Some companies are returning to a wipe design, with the end wipe not considered to be a user-replaceable part. I don’t have the data to back it up, but it seems to me that the old wiped designs were quite a bit quieter than “modern” wipeless designs we are left to deal with today. Curiously enough, you could also buy tubes, although the same vendor was not allowed to inventory tubes and internals, and possession of both by vendor or individual was considered possession of an unregistered suppressor. Until the rule change, you could buy replacement suppressor wipes, (and other guts for that matter) through the mail or by the bag at gun shows. In the US, the BATF rules change that internal suppressor parts are suppressors themselves, brought an end to the long line of Wiped designs that had been proven quite effective until that point. 22 suppressors and various copies thereof would be a good example of this, as Would Sionics/MAC single and dual stage suppressors. I’ve often speculated, that several suppressed weapons of the age gained the vast majority of their ability to suppress primarily from the end wipe itself, rather than from the rather questionable baffle arrangements. As the wipe became shot out, and the exit hole became larger than bullet diameter, efficiency dropped sharply and decibels rose quickly in response.
For specialoperations, M21 rifle was often issued along with Sionics soundsuppressor (silencer).As to the effectiveness of the suppressor, (or lack thereof), I suspect that, considering the time period when it was made and the suppression methods utilized, there is a missing or worn out part… The once ubiquitous “End Wipe”… In that era, many suppressors relied on a rubber, neoprene, or oiled leather end wipe, which was an expendable part.
M21 rifle retained adjustable iron sights of M14 rifle, andadded a telescope or night sight using standard M14 rifle side mount(each military M14 rifle was manufactured with provisions for mountinga scope bracket on the left side of the receiver). M21 sniper rifle isgas operated, semi-automatic rifle which uses Garand-type rotary boltlocking and gas-operated short stroke piston system, located below thebarrel. Most suchconversion and re-issues use new generation scope mounts with Picatinny railsand new-generation telescope sights. Some old M14 rifles also were recently converted to M21 configuration as well. Older Sionics suppressor isreplaced by Ops Inc suppressor.įinally it must be noted that more than few M21 rifles were recently re-issuedto US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to complement older M24 rifles before enough M110 semi-automatic rifles will be available. M25 rifles are ususally issued with more modern Baush& Lomb or Leupold telescope sights. It retained basic M14 / M21 mechanisms but added a McMillan polymer stock, somecommercially available parts (such as replacement gas piston), and anew scope mount. Later on, a modified M25 sniperrifle was developed for US Scecial Operations forces. The ART was ballisticly matched withM118 ammunition. Thisadjustable ranging feature removed much of the guesswork from aiming atthe target. The ART telescope featured a variable magnification power offrom 3X to 9X, for adjustable ranging between 300m and 900m. The rifle used 7,62mm NATO M118ammunition, especially developed for sniping and long range matchshooting. The XM21 was officially typeclassified M21 in 1975, and remained a standard US Army sniper rifleuntil 1988, when it was officially replaced with M24 SWS. The Rock Island Arsenal converted 1,435 M14NMrifles to XM21 sniper rifles for initial fielding to Vietnam in 1969.The rifle was initially fielded with a wooden stock, which was laterreplaced with a fiberglass stock. The XM21 was an accurized M14 National Match (NM)semi-automatic rifle equipped with a Leatherwood 3X-9X AdjustableRanging Telescope (ART). Benning, and the Limited Warfare Agency at Aberdeen,during late 1960s. The XM21 sniper rifle was developed jointly by theArmy Weapons Command at Rock Island, Combat DevelopmentCommand at Ft. Mechanism: Rotating bolt, gas operatedsemi-automatic rifle. US Army sniper with re-issued M21 sniper rifle fitted with new scope mount andtelescope sight in Iraq, 2006. Original XM21 sniper rifle withART telescope sight note that it has an original M14 wooden stock(with cut out for fire selector above the trigger guard, and a hingedbuttplate).Ĭurrent productsion SpringfieldM1A target rifle set up to duplicate M21, but with modified woodenadjustable stock.