Remington R11 RSASS sniper rifle (USA)

Remington R11 RSASS sniper rifle

In 2011, the well-known American company for the production of weapons and ammunition “Remington Arms”, together with the manufacturer of high-class sporting match rifles “JP Enterprises Inc”, within the framework of the “SASS” program (Semi-Automatic Sniper System - self-loading sniper system) for law enforcement agencies, developed a new sniper rifle caliber .308 Win. In January 2012, a new rifle, designated “R11 RSASS” (Rifle 11 Remington Semi-Automatic Sniper System - rifle of the 2011 model, Remington self-loading sniper system) was presented to the general public.

The R11 RSASS sniper rifle is built on the JP LRP-07 sporting rifle platform. Remington took over the assembly, supply and maintenance of the rifle, while JP Enterprises supplied components such as the receiver, trigger mechanism and optic mounts.

The rifle uses a gas-operated automatic system similar to the Stoner AR-10 rifles, with direct gas exhaust into the body of the bolt frame and a gas regulator that ensures reliable operation with different types of ammunition, including when a silencer is installed.

The receiver is made of aluminum alloy. Compared to the basic system, it has been modified - the cocking handle has been moved to the left side of the receiver, which makes working with it more convenient, especially when shooting from a prone position.

The barrel is made of stainless steel and equipped with an effective flash suppressor, which additionally serves as a mount for a quick-detachable shot silencer.

The weapon is fed with ammunition from detachable box magazines with a capacity of 19 or 20 rounds, compatible with the Knight SR25/DPMS 308 rifles. In addition, it is possible to use R11 RSASS compatible magazines and other containers - from 4 and 10 rounds (box) to 50 rounds ( drums).

The rifle's stock includes an aluminum tubular forend with Picatinny rail mounts and an adjustable Magpul PRS stock.

The rifle is not equipped with open sights as standard. To install optical sights in a quick-release bracket, a Picatinny rail type guide is used, located on the upper surface of the receiver and forend.

The rifle is offered to the customer in the form of a ready-made kit (“sniper system”), consisting of an R11 rifle, a Leupold Mark 4 M3 optical sight with variable magnification 4.5-14X, a Harris bipod and a quick-detachable shot silencer from AAC, packed in a hard case for transportation.

The R11 RSASS rifle is intended for arming the army and law enforcement agencies. Its main purpose is sniper shooting at a range of up to 800-1000 meters (depending on the type of target). At the same time, the accuracy is “less than 1 minute of arc” (Sub-MOA) when using sniper cartridges.

R11 sniper rifle

Sniper rifles based on the AR15/M16 and their other “relatives” are far from uncommon. They are stamped by all and sundry, many honestly talk about their kinship with Stoner’s designs, many come up with tales of incredible characteristics and make “breakthroughs” in the weapons business, so there is no shortage of such types of weapons. Judging by the fact that from year to year models that practically copy each other appear, and not always from different manufacturers, weapons are bought and purchased willingly. So let’s try to briefly get acquainted with one of the recent models offered by Remington Arms, and then figure out the reason for the popularity of this weapon: characteristics, lack of alternatives or price.

At the beginning of 2012, Remington Arms introduced a new R11 sniper rifle chambered for .308Win. This weapon appeared for a reason, and its appearance was preceded by a statement from Remington Arms and JP Enterprises Inc about joint cooperation. It must be said right away that such news was received with a bang, since one company is already world famous, and the other became famous thanks to its sporting rifles, therefore, the result of such joint work should have been more than positive. We decided to use the JP LRP-07 as the basis, in other words, a sports adaptation of the AR-10. The division of labor in the companies was as follows: JP Enterprises Inc developed the trigger mechanism, optic mounts and receiver, the rest was left to Remington Arms.

