Optical sight of a sniper rifle svd. Air rifles with telescopic sights

55 years ago, the 7.62-mm sniper rifle E.F. was adopted by the Soviet army. Dragunov - SVD. High-precision self-loading rifle, standardly equipped optical sight and capable of confidently firing at considerable distances, had a positive effect on the capabilities of rifle units. And the mass production of this and full-scale deliveries affected the combat capability of the entire army as a whole. Despite their considerable age, the SVD do not even think about decommissioning. Moreover, the process of modernization of a very successful design continues, leading to the emergence of new samples.

At the time of its appearance, the SVD was the only self-loading rifle in the world with increased accuracy characteristics, originally equipped with an optical sight and intended for sniper shooting. In this regard, the SVD influenced not only the performance of the Soviet army, but also the development of small arms in foreign countries. Seeing the Soviet successes, they also began to develop their own line of specialized weapons for the so-called. infantry snipers.

Sniper with a rifle of the SVD family. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Meanwhile, the domestic arms industry continued to develop the existing design in order to improve the basic characteristics and obtain new features. As a result, over half a century of work, several rifles were created at once, some of which should be considered a modification of the SVD, while others can claim the title of an independent model. Consider the ways of development of the basic design and the results of further design work.

OTs-03 / SVU

With all its positive features and advantages, the SVD rifle is quite large in size. The length of the product without a bayonet exceeds 1.2 m, which can make it difficult to transport. Such problems were especially pronounced in the airborne troops. In this regard, back in the seventies, a proposal appeared to create a special modification of the Dragunov rifle, which is distinguished by reduced dimensions and greater ease of transportation.

The gunsmiths of the Tula Central Design and Research Bureau of Sports and Hunting Weapons (TsKIB SOO) offered their own version of the shortened SVD. They determined that a significant reduction in size is possible only when using the bullpup layout. New project with the working designation OTs-03 provided for the restructuring of the SVD using this layout. The main tasks were successfully solved. When using a 520 mm barrel, the new rifle had a total length of only 900 mm.

A shortened rifle with automatic fire mode SVU-A. Photo Vitalykuzmin.net

However, at that time the project was not developed. They remembered him again only in 1990, when TsKIB SOO offered a shortened rifle to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. MIA snipers have to work in urban environments, and in their case, the dimensions of the weapon are of particular importance. The Ministry of Internal Affairs approved the proposal, and soon the OTs-03 was put into service under the designation SVU (“Shortened Sniper Rifle”). At the same time, the ministry demanded the creation of a modification of weapons with the possibility of automatic fire. So the product OTs-03A / SVU-A appeared. Later, a standard folding bipod was installed on the rifle: this modification is known as the SVU-AS.

Despite the radical change appearance, inside the OTs-03 / SVU rifle almost completely corresponds to the basic SVD. A rifled barrel with a gas outlet, a gas engine, a butterfly valve, etc. have been preserved. Only the layout has changed. The control stick was moved under the modified handguard, which is why the store was behind it. The transfer of the handle forced the designers to provide for a rod that transmits the force from the trigger to the trigger mechanism of the existing design. The SVU-A rifle features a modified USM. With a short pull of the trigger, it shoots single shots, with a long one - bursts. There is a special lever that limits the course of the hook and actually performs the functions of a fire translator.

A curious innovation of the project was a special muzzle device that performs the functions of a muzzle brake and a flash hider. Also, a recoil pad had to be installed on the back of the receiver. SVU-AS is equipped with a bracket for mounting a standard folding bipod. To avoid stress on the barrel, the bracket is mounted on the receiver.

The total length of all products of the OTs-03 family is 900 mm. The mass of the SVU-A rifle with a scope and an empty magazine is 4.4 kg. The bracket and bipod increase the weight of the SVU-AS by 1.1 kg. Due to the reduction in barrel length, the aiming range has been reduced to 800 m. In terms of accuracy and accuracy, the IED is similar to the basic SVD. The technical rate of fire of rifles with burst firing mode is 650 rounds per minute. At the same time, the effectiveness of automatic fire is limited by the small capacity of the store.

The OTs-03 rifle was developed for the Airborne Forces, but the Ministry of the Interior became the starting customer. Such weapons were supplied to various special forces. From a certain time, products of the IED family have been supplied to various structures of the Federal Security Service.

SIDS

In 1991, the Izhmash plant, which carried out the serial production of SVD rifles, developed a new version of the assault rifle. The design team headed by A.I. Nesterov did not apply fundamentally new solutions and managed with relatively simple modifications. The result of these works was called SVDS - "Folding SVD".

