The M-24 sniper weapon system is a 7.62 mm, bolt-action repeating rifle based on the Remington 700 (like the USMC M40). The barrel is designed to be free-floating, thus improving its already great accuracy. It is used with M3A 10X magnifiing scope. The M24 is accurate out to about 800 meters, but an experienced marksman can hit a target 1200 meters away.
The M24 is a bolt-action sniper rifle that is chambered to fire the 7.62×51 mm NATO round.
It loads exclusively from 5-round box magazines, and has a maximum fire rate of just 30 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 900 m/s. The M24 is always fitted with a folding (non-functional) bipod and uses a riflescope with a fixed magnification zoom of 10x. It does not come in any variant fitted with a muzzle suppressor.
As the U.S. Army's main sniper weapon, the M24 boasts both superior range and firepower to the 5.56 mm-chambered Mk12 SPR marksman rifle. Effective out to a distance of approximately ~ 800 metres, the M24 can potentially strike targets as far away as 1,000 metres depending on the user's skill. Accuracy-wise, the M24 is identical to the SLA'sSVD Dragunov for engagements beyond 700 metres, though the difference is generally unnoticeable unless observed closely.
Its two main drawbacks are its low RPM due to being bolt-action as opposed to semi-automatic, as well as its meagre magazine capacity of only five rounds. Unlike the Mk12 SPR, this prevents the M24 from being usable in close quarters as it simply fires too slowly. The user will similarly run out of ammunition quickly since they have 120% less rounds per magazine (only five versus the Mk12 SPR's twenty or even thirty if loaded with 30-rounder STANAGs).
Optics[]
The M24 does not have ironsights and only allows the user to aim through its scope.
The scope uses a default zeroing of 300 metres and a fixed magnification; neither of which can be adjusted. To land hits at distances of 300 metres or less, it is only necessary to align the centre of the reticle's crosshair with the target's body. The reticle's mil-dots are not accurate for long distance sniping and should not be relied upon to land precise hits for targets located beyond 400 metres.
Ammunition[]
Base damage value
Initial velocity (m/s)
12
900
The M24 only supports being fed with one type of magazine. It requires one free inventory slot to carry:
5Rnd. M24[]
Standard 5-round box magazine. Does not contain any visible tracers.
Trivia[]
The M24's bullets initially retained visible tracers even when its magazine was not close to depletion (unlike the SVD). This was eventually rectified in Patch 1.08 which gave the M24's magazines proper tracerless ammunition.[1]
Gallery[]
ArmA 2[]
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The M-24 sniper weapon system is a 7.62 mm, bolt-action repeating rifle based on the Remington 700 (like the USMC M40). The barrel is designed to be free-floating, further improving its already superior accuracy. It is used with an M3A 10X magnifying scope. The M24 is accurate to about 800 meters but an experienced marksman can hit a target 1200 meters away.
Returning from Armed Assault, the M24 continues to serve as the primary weapon of U.S. military snipers.
Statistics-wise, the M24 is unchanged from Armed Assault and retains the same magazine capacity (5-rounds) and fire rate (30 RPM) of its predecessor. However, the muzzle velocity of ArmA 2's M24 has now been reduced to 830 m/s, though it also gains multiple camouflage finishes and features a sub-variant designated as the M40A3.
Compared to the Mk17 Sniper, both weapons are chambered to fire the same 7.62 mm NATO round but the M24 is far more accurate against targets beyond 600 metres. It is more than capable of striking targets that are more than 800 metres away with relative precision (>1,000 metre shots are similarly possible but the shooter cannot rely on the scope's mil-dots).
For all its strengths however, the M24's bolt-action operation cripples its fire rate and limits its usefulness compared to semi-automatic marksman rifles like the DMR. Because of its longer barrel length, it is also unwieldy to hold in close quarters compared to both the Mk17 Sniper as well as the DMR. This lack of versatility means that the M24 is rather useless outside of sniper engagements, and should not be brought onto missions where fighting at short distances is expected.
Variants[]
M40A3[]
The M40A3 is a modified variant of the M24 sniper rifle that is only used by USMC snipers.
The M40A3's sole difference from the M24 is that it is always camouflaged with a ghillie wrap that covers both the barrel and the sniper scope. The stock is also slightly different and has a cheek weld pad.
Like the M24, the M40A3 is also based on the same rifle platform but has no functional or statistical changes from the M24 apart from the aesthetic changes, which are purely cosmetic in nature.
The M24 does not have an ironsights-only variant is always fitted with a low-powered riflescope. Its zeroing can be adjusted starting from a minimum of 100 metres up to a maximum of 1,000 metres (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000). By default, it is set to a zeroing of 300 metres.
The scope itself uses a mil-dot reticle which can be used to estimate a target's range. Once the target's distance has been ascertained, adjust the M24's zeroing to the required range setting and then point the centre of the crosshairs onto the target.
The M40A3 does not have an ironsights-only variant is always fitted with a low-powered riflescope. Its zeroing can be adjusted starting from a minimum of 100 metres up to a maximum of 1,000 metres (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000). By default, it is set to a zeroing of 300 metres.
The scope itself uses a mil-dot reticle which can be used to estimate a target's range. Once the target's distance has been ascertained, adjust the M40A3's zeroing to the required range setting and then point the centre of the crosshairs onto the target.
Camouflage[]
Woodland
Desert
Green - M40A3
1/3
Woodland: Two-tone olive green/light brown spraypaint scheme. Used on USMC M24s.
Desert: Two-tone desert tan/pale tan spraypaint scheme. Exclusive to U.S. Army M24s.
Green: Flat dark green paint scheme with a woodland ghillie wrap covering the barrel and scope. Only used on USMC M40A3s.
Ammunition[]
Base damage value
Aerodynamic friction
Initial velocity (m/s)
12
-0.0009324
830
Both the M24 and M40A3 only support being loaded with one type of magazine. It requires one free inventory slot to carry:
5Rnd. M24[]
Standard 5-round box magazine. Does not contain any visible tracers.
This magazine is fully interchangeable with the CZ 750 S1 M1.
Trivia[]
Despite being based on different modified versions of the Remington "Model 700" sniper rifle in real-life, the in-game M24 and M40A3 do not actually have any functional or statistical differences between the two (aside from the ghillie wrap on the M40A3).
This also strangely applies to the Czech-made CZ 750 S1 M1 from the Army of the Czech Republic DLC, which has completely identical stats to the M24/M40A3 in almost every way (aside from accuracy).
ArmA 2's M24 (and M40A3) originally had a much higher muzzle velocity of 900 m/s. This was later reduced to only 830 m/s with the latest Steam version patches (as part of CorePatch's changes).[2]
The information below details unused, pre-release or removed content.
Pre-release M24 with a ghillie wrap.
Curiously, pre-release screenshots for the original M24 in ArmA 2 suggest that there was originally meant to be a separate version of the M24 that would be visually akin to the final release's M40A3.[3]
It would have featured a ghillie wrap attached to most of the weapon, including most of the barrel and the entire scope just like the M40A3.
The render for this variant can still be seen on ArmA 2's official website[3] but neither the model nor config exists for it in the final game (the icon can still be found in the game files[4]).
Gallery[]
USMC M40A3. Note the ghillie wrap covering both the barrel and the weapon's scope.
U.S. Army - Armoury (ArmA: Armed Assault)
USMC - Armoury (ArmA 2)
U.S. Army - Armoury (ArmA 2)