M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle

Origins

When the Army adopted the M24 Sniper Weapon System in 1988, it specified a Remington 700 long action, even though the rifle's 7.62mm NATO cartridge needed only a short one. The long action left room to rebarrel the rifles for a more powerful magnum cartridge later. That need came in Afghanistan, where snipers often had to engage targets across valleys at ranges beyond the 7.62mm round's reach. In 2010 the Army gave Remington a contract to convert M24s into an improved rifle, first designated M24E1, then XM2010, and finally M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle.

Design & Construction

The conversion kept the M24's receiver but replaced nearly everything else. The new barrel was 24 inches long and chambered for .300 Winchester Magnum, which fires a heavier bullet much faster than the 7.62mm and stays supersonic to about 1,200 meters. The action was fitted into a folding aluminum chassis stock adjustable for length and cheek height, with rails for night-vision sights, and fed from a five-round detachable magazine instead of the M24's internal magazine. The fixed-power scope was replaced with a Leupold variable-power scope, and a quick-detachable suppressor reduced noise, flash and recoil. Because the rebuilt rifle was an upgrade of an existing weapon, the Army was able to field it quickly and cheaply.

Combat Use

The first M2010s went to Army sniper teams in Afghanistan in early 2011, less than a year after the contract, and units across the Army received them over the following years. Snipers valued the extra range and the suppressor, which made it harder for the enemy to locate them. It was used alongside the semi-automatic M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System, which filled the shorter-range, faster-firing role, and the .50-caliber Barrett M82 (M107) for anti-materiel work. Army sniper teams usually carried two rifles between the spotter and the shooter, and the M2010 gave them a bolt-action rifle that could reach as far as the enemy's heavy machine guns and mortars, which the 7.62mm rifles often could not.

Legacy

The M2010 was a bridge between the single-caliber, fixed-stock rifles of the late twentieth century and today's modular sniper rifles. Its chassis stock, detachable magazine, variable scope and suppressor became standard features. From the early 2020s the Army began replacing it with the multi-caliber Mk 22 Advanced Sniper Rifle, which can do the M2010's job in .300 Norma Magnum as well as fire 7.62mm and .338 Norma Magnum. The Marine Corps followed a similar path from the M40 Rifle to the Mk22.