Proclaiming a specific lengthy gun as the most effective sniper rifle is a surefire technique to make 20 individuals offended for each one one who nods in settlement. That’s one motive for this prolonged checklist. The opposite is that the definition of a sniper rifle is fluid. Right here’s my take—the most effective sniper rifle is the one that’s most able to fulfilling the mission that whoever is carrying it’s tasked with.
Provided that we reside in a posh, unsure, and harmful world, these missions can tackle staggering selection. The environments can vary from snow lined mountains, to vine choked jungle, to crowded cities, to searing desert. The operator may be coping with a hostage state of affairs, engaged in overwatch for an assault staff, concentrating on enemy materiel, or just on patrol along with his squad when contact is made.
Golden Age of the Lengthy Gun
The numerous developments within the final 20 years with how rifles are made, the mixing of electronics into our optics and ballistic assist programs, the spectacular high quality and number of obtainable bullets and ammunition, have given us extra succesful sniper rifles—and extra succesful basic precision rifles for looking, competitors and leisure capturing—than at every other level in historical past.
The end result has been an explosion over the past couple many years within the variety of sniper rifle programs being area by army and regulation enforcement across the globe. Some traditional platforms—such because the USMC M40 and Soviet-Period SVD, which have each been round for greater than half a century—have withstood the take a look at of time. However we even have numerous newer programs which have shortly established good reputations on the battlefield, or that appear poised to take action within the close to future.
Selecting The Greatest Sniper Rifles
When pulling collectively this checklist of the most effective sniper rifles, I thought-about a number of completely different standards. The checklist highlights fashionable rifles with confirmed monitor information which might be at the moment in use. It consists of some newly authorised rifles that coming on-line proper now. It has a pair sniper rifles that aren’t very well-known however serve an fascinating area of interest. And I gave weight to rifles which have commercially obtainable variations, which, fortunately, most of them do. I additionally needed to showcase rifles that cowl the spectrum of missions that right this moment’s snipers face—which as we’ve seen, covers plenty of floor.
Lastly, to slender the scope of this, I centered on rifles utilized by the U.S. army and our allies, with a pair exceptions.
Greatest Sniper Rifles At the moment In Use
Accuracy Worldwide AXSR
Accuracy Worldwide AT308
Barrett Mk22 MRAD
Mk 13 Mod 0/5/7
Barrett M82/M107
M40
M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS)
B&T USA 300SPR Professional
FN SCAR Mk 20 SSR
SVD Druganov
HK 417/G28/M110A1
M110 SASS
Sako TRG M10
Sako TRG 22/42
M2010 ESR
Desert Tech SRS A2
Sniper Rifle With A Tragic Story: Remington MSR / Mk21
Among the many world’s greatest sniper rifles, the AI AXSR has a reliable declare as high canine. The engineering behind the AXSR created an unparalleled mix of toughness, innovation, and accuracy that’s carrying on the legacy of AI’s sniper rifles.
The AXSR is a multi-caliber rifle that makes use of AI’s signature flat-bottomed, six-lug magnum-length motion mated to their latest chassis. The rifle options integral ARCA rail on the handguard—which is machined to the extra exacting RRS specs—and the decrease portion of the journal part, a 20 MOA NATO Stanag 4694/Mil Std 1913 rail on the motion that indexes completely with the 20 MOA rail on the handguard, toolless changes for crucial dimensions, and AI’s proprietary Keyslot mounting system.
The AXSR developed from AI’s AXMC, which remains to be in manufacturing as a regulation enforcement product, and from the legendary AI AWM which has seen in depth service across the globe and has accounted for among the longest verified sniper pictures in historical past—together with consecutive hits at 2,707 yards by a British Military sniper in 2009 killing two Taliban combatants manning a machine gun. (A few of the different names that variants of the AWM go by embrace the AWM-F, G22-A2, L115A2 and L115A3, that are designations from the British Military.)
By swapping bolts and barrels the AXSR can shortly convert from heavy-hitting cartridges just like the .338 Lapua, .300 Norma Magazine., .300 PRC and .300 Win. Magazine., to shorter cartridges akin to .308 Win. and 6.5 PRC.
This versatility was one of many causes the Australian Protection Drive simply adopted the AXSR after a two-year trial to switch the Accuracy Worldwide SR98 and Blaser Tactical 2 they’d been utilizing.
I’ve shot mine in .300 Norma Magazine. out to 2,000 meters and past and the accuracy of the platform is nothing in need of jaw-dropping. Throughout a multi-day occasion at Gunsite Academy, for example, we arrange a full-sized IPSC silhouette hostage goal at one mile (1,760 yards). The purpose was to hit the 10-inch round plate simply behind goal—the hostage taker—with out hitting the silhouette. My rifle was capable of put shot after shot on the plate with out dinging the hostage, demonstrating the sensible area accuracy of the system.
What number of different rifles can try this chambered in .300 Norma Magazine. whereas being constructed robust sufficient to outlive a fall out of a helicopter? It’s a rattling quick checklist.
