Some of the coolest and most influential guns made are those that serving the members of our military. Our warfighters get some of the best gear made by man and the ones in this article can certainly meet that standard. The rifle above has a version of the USASOC improved upper receiver group that is currently going into service.
From the Geissele Automatics site:
For more than 50 years the famed silhouette of the M16/M4 has only had one major and several minor changes. Barrel lengths and buttstocks have changed, but more or less the evolution of America’s right arm has proceeded apace with each generation of warrior making her their own. In that time, the sight of the M16/M4 in the competent grasp of young Americans has meant hope to countless millions of people around the globe.
With the advent of the USASOC URGI, that quintessentially American silhouette has changed forever. The Geissele Super Modular Rail MK 16 handguard, hammer forged barrel, and mid-length gas system work in concert for a package that delivers measurable increases in hit probability. Designed to take the full rigors of the new M855A1 (AB57) ammunition, the USASOC URGI also takes full advantage of its capabilities. Once the USASOC URGI is installed on an existing system, it essentially makes for a brand new weapon. The USASOC URGI is a near-clone upper receiver group currently going into service with USASOC.
It should be noted that there are a few variations of the USASOC upper that vary based on how close to the original they are. The ‘near-clone’ has a few features that make it cosmetically and functionally identical to the authentic version, but the parts aren’t necessarily 1:1 identical to the military versions.
There is a slightly more costly clone version that is exactly the same as the real deal URGI. Retail varies depending on options at $979.00-$1499.00.
Barrett is a name that conveys power, American manufacturing excellence, and constant improvement. The rifle pictured is Barrett’s MRAD as submitted to the USSOCOM ASR competition and is chambered in 300 Norma Magnum, but can be easily switched into a number of chamber options.
The MRAD is a great-shooting rifle in my experience and I’d love to try it out in a couple of the ASR chamberings.
New for this year is Barrett’s REC10 rifle. This is a direct impingement semiautomatic chambered in .308 Win. The rifle recently won a military contract, but is expected on civilian shelves later this year.
I got an up-close look at the gun and can say that I’m quite impressed by what Barrett was able to pull off considering how saturated the AR market is.
It wouldn’t be a Barrett stop without looking at the ever-popular .50 BMG bad boys. The M107 and M82 series rifles are some of biggest, coolest, and most visually distinguishable rifles made today. Check out how big the suppressor is here compared to a cell phone. While it looks gigantic here, it was even more impressive in person.
My stop at the H&K booth was again full of interesting military rifles. The M27 IAR rifle is currently in service with the United States Marines.
The new(ish) M110A1 CSASS chambered in 7.62x51mm was also present. Note the wall full of variants of H&K weapons in past or current service worldwide.
Many of these guns aren’t available for civilian purchase, even though most would sell extremely well.
Also check out the 40mm GMG automatic launcher.
