PGM Ultima Ratio Commando I
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The PGM Ultima Ratio is a French-designed and manufactured
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...
. It uses the
7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...
cartridge but depending on the barrel variant can also be chambered for several other cartridges. The PGM Ultima Ratio is intended to fulfill an
anti-personnel An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gav ...
role and is produced by
PGM Précision PGM Précision (styled as PGM PRECISION) is a French company manufacturing high-precision rifles for military, law enforcement and sporting usages. Models include: * PGM Hécate II (12.7×99mm NATO / .50 BMG), .416 Barrett/10.6×83mm * PGM 338 ...
of France. Its main commercial competitors/equivalents on the high-end factory sniper rifle market are the
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International. It has proved popular as a civilian, police, and military rifle since its introduction in the ...
and
Sako TRG The Sako TRG (short for Finnish: "", " Precision Rifle G-series") is a bolt-action sniper rifle line designed and manufactured by Finnish firearms manufacturer SAKO of Riihimäki. It is the successor to the SAKO TR-6 target rifle, and thus the l ...
product lines. All of these rifles are similar in performance. The name "Ultima Ratio" derives from the Latin expression ''ultima ratio regum'' ("the final argument of kings"), which
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
had engraved on his cannons.


Design details

The Ultima Ratio system is almost unique in being a purpose-designed sniper rifle, rather than an accurised version of an existing, general-purpose rifle. Like its larger brothers – the
PGM Hécate II The Hécate II is the standard heavy sniper rifle and anti-materiel rifle of the French Army, sometimes known as the FR-12.7 ( or "12.7 mm calibre repeating rifle"). It is manufactured by PGM Précision of France. This is the largest weapon manufa ...
(chambered in .50 BMG) and
PGM 338 The PGM 338, also known as the PGM .338 LM (LM - Lapua Magnum) or PGM Mini-Hecate .338, is French sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobilit ...
(chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum) – the PGM Ultima Ratio is structured around a central rigid metal girder chassis, giving it a skeletal "barebones" appearance to minimize weight and simplify maintenance. The receiver is made from a high quality 7075 aircraft-grade
aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which in most cases at least one is a metal, metallic element, although it is also sometimes used for mixtures of elements; herein only metallic alloys are described. Metallic alloys often have prop ...
, while the
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
bolt has three lugs that lock into a
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 stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
extension. It also has overpressure vent holes allowing high-pressure gases a channel of escape in the rare event of a cartridge case head failure. The match grade barrel is mounted fully floated and can be easily exchanged in the field with the help of a 5 mm
hex key A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench, Unbrako or Inbus) is a simple driver for Bolt (fastener), bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (Socket wrench, sockets). Hex keys are formed from a sin ...
. There are several barrel configurations available. The Intervention barrel sports heating dispersion ribs along its length and an integrated glued on
muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral (ported barrel) to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter re ...
to reduce
recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
, jump and flash. The Commando I and Commando II barrels are
fluted Fluting may refer to: *Fluting (architecture) *Fluting (firearms) *Fluting (geology) * Fluting (glacial) *Fluting (paper) *Playing a flute (musical instrument) Arts, entertainment, and media *Fluting on the Hump ''Fluting on the Hump'' is the ...
and can have integrated or detachable muzzle brakes. If the barrels are threaded for a detachable muzzle brake they can also be fitted with a detachable
suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...
. The Integral Silencieux barrel has an integrated suppressor. The
7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, straight walled, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first be ...
and .300 Savage
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 stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
s feature a 305 mm (1:12 in) right-hand
twist rate Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...
. The twist rate for the other standard chamberings are;
7mm-08 Remington The 7mm-08 Remington is a rifle cartridge that is almost a direct copy of a wildcat cartridge developed around 1958 known as the 7mm/308. As these names would suggest, it is the .308 Winchester case necked down to accept 7 mm (.284) bullets wit ...
241 mm (9.5 in), .260 Remington 229 mm (9 in), and
6.5×47mm Lapua The 6.5×47mm Lapua (designated as the 6,5 × 47 Lapua by the C.I.P.) is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge that was developed specifically for competition shooting by ammunition maker Nammo Lapua and the Swiss rifle m ...
203 mm (8 in). The Intervention barrels are available in all the chamberings mentioned above. The Commando I and II barrels are available in 7.62×51mm NATO and 7mm-08 Remington, whilst the Integral Silencieux barrels are available in 7.62×51mm NATO and .300 Savage. The furniture (pistol grip and forearm) is made from a
polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
material and is mounted to the frame. The
buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...
is made from metal and has an adjustable shoulder pad for comfortable aiming and minimizing the effects of
recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...
on the operator. It is also adjustable for the length of pull and height, and in case of the folding stock variant can be folded to the left side of the receiver to reduce the overall dimensions of the rifle and make it more portable. An adjustable rear folding ground spike under the stock helps to keep the rifle in a stable position for extended periods of time and is most effective when coupled with the folding
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 and Greek root , meaning "two" and "foot" respectively. Bipods are design ...
support under the rifle barrel. 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 how one would hold a conventional pistol. ...
is used for comfortable wielding of the weapon, especially during prolonged periods of time during which the operator must be immediately ready to open fire. The Ultima Ratio has a fully adjustable two-stage
trigger Trigger may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Trigger (''Only Fools and Horses''), in the TV sitcom * Trigger Argee, in science fiction short stories by James H. Schmitz * Devil Trigger, a transformation ability of ...
featuring an adjustable trigger pull weight of to that can be adjusted by an armourer and a fast lock time. The PGM Ultima Ratio is fitted with a
Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...
so that it may be equipped with a wide range of commercial and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
-standard optical sights, lights, night vision equipment and other tactical accessories. It also has an optional set of emergency
iron sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons such as firearms, airguns, crossbows, and bows, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescop ...
to be used in case of the failure of the primary sight. In order to preserve an optimal shooting comfort, the factory advises to avoid firing without the muzzle brake or silencer attached. The PGM Ultima Ratio can consistently achieve an accuracy of about 0.5
MOA Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. Moa or MOA may also refer to: Arts and media * Metal Open Air, a Brazilian heavy metal festival * MOA Museum of Art in Japan * The Moas, New Zealand film awards People * Moa ...
with match-grade ammunition when employed by a qualified marksman. The rifle can be used with a single row 5-round or double row 10-round box magazine. Factory accessories are: PGM sound-suppressor, ergonomic wooden grip, wooden furniture, kit consisting of a long
Picatinny rail The 1913 rail (MIL-STD-1913 rail) is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mount ...
and side Picatinny rails, PGM telescopic sight mounts, PGM back-up iron sights, transport case with formed foam and a carrying sling.