A lot of the AXSR’s ruggedness comes from how the rifle and chassis connect. A regular Remington 700 clone has two screws that maintain the inventory and motion collectively and when you look intently on the receiver you’ll discover that the quantity of thread engagement isn’t very a lot. The AI AXSR, in distinction, has 5 motion screws—4 in entrance of the journal effectively, and one behind the set off. Every of these screws has roughly thrice the quantity of thread engagement of an ordinary 700 clone.
For those who undergo the AI AXSR from entrance to again you’ll discover quite a few related examples of how the rifle is beefed to outlive the trials of fight. Its next-level toughness can be why the rifle performs so effectively in two-day excessive lengthy vary (ELR) matches, the place a competitor may put 150 to 200 rounds down vary. Rifles that aren’t as rugged wrestle to keep up their accuracy when run that arduous.
The little brother to the AXSR and AXMC rifles, the AI AT308 is a favourite amongst police snipers. It’s a short-action rifle chambered in .308 Win. that may be configured many alternative methods. Choices embrace barrel lengths of 16.5, 20, and 24 inches, a folding inventory, numerous shade finishes, and altering the barrel for different short-action cartridges which have a .308 bolt face.
The bottom mannequin, with a 20- or 24-inch barrel and glued inventory, is essentially the most inexpensive, however nonetheless has nearly all of options that put AI on the map. That features AI’s flat bottomed, six-lug motion which is epoxied to the chassis for unbelievable stiffness; AI’s personal two-stage set off and three-position security; quick-detach barrel; and the 10-round double-stack AW journal, which is simple to load, has a low profile, feeds flawlessly and is almost indestructible.
It additionally has AI’s signature outsized bolt deal with and 60-degree throw for quick, optimistic biking that minimizes disturbance of the sight image, permitting the shooter to maintain the goal within the scope.
I shot an AT308 throughout a four-day sniper course within the California desert some years again. That was my first introduction to Accuracy Worldwide’s rifles, and like just about everybody else who will get behind one, the AT308 impressed the hell out of me.
We dragged the rifles via rocks and sand, capturing them from Conex containers and from inside autos and had been capable of simply interact targets out to 800 yards from complicated capturing positions whereas being bodily careworn and below time constraints.
The eventualities had been difficult to the purpose the place you had no time to consider or child the rifle. And the AI AT308’s dealt with all of it in stride, which is why they’re probably the greatest sniper rifles for capturing out to 1,000 yards.
The Barrett Mk22 MRAD is among the latest sniper rifles within the U.S. army arsenal. MRAD stands for multi-role adaptive design, a flowery manner of claiming the rifle is a modular switch-caliber platform.
The Mk22’s declare to fame is that it could possibly simply swap barrels and cartridges whereas delivering wonderful accuracy. This system that the MRAD received— the U.S. Particular Operations Command (USSOCOM) ASR (Superior Sniper Rifle) trial—specified that the successful entry show 1/2 MOA precision out to 1,500 meters along with having multi-caliber functionality.
The total Mk22 package consists of barrels in 7.62×51 NATO (.308 Win.), .300 Norma Magazine. and .338 Norma Magazine. The SOCOM Mk22s are outfitted with Barrett’s AML 338 suppressor and Nightforce scopes, whereas those bought by the Military use Leopold optics.
Having the ability to shoot tight teams at 9/10ths of a mile is one motive the Mk22 and different MRAD’s in Barrett’s product line have cropped up at ELR matches across the nation.
Whereas being the brand new child on the block is motive sufficient to land on the checklist of greatest sniper rifles, the Barrett Mk22 MRAD is extra than simply the newest shiny toy. It’s a very cleverly engineered rifle that’s very best —as considered one of my pals who’s well-known within the sniper neighborhood put it—for presidency work.
That’s as a result of it’s constructed in order that even an 18-year-old personal, arguably essentially the most harmful pressure on earth, would have a tough time messing one up. The barrel-change system doesn’t incorporate any threaded elements. The barrel is held in place by two retaining fasteners that when loosened will let you slide the barrel free from the receiver. MRAD barrels have an indexing notch on the 12 o’clock place, so orienting them throughout set up is simple.
As soon as the barrel is in place you shut the bolt, which units the headspace, and tighten down the screws. Simple-peasy.
Swapping bolt heads when changing to a special caliber is equally fool proof. The pin that holds the bolt head in positioned solely goes in a technique in order that it could possibly’t be put in backwards. And reassembling the bolt is completed by reinserting the bolt shroud and firing pin meeting into the bolt physique and twisting it again collectively.
Likewise, the set off is held in place by a single drift pin so servicing it’s a snap. And the inventory itself consists of two items, an higher and decrease, which might be pinned collectively not in contrast to an AR rifle, making it straightforward to open for cleansing and upkeep.
The military tapped Sig Sauer to supply ammunition for the ASR earlier this 12 months, ordering as much as $157.3 million price of 215-grain M1163 ball ammo in .300 Norma Magazine. and 300-grain armor piercing M1162 ammo in .338 Norma Magazine.
