The United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR, NSN 1005-01-458-6235; more formally the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, DMR) is a semi-automatic,

gas-operated Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

chambered for the

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

. It is a modified version of the

M14 rifle The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire battle rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 in) cartridge. It became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military in 1959, r ...

formerly used by the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

. The USMC Precision Weapons Section at

Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeas ...

built all DMRs. The Marine Corps replaced the DMR with the

M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle The M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle (EMR; formally Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle; NSN 1005-01-553-5196) is a semi-automatic, gas-operated designated marksman rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. It is a modif ...

on a one-for-one basis.

History

In 1989, the USMC began a program to upgrade M14s not decommissioned into DMRs by designing them with fiberglass stocks and new barrels. This was done by the Precision Weapons Section.

Design

The DMR was issued with match-grade M118LR 175-

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

Long Range ammunition. It can have various scopes attached on the upper receiver, including the AN/PVS-4 Starlight scope, via picatinny rail. The DMR can fire precisely up to 1,000 yards if M118LR special ball ammo is used. The "basic" DMR (i.e., without secondary sight,

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, sling, basic issue items, cleaning gear,

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and muzzle rise when a gun (firearm or air gun) is discharged, b ...

and

bipod A bipod is a V-shaped portable attachment that helps support and steady a device, usually a weapon such as a long gun or a mortar. The term comes from the Latin prefix ''bi-'' and Greek root ''pod'', meaning "two" and "foot" respectively. Bip ...

) weighs or less. The DMR design facilitates repairing or replacing of the sight mount,

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

, bolt, and other key assemblies at the third echelon maintenance level.

Specifications

There are several notable differences between the basic M14 and the DMR. *Barrel: A stainless steel, match-grade barrel by Krieger Barrels, Inc. *Stock: McMillan Tactical M2A fiberglass

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a compan ...

. This particular stock features a

pistol grip On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pis ...

and a buttstock with adjustable saddle cheekpiece. *Optics: An over-action MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail allows for the use of any optic compatible with the rail; this includes a rather large variety of military scopes and imaging devices. *Muzzle device: Most DMRs utilize the traditional M14 muzzle device, although since deployment in 2001, some DMRs are now equipped with the OPS, Inc. 2-port muzzle brake, which is threaded and collared to accept an OPS-Inc. 12th Model

sound suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity of the muzzle report (sound of a gunshot) and muzzle rise when a gun (firearm or air gun) is discharged, b ...

. *Bipod: A Harris S-L bipod is used on the USMC DMR.

Combat use

The DMR was previously used by Marine Corps FAST Companies and by the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism).

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milit ...

Teams use them to safely shoot at mines or other types of explosives that cannot be disarmed from a safe distance. The DMR was previously used by USMC Scout Sniper Teams.

References

Bibliography