The SEAL Recon Rifle (also known as the "Sniper M4"
and "Recce") is a heavily modified
M16-series rifle intended to provide
US Navy SEAL sniper
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
s with a versatile, accurate, lightweight, and relatively compact weapon chambered in
5.56×45mm NATO
The 5.56×45mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 5.56 NATO, but often pronounced "five-five-six") is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and ...
.
History
The concept of a 5.56
NATO-based accurized rifle was first seen in 1993 when American troops were deployed in
Somalia.
Development
Developed in-house by SEAL team armorers,
the rifle's existence was centered less around a rigid specification and more around the concept of an
accurized
Accurizing is the process of improving the accuracy and precision of a gun (firearm or airgun).
For firearms, accuracy is the ability to hit exactly what one is aiming at, and accuracy and precision, precision is the ability to hit the same plac ...
rifle that could share the duties and ammunition of fielded
M4 carbines, whilst also being able to engage targets beyond the carbines' range.
When further development was handed over to
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division,
the
US Army incorporated their own concepts and funding into the joint program, resulting in the
Mk 12 Special Purpose Rifle which many SEALs were disappointed with.
Former SEAL Sniper Kyle Defoor recounts:
Specifications
Initially, SEAL Recon Rifles were built in-house with the only requirements being a 16"
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, ...
(406mm), and the ability to shoot any
5.56×45mm cartridge in inventory, including the first iterations of the 77-grain (5g)
Mk262 Mod0 cartridge.
Otherwise, the rifle was individualized to the tastes of the user by the armorer or the SEAL themselves.
The stainless steel barrels were sourced from Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels, had a 1:8 (203mm) twist
a unique heavy profile, beginning at 0.980 inches (25mm) in diameter for the first 2.60 inches (66mm) of length, then narrowing down to 0.850 inches (22mm) in diameter, 0.750 inches (19mm) in diameter underneath the front sight block, and 0.725 inches (18mm) in diameter to the muzzle. These barrels were mated to flat-top upper receivers featuring a M1913 rail, to which optics and back-up
iron sights
Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers (usually made of metallic material) used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons (such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow or even compound bow), or less commonly ...
could be attached. Operators commonly chose to install back-up iron sights manufactured by
Knight's Armament Company, ARMS Inc, and Troy Industries with the rifles.
Recon rifles were reportedly fitted with free-float handguards, the most popular being the KAC M4 Match RAS and a longer-length LaRue free-float handguard, either of which provide plentiful rail space to mount accessories. KAC free-floated rails (P/N 20214) were part the Mk12 Mod 1 package and were in common use by the
Global War on Terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant I ...
.
Barrels were sometimes fitted with Ops Inc 12th model suppressors and their accompanying muzzle brakes.
See also
*
Mk 12 Special Purpose Rifle
References
External links
SEAL Recon Rifle images and parts-list at CloneRifles.com.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seal Recon Rifle
5.56×45mm NATO firearms
Rifles of the United States
Designated marksman rifles
ArmaLite AR-10 derivatives