The Mk 22 was authorised in 2019 when USSOCOM chosen it over competing submissions from Accuracy Worldwide and others. The Mk22 replaces the M2010 ESR (Enhanced Sniper Rifle) and Mk21 MSR (Modular Sniper Rifle) that had been produced by Remington since 2011 and 2013, respectively.
Mk 13 Mod 0/5/7
The Mk 13 sniper rifle is synonymous with the Navy SEALs. Not solely is it one of many coolest trying sniper rifles utilized by U.S. Army forces, but it surely has been carried by a few of our best-known snipers, together with SEALs Chris Kyle—of American Sniper fame—and Robert O’Neill, the person credited with killing Osama Bin Laden. For these causes alone it deserves recognition as considered one of our greatest sniper rifles.
The Mk 13 has gone via a number of iterations over time, together with the Mod 0, Mod 5 and Mod 7. However basically it’s a Remington 700 lengthy motion mated to an Accuracy Worldwide AICS chassis or, earlier in its life in Mod 0 trim, to a McMillian A2 inventory with its distinctive bulbous fore-end. The Mk 13 was chambered in .300 Win. Magazine., giving the rifle an official efficient vary of 1,200 yards, although in fact it was able to making longer pictures.
Essentially the most well-known instance of this was Chris Kyle’s verified kill at 1,600 yards with a Mk 13 capturing Mk248 Mod 0 ammo loaded with 190-grain Sierra Matchkings. This ammo, now often known as A191, had a broadcast efficient vary of 1,200 yards, however was correct and deadly at better distances, as Kyle demonstrated.
The Mk 13 Mod 0 was by no means produced in nice numbers however was important for being a .300 Win. Magazine. at a time when the .308 was dominant. This was a tip-of-the-spear weapon carried by our elite warriors, and far of its early historical past is shrouded in the identical thriller that outlined the SEALs of that point, however the first of those rifles had been constructed within the Nineties. Only a few pictures of the unique Mod 0 even exist, and when a provide of unique military-issue McMillian A2 surplus shares grew to become obtainable a pair years in the past, they commanded premium costs for collectors seeking to construct Mk 13 Mod 0 clones.
The commonest configuration for the Mk 13 Mod 5 is with Accuracy Worldwide’s thumbhole folder AICS inventory, which was additionally carried by SEALs in fight. Amongst our greatest sniper rifles, I don’t suppose there may be one which has a extra iconic look.
The Mk 13 continues to serve, and a Mod 7 model, with a more moderen AI chassis and upgrades to the suppressor, was adopted by the USMC in 2018. The Marines plan to ultimately substitute these rifles Mk 22 MRADs, however for now this .300 Win. Magazine. sniper rifle lives on.
What the Barret M82 lacks in pin-point accuracy, it makes up for in its Hulk-like potential to smash. This semi-auto .50-cal. monster has been on the scene since 1989 and is primarily employed as an anti-material rifle in opposition to automobiles, vans, boats, planes, lightly-armored autos, concrete partitions and anything that wants massive holes punched in it.
As anybody who’s ever operated one is aware of, the M82 offers the shooter a journey they received’t quickly neglect. That goes for each the sensation of pulling the set off and seeing the impact of the shot downrange. The primary time I lower unfastened with one it felt just like the fist of some vengeful god smiting my metal targets at 800 and 1,000 yards. I extremely suggest the expertise.
The rifle does an important job absorbing the substantial recoil generated by the .50 BMG. The M82 has as short-recoil working system the place the barrel strikes to the rear about one inch with the bolt nonetheless locked contained in the chamber. After that preliminary journey, the bolt rotates out of battery and continues its manner rearward to eject the empty and feed a brand new spherical.
The scale and weight of the elements, together with the lengthy bolt journey, produce a particular cha-chunk sound and really feel when firing the M82. The rifles include both a beefy muzzle brake or a suppressor that appears like somebody screwed a mortar tube on to the barrel. Mixed with the ample recoil pad, this provides as much as very manageable felt recoil because the shooter works via the 10-round journal.
Although the rifle has been round for the reason that late 80s, the Military didn’t formally undertake it because the M107 till 2002, when the necessity for such a beast grew to become obvious in Iraq and Afghanistan. These M107s had been topped with Leupold Mark 4 4.5-14×50 scopes.
For those who determine to go down the M107 rabbit gap, you’ll shortly see that the rifle has been supplied in at least a half-dozen configurations, together with the M82A1, A1A, A1M, A2 and A3 variants. And when you don’t need to be neglected of the enjoyable, you possibly can bounce on-line and order an M82A1 your self proper now.
Scores of nations around the globe have hopped on the M82 bandwagon, so despite the fact that the Mk 22 MRAD will take over among the duties that the M107 at the moment serves for U.S. Army forces, the massive Barrett .50 goes to be booming for years to return, cementing its legacy as probably the greatest sniper rifles ever.
I’d be shocked if I might discover a Marine Scout/Sniper who wouldn’t be prepared to throw fingers when you argued that the M40 wasn’t the most effective sniper rifle of all time. And so they’d have some extent. The M40 is a real OG, having been in service for the reason that Ballistic Darkish Ages (circa 1966).
