Hi all, it looks like I'm going to be taking the M24 in the direction of an A2 clone. I am slowly finding out though that the M24A2 is a unicorn when it comes to references of the rifles that made it into country.
I'm curious as to the story behind the retrofit as the three specific A2 references I've definitively seen are quite different. Those of you who have searched for instances of A2s in Iraq/Afghanistan have no doubt seen the video interview in Afghanistan of a sniper from 25th ID whose rifle sits in an HS Precision PST-026. As well as another example from 4th ID also in Afghanistan but with the PST-013. Both of those compared to the A2 in the "American Rifleman TV" video showcased by Michael Haugen himself shows the 013, but with a tactical bolt knob (Badger??).
I guess the short version of my question is: during the time when units were using deployment funds to acquire M24A2s, what was the progression of upgrades that Remington was doing for the rifles, specifically the ones that went to Army units; and is the variation we see a result of individuals/units, or things changing/improving at the factory?
@tactinstr1SFG thoughts?
Stocks: 026? 013?
MARS Rails: 0 or 20 MOA?
Detachable Mag Bottom Metal: HS Precision? Badger?
Bolt Handle: Standard? Tactical?
Suppressor: Ops Inc 3rd Model? 12th Model?
Cheers!
Retro (et al) - as mentioned here, I developed the M24A2 and M24A3 (along with a few others), I will try and answer everyone's questions as best I can, however, part of the issue reasons for the confusion related to these product centers around a variety of issues to include posted pictures online, a variety of unit/individual mods made to guns that were then mis-labeled in pictures, etc. Anyone with specific questions can pm me and I will try and answer when I can. Thank Random guy as he reached out to me about this thread.
A little background about the A2 (which I might have already posted, if so I apologize). I developed the A2 when I left the Army and went to Remington. The concept was to address many of the issues snipers had with the original M24 (which of course was a dated design). Specifically, I added an adjustable cheek piece, long top rail that supported the use of clip on night vision devices and lasers, a variable power optic (L&S MK 4 M3 3.5-10 with a BDC/M118LR dial), and a suppressor (OPS INC 3rd model). The concept was to offer the Army (and AF) the ability to upgrade their M24 as well as offer a new rifle for others (foreign mil/LE, and US LEA).
As the war progressed a number of US Army units did in fact use deployment money to upgrade their rifles. In most cases, they went for the complete upgrade, however I believe at least one unit did a partial upgrade, choosing to retain their original stocks and perhaps optics). In addition to these sales, several countries bought some of these rifles and are using them today (in fact I am currently in a country developing some training using the M24A2s they purchased). I hope this answers some questions about the M24A2, please pm me or post here if you have more questions (note I do not check here often but will be notified of a pm).
As per you questions
Stock - it was the 013
MARS - 0 degree was the norm, we did have some customers who wanted a 20 moa rail.
Detachable bottom metal - HS was originally used for this, however that didn't work out so we went to Badger (I actually looked at a number of providers, but Badger was the best).
Bolt handle - the protoypes (of which I still have #1) had Badger tactical bolt knobs, however we decided that most users did not want them and they were expensive, so in the end we stayed with the standard knob/handle
Suppressor - the original guns were done using the OPS 3rd model, however over time SOCOM was beginning to play with suppressors and began to really focus on "QD" cans. Also, there was the perceived need for a flash hider when the can was not on, so we eventually changed to the 12th model. After our parent company purchased AAC, we changed all of our suppressed guns over to AAC, specifically the 762SD (and some 762SDN6).
As for the M24A3, this was the project I did after the A2. It was developed because USSOF was really beginning to look at 338LM seriously. There is a lot to be told here but given I am on a pretty crappy internet connection I am not going into it right now, suffice to say that originally there were 2 models; the M24A3-HS and the M24A3-AI. The HS gun had a 26" barrel and used a HS Precision stock along with Badger floor metal, 20 MOA MARS, L&S 8.5-25x50mm MK4 M1, OPS 12th model. The AI gun used the AICS 2.0 and had a 19" barrel. Both guns performed well but the 19" gun with the can really worked well and we had no interest in the HS gun so we dropped it. When we developed the MSR, we felt that that the A3 was confusing to the customers and we wanted to promote the MSR, so we dropped the A3.
Hope this is helpful to someone out there.
www.americanrifleman.org 
