A recent solicitation originating from Quantico has come out and is specifically requesting Geissele products. Although the solicitation RFQ is worded as open to the public, it lists Geissele items and nothing else. These are the commercially available “Super Modular Rail Mk7”, and the “Hi-Speed National Match Trigger Set“. Although it doesn’t mention anything about the Marine Corps Shooting Team, the choice of these exact parts and the fact that the Team uses a number of Geissele triggers, I believe it is somewhat safe to say that the parts are intended for the Team. The Team’s headquarters would not comment on the intended usage of them.

On Geissele’s website, both of these product descriptions are worded for usage within Civilian Marksmanship Program matches. The rail having CMP legal features with lead weights and a sling swivel mounted at the end. A catch about the rail system is that the RFQ specifies that it must be able to be mounted to an SR-25 upper receiver with an appropriate barrel nut. SR-25s are rarely used by the Marine Corps Shooting team but they do have them and use them occasionally in High Power matches. Currently, I’m not sure what makes the trigger set ideal for CMP usage as I would assume any finely tuned trigger would be excellent for these matches. The Marine Corps would like to order 10 of the rail systems, and 66 of the trigger sets. It would appear that the 10 handguards would be equipping the Teams SR-25s, and the 66 triggers are for the majority of the team’s M16A4s being used for service rifle competitions.

From the solicitation (emphasis mine)-

SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

CLIN 0001: Super Modular Rail, MK7, SR-25, with lead weights

• Rail must be of quad rail picatinny design.

• Rail must have fixed sling swivel 13 inches from the magazine well +/- 0.5inches.

• Rail must free float the barrel and provide space at the front for a front sight A-frame and gas block on the rifle.

• Rail must be capable of adding lead weight easily with screws or other fasteners so the weight can be altered to accommodate specific shooter preferences and does not shift freely while firing. • Rail must be black or tan in color.

• Rail must have a rigid design so it is not easily bent far enough to contact the barrel while stress is applied by a shooter wearing a sling.

• Rail must come with a barrel nut over 2 inches long threaded to fit the Knights SR-25 upper receiver.

• Rail dimension must be compatible with the optics rail height on the SR-25 upper receiver and must not require modification to be installed on the SR-25 receiver. • Geissele MK7 Super Modular Rail, National Match, Black, w/lead weights

CLIN 0002: Geissele High Speed National Match-Triggers-Service-Rifle-Small-Pin

• Pin location and size should be compatible to Mil-spec for M16A4 service rifle lower receivers.

• Trigger/hammer design should be of such to prevent the pins from walking out while firing.

• Hammer spring should be designed to decrease the time between hammer release and the hammer striking the firing pin from the standard military hammer spring.

• Must be a two-stage trigger (first stage in pull takes up slack and stops, then more weight is applied to overcome this stop until the hammer is released) with at least 65% of the trigger pull weight being applied to the first stage of trigger pull and the remaining weight applied during the second stage that when combined exceeds 4.5 lbs to meet the Civilian Marksmanship Program Competition Rules for Service Rifle #6.1.1.

• Must have a curved trigger bow.

• Must be adjustable for trigger over travel, second stage weight, and second stage travel so it can be tailored to the individual shooter without the need to modify the design by the end users. The use of screws and springs in the design to achieve this is acceptable.

• Must have necessary tools for adjustment provided with each trigger.

Although this order only appears relevant to the Marine Corps Shooting Team, I’m seeing it as an indication of Geissele’s increasing usage within the U.S. Military. Already mentioned is the Geissele trigger in use by the Team, in addition to Geissele handguards in use throughout the SOCCOM community. In fact, if you take a look at the trigger product page, you’ll notice Geissele’s SOPMOD trigger–

The Geissele Super Select-Fire (SSF®) Trigger is a select-fire combat trigger that Geissele Automatics developed for the U.S. Special Operations Community.

I take this as an indication of products to come and of Geissele’s continuing success in the industry. The big breakthrough would foreseeably be a large contract that stipulates the companies products being used on something like the M27 or a mass issued DM rifle.