So you have been playing for a while and want to get into a specialized role to help your team at a game or a milsim op. A class that we often get asked about is DMRs. What is a DMR? What makes it different from other roles? Is it for you?
In real military terms, a designated marksman is a role within an infantry squad. Depending on the unit, it can go by different names, but this role is designed to give your average infantry squadron longer-range capabilities. The range capabilities sit between a rifleman and a true sniper, and the rifle will be a semiautomatic platform. Accurate, rapid-fire is going to be the name of the game.
Rifles can be anything from an intermediate caliber, often a round already found within the squad, or sometimes a bigger round. We all use the same caliber round in airsoft, so we differentiate it by upgrades and the fields you play. If the outdoor field offers milsim-friendly rules, you will see that a DMR classified player will often have a slight bump in maximum allowed fps.
You will trade your ability to use full auto, but this is a small deal for many players. Full auto might have to be disabled internally or externally. Every field will split hairs differently. You might have a MED (minimum engagement distance). You might be restricted to what model of gun you use. For example, some event holders specifically say no M4 for DMR because that opens the floodgate for stubby guns with scopes being misused and ruining the immersion. Others might have the DMR class based on the combination of optic and mods to your gun.
At FAF, our local airsoft field, our DMR rules require a semi-auto hard lock, 2 2-joule limit, and a magnified optic. Hard lock means it is physically modified internally or externally to prevent semi-auto use. Having a gun with programming capability may not slide with some fields and would not be sufficient for ours, either.
For events that differentiate DMRs by gun model, we can use this Echo1 ER25K as an example. It is styled after a big 7.62 style rifle and has the potential to be modified to shoot semi-only.
A DMR should give you an advantage over a rifleman since you’ll have a slightly harder shooting gun and an optic. You can use this to give your team an advantage, but you will often have to keep a MED. Be sure to carry a sidearm so closer engagements won’t mess other players up.
If this range advantage is significant enough for you and you only see yourself using semi-auto, this might be for you. If you are an aggressive player who likes to run for objectives or engage up close, the MED might be a turn-off. Another consideration is spending money to upgrade your gun to be a good DMR. This will not be for you if you are about something other than putting money into your airsoft gun for tech work.
Now, let’s talk about this gun: The Echo1 ER25K. This is a full metal AEG and it shoots about 420fps with .20g BBs. This is a personal favorite of mine, and for full disclosure, I used to run one of these myself for many milsim games. This is not in our usual catalog, but if you want one, reach out to us and we’ll special order it for you. It has a mock suppressor, vertical grip, integrated sights, and a high-cap magazine. The high cap holds 470 rounds. Midcaps are a pain to find, but they will take G&P SR25 magazines if you need to look.
The main advantage is that this gun is mostly version 2 M4/M16 internally and externally compatible. That means you can do much with it in the looks and performance department. To get this to DMR configuration, start with a magnified optic. Next, turn your attention to the gearbox and upgrade it to whatever your field or event limits you to. Semi-auto locking is done at this stage. You can also swap the fire selector out, which will lock you out of the semi without opening your gearbox.
Most internal parts are similar to an M4, so upgrading them is easy. Some customers have us put Gate Titans and the whole nine. For some, a simple tight-bore swap gets you close to 2 Joules. At one event that allowed for some high limits, I ran mine at 3 Joules, which is pretty insane. I kept a 100+ foot MED, though. By the way, we're giving away this gun for our contest that ends in December. Sign up here.
For fields or events that aren’t gun-restrictive, I’ll more likely use an M4 because it is more flexible, and I can run the gear I am set up for already as a rifleman. With that, I'd run a longer barrel with a tight bore barrel and some slight modifications, and that should give me the range advantage I am looking for when I want to be a more supporting teammate rather than an assaulter. That covers what a DMR is for today, and I’ve shown you some examples. If this is something you want to consider playing as, contact us about the gun and upgrades you need to get you there.
