Trijicon, the maker of the popular ACOG scope commonly used by the U.S. military, now has a reflex sight for the M2 .50 caliber machine gun, known as the “Ma Deuce,” and M240 medium machine gun, according to Johnny Moir, a program manager for the company.
The new sight, Machine Gun Reflex Sight, or MGRS, comes with two ballistic cams, which allows an operator to easily switch between the M2 and M240, according to Moir. The user will simply have to re-zero the weapon after switching between the .50 and M240.
The new reflex sight fills a “huge capability cap,” Moir said. “There’s no prescribed optic for mounted gunnery.”
The M2 only has iron sights, and humans can’t see much past 1,000 meters, making target acquisition difficult, he said.
The new sight will make the M2, one of the oldest weapons in the U.S. armory, more lethal and accurate by “increasing the probability of first round effects,” Moir said. It will also reduce the cyclical rate and increase survivability of the weapon, Moir said.
The new MGRS sight runs a whopping $4,500 and almost $5,000 for night capability.
Trijicon’s sight has picked up a lot of interest within the U.S. military, according to Moir. The Army, Air Force, Coast Guard and some Navy special boat teams are testing the sight, and just over 100 sights have been sold overseas, he said.
Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.
