In 1986, Remington developed their dedicated Police Sniper rifle, the 700PSS (called the PSS-700 in many publications contrary to the designation by Remington) was a heavy weight barreled sniper rifle based on the 700 action. PSS stands for Police Sharp Shooter. It had a lightweight synthetic stock. Remington also made a 'varmint' version with a thinner, tapered barrel called the 700 VS. Both variants of the 700PSS were chambered in either .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO) or .300 Winchester magnum. Many snipers in SWAT units and some military units use the rifle with the .300 Win Mag action, but barreled for the .308/7.62x51mm NATO round, giving their armorers the option to swap the barrels for the larger caliber. Remington ceased sales of the 700PSS to the general public around 1999, rumored to be an attempt to be politically correct, however Remington company literature never mentioned a reason for the decision. Remington knew that the 700PSS was popular amongst hunters and police snipers alike and pushed the lighter barreled 700VS "Varmint" shooter as substitute. Though the VS had its fans, it never replaced the heavy barreled PSS in the minds of Remington shooters. By the early-mid 2000s, Remington has re-released a version of the PSS as the 700P for Law Enforcement sales. The Barrel on the newer P models is not as heavy as the original PSS models. In most films, armorers still use PSS models, as they are more readily available in their armories than the 700P. Any film shot prior to 2004, the rifle cannot be the P model, but must be the PSS model, despite being visually identical.
David Caruso as Horatio Caine, Emily Proctor as Calliegh Duquesne, and Miami P.D. SWAT snipers in CSI: Miami (the sniper using one with an infra-red night vision scope)
An N.Y.P.D. SWAT sniper in CSI: NY (episode: "Hostage")
The M24 SWS (Sniper Weapon System) is the military and police version of the Remington 700 rifle, M24 being the model name assigned by the United States Army after adoption as their standard sniper rifle in 1988. It is also used by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). The M24 is referred to as a "weapons system", because it not only consists of a rifle, but also a detachable telescopic sight and other accessories.
The United States Marine Corps also employs another variant of the Remington 700 as their standard issue sniper rifle, with the model name M40. The main difference between the M40 and the M24 is that the M24 uses the "long" version of Remington 700 receiver versus the M40's "short action". The M40's short receiver is dedicated to cartridges that do not exceed the length of the issue 7.62 mm NATO round. In contrast, the M24's longer receiver allows the rifle to be converted from 7.62 mm NATO to the more powerful .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge. The U.S. Army specified this capability in case future tactics required the larger cartridge's extra range and penetration.