SVDS rifle. Photo Concern "Kalashnikov" / kalashnikov.com

The barrel length has been reduced from the original 620 to 565 mm. The basic slotted flame arrester, which was distinguished by its long length, was replaced with a small-sized system with sufficient characteristics. Also, the SVDS project provided for the rejection of a wooden or plastic butt of a skeletal structure. Instead, it was proposed to use a separate plastic pistol grip and a folding triangular butt. The latter was built on the basis of curved metal tubes equipped with a recoil pad and a cheek piece. The new stock was folded by turning to the right and placed along the receiver.

The SVDS rifle in combat position has a length of 1135 mm. With the stock folded, the length is reduced to 875 mm. At the same time, the mass of weapons without a sight and cartridges increased from the original 3.9 kg to 4.5 kg. Reducing the length of the barrel and the use of a new muzzle device did not have a significant impact on the firing characteristics of the weapon.

The SVDS folding sniper rifle entered service in the early nineties and is still in production. The main customer of such weapons was the Russian army. There is information about the supply of rifles abroad.

SVDK

In the middle of the last decade, a new version of a serious revision of the original design appeared. As part of the “Cracker” theme, the Russian army initiated the development of a promising sniper rifle capable of hitting the enemy with effective means personal protection or under the protection of the armor of a combat vehicle. One of the main results of the "Cracker" program was the appearance of the SVDK rifle ("Large-caliber SVD").

Large-caliber rifle SVDK. Photo Vitalykuzmin.net

A further increase in performance when using the standard 7.62x54 mm R cartridge was considered impossible, and therefore they began to build a new rifle for 9.3x64 mm 7N33 ammunition. The latter was developed at the Central Research Institute Tochmash on the basis of the 9.3x64 mm Brenneke hunting cartridge. Such a cartridge is equipped with a bullet weighing 16.5 g; the SVDK rifle accelerates it to 770 m / s, which gives a muzzle energy of 4.9 kJ. At a distance of 100 m, penetration of 10 mm of armor is ensured.

As part of the SVDK project, the existing design of the rifle was finalized and strengthened. The barrel, bolt group and receiver had to be redesigned in accordance with the dimensions and energy performance of the new cartridge. At the same time, the main features of the design and principles of operation remained the same. To reduce the load on the main parts, a special casing was introduced into the design of the rifle, covering the rear of the barrel and the gas engine tube. It is completely located inside the plastic forearm and takes on the main load, freeing the barrel.

The SVDK project provides for the use of a folding stock based on the details of the SVDS product. The buttstock has been slightly modified taking into account the improvement in ergonomics and the growth of the main loads. It is possible to install a lightweight folding bipod. The rifle has its own sights, but the standard sight is the product 1P70 "Hyperion" with a variable magnification of 3-10x.

The length of a large-caliber sniper rifle is only 1250 mm with a 620 mm barrel. The product without a sight and bipod weighs 6.5 kg. Sighting range is determined at 600 m. In terms of accuracy at short and medium distances, the SVDK is comparable to other rifles of the SVD family.

According to known data, the SVDK rifle became the subject of several contracts for mass production. The first customer of such weapons was the Russian army. Later interest in large-caliber rifle showed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. Serial rifles are used by various units, primarily for special purposes.

SVDM

The newest version of the development of the Dragunov rifle is the SVDM product, presented by the Kalashnikov concern several years ago. In this modification of the rifle, several developments from previous projects are combined, as well as completely new solutions and components have been introduced. Due to this, as stated, SVDM surpasses its predecessors in some characteristics.

General view of the SVDM rifle. Photo Concern "Kalashnikov" / kalashnikov.com

First of all, the new SVDM differs from the basic SVD in a barrel shortened to 550 mm, which has thicker walls. This refinement made it possible to improve the ergonomics of the weapon while maintaining or improving the technical and combat characteristics. The barrel is equipped with a compact muzzle device. Automation and trigger mechanism remained unchanged. At the same time, the receiver was slightly modified. Its cover received a long longitudinal Picatinny rail, allowing the use of various compatible sights. The standard sight of the SVDM rifle is the product 1P88-4. The rifle's own open sight features a simplified design.

The rifle is equipped with a folding metal butt, which is a modified version of the butt for SVDS. It is also possible to use butts of a different design. In front of the plastic forearm there is a node for mounting a folding bipod.

SDVM in the hands of the shooter. Photo Arms-expo.ru

The total length of the SVDM in combat position is 1155 mm, in the folded position - 875 mm. The mass of the weapon without cartridges and sight is 5.3 kg. Technical and combat characteristics, in general, do not change, although the weighted barrel made it possible to increase the accuracy of fire.

