The Accuracy International AX50 is a .50 BMG

anti-materiel An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware (materiel). Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to elimin ...

precision rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and surveillanc ...

manufactured by British firearms company

Accuracy International Accuracy International is a British firearms manufacturer based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The company produces the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare series of precision sniper rifles. The company was established in 1978 by Britis ...

. Devised as an upgrade to the

AW50 The AW50 is a .50 BMG anti-materiel precision rifle designed by Accuracy International. It is a re-engineered version of the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare L96 sniper rifle (the standard issue sniper rifle in the British forces). Overview ...

rifle, the AX50 is built to withstand sustained, heavy usage and constant military deployment. It was designed to allow the operator a high level of

accuracy Accuracy and precision are two measures of ''observational error''. ''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their ''true value'', while ''precision'' is how close the measurements are to each other ...

and performance in harsh conditions.

History

The AX50 is a variant of the AX series of

sniper rifles A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...

that entered production in 2010. Designed by

to meet the modern demands of military and police units alike, the AX50 Is designed with long range precision accuracy in mind for a more accurate

weapon. According to Accuracy International, the development of the series was partly influenced by the

Precision Sniper Rifle The Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) was a program by United States Special Operations Command to replace all bolt-action sniper rifles in use by United States special operations snipers with a single bolt-action rifle chambered for a large caliber Ma ...

(PSR)

U.S. Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

solicitation, an undertaking by the U.S. military for a new and improved Precision long range rifle. The PSR contract was ultimately granted to Remington's Modular Sniper Rifle.

Design

The AX50 is a

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

, .50 BMG

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

anti-materiel rifle An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware (materiel). Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to elimin ...

weighing , and is in overall length with a free floated barrel that can be changed in less than 10 minutes. The rifle itself is built on an aluminum chassis, and has a

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

which can be folded to the left to shorten the overall length of the rifle when needed, and features a two-stage trigger with a 3.3 to 4.4 lbs. adjustible pull. The receiver and bolt featuring a 60° bolt throw are made of steel. The AX50 comes with an integrated Picatinny rail as well as a "Firing pin cocking indicator" safety allowing the user to ascertain whether a cartridge is chambered. Accuracy International actively promotes fitting the

Schmidt & Bender Schmidt & Bender (often abbreviated as S&B) is a German company specialized in producing high end telescopic sights for hunting, sports, law enforcement and military arms. The company was founded in 1957 by instrument maker Helmut Schmidt and mast ...

PM II / MILITARY MK II product line as sighting components on their sniper rifles and sells these

telescopic sight A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate po ...

s as accessories, which is rare for a rifle manufacturer.

Variants

The AX sniper rifle series comprises variants which were designed for various cartridges. * AXMC multi calibre sniper rifle that can be chambered either in

.338 Lapua Magnum The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70 mm or 8.58×70 mm) is a rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It was developed during the 1980s as a high-powered, long-range cartridge for military snipers. It was used in the War in Afghanistan and ...

300 Winchester Magnum The .300 Winchester Magnum (also known as .300 Win Mag or .300 WM) (7.62×67mmB, 7.62x66BR) is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a ma ...

7.62×51mm NATO The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries. First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...

.308 Winchester The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

when it is reconfigured by changing the 22 mm (0.87 in) diameter bolt, magazine/insert, and barrel. * AX308 non-multi calibre sniper rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO/.308 Winchester using a 20 mm (0.79 in) diameter bolt. * AX50 non-multi calibre anti-materiel rifle chambered in 12.7×99mm NATO/ .50 BMG using a 30 mm (1.18 in) diameter bolt.

Users

* *: Used by Cypriot Special Forces. *: the standard anti-materiel precision rifle for the

Royal Danish Army The Royal Danish Army ( da, Hæren, fo, Herurin, kl, Sakkutuut) is the land-based branch of the Danish Defence, together with the Danish Home Guard. For the last decade, the Royal Danish Army has undergone a massive transformation of structures ...

. *: In service with Turkish

Police Special Operation Department The Police Special Operations Department ( tr, Polis Özel Harekât Dairesi) or Police Special ActionJoost Jongerden, ''The Settlement Issue in Turkey and the Kurds: An Analysis of Spatial Policies, Modernity and War'', Brill, 2007p. 70./ref> ( ...

. *: It has replaced the

as the British Army's standard .50 BMG rifle.

References

External links