![]() After rigorous accuracy testing, the 73-grain boat tail match open tip bullet manufactured by Berger was chosen for the SPR program. Several match grade projectiles were tested with weights as high as 88 grains. The first SPR prototypes were tested with handloaded ammunition and the concept was solidified with the requirements being realistic and achievable. During the program, SOPMOD funded several prototypes that were made and tested by the USAMU working closely with the 5th Special Forces. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) at Fort Benning, Georgia, to develop initial prototypes of this new requirement. In late 1998 and throughout 1999, the 5th Special Forces Group collaborated with the U.S. SOPMOD Programs Office at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, drafted the requirements desired and went to work soliciting and testing the concept at hand. Although the MK12-series SPRs all came with fixed stocks from Crane, Indiana, once the rifles went to their assigned units modifications were made by the users. It has the fixed A1 stock replaced with an LMT SOPMOD stock with a six position receiver extension. The SPR upper receiver would provide a lightweight, compact, long-range precision fire and light support capability to the small Special Operation Forces groups that were not in a position to receive support from aircraft or artillery. This receiver was to be highly accurized and would shoot a new type of 5.56x45mm round – one that would go on to be the most accurate 5.56mm cartridge in the world. They envisioned the SPR as a Special Purpose Receiver that drops on a standard M16/M4-type lower receiver. The concept sat dormant for years until SOCOM revived the concept in the 1990s as an initiative by the 5th Special Forces Group. Unfortunately it stopped, at least for a short period of time. There was again no one rifle or carbine available that would fit this particular role so SOCOM would build it. First as a light sniper rifle and then, if need be, it could be used as a light machine gun. The SPR as initially designed was to be an upper receiver that would be adaptable to current M4/M4A1 carbines that would fill two roles. ![]() conceived a 5.56x45mm SPR (Special Purpose Rifle) originally envisioned by Westrom to be in 18 inch, 20 inch and 22 inch barrels. Prior to that, former Army Colonel Mark Westrom, former President of ArmaLite, Inc. Now with the Global War On Terrorism, infantry battles would be back rather than the high tech air war, which really was the First Gulf War. troops encountered little combat and small arms would remain virtually unchanged. In the calm of the Cold War, little attention was paid to small arms money was going into nuclear weapons and advanced aircraft. ![]() During the Vietnam War, it was seen that there is a benefit to having a semiautomatic DMR-type rifle so the accurized M14 appeared. For the longest time, when one would think of a long range designated marksman rifle (DMR) you would think of something in 7.62x51mm NATO and more than likely bolt action. The accuracy of the AR-15/M16 has always been top rate. It is not unusual to get 100% hits at 850 yards on human silhouette target in the hands of a properly trained sharpshooter. They have proven themselves to be a very lethal rifle with the Mk262 Mod 1 ammunition that was designed for it. The Mk11 Mod 0 appears in Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4, while the SR-25 ACC appears in Battlefield Hardline as the SR-25 ECC ( Enhanced Combat Carbine).ABOVE: The Mk12 SPR has seen significant amount of action in the Global War on Terrorism being very popular with the Special Operations operators who use them. Variants of the SR-25 appear in three games in the Battlefield series. The SR-25 ACC ( Advanced Combat Carbine) is a civilian variant of the SR-25, utilizing a more modern upper receiver configuration and an E2 bolt and gas system. After about 15 years in service, it was phased out by the Marines and SOCOM for the modernized M110 and SSR Mk 20, respectively. USSOCOM took interest in the rifle in the late '90s, and was adopted by several special forces branches and the USMC in 2000. It fires the 7.62×51mm NATO round from a 10 or 20-round box magazine, and is designed for parts commonality with the AR-15 and M16 platforms. The Knight's Armament Company SR-25 ( Stoner Rifle 25), designated Mk 11 Mod 0 by the United States Marine Corps, is a semi-automatic weapon system based on the famous AR-10 designed by Eugene Morrison Stoner. SR-25 in reality with an attached Suppressor and bipod
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