M21



The M21 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) is the semiautomatic sniper rifle adaptation of the popular M14 rifle. It is chambered for the 7.62x51mm cartridge.

The United States Army wanted an accurate sniper rifle during the Vietnam War. The M14 was selected because of its accuracy, reliability, and the ability for a quick second shot. As a result, in 1969, the Rock Island Arsenal converted 1,435 National Match (target grade) M14 rifles by adding a Leatherwood 3–9x Adjustable Ranging Telescope (ART) telescopic sight and furnishing National Match grade ammunition. It was designated the XM21 until 1975, when it became the M21 (although it had been unofficially called the M21 since December 1969).

The M21 remained the Army's primary sniper rifle until 1988, when it was replaced by the bolt-action M24 Sniper Weapon System, which itself is currently in the process of being replaced with the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS). While bolt action rifles are generally more accurate at long distances (1000 m) than semiautomatic weapons, semiautomatic rifles are more than adequate for medium distances (600 m). Thousands of stored M21s are being modernized with new scopes and stocks to be re-fielded among American troops, as well as M14s being converted to sniper rifle roles, which will be used until the M110 gets widely fielded and possibly alongside it.

In Game
In single-player, the M21 is found in two versions, regular and suppressed. The regular version is found in One Shot, One Kill and Heat. The suppressed version is found in Blackout and All Ghillied Up.

The M21 can be unlocked in Call of Duty 4 multiplayer at level 7. It is the second sniper rifle obtainable (the first being the M40.) The M21 has the lowest damage multipliers, but its low recoil and fast fire rate make it very easy to fire multiple rounds very quickly. This means that if the first shot is a miss, or does not kill the target, the shooter still has the opportunity to get the kill. Unfortunately, this can lead to the bad habit of trigger mashing, which can result in a lot of missed shots. It is more effective to aim and fire accurate shots individually, except for in a few situations, such as spraying through a wall or engaging a large number of targets at once. When fitted with an ACOG scope, the M21 has almost no recoil, making it the most suitable sniper for close quarters combat (however, for this purpose, it would be more practical to use the similar M14 rifle, or a weapon specialized for CQC, such as a submachine gun.)

Many consider the M21 to be the best sniper in Hardcore modes due to its low recoil and the fact that all snipers are one hit kills if a direct hit is landed. Statistically, the M21 and Dragunov are the best for Hardcore. The M21 has less recoil, and the Dragunov has slightly better wall penetration (if Deep Impact is on the difference is not noticeable and the M21 becomes the clear winner). In most situations, regardless of perks, the M21 is more effective. In the computer version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the M21 greatly increases sprint time if equipped as a primary weapon. This glitch existed on consoles for a time, but was fixed with a patch.

It should be noted that the actual M21 that is used by the US military uses a 20-round magazine, but Infinity Ward may have reduced the magazine for balancing purposes.

Trivia

 * The M21 in Call of Duty 4 has Leupold MK4 10x scope, though in reality it usually uses a Bausch & Lomb Tactical 10×40 scope.


 * In real life, the M21 rifle normally holds a 20 round magazine, however, special forces sometimes use the 10 round magazine as shown in Call of Duty 4.


 * A mock M21 can be made by sporting the ACOG Scope on an M14, though, the results are usually a more high-recoiled, more damaging, medium range marksman rifle, rather than a full fledged sniper rifle, thus, the M21 is often chosen over this.

User Guide
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