M42A Sniper Rifle

Sniper rifle

The M42A is essentially a highly modified M41 Pulse Rifle, having been customized for use by the Marine Scout/Snipers. One rifle is issued per company, though normally it's used at the battalion level in groups of up to 4 Scout/Snipers.

The M42A is configured in a bullpup style, having the 15-round magazine located behind the hand grip. The butt-plate can be adjusted on an individual basis using the 6 supplied spacers. A folding bipod is placed on top of the barrel hand guard to prevent it from affecting accuracy. Internal components are nearly totally compatible with the M41, though the M42 is chambered for match-grade ammo. The barrel is free-floating and protected with a ventilated hand guard; the barrel can also be fitted with a flash suppressor or muzzle brake depending on the situation.

Normal ammunition is a match-grade HEAP round with a maximum effective range of 2,950 meters. A long-range ball round is also available with an effective range of 3,800 meters. The standard M250 Smartgun round can also be used with no modification, though it's effective range is less than 2,000 meters; fuse adjustment is accomplished via a separate selector switch.

A combined multi-spectral 20x passive scope is mounted on top of the receiver. It displays a composite image based on visual, IR, and EM emissions. It can also be augmented with input from the local sensor matrix, such as motion trackers, radar, lidar, and IR sensors. A classified control system allows the Scout/Sniper to tie the rifle into the local sentry gun matrix and readjust sentry gun firing arcs as necessary.