"Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons." – Jeff Cooper
Due to the engagement distances being encountered in Afghanistan and its mountainous terrain; the British Ministry of Defense solicited several companies for a new .308 Designated Marksman rifle. Fighting for the title of L129A1 were FN (SCAR), H&K (417), LMT (MWS) and a few other companies. After a tough competition for accuracy, reliability and suitability to their needs, LMT emerged as the winner for a rifle capable of at least MOA accuracy out to approximately 800 yards with ball (non-match grade) ammo. The L129A1 is currently being successfully fielded in Afghanistan as you read this. On top of ordering additional units and variants (13” barrel and select fire), there are whispers around the firearms community of one MOD soldier doing good work out to a confirmed 1300 yards with one of these rifles.
The standard configuration for the MWS in the United States is a 16” carbon steel, chrome lined barrel with the LMT’s unique Monolithic Rail Platform up sized to .308. This MRP system enables an end-user to quickly change barrels with the assistance of just a torque-wrench. Being able to easily change the barrel means one platform for multiple uses and calibers. There are currently 16” through 20” barrels in stainless steel along with both 16” and 20” chrome lined barrels available. In addition, other calibers such as the .260 Remington are shipping and others to be released this year. The rifle ships with a standard set of fixed sights, an Ergo pistol grip, 2-stage match trigger, SOPMOD Stock, 3 rail panel covers and a tactical charging handle with a larger latch. A KAC 20rd magazine is the factory magazine option. Out of the box the LMT is ready to go, but the end user can configure the rifle in any manner that suits his or her needs. The buffer tube is a longer version of the 5.56 mil-spec tube; the pistol grip attaches in the same manner as its smaller siblings and the fire control parts (trigger group and safety) are a match as well. These commonalities enable standard AR-15 parts to be used in place.
Due to the modularity of the rifle,my rifle has changed looks and parts over the last year of ownership. I have run this gun as a big M4 type rifle with various configurations and am currently transforming to a designated marksman type rifle. One thing I have noticed is that this gun does everything well. Over the course of about 1,000 rounds thus far, I have not had one malfunction. The rifle has eaten everything I’ve fed to include Lake City and Radway Green NATO ball, Federal and Black Hills match ammunition, ATI imported MKE 7.62x51, Federal commercial ball, cheap Tula .308 steel cased loads and my own various hand loads. After taking delivery of my AAC 762SD, this gun has been flawless when running suppressed as well. I have switched magazines to the lightweight and cheap Magpul LR20 PMags for this rifle. These magazines have proven themselves to be just as reliable in this rifle as well the factory supplied KAC magazine.
Running the gun with an Aimpoint and flashlight, the MWS is a brute for close in work. The overall length is only slightly larger than 16” AR-15, but the bigger .308 rounds makes for a heavier gun. I have shot approximately 750 rounds through this configuration. I found that additional training and focus is required to master your technique in making this rifle perform well. Larger magazines with a lower capacity and heavier recoil take its toll compared to a 5.56mm carbine. Should you choose to buy one for this purpose, I highly recommend the Battlecomp BABC brake. According to my timer, the BABC tames the recoil enough to cut split times in half for engaging inside of 50 yards. While there’s nothing like .308 in a moderately sized carbine to deal with any shooting problems, I found that the outstanding accuracy being delivered and power of the .308 is wasted with the use of a red dot optic. The smaller and lighter 5.56mm carbines with good ammo perform better for this role.
Since I found that running the MWS as a short range gun was underutilizing the platform, I have since decided to slowly change configuration to a more designated marksman type rifle. Since I’m currently saving for an optic, I’ve shot the last 250 rounds or so with iron sights. I have always enjoyed shooting with iron sights on a rifle, and this gun is a joy due to its accuracy. With irons sights and ball ammunition I have placed 10 rounds into inch and a half groups at 100 yards on a consistent basis. While this isn’t ¼ MOA like a sniper rifle, I thoroughly expect at least MOA or better with match ammunition once the scope shows up. Don’t forget that this is still with the 16” chrome lined barrel. In addition to going just irons, I have been playing with suppressing the rifle. Adding a 762SD to the gun takes the recoil out of the equation and makes shooting a very pleasant experience. There’s nothing like shooting steel plates at 300 yards with a suppressed .308.
To summarize, the LMT MWS is the pride and joy of my collection. It has been utterly reliable, is built like a tank and is very accurate with anything I manage to feed it. I have made a few changes to the grip and stock along with recently dropping in a Geissele match trigger. Once I get the scope I want for this rifle I’ll do a much more thorough accuracy evaluation. I may also have to pick up an 18” Stainless Steel barrel to really push the gun to its limits.
(Here's a stock photo for now, better pictures later)
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