Originally Posted By 17:
... this olympic arms rifle that I was told was built for the Army marksmanship unit in the early 90s.
The most unique part in my opinion is the barrel. It has a 24in 1/10 heavy barrel thats fluted under a free float tube. Then the barrel is .750 the rest of the lenght. It is marked SUM 5.56 and also has an MH stamped.
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Not for the Army Marksmanship Unit.
S U M was "Schuetzen (Gun Works) Ultra Match."
Crane and the Navy Team were the true National Match M16 pioneers in the 70s and 80s. They were never successful as there were no good bullets to handle winds past 300 yards comparable to the 7.62.
USAMU had its own crash program going, command-directed by Colonel Mac Johnson. The Custom Gun Shop was picking the brains of guys like Bill Wylde and others to develop an M16 to beat the Marines with their M14s.
1993 and 94 marked the first years the Army's M16 and ammo program started beating the Marine Team at Camp Perry. By 1999 the Marines were also shooting the M16.