The appearance of the weapon immediately indicates that the rifle is based on the work of Stoner, but some details are interesting. So, first of all, it should be noted that the cocking handle was moved to the left side of the rifle, which made the weapon more convenient when shooting from a prone position. But the angle of the handle for these purposes, in my opinion, is too steep; it could have been changed. The rifle butt can be adjusted along its length in several ways. Firstly, you can adjust the butt itself in stages using a bracket that securely fixes the butt. For a more precise fit of the weapon to the shooter of a particular build and his equipment, it is possible to adjust the butt plate using a vertical roller. The same roller is used to adjust the cheek rest. Despite all the thoughtfulness of the design, one cannot ignore the fly in the ointment, which is represented by the lack of the ability to install a monopod under the butt, however, with straight hands you can screw it on yourself, but this is not the same. On the left side of the weapon there is a barely noticeable safety switch above the pistol grip; it would also be nice to make it larger. An interesting solution was to make this switch three-position. So, in one position the weapon safety is turned on and the rifle becomes completely safe. In the second position, the automatic system works and the rifle becomes self-loading; in the third position, the gas outlet is locked and the powder gases do not affect the bolt group, which significantly increases accuracy when shooting, but requires manual reloading after each shot. This is far from the first rifle with such a feature and a similar implementation; one might even say that in the latest models, most manufacturers immediately include the ability to disable self-loading by turning the safety switch; apparently, there is a new trend in the world of weapons. If we talk about the practical value of just making a non-self-loading rifle out of a self-loading rifle, then of course only positive aspects can be noted here. Whatever one may say, sometimes just one accurate shot is required, and rate of fire and sniper shooting are completely different concepts. The weapon manufacturer itself only talks about the possibility of using a silent firing device in combination with subsonic cartridges; for some reason they are silent about increasing accuracy, but the fact that it should exist is beyond doubt.

Returning to the appearance of the weapon, it should be noted that the weapon has a lot of slots on the fore-end, which are so dearly “loved” by those who prefer the practicality and unpretentiousness of the weapon, rather than the ability to hang kilograms of often unnecessary bells and whistles on it, which, moreover, most often, no. The forend of the rifle is made completely full of holes, on the one hand this makes the weapon lighter, on the other hand, cleaning from simple dirt and earth becomes a long task, although a sniper rifle is still a precision instrument that does not allow tanks to drive over it, but still. The forend itself is an octahedron on each side of which a fastening bar can be placed. As standard, there is only one Picatinny rail, which is non-removable and connects the seat on the receiver with the seat on the outlet of the powder gases. The remaining mounting strips are installed individually in the location desired by the shooter. The location of the continuation of the fastening bar on the outlet of powder gases from the barrel is not accidental; it is intended for installing the front sight, while the rear sight will accordingly be installed on the upper part of the receiver. Unfortunately, the weapon kit does not include open sights, well, given their low cost, they can be freely purchased by the owner of the rifle separately, and in general, the equipment of a sniper rifle is a rather conventional thing and can be easily changed. The barrel of the weapon is thick-walled, but does not have longitudinal valleys that increase its rigidity; a muzzle brake-recoil compensator is installed on the thread of the muzzle medium, although it can rather be called a flash suppressor. A silent firing device is also installed on the same thread.

An interesting point is that in most cases this rifle is referred to under the name R11 RSASS (Rifle 11 Remington Semi-Automatic Sniper System), which is not entirely correct. In fact, the weapon is called nothing more than simply R11, but this large set of letters is the designation of a ready-made sniper kit, in this form the weapon is usually offered. So, this kit, in addition to the rifle itself, includes a Leupold Mark 4M3 optical sight with variable magnification 4.5-14X, a Harris bipod, a silent shooting device, as well as a hard case for transportation. It is also worth noting that in most price lists the price is indicated for everything together, but the rifle itself is usually much cheaper.

The basis of the weapon was an automation system with the removal of powder gases from the bore of the weapon with direct impact on the bolt group (as in the M16). They say that such an automation system shows better results in terms of fire accuracy than systems with a piston; we won’t argue; after all, there is at least a reduction in the weight of the moving parts when firing, and this is already a plus.