The center of the M40 is a Remington 700/40X bolt motion, as you in all probability know, however to ensure that it to earn the M40 designation it’s reworked by armorers on the Weapons Coaching Battalion positioned at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
I’ve toured the ability up to now and met the Marines who construct the rifles and do load improvement for numerous initiatives and might attest to the truth that they’re true masters of the craft.
The unique M40s had been wood-stocked Remington 40Xs that held 5 .308 Win. rounds in an inner field journal. The bulk wore Redfield Accurange 3-9X scopes. Although correct below regular circumstances, it didn’t take lengthy for the Marines in Viet Nam to study that wooden shares didn’t do effectively within the jungles of Southeast Asia.
Within the early Seventies, the Weapons Coaching Battalion, with the assistance of Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, essentially the most storied sniper in American historical past, designed the M40A1, which was the Corps’ first purpose-built sniper rifle.
To guard the rifle from the weather, the M40 A1 was constructed with a McMillian fiberglass inventory and fitted with a set 10X Unertl optic. The A1 served for a very long time, and it wasn’t till the mid-90s that the Marines developed the subsequent variant.
Subsequent in line was the A3, adopted by the A5, and, lastly, the A6/A7 mannequin. Over the M40’s evolution, the rifle has had upgrades to the optics, went to a removable field journal system and threaded barrel (each launched on the A5), and has had tweaks to the inventory to have the ability to mount evening imaginative and prescient tools. The ultimate A6/A7 iteration sports activities the RACS (Remington Arms Chassis System) inventory that debuted on the ill-fated Remington MSR Mk 21.
M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS)
The Marines have their beloved M40 on the most effective sniper rifle checklist, whereas the Military rocks the M24 SWS. Although the M24 arrived on the scene a lot later than the M40—it debuted in 1988, whereas the M40 was first deployed in 1966—these rifles are kissing cousins, each bolt-action .308s primarily based off the Remington 700, however with one key distinction. (Insert your favourite inter-service rivalry crayon-eating joke right here.) The Military’s M24 is constructed on a long-action 700 receiver, whereas the USMC M40 is a short-action .308.
Now you may surprise why the Military would choose a long-action 700 to run the .308, when a smaller, lighter, stiffer, and theoretically extra correct short-action receiver would do the job. Good query. The lore surrounding that call mentioned the Military initially thought-about the .30/06 and wanted rifles that might chamber that spherical. That’s what I had heard, at any charge.
My good buddy Tom Beckstrand, a former Military Particular Forces Captain and Sniper Group Chief and essentially the most educated gun author on fashionable army precision rifles, corrected me on this widespread false impression.
The total story is past the scope of this text, however the quick model is that the when the M24 mission was getting off the bottom within the 80s the driving pressure behind it was a small cadre of Particular Forces (SF) NCOs who had been tasked with creating the SF Sniper College, often known as the because the Particular Operations Goal Interdiction Course (SOTIC). The creation of this course was prompted by menace of a full-scale Soviet assault on the U.S. and NATO and the corresponding must ship SF Snipers behind enemy traces the place they might have little, if any, assist.
The NCOs needed a rifle that might face up to the trials of the course and that theoretical mission, and the Military’s M21, which was an accurized M14, didn’t lower it. These NCOs and others within the SF neighborhood additionally determined that any rifle in .308 Win. was inadequate as effectively, in order that they spec-ed out the M24 as the reply and, as ordinally conceived, it was to be chambered in .300 Win. Magazine.
Effectively Massive Military was serving to pay for the rifle and so they insisted that it’s chambered in .308, as a result of that’s the spherical they had been already utilizing, and, effectively as a result of they mentioned so. The compromise that the SF guys managed to barter was to get the rifles constructed with long-action receivers in order that they might be transformed to .300 Win. Magazine. at some future time. And that’s the origin story of the Military’s long-action M24 .308 SWS.
These M24s had been constructed with HS Precision shares with an aluminum bedding block, an adjustable size of pull, and a hinged floor-plate journal that might maintain 5 rounds. They had been first topped with fixed-power Leupold 10X scopes and had 24-inch barrels with a 1:11.25 twist. Variants of the M24 included the A1, A2 and A3 fashions that integrated modifications akin to shares with better adjustability, removable magazines, the addition of sound suppressors, and—within the case of the A3—being rebarreled in .338 Lapua.
Did the SF guys ever get the .300 Win. Magazine. M24 they needed? Fortunately, sure. It took some time, however with the approval of the M2010 ESR, which can be on the most effective sniper rifle checklist, these .308 M24s acquired transformed to .300 Win. Magazine. and swapped their HS shares for the Remington Arms Chassis System (RACS).
The B&T USA 300SPR Professional is the most effective sniper rifle for minimizing noise whereas maximizing enjoyable. This integrally suppressed take-down is chambered in .300 BLK and, as we’ve written earlier than, it’s precisely what you’d image Jason Bourne utilizing in pursuit of reality, justice and large field workplace returns.
