Expert Analysis

Watch: American Peshmerga’s designated marksmanship rifle

The designated marksmanship rifle has a unique role to fill in combat. While it can never fill the role of a sniper rifle it is designed for on demand accuracy. Primarily used as a mid range precision weapon, the DMR allows the end-user to eliminate enemy personnel on a squad level while his colleagues deal in suppressive fire and maneuver warfare. That’s not to say the designated marksman does not maneuver as well, quite the opposite actually; it’s probably one of his greatest strengths. The DMR is all about its ability to rapidly and instinctively engage multiple targets with relative ease.

The Peshmerga have a very limited selection of rifles let alone rifles that are up to the task of distance and precision. So we decided the HkG3 would be the best option and opted for a larger round given that it’s chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO; more bang for your buck when it comes to effect on target. Unfortunately the HkG3 does not have a free floated barrel; this is not a huge issue as long as the user does not interfere with harmonics when firing the rifle. The trigger leaves a lot to be desired but gets the job done and its 20 round magazine makes engaging multiple targets a breeze in conjunction with its semi automatic capabilities.

After securing a claw rail mount for the receiver we selected a scope. It was decided that the Vortex Diamondback 2 was an excellent choice given that it wasn’t incredibly expensive and the reticle had predetermined marks for offset/bullet drop compensation. The scope is 4-12 times magnification by 40mm objective lens. It’s a second focal plain meaning for the BDC reticle to work correctly the magnification must be set to its maximum setting.

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The designated marksmanship rifle has a unique role to fill in combat. While it can never fill the role of a sniper rifle it is designed for on demand accuracy. Primarily used as a mid range precision weapon, the DMR allows the end-user to eliminate enemy personnel on a squad level while his colleagues deal in suppressive fire and maneuver warfare. That’s not to say the designated marksman does not maneuver as well, quite the opposite actually; it’s probably one of his greatest strengths. The DMR is all about its ability to rapidly and instinctively engage multiple targets with relative ease.

The Peshmerga have a very limited selection of rifles let alone rifles that are up to the task of distance and precision. So we decided the HkG3 would be the best option and opted for a larger round given that it’s chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO; more bang for your buck when it comes to effect on target. Unfortunately the HkG3 does not have a free floated barrel; this is not a huge issue as long as the user does not interfere with harmonics when firing the rifle. The trigger leaves a lot to be desired but gets the job done and its 20 round magazine makes engaging multiple targets a breeze in conjunction with its semi automatic capabilities.

After securing a claw rail mount for the receiver we selected a scope. It was decided that the Vortex Diamondback 2 was an excellent choice given that it wasn’t incredibly expensive and the reticle had predetermined marks for offset/bullet drop compensation. The scope is 4-12 times magnification by 40mm objective lens. It’s a second focal plain meaning for the BDC reticle to work correctly the magnification must be set to its maximum setting.

To create effective eye relief a cheek riser was fashioned from the foam of an old mattress combined with an electrical tape base layer and an OD green fabric tape surface layer to somewhat camouflage the stock while still creating a bit of comfort when the shooter acquires cheek weld. From there we set the scope to the appropriate distance which was made infinitely easier thanks to a one piece scope mount. It was finally ready to zero; we were able to achieve a three-inch-group at 200m while shooting from a sandbag which to be honest I was very content with given that the rifle was not free floated or built on a heavier bull barrel. I printed up a data card for our current environment and ammunition specifications just for the hell of it; it’s somewhat useful but honestly it was just for value added.

The following footage is of myself and another Peshmerga volunteer testing the G3 DMR for the first time at distances starting at 400m up to 800m on various targets of different sizes. It was all around a very successful day except for the fact that someone accidentally set the fire selector to full auto rock-and-roll mode while attempting to take an 800m shot. Enjoy.

About Kurt T View All Posts

Spent 4 years with the United States Marine Corps and an additional 3 years with the Kurdish Peshmerga and Ukrainian Army.

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