Secret Service Wants New Sniper Rifles

The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) is shopping for new bolt-action sniper rifles that can be readily reconfigured to fire four different cartridges. Though there is no indication the two things are in any way related, the process of acquiring these guns formally kicked off just days after a USSS counter-sniper (CS) killed Thomas Matthew Crooks after he attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump on July 13. You can read more about that assassination attempt, which highlighted the essential role CS teams play, in The War Zone‘s past reporting here.

The USSS put out the request for proposals for Precision Bolt Action Rifle Systems on July 18. The RFP includes requirements for the supply of ancillary items and training services along with the guns themselves. The Secret Service’s current main bolt-action sniper rifle, which CS teams used in the response to the recent attempted assassination of former President Trump, is a cousin of the .300 Winchester Magnum Mk 13 Mod 7 in service with the U.S. Marine Corps.

“The United State[s] Secret Services (USSS) has a requirement for a multi-caliber rifle, for use in all environmental conditions,” according to the contracting document. “The weapon shall be commercially available and in serial production.”

The bolt-action rifles have to be readily convertible between four calibers: .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Norma Magnum, .300 Precision Rifle Cartridge (PRC), and .308 Winchester. The guns also have to be capable of being configured for right and left-handed shooters.

USSS wants the base rifle to be no heavier than 16 pounds empty and without any accessories when set up to fire .300 Winchester Magnum. It’s unclear whether variations in that weight requirement are acceptable when the weapon is configured to fire any of the other three cartridges. The RFP notably specifies different barrel length requirements for each round – 26 inches when chambered for .300 Winchester Magnum, 27 inches for .300 Norma Magnum and .300 PRC, and 24 inches for .308 Winchester – which could impact the rifle’s total weight.

All “barrels must be stainless steel, carbon wrapped stainless steel barrels are acceptable,” per the RFP. “Barrel changes shall be able to be completed at the operator level with minimal tooling. The replacement shall be performed without the need of a barrel vice.”

The barrels will be combined with an action featuring a single-stage trigger that needs to “be free of both perceptible creep, as well as perceptible over-travel” and a “trigger pull [that] shall not measure less than 2.0 pounds, nor more than 3.0 pounds.”

Whatever ‘chassis’ the barrel and the rest of the action sits in needs to have a folding buttstock that can also be extended or collapsed, and that comes with an adjustable cheekpiece for comb adjustment. It also needs to have a mixture of Picatinny-standard and RRS-Lock (also known as R-Lock) accessory rails for attaching scopes and other accessories. The only specific accessory requirements the RFP outlines, at least publicly, have to do with suppressors.

“The rifle shall be supplied with a Thunder Beast Arms Magnus-SR 30 caliber Suppressor, with secondary retention non-timed brake (SR NTB),” the contracting document says. “If the rifle fails utilizing the requested suppressor a Thunder Beast Arms Ultra 9 shall be installed and tested. If the rifle fails with the Ultra 9 then the submission will be eliminated.”

It’s not immediately clear whether the USSS intends to supplement or supplant its existing sniper rifles with the new Precision Bolt Action Rifle Systems, at least in the near term. You can read more about the current standard CS team bolt-action rifle, which uses an Accuracy International AX-series chassis system with a fully adjustable stock and Picatinny and KeyMod accessory attachment points, here.

Secret Service counter-sniper (CS) teams also utilize semi-automatic 7.62x51mm SR-25-series rifles from Knight’s Armament Company.

Another variant or derivative of the Mk 13 pattern, which is itself based on the Remington 700 series, might meet the USSS’ new requirements.

A version of the Barrett Multi-Role Adaptive Design (MRAD), designed from the ground up as a modular multi-caliber rifle, could be another option. Since 2019, the U.S. military’s special operations community has been transitioning from its Mk 13-series rifles to a version of the MRAD called the Mk 22 Mod 0 Advanced Sniper Rifle (ASR).

The U.S. Army and Marine Corps are both now working to replace a variety of Remington 700-derived designs, including the Mk 13 Mod 7, with the Mk 22, as well. The USSS adopting an MRAD variant could therefore offer logistical and other economic benefits going forward.

There are other precision bolt-action rifles on the market now, as well. The USSS’ demand for a “commercially available and in serial production” rifle, which could also help keep costs down and speed up getting the new guns into service, does rule out any entirely new or radically modified design.

The Secret Service is planning to go through a multi-phase evaluation process with whatever rifle options are submitted. Each offerer has to submit four guns and other ancillary items for testing. “At the end of each phase, unsatisfactory submissions will be eliminated from further consideration” and the USSS “intends to award a single contract,” according to the RFP.

Regardless, the attempted assassination of former President Trump earlier this month underscores the critical importance of ensuring the USSS has the most capable weapons and other gear, as well as training to go with them, to support its personal protection and other mission requirements. Its snipers and other personnel are charged every day with guards the highest-value individuals in the country. USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle noted earlier today that her organization is currently tasked to protect 36 specific individuals, who she did not name, on a daily basis, as well as visiting foreign leaders. Cheatle was testifying at a hearing before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee where she faced a serious grilling over the security lapses that led to the events of July 13.

“The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13th is the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle acknowledged, while also pushing back on growing calls to resign.

Regardless of the full extent of the fallout from the recent attempted assassination might be, this new search for a new sniper rifle underscores how investment in the Secret Services’ counter-sniper teams has remained steady with the changing pace of small arms technology.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com