Secret Service Guns And Gear at the Trump Assassination Attempt

The appalling assassination attempt on former president and current candidate Donald Trump has been dominating the news cycle. By now you have probably seen pictures and videos of that event. One of our own, Pete, wrote a very good article covering the security situation and looking at this event from the perspective of a former Secret Service agent. This article is not going to opine on those matters, but we will look at the guns and gear of the United States Secret Service (USSS) from the events of July 13th.

Before we get into those details, there is a bit of a disclaimer we need to share. This article is based on research and looking in detail at the few high-quality images (and a ton of low-quality ones) available of these law enforcement officers. I may not get these picks 100% right, so feel free to drop a comment with any observations you have to share.

USSS Counter Snipers

The Secret Service Special Operations Division runs the Counter Sniper Team, which is made up of officers from the Uniform Division rather than special agents. These were the personnel seen on top of the buildings with bolt action rifles.

Rifles

Remington 700 long actions in Accuracy International AX chassis systems. This video from 2016 shows the Remington markings on the receivers. The caliber is unknown, but these are likely chambered in .300 Win Mag or a ballistically similar cartridge like .300 Norma or .300 PRC.

USSS has a history with the .300 Win Mag cartridge, and in the video mentioned earlier, the fired brass appears to be belted, which is a good indicator that these rifles were chambered in .300 Win Mag as of 2016. That is not a guarantee that the same caliber is in use as of 2024, but it is a strong possibility. This rifle has a lot in common with the USMC Mk13 Mod7, though those rifles have FDE chassis and use a one-piece scope mount instead of the scope rings seen on the USSS guns.

Optics

Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56 with Envision MARS laser rangefinders. Other recent images of these rifles show the scopes in more detail. Based on the position of the magnification throw lever we can identify these as the 7-35×56 model rather than the 5-25×56 model. Also, the scope features MRAD adjustments. These are likely the “F1” or first focal plane reticle models, as first focal plane scopes are the standard for tactical precision rifles. The Wilcox RAPTAR S provides range to target information on the gun.

As an editorial aside, I am not a sniper or special agent, but I do have a fair amount of experience shooting scoped rifles at long range. A 7-35x scope is far from ideal for targets at close range because of the narrow field of view, even at the bottom end of the magnification range. The listed FOV for this scope at 100 yards is 15 feet on 7x. Even with bystanders pointing out the perpetrator, it would be tough to locate a target at such close range through the scope. This could explain why the Counter Sniper in the foreground was seen looking over his scope rather than through it when the initial incoming rounds were fired.

I have hunted elk with a heavy .300 Win Mag wearing a 5-25x scope, and it was very unwieldy for trying to set up on shots inside of the 300-yard zero I used on that gun. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to try to identify and engage a threat concealed behind a sloped roof, with several roofs in the area, with innocent bystanders in the immediate area and incoming rounds, with a 15-foot field of view.

Rifle Accessories

The rifles are clearly equipped with silencers, but the brand and model are not ascertainable due to the covers (possibly from Burn Proof Gear or Rifles Only) that obscure them. The sling (unsure of its make, could be custom based on the padded portion) obscures much of the bipod, it seems to be a B&T Industries Atlas. The tripods are from Really Right Stuff, most likely the TFCT-34L model (note the RRS logo on the bag facing the shooter).

Other Gear

Those massive binoculars appear to be Steiner M2080 20×80 models, likely the version with an MRAD reticle. Placing a reticle in the binoculars allows a spotter to feed corrections to the shooter in precise MRAD amounts rather than saying “Come up half a target width and a little to the right.” Both of these Counter Snipers are wearing Crye JPC plate carriers and Salomon Forces shoes. Also, note what appears to be a Glock 19 Gen 5 MOS with an extended magazine well, a common Secret Service sidearm configuration.

USSS Counter Assault Team (CAT)

The Counter Assault Team agents were the ones wearing tactical gear, with the callsign “Hawkeye.” Audio from the event recorded them saying “ Hawkeye is here” when they took up defensive positions around the stage (approximately 9:10 in that video). “Hawkeye” is even emblazoned on the small run of Tudor Pelagos LHD watches produced for the team, according to Watches of Espionage.

Carbines

Suppressed Knight’s Armament SR-16 CQB Mod 2.1 with 11.5-inch barrels. The KAC QDC/MCQ-PRT 5.56 silencer is identified by its size, shape, indentation pattern, and flash-hiding protrusions. The stock is a Magpul CTR, and a LAW Tactical AR Folding Stock Adapter is also fitted.

The optic is an Aimpoint T-2 red dot sight on a  LaRue Tactical mount. Visible light illumination is provided by the SureFire light (possibly a Scout Light Pro Dual Fuel), and infrared illumination and aiming are handled by the BE Meyers MAWL.

The magazine is a Magpul M3 Windowed PMAG. Spare PMAGs are visible on the vest and belt. A sling is fitted, and based on other pictures from the event my best guess is this is a Blue Force Gear Vickers Sling (though this is a low-confidence assessment).

Sidearm

Glock 19 Gen 5 MOS with Aimpoint ACRO P-2 red dot sight. It rides in a Safariland 7-series holster, and a +2 extension is fitted to the magazine in the gun as well as the spare on the CAT operator’s support side.

Other Gear

Peltor Comtac headsets offer hearing protection and radio communication capabilities. Crye G3 uniform in black, with shoes that strongly resemble Altama OTB boots (yes, like the ones James Reeves took to Alaska).

USSS Special Agents

The special agents of the protective detail are probably the image you have in your mind of a Secret Service agent: plain suits (unbuttoned, of course), radio earpieces, white shirts, and sunglasses. This brave lot of men and women rushed onto the stage and threw themselves into the line of fire, willing to take a bullet for their protectee. There is not much gear to discuss for these agents because most of it is concealed, but there are a few things that stand out:

Duty Pistol

Glock 19 Gen 5. These are clearly the Gen 5 due to the lack of finger grooves and slight flare at the magazine well. Of note, in all the images I have seen from the event, none of the agents in suits seem to have red dot sights on their guns. Some are equipped with +2 magazine extensions. The holster shown in this picture is a Raven Concealment Perun LC. Other images from the event show the Streamlight TLR-7 (or possibly TLR-8, but that seems less likely) fitted to these pistols.

Conclusion

The images from July 13th have already reached iconic status. But for people who pay close attention to guns, the images of the USSS Counter Snipers on the roof, protective detail agents shielding Donald Trump, and the CAT operators standing fully exposed to incoming fire will resonate like the video of Ronald Reagan’s Secret Service detail pulling out Uzi submachine guns when he was shot. We all hope that this kind of incident never happens again, but should any trouble arise in the future, hopefully, we are all better informed about the USSS and its equipment.