Potomac Armory
Charlie's has teamed-up with Potomac Armory and Red Bull Armory, to bring you a unique, exclusive Mk13 Mod 7 clone-correct sniper rifle. The man behind Red Bull Armory, is Chris Higgins, who designed the Mod 7 during his time at NSWC Crane, is the gunsmith who assembled this limited edition offering. The attention to detail and the authenticity that this rifle brings is a once in a lifetime opportunity to own a piece of true craftsmanship and history.
This precision rifle is built with care and attention to detail to provide superior accuracy and function and clone-correct, using the exact same parts as used by Crane, when they assembled hundreds of these rifles, and assembled by the exact same armorer who designed the rifle. It is not often you find an authentic SOCOM sniper rifle for sale, let alone one hand built and test fired by Chris Higgins. Of course, you are not going to use this rifle as a sniper rifle, but it is great to hold a living piece of history in your hands and actually shoot it and store in much the same manner as it left NSWC Crane and was received by SEAL and MARSOC snipers.
Chris Higgins is a decorated US Navy SEAL sniper and trainer, and joined NSWC Crane in 2010. Chris worked on improving the Mk13 Mod 5, and designed the Mod 7, which went out for bid in 2013, and was initially fielded to the MARSOC Marine Raiders, and then later to Marine Fleet snipers. Working with Potomac Armory, Chris, through his company, Red Bull Armory assembled each of the Mk13 rifles and test fired and recorded the shots in the official Navy record book.
A precision rifle is nothing without a quality optic. Charlie's has many quality options available, such as the Schmidt & Bender PMII 5-25X56, and the Nightforce ATACR 5-25x, both with Tremor reticles. The S&B PM-II was the SOCOM optic chosen with the original Mk13 sniper rifle award, and the Nightforce ATACR later for the Fleet Marines in 2018-2019. We also offer Surefire silencers for use on this rifle. We recommend the flat dark earth Surefire SOCOM762-RC2 which is the current variation of the earlier model silencer issued with the Mk13 series.
Charlie's also offers this rifle with the full deployment package, as curated by Chris Higgins here: Mk13 Mod 7 Sniper Rifle NSWC Crane full deployment kit
The USMC's long history of sniping can arguably be traced back to before this nation's founding. With their long Kentucky rifles, the Revolutionaries were capable of more precise fire than their Redcoat adversaries using Brown Bess muskets. During the World Wars, the M1903 Springfield .30-06 rifle was modified, and later purpose built, using available target optics from the civilian world. The M1903 would continue to be fielded into the beginning of Vietnam, where Winchester Model 70s were also acquired. By 1966, the Marine Corps had decided on a variant of the Remington 700 in .308 Winchester, officially designated the M40. The M40 went through several variations. USMC 2112 armorers would upgrade and modify the rifles with newer stocks, optics, and accessories as time went on. While the Army was using the factory built M24, the Marines were refining their M40s in-house at the PWS in Quantico, Virginia. The M40 would go through multiple upgrades, designated by new sub model numbers such as the M40A1, A3, A5, and A6.
While the M40 series continued proving effective at its assigned tasks, SOCOM decided it was time to extend the range capabilities of sniper teams. A .300 Winchester Magnum rifle known as the Mk13 entered into the inventory. The Mk13 sniper rifle saw various iterations, or "Mods" and over the course of time, it would see use with special forces such as the Navy SEALs and later, the Mod 7 with the USMC Raider units. By using these magnum rounds, the effective range of the sniper was extended by 50% out to 1,300 meters. While the M110, M40A6, and M107 would remain in the inventory as alternates and for training, it was announced in 2018 that the Mk13 Mod 7 would become the standard issue rifle for all USMC snipers.
Like the previous Mk13 sniper rifle variants, the Mod 7 is a long action bolt gun firing .300 Winchester Magnum in an Accuracy International chassis system. The Mod 7 features a KeyMod forend system with Picatinny rail segments for mounting accessories as needed. The Stiller actions were fitted with stainless Lilja barrels and mounted with a Surefire muzzle device to accept the SOCOM762-RC sound suppressor. The adjustable chassis provides better customization to individual shooters than earlier traditional stock such as those found on the M40 series and the Army's M24. The chassis is also a very rigid platform, giving it a solid base for accessories such as bipods and clip-on thermal optics. The stock folds to make transport easier. Modern high performance optics were also acquired to make the most of the new system's capabilities. The Schmidt & Bender 5-25x56 PSR and the Nightforce ATACR 5-25X56 were the most common optics to find on these.
The Mk13 Mod 7 long-range precision sniper rifle was designed by Chris Higgins, with an RFI, testing and bid selection by NSWC Crane in 2013-2014. Accuracy International, Stiller, Lilja, Surefire, and XTSP would become the providers of the components, with Chris and his team at Crane manufacturing the final sniper rifle and deployment kit. USMC MARSOC Raiders took the first tranche of rifles. Later, in 2018, the "Fleet" Marine Corp awarded a contract for the Mod 7. The last Mod of the Mk13 sniper rifle became "fully operational" in the middle of 2019.
"It's a more modern weapon that fires a 300 winchester magnum and it pushes the weapons lethality well beyond the military's current sniper rifle which is about 1300 meters now we already have the barrett 50 cal. But it's not a standard issued weapon but the. MK.13 will be new standard issued to snipers in addition to greater range n lethality it has many more option n accessories such as night vision n body heat sensors so it's really been long coming considering the current issue M40 has been our basic sniper rifle since Vietnam in one aspect or another we've updated it with modifications but bottom line it's been in service 50 years...." from Anthony Clark, founder of Strykeforce Close Quarter Combat Systems, 2019.
Photo Note: Some pics show the Surefire 4-prong, but the individual rifle has the Surefire brake
Photo credits: U.S. Marine Corps. Photo by Kristen Murphy. The US DoD makes no endorsements or warranties of any kind in association with this product.