involved in the PSR solicitation and the M24 upgrade solicitations submitted their weapon systems with folding chassis that incorporated adjustment devices to fit the sniper as well as many other optimized features that included, detachable magazine feeding, long top picitinny MOA rails to keep day optics in line with PVS, MUNS or thermal devices (FLIR H.I.S.S.). Other features included side picitinny rails for use with illumination lights and laser devices (both IR and visible) such as the PEQ15 and additional design options including accessory mounting points on picitinny rails for QD bipods, rear monopod, tubular barrel protective shrouds, high efficiency muzzle breaks, scope mounts to optimize the optic with a red dot reflex sight for close in shooting and many other options to enhance the sniper’s effectiveness.
STALKER DEVELOPMENT Drake Associates after examining the products that were submitted in both solicitations wanted to make a commercially available sniper weapon system that exceeded the stringent requirements of the US Military on both the M24E1 program and the PSR Solicitation. Drake Associates went back to our contacts of end users in the field, current US Military Snipers from all branches of the services and requested their input. It was important to understand what the end user liked and what as they would say “absolutely sucks” and incorporate these “real world” product improvement in a new weapon and chassis system. The first step was for Drake to go back to CADEX , the original Canadian design team , that had done chassis design work on the M24E1 program, and request that a more advanced chassis system be developed for another rifle action called the RANGEMASTER PRECISION ARMS, 4 LUG QUADLITE REPEATER action from the UK. Drake Associates then developed a complete compact sniper weapon system that utilized a shorter 16.5” barrel and an advanced CADEX Strike Dual 30 chassis. This was the birth of the STALKER GEN 2 RPA that would successfully engage targets to 1000 meters in .308.cal. The weapon was so compact that it met the NON NFA mini-
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After examining the products that were submitted in both solicitations wanted to make a commercially available sniper weapon system that exceeded the stringent requirements of the US Military on both the M24E1 program and the PSR Solicitation. Drake Associates went back to our contacts of end users in the field, current US Military Snipers from all branches of the services and requested their input. It was important to understand what the end user liked and what as they would say “absolutely sucks ” and incorporate these “ real world” product improvement in a new weapon and chassis system.
Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International
mum standards of longer than 26” overall length when folded, but what made this distinctive was that the weapon was more compact than the US Military standard configuration M4A3 with a 14.5” barrel in the collapsed stock configuration. This compact design gained a lot of attention with US Law Enforcement agencies (State and Federal) who appreciated the compact size for urban deployment. This weapon has been in production both at the Rangemaster Precision Arms factory in the UK as well as the Drake Associates Manufacturing facility in NY since 2011 in .308 and similar bolt faced calibers. Domestically US Military and Law Enforcement Snipers, as we all know, are traditionalists. Getting a group of TYPE A personalities to deviate from a mainstay weapon such as the Remington 700 is quite difficult. With this in mind Drake Associates began developing an upgraded and advanced concept of the M24E1 .300WM Sniper Weapon System to compliment the STALKER GEN 2 RPA but a US variant called the STALKER .300WM and STALKER .308, as a spiral development project. In addition Drake looked at barrel design on these new rifles and incorporated a product improvement program (PIP) that would make the weapon perform better than the current M24E1 in service weapon systems. The STALKER would optimize the barrel and chassis design and improve and advance the current sniper weapon system that is in use today.
STALKER / CHASSIS DEVELOPMENT The Drake Associates STALKER .308 and .300WM features the CADEX Strike Dual Chassis system. During the design of the STRIKE DUAL chassis system, CADEX initially went back to the drawing board from their original chassis used by the US Military on the M24E program and identified several ways to make the system even better, which resulted in the Strike Dual Series Chassis . The original CADEX generation 1 designed chassis that was developed for the M24E / XM2010, RACS system, and MSR programs delivered by Remington for the military end-user is very different from the
Vol.19, No.1