Many-sided SVD

It should be noted that the above was only about the main modifications of the sniper rifle E.F. Dragunov, developed in the interests of the domestic military and security forces. At the same time, we should not forget that there are other models of weapons for one purpose or another based on the good old SVD.

First of all, we should recall the domestic series of self-loading hunting carbines "Tiger", intended for the civilian market. In fact, this weapon is a slightly modified SVD, adapted to solve non-military tasks. It is curious that it was in this line that the modification of the Dragunov rifle chambered for 9.3x64 mm first appeared. Subsequently, the developments on the product "Tiger 9" were used to create the SVDK rifle for the army. The Tiger series clearly demonstrated the broad prospects of a successful design, originally developed for combat use.

In the late seventies, China began to produce its own version of the Dragunov rifle called Type 79. Subsequently, Chinese gunsmiths developed several of their own modernization projects for these weapons. To date, NORINCO has launched the NSG-85 civilian carbine on the market, which can be considered a direct analogue of the Russian Tiger.

SVD in the basic configuration. Photo Concern "Kalashnikov" / kalashnikov.com

Also, SVD rifles were produced in Iraq under the name Al Kadesiah, in Iran (Nakhjir 3) and in Poland (SWD). Needing to update the material part, these countries not only produced weapons in the basic configuration, but also carried out their own modernization.

Waiting for the future

Currently, the SVD sniper rifle is in service with almost four dozen armies around the world. More importantly, it still remains the main and most massive weapon of its class in the Russian armed forces. Despite the known shortcomings and complaints, this product still meets the requirements and is able to solve the tasks. Thus, the current situation will persist for a long time, and SVD will not retire soon.

However, attempts are already being made in our country to create a fundamentally new rifle for infantry snipers, capable of replacing the existing SVD. Certain successes have been achieved, but full-fledged rearmament is still far away. Perhaps in the future, new samples will still take the place of the E.F. rifle. Dragunov, but this should not be expected anytime soon. Moreover, it can be assumed that by the time such weapons are abandoned in favor of newer models, domestic and foreign industries will be able to create new modifications that have certain advantages over their predecessors. And this, in turn, will continue the long life of the entire SVD family.

According to the websites:
https://kalashnikov.com/
http://modernfirearms.net/
http://arms-expo.ru/
http://guns.com/
http://kalashnikov.ru/
https://ria.ru/

The Diada-Arms online store sells modern air rifles with optical sights. For you - a large selection of models, manufacturer's warranty, the best price. Contact us! Shop specialists will select a rifle for various budgets and applications.

Pneumatics with a sight: description, features and benefits

Optics serve to visually enlarge a distant target and facilitate aiming. This allows you to use the high degree of precision inherent in pneumatics to one hundred percent.

There are two main types of optical sights:

Unregulated. The degree of magnification of such sights is not configurable. It is designated, for example, 4x15 or 4x32. Where 4x means objects in the viewfinder are magnified 4 times as compared to the naked eye. The main advantage of such sights is that they do not need to be adjusted. The main drawback is that there is no way to enlarge objects even more if necessary. These scopes are suitable for medium range sport shooting, hunting small birds and rodents.
Pancratic. Such optics can magnify objects within 3-15x. They are marked as follows: for example, 3-9x32. This means that objects can be magnified from 3x to 9x, and 32 is the diameter of the lens in millimeters. Regarding the latter - the larger it is, the clearer and brighter the "picture" will be. Accordingly, the cost is higher. This type of optic is excellent for shooting long distances and hunting moving game of various sizes. Its main drawback is the need for periodic adjustment and adjustment due to the high complexity of the device.

It should be noted that in the manufacture of air rifles with optics, manufacturers pay Special attention sight designs. This is due to difficult operating conditions, the presence of vibrations and double recoil.

Among the main advantages of models with pre-installed optics are:

high accuracy and accuracy of fire;
no problems with the choice of fasteners;
the ability to hit targets at long distances;
ease of use and much more.

Would you like to buy pneumatic weapons from leading manufacturers with a reliable and high-quality optical sight? Contact a Diada-Arms consultant at the contact number.

April 20th, 2016

The TrackingPoint company presented an ultra-precise small arms equipped with a computerized sight. With the M1400 rifle, even novice shooters will be able to hit targets at distances over a kilometer more effectively than professional snipers with weapons equipped with classic optical sights.

The new model is a .338 Lapua Magnum magazine-fed, bolt-action sniper rifle.
According to the technical description, with the help of the M1400, the shooter can hit targets at a distance of 1400 yards (1280 m), moving at speeds up to 32 km / h.

