What DMR rifle means to you

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Feb 13, 2009
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I hear this term used a lot. "DMR" help me get a better understanding of what the parameters are for a rifle to be considered "DMR" Would that be a 24in barrel or a 16 or 18 inch barrel? Bolt action, Or semi-automatic? How does a DMR rifle differ from a sniper rifle? Once again, is it barrel length or type of action? My personal opinion which means "nothing" is a light maneuverable 16 to 18 in barrel length semi automatic with some type of ballistic drop compensation scope. I am not talking about a rifle that's going to be carried from your car to the firing line. But an actual rifle that will be taken out and used in combat.
 
It's basically a more widely fielded infantry SASS with a 3-9x, 1-8x, or comparable. The HK G28 has a 16 inch barrel, the M14 EBR/DMR has an 18 inch (IIRC), the M110 SASS has a 20 inch barrel. 308 or 6.5CM are going to be your calibers. A lot of it is subjective or comes down to acute tactical requirements, for instance something as simple as a full length rail on a 308 AR-10 could arguably make it a DMR within a unit— though maybe not in my own hands alone at home.
 
Some say:

"A DMR (designated marksman rifle) is a typical assault or battle rifle that has a scope on it and sometimes a longer barrel, bipod, free float handguard or special ammunition. It can be used by anyone in the unit that the Lt. or Sgt. hands it to. Whoever gets the DMR becomes the DM. It is meant to supplement a regular squad or platoon by giving them the ability to engage targets at distances slightly longer than the regular issued weapons are good for. It is a middle ground weapon between assault rifles and what a sniper is capable of with his specialized rifle. "

Sounds about right to me.

MM
 
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@milanuk There is a lot of overlap between the two terms in most folks’ minds but here is how I differentiate them...A Designated Marksmans Rifle is literally that - a rifle in the hands of squad member who is tasked with engaging threats either at ranges beyond what is typical for a standard infantry member’s long gun or where a particular shot requires a level of precision beyond what the standard issue battle rifle can offer. Mk11, Mk12, M110, Mk14, M14DMR (USMC) all played this role.

“SPR” (‘Special Purpose Receiver’ when they were just building uppers) is platform specific nomenclature by Crane and MSGT Holland when developing what would become the Mk12 family of accurized scoped Precision ARs deployed throughout early-mid 2000s with NSW, USMC SS and DMRs as well as other sub-commands in SOCOM. The term has since been applied to any AR platform set up to maximize precision at distance in the civilian shooting community, making it synonymous with the term “DMR” for most, especially when a small frame AR platform is considered.
 
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Heh, if its a nice semi-auto, its probably illegal, or severely neutered to be “communist compliant” in commifornia.
 
Conceptually a DMR is a longer ranged rifle that enables someone to be both long range rifleman and a rifleman in the squad or in a platoon weapons section. That could be as simple as issuing a magnified optic or as complex as issuing an entirely new rifle.
 
DMR, see below.
 

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I hear this term used a lot. "DMR" help me get a better understanding of what the parameters are for a rifle to be considered "DMR" Would that be a 24in barrel or a 16 or 18 inch barrel? Bolt action, Or semi-automatic? How does a DMR rifle differ from a sniper rifle? Once again, is it barrel length or type of action? My personal opinion which means "nothing" is a light maneuverable 16 to 18 in barrel length semi automatic with some type of ballistic drop compensation scope. I am not talking about a rifle that's going to be carried from your car to the firing line. But an actual rifle that will be taken out and used in combat.

To me, DMR is exactly that, the acronym for Designated Marksman Rifle or SDMR from the U.S. Army:


USMC SAMR concept:


Both are 20" barreled rifles. If you were trying to build a clone, you'd build it to these specs. Just like people do with the Mk12. A 16" is a RECCE to me or this: