GUN TEST Desert Tactical SRS has a bullpup configuration, allowing a full-length barrel in a package that is no longer than a short-barreled carbine. Full-length MIL-STD-1913 top rail provides mounting surface for optics and state-of-the-art night vision sights. SRS comes SRS .338 LAPUA standard with Harris bipod. Stealth Recon Scout— new breed multi-caliber precision rifle! BY CHARLIE CUTSHAW enter the US Military Special Operations Forces and probably the conventional military as well. The USSOCOM solicitation calls for a “non-wildcat” factory-produced .338 cartridge, which, while not specifically mandating a .338 Lapua rifle, just about eliminates every other cartridge of the same bullet diameter. The new rifle must be manually oper- ated and capable of 1 minute of angle (MOA) accuracy from 330 to 1640 yards. Weight is limited to 18 pounds and overall length to 52 inches, excluding suppressor. While not specifically required, the solici- tation implies that a detachable five-round magazine is desired. While MOA accuracy to 1640 yards may seem overly stringent, the fact is that we have fired our personal .338 Lapua ArmaLite AR-30 to 1500 yards and our particular rifle actually achieves better than MOA accuracy. The new rifle will replace all current Special Operations DoD PHOTO or those who keep track of these Forces precision tactical rifles, including things, an emerging trend in mili- the M40 and the M24. tary precision tactical rifle calibers is the .338 Lapua Magnum, a Cartridge Details military cartridge whose time has The original .338 was developed by come. Rifles in .338 Lapua have Research Armament in the United States been adopted by several countries includ- in 1983 at the request of the US Navy. Fing Canada, Germany, Greece, Italy, the The .338 cartridge is based on a necked- Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, down .416 Rigby case and in its original and others. In the United States a few mil- configuration launched a 250-grain bullet itary units use .338s based on the Rem- at nearly 3000 feet per second (fps) with a ington 700 long action, but until recently muzzle energy of over 4800 foot-pounds there was no “official” interest in the of energy (fpe). A prototype rifle and cartridge. However, with the recent US- ammunition were produced and tested SOCOM solicitation for a new “Precision by the Navy, but the cartridge never The Desert Tactical SRS .338 Lapua Mag would be a great asset Sniper Rifle” the .338 Lapua will eventually was manufactured in the US. Lapua and for our armed forces fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan. DOUG RICHARDSON PHOTO 6 SPECIAL WEAPONS 2008 SPECIAL WEAPONS 2008 7 DESERT TACTICAL SRS .338 LAPUA Norma finished development and got the In fact, the trigger on this test rifle was is that the magazine is behind cartridge into production. Besides Lapua, SRS controls are fully actually too light for a precision tactical the rifle’s pistol grip. In a tactical Black Hills loads both 250- and 300-grain ambidextrous with rifle whose trigger should break in the carbine this is a disadvantage, but cartridges. In the latter configuration, exception of bolt 3- to 3.5-pound range. The reason for this this isn’t the case with a precision the 300-grain bullet leaves the muzzle handle. All controls is to reduce the possibility of accidental tactical rifle that is typically fired at 2800 fps with a whopping 5223 fpe. can be manipulated discharges in stressful situations. That from the prone position. Instead of By comparison, a 168-grain .308 match without taking said, the SRS trigger is fully adjustable for having to reach forward with the cartridge has a muzzle velocity of only ap- hand from pistol overall pull weight, travel and backlash, right hand to drop the maga- proximately 2600 fps and 2180 fpe. The grip. Mag drops so if we were to actually deploy with the zine, the SRS magazine system .308 is totally overshadowed by the .338 free when release q SRS, we’d increase the trigger pull a bit. enables the shooter to remove Lapua, although most rifles in this caliber is pressed. Another common bullpup complaint and replace magazines without are only marginally heavier than precision moving his right hand from tactical rifles chambered for the .308. the pistol grip. The shooter Naturally, a large cartridge like the simply removes his or her left Once new barrel is inserted, retaining bolts are .338 will necessarily deliver more felt hand that is used to stabilize re-tightened and torqued to 65 inch-pounds. recoil than lesser cartridges, but this can the rifle in the shoulder pock- Seekonk preset T Handled torque wrench from be offset by the use of muzzle brakes. et, press in on the release and Brownells makes precise torque a “snap.” As the .338 Lapua became accepted by the empty magazine drops a number of the world’s military forces free. Insert a fresh magazine as replacements for or supplements to and the rifle is ready for action. in the left-handed position, the operator’s bridge the gap between the .308 and .50 About the only complaint that head must be lifted slightly to oper- BMG, it was only a matter of time before the SRS doesn’t address is that it ate the bolt, the selector switch is fully the US military began to consider it. isn’t fully ambidextrous. Nick Young, ambidextrous and the production guns For the military, the .338 gives the as brick walls and other situations where by American Special Operations Forces, the designer, said that as much as will have an ambi mag release too. The precision tactical marksman a significant the .308 isn’t sufficient, but where use the use of .338 Lapua caliber rifles by he’d have liked to overcome that SRS operating mechanism is completely effective range advantage over any .308 of a .50 BMG rifle might be considered law enforcement is certain to grow and complaint, he couldn’t because he’d surrounded by the stock and receiver caliber rifle, while adding little to the overkill and negatively viewed by civilians one of the candidates for the USSOCOM have to have made the rifle eject out assembly except the ejection port/bolt weight burden that every field soldier or the news media. Also, the .338 Lapua contract is the subject of this evaluation– Barrel is removed by turning three retaining the bottom, making it a single shot; channel and magazine well, which is must contend with. At closer ranges, is one of the few cartridges whose bullet the highly innovative Stealth Recon Scout bolts a half turn and then sliding barrel out the a detachable magazine was a must, closed when a magazine is in place. In especially those associated with Military will reliably penetrate aircraft windshields (SRS) from Desert Tactical. front of the stock/receiver assembly. although the rifle can easily be fired areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan where Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) that and retain sufficient terminal ballistics to characterize operations in Iraq; and for eliminate targets in aircraft cockpits. With Gun Details law enforcement, where engagement the forthcoming adoption of a .338 Lapua To say that the SRS is innovative is distances are almost never a huge understatement. First, the SRS more than 100 yards, the is a bullpup. Bullpup rifles have several .338 offers the precision advantages over conventional designs, in marksman the capability to that a bullpup rifle can have a full-length defeat targets that would barrel in an overall configuration that’s resist any .308 bullet. For about the same length as a short-barreled law enforcement, the .338 carbine. For operations in urban terrain, bears examination as an this is a significant advantage in close alternative to .50 caliber quarters. Likewise, when deploying from rifles because most organi- vehicles, the shorter overall length of a zations do not require the bullpup is a tactical advantage. Our test terminal ballistics of the .50 SRS, for example, has a 26-inch barrel BMG cartridge, but exceed (less muzzle brake) in a package that is those of the traditional .308 Bolt can be removed for maintenance or caliber change only 39.5 inches in overall length, almost for positive vehicle stops, by just pressing a pin, sliding off butt plate and pulling identical to that of a standard M16A2 with defeating hard targets such bolt out of the rifle’s stock/receiver assembly. 20-inch barrel. It should be noted that by removing the adjustable buttstock spac- ers, the rifle’s overall length drops down SPECIFICATIONS: to 37 inches. DESERT TACTICAL SRS Despite the advantages of a bullpup Caliber: .243Win, .308, .300Win Mag, .338 Lapua system, many shooters prefer con- fbarrel: 22 to 26 inches, depending on caliber ventional configurations for a variety of reasons that have been specifically 31.5 to 37.5 inches, depending on caliber Oa length: eliminated from the SRS. The most com- fWeight: 9.4 to 12.4 pounds (empty), depending on caliber mon complaint about bullpups is a poor SightS: None trigger, engendered by the fact that the fStOCkS: Injection molded trigger is separated from the actual fire control mechanism by several inches. ActiOn: Bolt action Although the trigger and fire control of the fFiniSh: Hard coat anodized SRS are separated, the trigger is as good CapaCity: 5-shot mag (.338), 7-shot mag (.308) as any we have ever encountered on any precision tactical rifle. The trigger on our fpriCe: $3275-3585 test SRS broke at just less than 2 pounds with no perceptible creep or overtravel.