Users

*: Used by the Marine Corps Special Operations Battalion,
1º Batalhão de Forças Especiais The 1º Batalhão de Forças Especiais (1º B F Esp) (English: 1st Special Forces Battalion), also named António Dias Cardoso Battalion, is a special forces unit of the Brazilian Army. History The Battalion was initially formed in 1957 as a ju ...
. *: Used by the Paris
Research and Intervention Brigade A Search and Intervention Brigade ( (BRI) (), Investigation and Intervention Brigade or Anti-Gang Brigade) is a unit of the French National Police. The first units were formed in 1964 and carried out their tasks under the command of the Paris ...
in their Counter-Terrorism and Intervention scheme,
RAID RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...
and the
GIGN The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (such ...
. *: Used by the Israeli
special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
units, including the
YAMAM Yamam (), also known as National Counter-Terrorism Unit, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, one of four special units of the Israel Border Police. The Yamam is capable of both hostage-rescue operations and offensive take-over raids ag ...
-
Israeli Police The Israel Police (; ) is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism. It is under the jurisdiction o ...
elite
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...
unit. *: Used by the police counter-terrorist group ARAS. *: Used by the
Royal Moroccan Army The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 t ...
. *: Slovenian Armed Forces.


See also

*
PGM 338 The PGM 338, also known as the PGM .338 LM (LM - Lapua Magnum) or PGM Mini-Hecate .338, is French sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobilit ...
*
PGM Hécate II The Hécate II is the standard heavy sniper rifle and anti-materiel rifle of the French Army, sometimes known as the FR-12.7 ( or "12.7 mm calibre repeating rifle"). It is manufactured by PGM Précision of France. This is the largest weapon manufa ...
* Brügger & Thomet APR308 a Swiss sniper rifle that was developed based on the PGM sniper rifles.


References


External links

{{Commons category, PGM Ultima Ratio
PGM PrécisionPGM Ultima Ratio data sheetUser Manual PGM Ultima Ratio
Bolt-action rifles of France Sniper rifles of France Military equipment introduced in the 2000s Silenced firearms