Although the 300SPR Professional prices a reasonably penny (and requires an ATF stamp for each the suppressor and the rifle’s 9.8-inch barrel) it delivers the products. The precision of the pattern I examined was actually spectacular with Black Hill’s 220-grain subsonic masses. The .300 BLK isn’t recognized for stellar accuracy however via the 300SPR Professional the five-shot teams averaged 1.036 inches.
For a extra full rundown on the rifle, try this video on it from final 12 months’s gun take a look at:
The rifle is Swiss made, splendidly engineered, and for a discrete city sniper setup it’s the cat’s pajamas. Whereas no authorities company is formally utilizing the B&T USA 300SPR Professional, I’ve it on good authority that a few of our extra secretive set off pullers have it of their arsenal.
This semiauto 7.62xs51 NATO (.308 Win.) rifle is an fascinating mix of previous and new tendencies in sniper rifles. This rifle hit the scene round 2011 when it first began being fielded by the U.S. army.
It’s a short-stroke fuel piston-driven rifle with a set inventory, 20-inch barrel, and an efficient vary of 1000 meters, in response to FN. The bottom weight of the rifle is 10.69 kilos, and it ships with both 10- or 20-round magazines.
The “SSR” stands for sniper assist rifle and hints on the Mk 20’s potential to have interaction targets at lengthy distances whereas nonetheless being a viable possibility for close-up preventing. To enhance the accuracy of the platform, FN designed it with an extended trunnion—which is the part that secures the barrel to the receiver—as a sturdier technique to assist the barrel.
The quad rail configuration is a bit dated, however affords a number of attachment factors for lights, lasers, evening imaginative and prescient and different equipment the operator may need to make use of. Luckily, the facet rails at 3 and 9 o’clock will be faraway from the handguard in the event that they aren’t wanted, eliminating among the Mk 20’s bulk.
The shortage of a folding inventory can be a bit anachronistic in comparison with some extra lately fielded programs, such because the M2010 ESR. The inventory can regulate for cheek peak and size of pull with none particular instruments, nevertheless.
One good ergonomic contact on the platform is that the security and journal launch are ambidextrous and the charging deal with will be mounted on both facet of the rifle as effectively.
Curiously, the rifle comes with a 1:12 twist, reasonably than a 1:10 twist, which is normal for .308s. The slower twist is a nod to our NATO allies, a few of whom are working lighter .308 bullets (150 grains or much less) which can do higher within the 1:12. The 1:12 will nonetheless work with 168-grain projectiles, however from the attitude of the U.S. army, a 1:10 would make extra sense.
FN launched a business model of the rifle, the FN 20S, which is almost an an identical copy of the Mk 20, besides that it doesn’t ship with any sights, has a special muzzle machine (a three-prong flash hider reasonably than the Surefire flash hider/suppressor attachment), comes with one set off module reasonably than two, and is marked “20S” versus “Mk20.” The most effective distinction, nevertheless, is that the twist on the .308 is 1:10.
One cool possibility with the FN 20S is that it’s now obtainable in 6.5 Creedmoor—with a 1:8 twist—in addition to .308 Win.
SVD Dragunov
No checklist of the most effective sniper rifles can be full with out together with the SVD, the preeminent sniper rifle of the Soviet Union and its allies. It was designed by Yevgeny Dragunov within the late 50s and got here into service in 1963, making it the oldest rifle on this checklist.
Although the controls on the SVD mimic these of an AK-47/74 it isn’t an AK by-product. However just like the AK, the SVD has been produced by so many nations in so many variants that it’s exhausting to maintain monitor of all of them, not to mention synthesize the platform in a brief article like this. However we’ll strive anyway.
The cartridge the SVD makes use of is the 7.62×54 Rimmed, which isn’t well-known by most American shooters and hunters, however has an iconic standing amongst army and sniper nerds since it’s among the many high 2 or 3 most threatening sniper cartridges in historical past, and arguably belongs on the high of the checklist. It’s the second oldest cartridge that’s nonetheless in lively army service. The .303 British predates it by a number of years—the .303 was launched in 1889 whereas the 7.62x54R began its army profession with the Russian Empire in 1891. The 7.62x54R’s unsurpassed longevity, coupled with the scope of army conflicts it has been part of is why it’s thought-about essentially the most lethal sniper spherical of all time.
After the SVD got here on line the Soviets labored to create extra correct ammunition for the rifle, and over the many years there have been quite a few masses developed by the Russians and different customers of the SVD.
I’ve by no means had an opportunity to shoot an SVD, however the printed accuracy requirements for the rifle and its purpose-built sniper ammunition are fairly spectacular given the age of the design. Relying on the ammo and variety of pictures within the group, the SVD is anticipated to be not more than 3 MOA on the higher finish, whereas many of the higher-quality masses are anticipated to group from simply over 1 MOA to round 2 MOA.
The rifle is a gas-operated short-stroke piston design, with a fuel port that may be toggled between two settings. Normal difficulty magazines maintain 10 or 20 rounds, and the fashionable variations of the SVD are capable of mount completely different optics and evening imaginative and prescient sights. Initially the SVDs had been outfitted with PSO-1 fastened 4X scopes, which had been hooked up to the rifle with a mount that positioned them excessive above the barrel and offset barely from the bore axis.
