Cheapo wrote:
"Yes, the M118 LR is new. Loaded with Alliant RL-15 IIRC. Anyone know when it was introduced? Has it ever been used "in country" in Affgaggistan?"
The answer is yes. The cartridge has been around for a couple of years. Hop on over to Alliants web page, the have/had a press announcement about it buried somewhere in the archieves.
I was/am interested in this round. There is not much info about it, sort of a "National Secret". That is it is a secret from us, all the bad guy governments know all about it by now.
I was asking about this on TFL about a year ago. The general ifo that was provided to me is that it is a Sierra 175 MK pill sitting on top of the appropriate amount of RL15 to produce a muzzle velocity of 2700 fps. The nominal MV is 2670 fps.
I have experimented with this combonation and can say that it is simply awesome. Screaming accuracy knocks steel rams down like no body's business at 400 yards. If you want to start playing with this combination, use a chronograph and watch for pressure signs, remember all brass is not created eqal. This is a pretty stout load.
It is the sniper/Socom bubba with bolt gun round in use today in all the dark places our soldiers must walk. If the military are using this round for sniping, you can bet your socks that the FBI and other Fed LEO's are using it now, also.