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 port ...

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 elim ...

of the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

, 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 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 depict ...

. 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 Fabrique Nationale Herstal (), trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium. It is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe. ...

and is lined with Stellite 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 r ...

to about the level expected of a

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 ...

-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, Wisc ...

: "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 in

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 borde ...

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