-action sniper rifles and autocannons, introduced the new advanced rifles at the 2017 International Defence Industry Exhibition (Międzynarodowy Salon Przemysłu Obronnego, MSPO) earlier this month. The new rifle system will come in two sizes, one designed for magnum-length rounds like .338 Lapua Magnum, and the other designed for short-action cartridges like .308 Winchester. Called SKW308 and SKW338 after the calibers in which they will be chambered, the rifles stem from a program begun in 2010.

This rifle was earlier announced by the Kalashnikov Concern. It was initially called SVK. Recently, Kalashnikov has renamed the rifle to include the designer’s last name (Chukavin) into the designation of this firearm and revealed more details. Now the rifle is called Chukavin Sniper Rifle or SVCh (Снайперская Винтовка Чукавина – СВЧ). Here is a video released by the Kalashnikov Concern:

Russian ORSIS arms company has introduced a new semi-auto rifle during MILEX-2017 exhibition in Belarus. The rifle is called K-151 and it is chambered in .308 Winchester. This rifle incorporates design features borrowed both from AR and AK platforms.

According to SoldierSystems.net, FN America has shown a .260 Remington conversion unit for FN SCAR Mk 20. What makes this news even more interesting is that it happened shortly after the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) announced that they are exploring a possibility for a .264 caliber cartridge (6.5mm Creedmoor or .260 Remington) for the semi-auto sniper rifles.

The Firearm Blog would like to extend its thanks to reader and contributor Giorgio, who lent his journalistic services to us at this years IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi in February. Thanks, Giorgio!

At the 2017 SHOT Show, Heckler & Koch was proudly displaying their victorious CSASS entrant, now designated the M110A1 by the US Army. The Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System competition was created to find a lighter weight, more compact sniper weapon system to replace the Knight’s Armament M110 SASS. The H&K rifle that reportedly won the contract was slightly different than the rifle on display at the show, the latter sporting the new Geissele M-LOK handguard which replaced HK’s proprietary “backwards Keymod” negative attachment handguard.

Recent experience in Afghanistan, coupled with concerns about the effectiveness of the M4 Carbine – and perhaps also just a general long-term swing of the pendulum – has spurred many to advocate for a new configuration of infantry weapon centered around long range fire enabled by compact, efficient ammunition firing low-drag projectiles. I am not one of these advocates, and indeed it’s no secret that I find serious flaws with this approach to infantry small arms weapons systems. Still, this idea of having a long-range sharpshooter-centric force does seem to be gaining ground, and therefore I think it would be worthwhile to take some time to go down that rabbit hole and see where it leads. Our eventual goal in this endeavor is to paint a picture of a future infantry force that lives and works with these weapons, and what compromises they have to make to reap the benefits of such powerful long-range weapons.

More and more, it seems like we are on the cusp of a break in the small arms “plateau”, and that major changes may be coming both in the technology and use of infantry small arms and ammunition. The biggest harbinger of this coming paradigm shift has been Picatinny’s Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program, now superseded by the Cased Telescoped Small Arms Systems (CTSAS) program. As CTSAS and similar programs make headway, it seems increasingly likely that some sort of next generation lightweight ammunition paradigm will force a shift in infantry small arms, and that the current fleet of metallic-cased ammunition and the weapons designed to fire it will have to be replaced by new designs.

The 6.5 Grendel is in many military small arms enthusiasts’ eyes the ideal military caliber, in theory combining the best characteristics of both 7.62mm and 5.56mm rounds. However, in the thirteen years since the round’s introduction, it has found little if any traction with actual military users – until now. It seems that the Serbian government has quietly adopted the “slow and steady” six five earlier this summer. From Novosti Online:

As part of Kalashnikov Concern’s new product rollout for the Russian government’s ARMY 2016 military technology conference, the company has announced a new designated marksman’s rifle, named the SVK. Earlier this year, an article in PopMech.ru showed off a Kalashnikov Concern design called “SK-16”, but an anonymous source told TFB that development of that rifle has ceased, due to problems with the design, and the new SVK will be taking its place. The SVK uses similar receiver architecture to the Kalashnikov Concern MA, also announced this week, with a steel upper receiver spine supporting a Picatinny-type rail and providing a guide rod for the operating group, as well as rigidity for the whole firearm. The rest of the receiver is made of polymer (aluminum on the prototypes), and contains the fire control group and the magazine housing.

The system’s goals, according to FK-Brno:

The venerable SVD “Dragunov” (after its designer, Yevgeny Dragunov) was one of the first successful squad designated marksman’s rifles ever developed, and it spawned numerous copycats and competitors. In the more than half-century after it was developed, however, virtually no successors to the design have been developed in Russia itself – until now. The Russian 164th edition of Popular Mechanics carries the story on a new precision carbine.

Earlier this year, Daniel Defense announced their new entry into the thirty-caliber AR-15 market: The DD5V1, a lightweight, direct impingement 7.62x51mm/.308 Winchester rifle using a shortened rear receiver with a dedicated bolt and bolt carrier for the .308 cartridge family. Daniel Defense was present at the SHOT Show Industry Day At The Range 2016, along with their DD5V1, and TFB got behind the trigger.

Released at the SHOT Show 2015,  Minox USA introduced their new tactical line of optics and among those is the new ZP8 1-8x24mm model. For those that have never heard of the brand, Minox is a very old German optic maker and it has recently acquired Optronica, the German manufacturer of the 3-15x56mm sniper scope for the US Marine Corps. The new Minox ZP8 1-8x24mm is the finished development of an Optronica design.

Almost four years in the making, Hi-Lux displays their new PentaLux line of DMR and long range scopes at the SHOT Show.  In Latin, penta means five, as in 5x magnification ratio of both models. Those will be available in 2-10x42mm and 4-20x50mm models. Hi-Lux is planning to release the PentaLux scopes by the summer.