Sensitivity to the quality of gunpowder and contamination in this case also fades into the background, because the weapon is a sniper, which means that the ammunition will be of high quality and the weapon will be well maintained. In general, such an automation system is quite a suitable option for a self-loading sniper rifle. In addition to completely blocking the exhaust of powder gases, it is also possible to adjust depending on environmental conditions, as well as the type of ammunition. The trigger mechanism is actually sporty, fully adjustable in all conceivable parameters, but within fairly narrow limits, which has already been noted by those who have become acquainted with the new product, however, this is not a complaint, but just a note. Feeding comes from detachable box magazines with a capacity of 20 rounds; in their place, smaller capacity magazines can be installed, as well as wild drum mutants with a capacity of 50 rounds. We would also add the possibility of automatic fire and we would get a quite suitable light machine gun chambered for 7.62x51.

The characteristics of the weapon in numbers are not entirely encouraging. For example. the weight of the weapon without an optical sight, bipod, and cartridges is 5.5 kilograms. This, of course, is a plus for the stability of the weapon during a shot, but then the question arises: where did the designers lighten the rifle with aluminum alloys? And how much would the weapon weigh completely in steel form, 7-8 kilograms? Actually, this is exactly how much the weapon weighs if you install an optical sight, bipod and magazine with cartridges - 7.15 kilograms. The total length of the weapon is one meter; if you install a silent firing device, the length will increase to 1168 millimeters. The barrel length of the weapon is 457 millimeters, although variants with a longer barrel have recently appeared; accordingly, the length of the weapon also increases, as does the weight. The accuracy of the rifle at ranges up to 1000 meters, according to the manufacturer, is less than 1 arc minute, which is confirmed by practice, of course, not with all ammunition and not in every hand, but only in experienced and steady ones. In general, there is nothing outstanding about the weapon that could be caught on and put ahead of other similar models - somewhere better, somewhere worse, and what is more important to whom everyone decides for himself.

Initially, this version of the weapon was created for the army and police, but they were not interested, which is predictable. There is no money, no desire, and the old rifles have not all been broken yet. So for now, the only place where such weapons are sold is the civilian market in the United States. True, they are now actively trying to interest the armies and police of other countries, but it seems to be unsuccessful. However, the civilian market also fully pays for the development and production of weapons, so there is nothing to complain about. If we proceed from what is known about this weapon, then it is easy to conclude that this rifle is still more likely a police version of a sniper weapon. Whatever one may say, in the military environment there is much more dirt, dust, and water, so it would be more acceptable to have an automatic option with the removal of powder gases with a piston, and not with direct output to the receiver. On the contrary, the abundance of places where dirt can accumulate is not at all beneficial to the weapon. The weight of the rifle, especially in a hard case, is not suitable for long walks and so on. On the other hand, it’s not clear why a police sniper needs 20 rounds of ammunition in the magazine; it’s certainly a lot, not a little, but still. In addition, the cartridge itself in the city is excessively powerful, but if we are talking about an enemy wearing a bulletproof vest, then of course it’s a completely different conversation. It is also interesting that the standard version of the rifle is sand-colored, which seems to be a hint, but let’s not go from empty to empty. In the end, use what is at hand and don’t look for anything else, and in the skillful hands of a policeman or army sniper, the weapon will work equally effectively.

Summing up the description of this rifle, it should be noted that it enjoys some success on the civilian market, and this despite the fact that there are more advanced weapons next to it. The reason lies in the fact that, unlike us in the USA, people can count. So, if, when viewing a catalog, our compatriot saw a weapon twice as expensive as other models, then with a high degree of probability he would simply move on to another item, quickly glance at the characteristics, and only a few would wonder why this model is twice as expensive as others. The curious American gets to the bottom of it, and the bottom line is that along with the rifle he receives a complete kit with a bipod, optical sight and PBS, if it is allowed for civilians in his state. Having carried out simple mathematical calculations, the potential buyer sees that he will not only receive everything at once and adjusted to each other, but will also save a couple of dollars, which is the main selection criterion. In other words, the sales department did an A+ job and saved the buyer from having to separately order optics, bipods and the rest, and laziness is the engine of not only progress, but also trade. In general, there are alternatives to the rifle, and the price for it is quite ordinary, the characteristics are also not the most outstanding, but nevertheless they choose it.