The PGM Ultima Ratio is a French-designed and manufactured

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 ...

. It uses the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge but depending on the barrel variant can also be chambered for several other cartridges. The PGM Ultima Ratio is intended to fulfill an anti-personnel role and is produced 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. Its main commercial competitors/equivalents on the high-end factory sniper rifle market are the

Accuracy International Arctic Warfare The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International. It has proved popular as a civilian, police, and military rifle since its introduction in th ...

and

Sako TRG The Sako TRG is a bolt-action sniper rifle line designed and manufactured by Finnish firearms manufacturer SAKO of Riihimäki. The TRG-21 and TRG-22 are designed to fire standard .308 Winchester ( 7.62×51mm NATO) sized cartridges, while the TRG ...

product lines. All of these rifles are similar in performance. The name "Ultima Ratio" derives from the Latin expression ''ultima ratio regum'' ("the final argument of kings"), which

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

had engraved on his cannons.

Design details

The Ultima Ratio system is almost unique in being a purpose-designed sniper rifle, rather than an accurised version of an existing, general-purpose rifle. Like its larger brothers – the

PGM Hécate II The Hécate II is the standard heavy sniper rifle and anti-materiel rifle of the French Army, 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 Pr� ...

(chambered in .50 BMG) and

PGM 338 The PGM 338, also known as the PGM .338 LM (LM - Lapua Magnum) or PGM Mini-Hecate .338, is French sniper rifle from the early 1990's (being produced since 1993). It uses the .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70mm) cartridge, which remains supersonic up to a ...

(chambered 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 ...

) – the PGM Ultima Ratio is structured around a central rigid metal girder chassis, giving it a skeletal "barebones" appearance to minimize weight and simplify maintenance. The receiver is made from a high quality 7075 aircraft-grade

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...

, while the

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

bolt has three lugs that lock into a

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

extension. It also has overpressure vent holes allowing high-pressure gases a channel of escape in the rare event of a cartridge case head failure. The match grade barrel is mounted fully floated and can be easily exchanged in the field with the help of a 5 mm

hex key Hex keys of various sizes Socket head screws of various sizes A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench) is a simple driver for bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (sockets). Hex keys are form ...

. There are several barrel configurations available. The Intervention barrel sports heating dispersion ribs along its length and an integrated glued on

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 ...

to reduce

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 ...

, jump and flash. The Commando I and Commando II barrels are

fluted Fluting may refer to: *Fluting (architecture) * Fluting (firearms) * Fluting (geology) * Fluting (glacial) *Fluting (paper) Arts, entertainment, and media *Fluting on the Hump ''Fluting on the Hump'' is the first album by avant-garde band Kin ...

and can have integrated or detachable muzzle brakes. If the barrels are threaded for a detachable muzzle brake they can also be fitted with a detachable

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity Sound intensity, also known as acoustic intensity, is defined as the power carried by sound waves per unit ...

. The Integral Silencieux barrel has an integrated suppressor. The 7.62×51mm NATO and

.300 Savage The .300 Savage cartridge is a rimless, .30 caliber rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their fo ...

s feature a 305 mm (1:12 in) right-hand

twist rate In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pro ...

. The twist rate for the other standard chamberings are;

7mm-08 Remington The 7mm-08 Remington is a rifle cartridge that is almost a direct copy of a wildcat cartridge developed around 1958 known as the 7mm/308. As these names would suggest, it is the .308 Winchester case necked down to accept 7 mm (.284) bullets wit ...

241 mm (9.5 in),

.260 Remington The .260 Remington (also known as 6.5-08 A-Square) cartridge was introduced by Remington in 1997. Many wildcat cartridges based on the .308 Winchester case had existed for years before Remington standardized this round. Because 6.5 mm ( ...

229 mm (9 in), and 6.5×47mm Lapua 203 mm (8 in). The Intervention barrels are available in all the chamberings mentioned above. The Commando I and II barrels are available in 7.62×51mm NATO and 7mm-08 Remington, whilst the Integral Silencieux barrels are available in 7.62×51mm NATO and .300 Savage. The furniture (pistol grip and forearm) is made from a

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

material and is mounted to the frame. The

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attache ...

is made from metal and has an adjustable shoulder pad for comfortable aiming and minimizing the effects of

on the operator. It is also adjustable for the

length of pull Length of pull (sometimes abbreviated as LOP) is the distance from the trigger to the part of a rifle or shotgun which fits against the shoulder of the shooter. Length of pull is an important ergonomic factor for ease of use; and optimum length of ...

and height, and in case of the folding stock variant can be folded to the left side of the receiver to reduce the overall dimensions of the rifle and make it more portable. An adjustable rear folding ground spike under the stock helps to keep the rifle in a stable position for extended periods of time and is most effective when coupled with the folding

bipod A bipod is a V-shaped portable attachment that helps support and steady a device, usually a weapon such as a long gun or a mortar. The term comes from the Latin prefix ''bi-'' and Greek root ''pod'', meaning "two" and "foot" respectively. Bipod ...

support under the rifle barrel. A

pistol grip On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pis ...

is used for comfortable wielding of the weapon, especially during prolonged periods of time during which the operator must be immediately ready to open fire. The Ultima Ratio has a fully adjustable two-stage

trigger Trigger may refer to: Notable animals and people ;Mononym * Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers ;Nickname * Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist * "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster ;Surname * Bru ...

featuring an adjustable trigger pull weight of to that can be adjusted by an armourer and a fast lock time. The PGM Ultima Ratio is fitted with a

Picatinny rail The Picatinny rail ( or ), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was o ...

so that it may be equipped with a wide range of commercial and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

-standard optical sights, lights, night vision equipment and other tactical accessories. It also has an optional set of emergency

iron sights Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers (usually made of metallic material) used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons (such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow or even compound bow), or less commonly ...

to be used in case of the failure of the primary sight. In order to preserve an optimal shooting comfort, the factory advises to avoid firing without the muzzle brake or silencer attached. The PGM Ultima Ratio can consistently achieve an accuracy of about 0.5

MOA Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

with match-grade ammunition when employed by a qualified marksman. The rifle can be used with a single row 5-round or double row 10-round box magazine. Factory accessories are: PGM sound-suppressor, ergonomic wooden grip, wooden furniture, kit consisting of a long

and side Picatinny rails, PGM telescopic sight mounts, PGM back-up iron sights, transport case with formed foam and a carrying sling.

Users

*: Used by the Marine Corps Special Operations Battalion. *: Used by the Paris

Research and Intervention Brigade A Research and Intervention Brigade (french: Brigade de recherche et d'intervention (BRI) (), Investigation and Intervention Brigade or Anti-Gang Brigade) is a unit of the French National Police. The first units were formed in 1964 and carried ...

in their Counter-Terrorism and Intervention scheme. *: Used by the Israeli

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

units, including the

YAMAM The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...

- Israeli Police elite

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

unit. *: Used by the police counter-terrorist group ARAS. *: Used by the

Royal Moroccan Army zgh, ⵜⴰⵙⵔⴷⴰⵙⵜ ⵜⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏⵜ , image = , caption = Flag of the Royal Moroccan Army , start_date = active since: 1088 CE current form: 14 May 1956 , ...

. *: Slovenian Armed Forces.

References

External links

{{Commons category, PGM Ultima Ratio
PGM PrécisionPGM Ultima Ratio data sheetUser Manual PGM Ultima Ratio
Bolt-action rifles of France Sniper rifles of France Military equipment introduced in the 2000s

Design details

Users

See also

References

External links