The Hécate II is the standard heavy

sniper rifle 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 ...

and

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 elimi ...

of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, sometimes known as the FR-12.7 (french: Fusil à Répétition de calibre 12.7 mm or "12.7 mm calibre repeating rifle"). It is manufactured by

PGM Précision PGM Précision (styled as PGM PRECISION) is a French company manufacturing high-precision rifles for military, law enforcement and sporting usages. Models include: * PGM Hécate II (12.7×99mm NATO / .50 BMG), .416 Barrett/ 10.6×83mm * PGM 3 ...

of France. This is the largest weapon manufactured by PGM, chambered for the .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO) cartridge. The name of the rifle is derived from the ancient Greek goddess

Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicte ...

. The Hecate II is very popular with snipers in the French Foreign Legion.

Design

Its design is the same metallic-skeleton as used in other similar rifles in the PGM family, only scaled up. The barrel of the Hécate is manufactured by FN Herstal and is lined with

Stellite Stellite is a range of cobalt-chromium alloys designed for wear resistance. The alloys may also contain tungsten or molybdenum and a small, but important, amount of carbon. History Stellite is a trademarked name of Kennametal Inc. Prior to tha ...

alloy which is also used for large calibre machine guns. This increases the barrel's longevity. It is fitted with a high-efficiency

muzzle brake A muzzle brake or recoil compensator is a device connected to, or a feature integral to the construction of, the muzzle or barrel of a firearm or cannon that is intended to redirect a portion of propellant gases to counter recoil and unwanted ...

which reduces the felt

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

to about the level expected of a 7.62×51mm NATO-chambered rifle. The rifle is equipped with both an adjustable front bipod and a rear monopod for maximum accuracy. The stock is also adjustable. The Hecate II was a heavy firearm and weighs up to 35.27 pounds at most. The standard-issue sight used with the Hécate II is the SCROME LTE J10 F1 10× telescope.

In popular culture

The anti-materiel rifle in the video game '' Fallout: New Vegas'' is heavily influenced by the design of the Hécate II. Although the rifle is not widely used in the United States, the choice of it description was primarily aesthetics, as explained by ''Fallout: New Vegas'' game director

Josh Sawyer Joshua Eric Sawyer (born October 18, 1975), known commonly as Josh Sawyer, J.E. Sawyer, or JSawyer, is an American video game designer, known for his work on role-playing video games. Early life and education Sawyer grew up in Fort Atkinson, Wis ...

: "I based the anti-materiel rifle on the Hécate II because honestly I was/am sick of seeing Barretts in games and I think the Hécate II looks better."

Users

* ** Marine Corps Special Operations Battalion * – Used By Rapid Deployment Forces and Black Cobra * * * * * * * * * * * - SOBT and SKSO

Gallery

File:TE 2REI Afghanistan.jpg, Snipers of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment section de tireurs d'élite (Sniper) France deploying a PGM Hécate II and

FR F2 The FR F2 (french: Fusil à Répétition modèle F2; en, Repeating Rifle, F2 model) has been the standard sniper rifle of the French military since 1986. It is designed for shooting at point targets at distances up to 800 metres. History In Augu ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

File:PGM-Hecate-seul-img 1008.jpg, The distinctive

on the PGM Hécate II File:Scrome LTE J10 F1 scope 2007 07 14.jpg, A PGM Hécate II with its standard issue scope in the French military, the Scrome LTE J10 F1

References

External links

PGM Précision

Hecate II data sheet

User Manual PGM Hecate II

{{DEFAULTSORT:PGM Hecate II .50 BMG sniper rifles Bolt-action rifles of France Sniper rifles of France Anti-materiel rifles Military equipment introduced in the 1990s