These fascinating optics had a range-finding reticle and a BDC elevation turret. The best way they had been positioned on the SVD allowed the shooter to make use of the rifle’s backup iron sights with out dismounting the scope.
Essentially the most fashionable variants of the SVD, such because the SVDM which was launched in 2014, have artificial folding shares that regulate for crucial dimensions to the match the shooter, a Picatinny rail on high to mount optics, sport excessive magnification variable energy scopes, make use of a quick-detach bipod, and use a a lot heavier barrel.
By way of pure accuracy, the SVD can’t compete with our greatest fashionable sniper rifles, however within the DMR function for which it was initially designed it’s nonetheless a extremely efficient system. Whereas the Russian army has indicated that they plan to maneuver away from the SVD within the close to future, the rifle’s widespread use in Africa, Asia and the Center East means it will likely be a fixture on the battlefield for many years to return.
The Heckler & Koch 417, a gas-operated short-stroke piston rifle in 7.62×51 (.308 Win.) with selective-fire functionality, is the inspiration for the G28 and M110A1 sniper programs being fielded by the U.S. army, German army and police (GSG 9), and by army and police models in one other dozen nations or so.
G28 is the designation of the rifle within the German Bundeswehr, whereas within the U.S. Military and U.S. Joint Particular Operations Command (JSOC), it’s known as the M110A1. Although related, the specs of the G28 and M110A1 should not an identical.
The M110A1 is available in two flavors, CSASS and SDMR designations, each of that are semiautos. The CSASS (Compact Semi-Computerized Sniper System) was introduced in 2016 when H&Ok received the Military contract for this system. The SDMR (Squad Designated Marksman Rifle) model was introduced by the Military in 2018. The 2 rifles are outfitted in a different way, although they each fall below the DMR umbrella and have some overlap of their missions. The Military began fielding the CSASS in 2019 and the SDMR in 2020.
In CSASS trim, the rifle comes with a Schmidt & Bender 3–20×50 PM II Extremely Brief sight, OSS SRM6 suppressor, adjustable Geissele two-stage set off, Geissele scope mount, Geissele M-Lok handguard, Harris bipod and has a collapsible inventory with an adjustable comb.
The SDMR sports activities a Sig Sauer Tango 6 1–6×24 first-focal airplane scope with a BDC reticle, has its personal model buttstock and the barrel is available in a special twist charge, reflecting the several types of ammo the SDMR and CSASS operators will principally use. Just like the CSASS rifle, the SDMR is supplied with an OSS suppressor.
Each varieties of rifles have 16.3-inch barrels and ambidextrous security, magazine launch and bolt lock controls.
M110 SASS
To not be confused with the M110A1, which can be on the most effective sniper rifle checklist, the M110 SASS is a barely bigger .308 Win. semiautomatic, which is constructed for the U.S. Military by Knights Armament Corp (KAC). The business model, the SR-25 is comparable, although not an identical.
This rifle is the Military’s foremost .308 sniper system and is in use across the globe. The M110 SASS’s normal package features a Leupold 3.5-10x scope, a Harris bipod, and an evening imaginative and prescient scope. It was developed to switch the M24 SWS (Sniper Weapon System), the notion being {that a} semiautomatic is extra versatile and related than the traditional Remington 700-based bolt motion on the fashionable battlefield. It launched in 2007.
The M110 SASS’s measurement and weight is one motive the Military began the CSASS and SDMR packages, and a bonus of the H&Ok M110A1 CSASS is that it’s extra compact and moveable.
Knights Armament responded by growing the M110A2 to deal with these points. It’s shorter and considerably lighter than the unique. Empty, the M110 SASS is 13.8 kilos, whereas the A2 is 10.5 kilos.
There’s additionally an A3 model, which is a 6.5 Creedmoor conversion package for SOCOM, with uppers which have each 14.5- and 22-inch barrels.
If this sounds a bit messy, that’s as a result of it’s. Much more so as a result of the Marine Corps and Navy are mulling over these platforms and variants, and each KAC and H&Ok are doing what they will to get a slice of the pie.
Ultimately the mud will settle within the battle of the M110s, and there’s little doubt that the prevailing rifles will look very completely different than the M110 SASS. However that doesn’t change the truth that the M110 SASS remains to be the dominant, and most generally used, .308 sniper rifle at the moment within the area with the U.S. Military.
If there’s one sniper rifle on this checklist that doesn’t get the adore it deserves, it’s the Sako TRG M10. This drop-dead magnificence is the rifle that was spurned by USSOCOM throughout the PSR trials that led to the army adopting the Remington MSR Mk 21, which later flopped.
The Sako TRG M10 was the runner-up within the PSR program and was by many accounts the higher rifle.
As with the opposite submissions within the PSR trial, the Sako TRG M10 is a quick-barrel change system, and is constructed on a chassis inventory with maybe the most effective ergonomics of any rifle in its peer group.
