The M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle (EMR, NSN

NATO Stock Number

A NATO Stock Number, or National Stock Number as it is known in the US, is a 13-digit numeric code, identifying all the 'standardized material items of supply' as they have been recognized by all NATO countries including United States Department of Defense...

 1005-01-553-5196; more formally the Rifle, 7.62 MM, M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle (EMR)) is a semi-automatic

Semi-automatic firearm

A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...

, gas-operated

Gas-operated reloading

Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to extract the spent case and chamber a new cartridge. Energy from the gas is harnessed...

 rifle

Rifle

A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...

 chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

. It is a modified and accurized version of the M14 rifle

M14 rifle

The M14 rifle, formally the United States Rifle, 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire automatic rifle firing 7.62x51mm NATO  ammunition. It was the standard issue U.S. rifle from 1959 to 1970. The M14 was used for U.S...

 built and utilized solely by the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 (USMC). It is based on the current United States Marine Corps Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR), which it replaced.

The rifle is currently issued with match-grade M118LR 175-grain

Grain (measure)

A grain is a unit of measurement of mass that is nominally based upon the mass of a single seed of a cereal. From the Bronze Age into the Renaissance the average masses of wheat and barley grains were part of the legal definition of units of mass. However, there is no evidence of any country ever...

 Long Range ammunition. The "basic" EMR (i.e., without telescopic sight

Telescopic sight

A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...

, magazine

Magazine (firearm)

A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm or removable . The magazine functions by moving the cartridges stored in the magazine into a position where they may be loaded into the chamber by the action...

, sling, basic issue items, cleaning gear, suppressor

Suppressor

A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer, is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm which reduces the amount of noise and flash generated by firing the weapon....

 and bipod

Bipod

A bipod is a support device that is similar to a tripod or monopod, but with two legs. It provides significant stability along two axes of motion .-Firearms:...

) weighs 13 pounds (5.9 kg) or less.

It has a resemblance to the Mk 14 Mod 0 Enhanced Battle Rifle.

Specifications

There are several notable differences between the DMR and EMR.

• Stock: the metal stock
  Stock (firearm)
  A stock, also known as a buttstock or shoulder stock, is a part of a rifle or other firearm, to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, that is held against one's shoulder when firing the gun. Stocks are also found on crossbows though a crossbow stock is more properly referred to as a...
  
   is adjustable in length and in height to provide a more precise cheek weld. The pistol grip
  Pistol grip
  On a firearm or other tool, the pistol grip is that portion of the mechanism that is held by the hand and orients the hand in a forward, vertical orientation, similar to the position one would take with a conventional pistol such as the M1911....
  
   is modified for a better grip.
• Optics: The MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail
  Picatinny rail
  The Picatinny rail or MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail or a "Tactical Rail" is a bracket used on some firearms in order to provide a standardized mounting platform. A similar system is the Weaver rail mount.-Description:...
  
   allows for the use of any optic compatible with the rail; this includes a large variety of military scopes and imaging devices. The M8541 Scout Sniper Day Scope (SSDS), originally designed for the M40A3, is issued with the rifle as a set.
• Bipod: A Harris S-L bipod is used on the USMC DMR, but a modified version designed to be more durable is used on the EMR.

Applications

The EMR is primarily used by a designated marksman

Designated marksman

The designated marksman is a military marksman role in a U.S. infantry squad. The term sniper was used in Soviet doctrine although the soldiers using the Dragunov were the first to use a specifically designed designated marksman's rifle. Sniper is also used in Russian doctrine...

, to provide precision fire for units that do not rate a Scout Sniper

Scout Sniper

Scout Sniper is a secondary MOS designator of U.S. Marine Corps infantrymen and reconnaissance Marines that have successfully graduated from a USMC Scout Sniper School. Scout Snipers provide close reconnaissance and surveillance to the infantry battalion...

. As a replacement for the DMR, the EMR fills the need for a lightweight, accurate weapon system utilizing a cartridge more powerful than the M16A4's standard 5.56x45mm NATO

5.56x45mm NATO

5.56×45mm NATO is a rifle cartridge developed in the United States and originally chambered in the M16 rifle. Under STANAG 4172, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries. It is derived from, but not identical to, the .223 Remington cartridge...

—the 7.62x51mm NATO. The EMR is also used by Marine Scout Snipers when the mission requires rapid accurate fire and by Marine Corps Explosive Ordnance Disposal

Bomb disposal

Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...

 teams.

In early 2012, the Marine Corps will begin replacing the M39 with the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System originally developed for the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 on a one-for-one basis.

See also

• M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System
• Designated Marksman Rifle (DMR)
• M14 rifle
  M14 rifle
  The M14 rifle, formally the United States Rifle, 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire automatic rifle firing 7.62x51mm NATO  ammunition. It was the standard issue U.S. rifle from 1959 to 1970. The M14 was used for U.S...
  
  
• Designated marksman
  Designated marksman
  The designated marksman is a military marksman role in a U.S. infantry squad. The term sniper was used in Soviet doctrine although the soldiers using the Dragunov were the first to use a specifically designed designated marksman's rifle. Sniper is also used in Russian doctrine...
  
  
• List of weapons of the United States Marine Corps