The United States Army Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R) is a M16-series rifle modified to provide increased accuracy over range, giving infantry squads greater firepower. M16 is the U.S. Military designation for a family of rifles derived from the ArmaLite AR-15. ... A rifle is a firearm that uses a spiral groove cut into the barrel to spin a projectile (usually a bullet), thus improving accuracy and range of the projectile. ... A squad is a small military unit subordinate to an infantry platoon. ...

A recent graduate of the Squad Designated Marksman Instructor Course with a Squad Designated Marksman Rifle.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1063, 294 KB)U.S. Army Squad Designated Markswoman Sgt. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1063, 294 KB)U.S. Army Squad Designated Markswoman Sgt. ...

Background

The desire to have an embedded marksman at the platoon or squad level seems to be something appearing across the board in the U.S. military. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) experimented heavily with this during Project Metropolis, before creating the Squad Advanced Marksman position and creating a rifle specifically for them. The U.S. Army has followed suit in implementing a training program to have one marksman per squad, the Squad Designated Marksman (SDM), and developing a rifle, the Squad Designated Marksman Rifle (SDM-R). The Squad Designated Marksman is an integral part of the squad and serves as rifleman first and designated marksman second. The SDM is not meant to be a squad sniper that engages with precision fire at extreme ranges. Instead, the soldier is trained to directly support the squad with well-aimed shots at ranges slightly beyond the normal engagement distances for riflemen. A marksman is mostly to be found in a military context. ... Platoon is a term from military science. ... A squad is a small military unit subordinate to an infantry platoon. ... This article needs to be updated. ... United States Marine Corps seal The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military. ... The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Rifleman may refer to: Rifleman (rank), a private soldier in a rifle unit of infantry Rifleman (bird) or Titipounamu (Acanthisitta chloris), a New Zealand bird The Rifleman, a U.S. television programme starring Chuck Connors You cant find any info about riflemen on Wikipedia. ... The term sniper is attested from 1824 in the sense of sharpshooter. The verb to snipe originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India in the sense of to shoot from a hidden place, in allusion to snipe hunting, a game bird known for being difficult to sneak up...

Much like the USMC's Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R), the SDM-R is an accurized AR-15/M16-type rifle (5.56 x 45 mm NATO caliber) built in-house by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU; this rifle is also known informally as "the AMU rifle"). The SDM-R is designed to provide engagement capability at the squad level to 600 meters, similar to the needs expressed by members of USSOCOM and the USMC that led to the development of weapons like the Mk 12 Mod 0/1, the SEAL's "Recon Rifle", and the USMC's SAM-R. A Squad Advanced Marksman of the 22nd MEU in Afghanistan The Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R) gives U.S. Marines the capability to provide precision fire in support of the rifle squad, providing precision fire in support of an assault, and aid in observation and adjusting of supporting arms. ... The AR-15 is a lightweight, magazine-fed, autoloading centerfire rifle designed by Eugene Stoner of the ArmaLite corporation who developed it as a smaller-caliber version of the AR-10. ... M16 is the U.S. Military designation for a family of rifles derived from the ArmaLite AR-15. ... U.S. Military 5. ... Emblem of the United States Special Operations Command. ... An SPR clone built by Mid-South Tactical Network (MSTN). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Background Built in house by SEAL Team armorers, and later by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (often referred to as NSWC-Crane or just Crane), these rifles were developed to provide SEAL snipers with a portable, lightweight system that had greater lethality over a standard M4-type AR...

Specifications

• Upper & lower receivers: from most reports the rifles appear to have been built up using existing lower receivers in inventory. What this means is the rifles are completed using A2/A4 lower receivers previously supplied by either Colt or Fabrique Nationale, with a fixed A2 stock. The upper receivers are flat-top style. Unlike the SAM-R and SPR, it does not have extended feed ramps. The trigger has been replaced with a Knight's Armament Company 2-stage match grade trigger capable of only semi-automatic fire.

• Barrel: the traditional 1:7 twist, 20-inch barrel has been replaced with a stainless steel Douglas 1:8 twist, 20-inch barrel, with 12 flutes cut into the barrel to reduce weight. The front sight block is installed with 4 set screws instead of two taper pins. The A2-style flash hider is retained.

