DMR Rifle

     In past articles I have covered the scoped .22 rifle, the full sized pistol, and the shotgun.  The weak link that all of these share is the ability to reach past 100 yards with effective fire.  Owning a semi-auto, center fire rifle equipped with a low power variable optic gives the user many options.  A rifle set up in the is configuration can be pressed into rolls such as survival, life and liberty, hunting, SHTF, home defense, a fun plinking rifle, or ringing steel at intermediate ranges.
     The DMR (designated marksman's rifle) idea started with the German Karabiner 43 and Russian SVD during WWII to fill in the gap between front line troops and dedicated sniper fire (200-500 yards).

German K43

Russian SVD

     In the mid 90's, the spec ops community came out with a special purpose rifle (SPR) Mk12 mod 0.  This gave the AR pattern service rifle the ability to work as an effective semi auto sniper rifle.  This concept spread to other services with their own versions of a DMR.  

     The versatility of this combination of semi auto fire and low power optics make it the perfect rifle for 3 gun competition as well.  There is not another platform that can go from 3 yards to 300 yards within the same breath and do both very well.  

     When one is shopping for their first AR the possibilities are endless and making an analogy to opening Pandora's Box is not far from the reality of it.  Much like the previous firearms in this series, the temptation to buy and bolt on endless crap is strong.  Among the most frequently asked questions I receive, "Which AR do I buy?" is a common theme.  Thirty years ago just a handful of companies made AR's such as Armalite, Bushmaster, and Colt.  Now seemingly hundreds of companies make them and each has so many options, finding exactly what suits ones needs in a factory rifle is not too difficult if one knows what to shop for.  

     For this article, I want to limit the search criteria to help someone new to the AR world narrow down the crowded field. The best way to tackle this is to start at the front of the rifle and work back.  Every component I recommend comes from years of mistakes, endless changes to accessories, and seeing students fail or succeed depending on their choices.  As with all things there will be compromises in every step of the process.

     For this type of rifle, I recommend a 20 inch barrel with a 1-7 or 1-8 twist chambered in .223.  The gas block should be of the low profile variety with no A-2 front sight/gas block assembly.  Choose the standard direct gas impingement system over piston varieties.  Surround this with a simple and lightweight 15" M-lok hand guard.  There is not much need for a muzzle device as the only thing I would add to a rifle like this is a suppressor.  Muzzle devices control flash, project blast, reduce recoil, or boost gas pressure for guns that wont function.  None of these are an issue with this caliber and barrel length.  

 Other guns in ones collection at this point can handle problems inside 100 yards.  The purpose of this this rifle is to dominate the area between 100 and 500 yards with aimed precise shots.  

    

     The next priority is a flattop upper with a 1 inch forward cantilever optic mount.  Luckily with the popularity of this type of rifle, options in the 1-4x optic world are plentiful.  Primary Arms or Vortex both make very high value scopes to fill this need.  With a BDC reticle or MIL/MOA lines even new shooters can make quick shots out to surprising distances with quality ammo.  

     Taking care of the lower receiver starts with tapping out both pins holding the fire control group and placing that GI milspec trigger in the trash.  Pulling one is similar to dragging a dead hooker down a railroad track.  Again one will go mad with all the options but a quality 3.5 lb two stage trigger with no over travel and a short positive reset works best for this type of rifle.

     Adjustable stocks are great, but the standard A2 stock has benefits as well.  It is inexpensive, very strong, lightweight, and it has a place to store spare tools or survival gear.  A crude cheek piece can be fashioned to get a proper cheek weld.  

     The standard A2 grip works perfect if you happen to be a 7 year old girl.  An upgrade that both fills the hand, and allows the trigger finger to land closer to the center of the first digit is needed.  

     To increase the versatility of this rifle, buying a scope with an illuminated reticle, and adding a flashlight that projects a focused bean of light makes this a potent fighting rifle regardless of conditions. 

     I feed this rifle Hornady 75 grain BTHP match bullets, and it will shoot .5 MOA with this load.  Below is a video describing some of the build components.  Choosing whether to build or buy an AR will be another post, as well as how to get the most out of shooting it.  

A video describing my take on the perfect DMR/SPR build.