The M10’s ergonomic refinements develop into obvious as quickly as you lay down behind one and begin capturing. The best way the inventory adjusts for size of pull and cheek peak are elegant and capable of be executed with none instruments. The rifle consists of an built-in device package contained throughout the inventory itself so you possibly can carry out full upkeep on the rifle within the area if obligatory.
The ambidextrous security is housed throughout the set off guard and will be operated with gloves on. The identical goes for the rifle’s journal launch, which is positioned simply in entrance of the set off guard.
Sako well machined the completely different caliber barrels with completely different numbers of grooves simply behind the muzzle break so you possibly can decide a barrel’s chambering by really feel alone. The three calibers the M10 is obtainable in are .308 Win., .300 Win. Magazine., and .338 Lapua Magazine.
After all, the rifle additionally shoots like a home on fireplace, which ought to hardly come as a shock to anybody aware of Sako’s historical past and the Finn’s fame as snipers. I spent two days capturing one at a coaching facility in North Carolina when it was first launched and was smitten. Regardless of the prohibitive price ticket, I left decided to personal one ultimately.
Although the U.S. Army handed on fielding the TRG M10, Canada’s Military simply adopted it, becoming a member of nations akin to France and Israel who use it as effectively. Domestically, the M10 is being utilized by Maryland State Police—a variety that confirms the state has good style, past simply crab muffins.
The Sako TRG 22s and 42s are rifles with one foot within the army world and one other within the looking and competitors realm. Of all of the entries on the most effective sniper rifle checklist, the TRGs are a really perfect crossover gun for civilian and army use.
The distinction between the 22 and 42 is the size of the motion. The TRG 22 is chambered briefly motion calibers—at the moment .308 Win., .260 Rem., and 6.5 Creedmoor—whereas the TRG 42 is a long-action rifle that’s chambered in .300 Win. Magazine. and .338 Lapua.
The bottom TRG is a fixed-stock design with changes for comb place (each laterally and vertically) and size of pull. The butt plate angle, peak and pitch additionally adjusts. The fore-end consists of an integral rail for mounting a bipod as effectively.
The TRG is nothing if not beefy and its burly appears are a testomony to the rifle’s rugged construct. I’m not saying the rifle is unattainable to break—however you’d have to actually attempt to mess one up earlier than inflicting any significant hurt. The bottom 20-inch .308 weighs about 10.25 kilos and with a 26-inch barrel that goes to 10.75 kilos. The long-action 42s weigh a couple of pound extra.
It makes use of a three-lug bolt with a 60-degree throw that will likely be immediately recognizable to anybody who has shouldered a Sako 75 or 85, and runs off a removable journal. The .308/.260/6.5 Creed journal holds 10 rounds, whereas the .300 Win. Magazine. holds seven and the .338 Lapua holds 5.
In 2013, Sako upgraded the platform within the type of a greater set off and the addition of an additional plunger ejector within the bolt face. The protection is nestled throughout the set off guard and is simple to make use of whereas being well-protected from getting by chance bumped.
The newer TRG 22A1 and 42A1 fashions, launched in 2018, borrow components from the TRG M10 multi-caliber system. The shares on these variations fold and regulate in the identical manner because the M10 and have an M-Lok appropriate fore-end, although they lack the M10’s barrel-swapping function. It’s a pretty system with superb ergonomics.
No shock that Finnish army snipers have used the TRG 22 and 42 because it was developed, in addition to the TRG 21/41 collection that preceded it. Many European particular forces models and snipers additionally shoot the TRG 22 and 42, as do numerous armies all through Asia and the Center East.
M2010 ESR
The M2010 isn’t an unique, stand-alone rifle. Reasonably it’s a conversion package. The Military needed to improve their standard-issue .308 Win. M24 SWS rifles, which they’d been utilizing since 1988, to one thing with extra attain due to the distances that confronted our troopers within the mountains of Afghanistan. Because the M24s had been constructed on Remington 700 lengthy actions, they might be rechambered in .300 Win. Magazine., which brings much more punch to the get together.
The M2010 ESR—for enhanced sniper rifle—was outfitted with a folding chassis inventory absolutely adjustable for cheek peak and size of pull, permitting it to be match to the person extra exactly and folded down for simpler transport and storage. The inventory goes by the acronym RACS, for Remington Arms Chassis System.
The rifles got here with fast detach AAC suppressors that mated up with a muzzle brake. And so they had been topped with Leupold Mark 4 6.5–20×50mm ER/T M5A2 first-focal airplane scopes working Horus H58 reticles.
The rifles shipped with a 5-round removable field journal and had been deemed efficient to 1,500 yards when capturing Mk248 Mod1 .300 Win. Magazine. ammo, which is loaded with 220-grain Sierra Matchking HPBT bullets. In fact, nevertheless, the ammo is succesful past that distance.
From the 24-inch free-floating barrels, the ammo had a muzzle velocity of 2850 fps and would stay supersonic out to about 1,400 yards at sea stage. The M2010s had been additionally examined with older Mk248 Mod 0 ammo (aka A191) loaded with 190-grain Sierra Matchkings at 2975 fps or so.