• Sights & optics: the issued optic is a 4x32 ACOG (TA31F, TA01, TA01B, or TA01NSN). A Matech Industries 600-meter backup iron sight is also used.

• Handguard: the SDM-R uses a Daniel Defense M4Rail 12.0 handguard, with an octagonal steel collar locking it to the receiver block. The Daniel Defense handguard provides a free-floating MIL-STD-1913 rail forend.

• Bipod: a Harris S-L bipod on ARMS #17 throw rail mount is mounted to the underside of the handguard. Since the handguard is free-floating, it does not come into contact with the barrel, and any pressure from the bipod on the handguard will not deflect the barrel.

In firearms terminology, the receiver is the part of the firearm that houses the operating parts of the gun. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, more often known as Fabrique Nationale and abbreviated simply as FN, is a well-known firearm manufacturer that originated in the Belgian city of Herstal, near Liège. ... A stock or buttstock is present in many firearms and some crossbows to transfer the recoil from firing the weapon into the shooters shoulder. ... Knights Armament Company (KAC, also Knights Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms and firearms parts manufacturer. ... The meaning of the word match grade initially is something suitable for a match, i. ... A semi-automatic firearm requires a trigger pull for each round that is fired. ... Twist rate refers to the rate of twist of a gun barrels rifling grooves. ... The barrel of a gun or other firearm is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion is released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at great speed. ... This article or section should be merged with Flash hider A flash suppressor is a device attached to a rifle to reduce the brilliant muzzle flash which occurs upon firing. ... View through a 4x rifle scope A telescopic sight, commonly referred to as a scope, is a device used to give an accurate point of aim for a firearm. ... An ACOG model TA01NSN, as supplied with the SOPMOD kit The Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (normally pronounced ACOG) is a commonly used telescopic sight for rifles, particularly tactical and assault rifles, such as the automatic M16. ... With regard to firearms, the term iron sights refers to the open unmagnified sighting system which comes as standard with most weapons. ... A bipod is a support device that is similar to a tripod or monopod, but with only two legs. ...

Variants

The 82nd Airborne Division uses an alternate version, based on the M4 Carbine. The barrel is an 18-inch long fluted Douglas barrel with 1:8 twist. A mid-length gas system is used, along with the Daniel Defense M4Rail 9.0 handguard. The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was Constituted in the National Army as the 82nd Division on August 5, 1917, and was Organized on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ... The M4 Carbine traces its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 made by ArmaLite. ...

Photos

A pair of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division with SDM rifles. They use TA31F ACOGs. The rifle on the right has an AN/PEQ-2 illuminator with the tape switch attached to the magwell. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1622x1312, 627 KB) Summary Photo by Sgt. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized). ... Categories: 1996 Summer Olympics ... The AN/PEQ-2 is a laser aiming device for use on rifles fitted with a Picatinny rail. ...

The soldier on the left has had his SDM rifle painted. He has a TA01NSN ACOG. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1752x1282, 943 KB) Summary Photo by Sgt. ... Categories: 1996 Summer Olympics ...

See also

• U.S. Marine Corps Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle
• SEAL Recon Rifle
• United States Navy Mark 12 Mod X Special Purpose Rifle
• List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Designated marksman

A Squad Advanced Marksman of the 22nd MEU in Afghanistan The Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R) gives U.S. Marines the capability to provide precision fire in support of the rifle squad, providing precision fire in support of an assault, and aid in observation and adjusting of supporting arms. ... Background Built in house by SEAL Team armorers, and later by the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (often referred to as NSWC-Crane or just Crane), these rifles were developed to provide SEAL snipers with a portable, lightweight system that had greater lethality over a standard M4-type AR... An SPR clone built by Mid-South Tactical Network (MSTN). ... Individual weapons by type and current level of use. ... The Designated Marksman (DM) is a military role in a U.S. infantry squad. ...

External links

• Field Manual 3-22.9: Squad Designated Marksman training
• Daniel Defense