British Sniper pictures

[longebow]

Yes, the M21 was the M14 NM with a telescope. The history of the M21 can be found in several sources, but an excellent one is: US Rifle M14 - From John Garand to the M21. The US Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) were the pioneers in refining the M14 into the National Match rifle, which had many modifications done to enhance accuracy. The earlier XM-21s used James Leatherwood's ART-1 (automatic ranging telescope) which had a Redfield 3-9x scope that had a reticle (first focal plane) that when the stadia lines subtended 30 inches (belt line to top of the head), you would just use point of aim, point of impact. The ART-1 had a ballistic cam on it designed for the M118 ammunition (175 FMJBT at 2610 fps at the muzzle), and with the ranging system, you could shoot from 300 to 900 meters. As one rotated the cam, it would raise the rear end of the scope, compensating for the bullet's trajectory. Believe it or not, head shots at 300 were possible at 3x, but hits at 900 meters were doable, just more challenging. The "new and improved" ART-II used the similar cam concept, but introduced a system (looked like a poker chip) allowing the shooter to disengage the power ring from the cam ring. That way, one could increase the magnification, but for closer ranges. Also, another difference: the ART-II used the thicker "duplex" horizontal crosshairs to subtend 1 meter (39 inches/ from the crotch to the top of the head). When I went through the 101st's sniper school in the late 80's, my company M21/ART-1 performed like a champ. The Soldiers with the ART-II had to reconfirm zeros every time they dismounted the scopes from the rifle.

A link to the book above: Collector Grade Publications - Bookshelf #4 - Gun Books - FAL Rifle, US Rifle M14, Black Rifle M16

Hope this helps.

Longebow

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