The M2010s, which had been first fielded in 2011, had a comparatively quick shelf life, nevertheless. Not lengthy after the ultimate batch was delivered by Remington in 2014, the Military pivoted away from it and from the Mk21, which was additionally made by Massive Inexperienced.
The explanation the M2010 made the most effective sniper rifle checklist is that it marked the transfer away from the old-school M24 system, which was functionally just like what Marine snipers had been utilizing since Viet Nam, and ushered within the period of the fashionable space-gun sniper rifle. In whole, 2,558 M2010s had been made.
This bullpup bolt-action brings plenty of versatility in a compact bundle. It’s a switch-barrel platform that may deal with each short- and long-action cartridges relying on the shooter’s wants. Its modular design makes configuring the rifle for numerous makes use of a snap.
Whereas it isn’t as widespread as among the different sniper rifles on this checklist, it’s in service with numerous militaries across the globe and has been adopted by quite a few regulation enforcement companies within the U.S. and overseas.
I lately did an in-depth evaluate of the Desert Tech SRS A2, however the highlights of the rifle embrace the next:
- Sensible ergonomics, particularly for a bullpup
- Glorious set off, once more particularly for a bullpup
- Superb accuracy
- Ease of swapping barrels and cartridges
- Enjoyable as hell to shoot
The final level may be essentially the most related. For leisure shooters the Desert Tech SRS A2 is a extremely interesting platform. With the varied conversion kits a shooter can optimize the SRS for lengthy vary targets, predator management and suburban looking with subsonic ammo, or basic looking duties, so long as you don’t thoughts the rifle’s weight.
The Tragedy of the Remington MSR / Mk21
One rifle not included in the most effective sniper rifle checklist is the Remington MSR / Mk 21. The explanation for that’s that not lengthy after the rifle received the PSR (Precision Sniper Rifle) trial in 2013 it crashed and burned.
The explanations for which might be complicated, and a full telling of the story would require a bottle of bourbon and several other hours. However when you needed to choose two foremost components one was that Remington didn’t ship the identical ammunition and rifle that they used to win the contract. Secondly, the necessities that SOCOM had specified for the PSR trials had been unrealistic and after the MSR was chosen inner conflicts and delays at SOCOM created a state of affairs the place Remington had run out of time to repair the problems that cropped up.
That second issue is the place the story will get actually tangled, however the level is SOCOM performed a task within the MSR (Modular Sniper Rifle) program going off the rails as effectively. However for the sake of brevity we’ll simply take a look at the problems with the rifle and ammunition.
The primary MSRs that had been constructed employed wonderful high quality barrels made by a extremely regarded provider—and it was with that firm’s barrels that the MSR received the PSR contract. Not lengthy after, nevertheless, Remington’s administration took difficulty when the barrel maker demanded to be paid earlier than delivering the subsequent batch. To spite that firm and lower value from the MSR, Remington switched to their very own hammer-forged barrels. That form of conceitedness and heavy-handed conduct was widespread with respect to how Remington handled their suppliers.
A compounding difficulty was the .338 Lapua ammunition that Barnes delivered firstly of the contract. Throughout the choice and analysis part, that ammo was loaded to hit a selected velocity—2700 fps with a 300-grain Sierra Matchking. That could be a very popular load, however these MVs had been wanted to ensure that the ammunition to get near the efficiency requirements SOCOM demanded for accuracy at 1500 meters. The system additionally was designed to be able to working at larger than regular SAAMI pressures. I say get near, as a result of what SOCOM was asking for—fifty 10-shot teams at distance with no less than 80 p.c of them demonstrating not more than 1 MOA vertical dispersion—was pure fantasy. No rifle or shooter on earth is able to assembly that requirement.
That mentioned, when Barnes began fulfilling the contract, on account of a problem SOCOM found whereas testing the .300 WM MK248 Mod 1 ammunition for an unrelated contract, they switched up the load for the 338 LM and started loading to a goal stress reasonably than velocity. That misplaced them about 150 fps, which isn’t an enormous deal at 100 yards, however precipitated a major degradation in accuracy at 1,640 yards (1,500 meters) even earlier than factoring within the cheaper barrels.
This lack of efficiency, coupled with another small points, soured SOCOM on the MSR.
Including to the bitterness of the Mk 21 tablet was the truth that the PSR program was a extremely massive deal for our snipers. The purpose was for the primary time to difficulty a bolt-action rifle that was able to altering calibers shortly within the area, was correct at prolonged ranges, that integrated all the fashionable ergonomic adjustability of a top-tier chassis inventory, and assist cut back the variety of sniper rifles we’re fielsding by having the capability to meet a number of missions.
What was meant to be the U.S. army’s sniper rifle of the long run was shelved after only a few years, and utilizing “classes discovered’ in 2018 SOCOM “re-competed” this system—to make use of authorities communicate—with the ASR (Superior Sniper Rifle) trials resulting in the adoption of the Barrett Mk 22 MRAD.
