Private Military Contractor International April 2014 | Page 5

THE ARMOURY
NEMO ARMS - OMEN

“The felt recoil of the OMEN when compared to bolt
action rifles firing the identical round, is reduced by a
whopping 350%!”
OMEN MATCH 2.0 Spec Ops Tiger .300 Win Mag AR
effective range limitation of 800 meters - and the enemy knows it. Every version
of the OMEN system exceeds that by a long shot. Pun intended!
Some might argue that 338 Lapua sniper rifles could fill that void. Clint Walker
asserts, “The Ballistic Coefficient (BC) of the 300 Win Mag with a 230 grain
Berger OTM round is superior to that of most 338 Lapua rounds.” He goes on to
say, “The U.S. military already has the 300 Win Mag ammunition in their logistics
supply system so their snipers are trained and accustomed to using this caliber”
and of course, as we know, the Lapua is bolt-action. One could easily argue that
semi-auto will make a huge improvement in subsequent acquisition and re-engagement times.
Although the OMEN is configured much like all AR platforms, the charging handle
is not at center of mass on top of the receiver group. Technically, that would have
resulted in a longer rifle, with a longer charging handle and the potential for broken
handles. It also would have discharged some of the gases directly into the shooter’s face through the opening required by the charging handle. This is no small
issue when talking about such large calibers. By placing it on the side rather than
center top, all of the gas discharges out the right side. A longer charging handle
would have necessitated an unacceptably long Length of Pull (LOP). Without significantly extending the stock, long sniper scopes would have had the potential to
obstruct the cheek adjuster. Additionally, by positioning the charging handle on the
side, it doubles as an effective forward assist, which is a requirement the sniper
community cannot live without. This definitely passes the common sense test and
intelligently applies the “KISS principal”.
NEMO’s claim that re-engagement times are faster than bolt rifles is predicated
in large measure by their assertion that recoil and muzzle flip is significantly less.
Energy from recoil is traditionally measured factoring the weight of the equipment
with the caliber and weight (grain) of the round. So it would seem that a lighter
weight rifle with all else being equal, i.e. the caliber and bullet weight, would make
the OMEN kick like a mule. A somewhat mitigating factor is that the OMEN is a
semi-auto and gas pressures are dissipated as they are applied to the momentum

of cycling the action. But even with this consideration, the
shooter would expect to be in a hurt pretty quickly while
firing this bad boy.
As Clint Walker observes, “We usually think of recoil energy
being most impacted by caliber, but in the case of the
OMEN, recoil energy is most impacted by the system.” The
OMEN changes to traditional equations used to determine
“felt recoil”.” His claim is bolstered by the OMEN’s unique
bolt design. On a semi-auto rifle, when fired, the bolt travels
rearward to the point where it will inevitably collide with the
buffer creating a great deal