Weapons in use by the world’s leading military and LE forces are usually well known to the general public due to their being frequently shown in the mainstream media as a result of their respective countries’ public relations efforts and/or some publicity generated by the manufacturers involved. TFB, incidentally, recently had a look at what Western (https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/11/10/rifles-european-best-sniper-squad-competition-2016/)  and ComBloc (https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/12/01/international-army-games-combloc-sniper-frontier/)  sniper teams use, but for lower-profile nations like Brazil, however, very little usually comes to light. Then,  the following pictures and concise info may be of interest. They follow no specific sequence, and are just here for your general appreciation. Nope, this is not a comprehensive list.

.50 BMG (12.7x99mm) PGM Hécate II

The French-made PGM Hécate II anti-materiel/HTI (Hard Target Interdiction) bolt-action rifle is used by Brazil’s Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Corps) in the inventory of its Batalhão Tonelero (Tonelero Battalion), the SpecOps unit. This ugly, but deadly, beast is fitted with a 700mm long floating barrel with a conical profile, overall length being 1400 mm. Empty weight is 15.8 kg. Scope fitted is a Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50mm.

The Hécate II in a firing position in the hands of a low-profile Brazilian Marine sniper of Batalhão Tonelero. Just watch that muzzle brake, which cuts about 50% of the gun’s recoil, but adds considerable side blast.

By removing (two hex screws) the muzzle brake, you can quickly add a 3.9kg, 470mm long sound suppressor which attenuates the sound level in about 30dB… but adds recoil. So configured, the gun becomes 1800mm long and weighs 19.5kg.

Author firing a suppressed Hécate II, when some rocks at 350m or so (the available range) were consistently blown to pieces. Oh, yes, he managed to get a light scope bite in the process, adequately taken care of by a helpful Marine doc (inset photo).

7.62x51mm PGM Ultima Ratio

Also manufactured by the French PGM company, the Ultima Ratio is a bolt-action rifle (10-round detachable box magazines) fitted with a fully-floating 550mm barrel, which gives the gun an overall length of 1055-1108mm (butt adjustment). Weight with a fully-loaded magazine and the Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50mm scope is 7.4kg. The quick removal of the barrel (four hex screws) allows its replacement with another one incorporating an integral sound suppressor, which will not take more than one minute. As the zero is maintained, no further scope adjustments are needed.

A Brazilian Marine of the Tonelero Battalion takes aim with the PGM Ultima Ratio rifle. A Zeiss Optronics NSV600 night vision device can be attached directly ahead of the scope.

The spotter of this Brazilian Marines sniper team has a scoped (Tasco 9x40mm) Colt M16A2 by his side, both for eventual security use or even for closer-range, semi-auto anti-personnel fire.

7.62x51mm Parker-Hale M85

A long-time veteran in Brazilian Navy service (Marines and Navy Combat Divers Group, the GRUMEC) is the British-made Parker-Hale M85, a 7.62x51mm bolt-action gun with a 623mm free-floating barrel and overall length of 1150mm. Weight with a Schmidt & Bender 6x42mm or Leopold Mark 4 scope is about 5.7kg.

While the more modern PGM rifles are concentrated in the Rio de Janeiro-based SpecOps Battalion (Batalhão Tonelero), the still reliable M85 is found in other Marine units in Brazil. This example is in the hands of a sniper of Grupamento de Fuzileiros Navais (Marines Group), in Ladário, Mato Grosso do Sul State, mainly focused on riverine and swamp operations.

A line-up of rifles in Brazil’s Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais (Marine Corps) inventory, left to right: suppressed PGM Hécate II, standard PGM Hécate II, PGM Ultima Ratio, Parker-Hale M85, Colt M16A2.