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Remington MSR Hands-On Review
Cal September 24, 2015 Complete Rifles & Custom Builds, Product Reviews,Reviews & Field Tests, Rifles69 Comments
Over the past couple months, I’ve had an opportunity to put 500 rounds down a Remington MSR (Modular Sniper Rifle). This is the same rifle that was awarded the illustrious Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) contract, and now is being used by our elite special ops snipers. And for the first time, Remington Defense is making weapons like this available to civilians!
Update: 10/7/2015: EuroOptic.com already sold out of their first batch of Remington PSR Rifle Kits, but they have another 50 on order and those are scheduled to arrive this month.
The PSR Contract
The Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) program launched in 2009 as a US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) sponsored program, which supports Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Special Operations Forces. The goal of the PSR program was ambitious: to replace all bolt-action sniper rifles used by special ops snipers with a single bolt-action rifle chambered for magnums like the .300 Win Mag and .338 Lapua Mag.
USSOCOM defined an exhaustive list of requirements this new rifle must meet. You can read the full 34 page solicitation, but here’s some highlights:
- Sub-MOA accuracy from 300-1500 meters (just under 1 mile!)
- Able to be broken down into major components in under 2 minutes, and reassembled in under 2 minutes … with no change in weapon zero!
- Overall length of 52″ or less (excluding suppressor), with no single component being longer than 40″
- Weigh 18 lbs. or less (including loaded 5 round mag)
- Integral mil-spec picatinny rail on top
- Mean Rounds Between Failures (MRBF) of 1000 rounds
The Remington MSR was awarded the contract in 2013. … I have to admit, I was disappointed when I saw the contract had been awarded to Big Green over companies like Accuracy International, Sako, and others who’ve built their reputation on extremely-accurate, super-high-end precision rifles. There have been major advancements in the rifle world sinceRemington’s M24 rifle! I was concerned we’d missed an opportunity to provide our troops with a modern weapon, and instead signed up for more of the same or an incremental improvement at best. I was wrong.
The PSR program was 100% focused on military use. Remington Defense says the rifle was “designed for operators, by operators.” But, the civilian precision rifle community is clearly benefiting from advancements and concentrated research and development this program set in motion. Do you want an accurate rifle that is modular and lightweight? How about a multi-caliber platform with unlimited extensibility options?
Recently, Remington Defense announced that for the first time ever, they’re making a limited number of these rifles available to the public. It’s a rare opportunity to own the exact same rifle carried by our military elite. And I was lucky enough to land one to test! Man, this is a fun gig!
Remington MSR Rifle
Here are a few key features on the Remington MSR:
Action & Quick-Change Barrels
The XM2010 is a rifle similar to the MSR that has been issued to Army snipers since 2010, a couple years before the Remington MSR won the PSR contract. The XM2010 looks similar, but it’s based on a conventional Remington 700 action and doesn’t have interchangeable calibers. To be able to change barrels and calibers on-the-fly, Remington designed a completely new, billet titanium receiver. The MSR receiver features a barrel extension with steel-on-steel lock-up and barrel nut, which automatically sets the headspace for the selected caliber. It features a few other upgrades over a traditional Remington 700 action, like an integral recoil lug and ambidextrous bolt release.
The operator is able to change cartridges from 308 Win (7.62 NATO) to 300 Win Mag to 338 Lapua Mag in just one minute. The barrel nut is accessible without removing the handguard, which allows for barrel changes without disturbing optics or mounted accessories. The supplied torque wrench ensures that barrel installation is consistent, reliable, and repeatable. Remington Defense explains “This patent-pending system addresses the long range and medium range needs of the modern battlefield in one package designed to meet multiple emerging US armed forces requirements. The MSR is mission-adaptable with just a change of the bolt face, barrel, and magazine.” You perform a couple mods, and it’s like you have a different rifle, but with all the familiarities of the old rifle.
Remington points out “this adaptability also makes it possible for the operator to replace a barrel once it has reached the end of its service life without requiring the weapon to be returned to the depot or manufacturer.” No gunsmithing required … self-service at its best. When it’s time to rebarrel, how would you like to be able to do it yourself in less than 1 minute?!
It’s common for competitive shooters to build a “trainer” rifle, which is identical to their competition rifle, but chambered in 223 or 308 to reduce the ammo cost, barrel wear, and time spent handloading. I’ve seen some of the top shooters in the Precision Rifle Series use a trainer rifle to practice improvised positional shooting. In those cases, really consistent muzzle velocity, high BC, and tack-driving precision isn’t as important as getting lots of time behind the trigger sending rounds down range. But since the trainer (ideally) has the same stock, action, barrel, trigger, and optics setup as their competition rig, they’re still building a familiarity with the weapon that is directly transferable. Now duplicating your competition rig for a trainer setup can be an expensiveproposition, but think about how the MSR addresses that scenario. You can use 308 ammo to train on the same exact weapon system you’d be using for 300 WM, 338 Lapua, or whatever other cartridge you chambered for. There is no need to duplicate anything, because the platform itself is so adaptable. This seems to be the way of the future for high-end rifles, and I predict many high-end rifles will have this kind of feature within the next 10 years. These rigs are such a large investment, and consumers would love for them to be more flexible. I sure wish my rifle could do that!
The match-grade barrels feature 5R rifling, and a Melonite (ferritic nitrocarburized) finish, which surface-hardens barrels. “The main advantage of Melonite barrel treatment is that it reduces friction in the bore and lessens bore surface wear, potentially extending barrel life,” explains AccurateShooter.com. The 308 and 338 barrels were both fluted, but the 300 Win Mag barrel wasn’t fluted.
The PSR kit comes with twenty Accuracy International (AI) magazines: Five 10rd 308 mags, five 5rd 300 WM mags, eight 5rd 338 Lapua mags, and two 10rd 338 Lapua mags. The magazines are all Teflon coated for positive feeding. The 300 and 338 are long-action cartridges, but the 308 is a short action cartridge. To address that, Remington Defense includes a “magazine block for training or field expedient use” that is used when firing the 308. It forces the shorter magazines to the front of the mag well, so you don’t have to cycle the bolt as far back to pick up that shorter cartridge.
The MSR bolt features 3 radial locking lugs, providing a shorter 60° bolt throw, compared to the 90° bolt throw on the Remington 700 and most custom actions.
The bolt-side fold also means one side of the rifle is flat, minimizing overall profile and making it more convenient to transport. The graphic below shows a couple of popular folding rifle stocks, but notice how much thinner the profile is on the MSR.
The buttstock features a ton of tool-free adjustments. Adjustable features normally add weight, but the skeletonized design meticulously stripped everything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. Locking throw levers allows you to make quick, silent adjustments and then lock them in. It includes recessed flush-cup sling attachment points and accessory rails for other sling mounting points or a monopod. Not only is this design very functional, but from an engineer’s perspective … it’s elegant. It reminds me of a great quote from Einstein: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”