United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle
type of designated marksman rifle
The United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR, NSN 1005-01-458-6235; more formally the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, DMR) is a semi-automatic, gas-operated rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. It is a modified version of the M14 rifle formerly used by the United States Marine Corps. The USMC Precision Weapons Section at Marine Corps Base Quantico built all DMRs.
The Marine Corps replaced the DMR with the M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle on a one-for-one basis.
History
In 1989, the USMC began a program to upgrade M14s not decommissioned into DMRs by designing them with fiberglass stocks and new barrels. This was done by the Precision Weapons Section.
Design
The DMR was issued with match-grade M118LR 175-grain Long Range ammunition. It can have various scopes attached on the upper receiver, including the AN/PVS-4 Starlight scope, via picatinny rail.
The DMR can fire precisely up to 1,000 yards if M118LR special ball ammo is used.
The "basic" DMR (i.e., without secondary sight, magazine, sling, basic issue items, cleaning gear, suppressor and bipod) weighs 11 pounds (5.0 kg) or less.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle” as type of designated marksman rifle. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as type of designated marksman rifle. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3267852. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1005 and 1989.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle primary sources, United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle archive and United research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.