When you hear the name “Barrett,” you probably think of the company’s renowned .50-caliber rifles. The success of the highly popular Barrett M82 led to an entire line of large-bore rifles that includes the bolt-action M99 and M95 as well as the newer M107A1. When USSOCOM came looking for a multi-caliber Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) Barrett unleashed its Multi-Role Adaptive Design (MRAD).
In the upcoming April 2014 issue of Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement, author Rob Garrett gives us the latest scoop on a new MRAD variant in .308 Winchester. He writes, “Last year, Barrett received a request from an overseas client to develop a more compact MRAD in 7.62x51mm/.308 Winchester. The client wanted to retain all of the modularity of the original MRAD while developing a rifle that was better suited for urban use. The result was the new MRAD in .308 Winchester, a rifle that I believe is extremely well suited to LE use.
“The MRAD is a magazine-fed, bolt-action rifle with a chassis that consists of an upper and lower receiver. The upper receiver starts as an extruded block of 7000-series aluminum that is precisely machined to exacting tolerances in one of Barrett’s many CNC machines. An integral Picatinny accessory rail with a 20-MOA taper runs the length of the upper receiver and provides a solid platform for optics and other accessories. A series of elongated slots is machined into the rail to allow for improved cooling and reduced weight. The rail also features threaded attachment points along the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock axes that allow users to add rail units to mount additional accessories.”
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To learn more about the Barrett MRAD .308 and how it fared on the range, check out the April 2014 issue of Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement, available on newsstands and digitally January 7, 2014, or click here to read the full article. To subscribe, go to /guns-weapons-for-law-enforcement