At the same time, the probability of hitting a target from the first shot is 91% - an unattainable performance for other small arms with optical sights.

A family of hunting and sniper rifles under the general name "Precision Guided Firearms" (high-precision guided weapons) is being developed and sold in the United States by a private company, Tracking Point. The concept of Tracking Point's weapons was based on the experience of its founder John McHale, who repeatedly and without much success tried to hit a fast-moving target located at a distance of about 300 meters large enough for hunting during an African hunt. As a result, in 2009, McHale developed the concept of a shooting complex designed to automate as much as possible and thereby simplify the process of preparing and firing a shot at a target located at a distance unknown to the shooter and moving at a speed unknown to the shooter. To implement this idea, the shooting complex must automatically be able to determine the range to the target, atmospheric conditions (temperature, air pressure), take into account the ballistic characteristics of the weapon and cartridge used. However, this approach, which has long been implemented in a number of computerized sighting systems, still does not exclude shooter errors caused, say, by hand trembling due to fatigue or stress, or by erroneous determination of corrections for target speed. Therefore, in its developments, TrackingPoint went further, using a number of ideas and technologies for automatic recognition and tracking of targets that have long been used in combat aviation.

The Tracking Point Precision Guided Firearm system consists of two basic components - a computerized sighting system and a specially modified rifle.

The sighting complex includes a television camera with an optical lens of variable magnification, a computing unit, an interface unit and a liquid crystal color display, which displays an image from a television camera with information superimposed on it from a built-in computer. In addition, the sight includes a laser rangefinder, environmental sensors (temperature, pressure), weapon position sensors, a low-power laser "zero control" sensor (for automatic adjustment of the sight according to the position of the weapon barrel). The sighting system also contains a block of interfaces, including a wired interface for controlling the trigger mechanism of the rifle and a wireless Wi-Fi interface for two-way communication with external devices (tablet computer, smartphone, smart glasses, etc.). External devices can be used to duplicate and record the image from the sight, as well as, in the future, to control rifle complex or data exchange between several complexes and devices in a group.

this is how the image on the display of the Tracking Point rifle looks at the time of the shot

The computerized TrackingPoint sight mounted on the M1400 is equipped with a variable zoom range from 3x to 21x. In addition, it has sensors that take into account the shaking of the hands of the shooter, the direction and speed of the wind, air humidity, as well as a rangefinder and an electric trigger. The total length of the M1400 rifle is 114 cm, the barrel length is 56 cm. The sight is able to calculate all ballistic edits in 1 second, and the time from the moment the target is captured to its destruction is 2.5 seconds. The claimed accuracy of the rifle is 0.047 MOA (minutes of arc). The model is compatible with wireless ShotView goggles that transmit images from a computerized sight to hit targets from cover.

What is a TrackingPoint Computerized Sight

The M1400 is a precision weapon in TrackingPoint's line of military rifles designed for the US military and other US military forces. This series also includes the M600 (smart M4) and M800 (smart replacement for the M110 sniper rifle). The M600, M800 and M1400 models are also sold on the civilian arms market.

"Smart" rifles for the American army

“The M1400, in combination with the M600 and M800, will provide the Army and Marine Corps with complete superiority on the battlefield. Extreme distances are no longer the exclusive preserve of skilled snipers. With a minimum level of training, any soldier can, with a high probability, hit targets at distances beyond the reach of skilled snipers with classic rifles,” said John McHale, CEO of TrackingPoint.

The M1400 is listed for $16,995. For this money, the buyer will receive a sniper rifle with two sets of bipods, three high-power replaceable batteries (each of which provides 3.5 hours of continuous operation), one five-shot magazine and a battery charger. On this moment TrackingPoint is accepting orders for the new rifle and deliveries to customers will begin on September 1, 2016.

In general, the operation of the Tracking Point system in the main firing mode is as follows. With the sighting system turned on, the shooter, observing the target on the display, aims the aiming marker at the desired point of impact and presses the “mark target” button located in front of the trigger guard. At this moment, the sighting system remembers the image of the target and the position of the desired point of impact on it, determines the range to the target and calculates the ballistic solution for the "rifle + cartridge" complex, taking into account the current environmental conditions. At the same time, the computer begins to track the position of the target and point of impact marker, updating the ballistic solution in real time, taking into account the movement of the target and weapon. When the trigger is pressed, the system switches to the shooting mode - the aiming mark in the form of an X-shaped crosshair, located on the display, taking into account the current ballistic solution, changes color, and then the shooter must combine the crosshairs of the sight (calculated bullet hit point) with the target marker, also displayed by the computer. Exactly at the moment when the computer-calculated point of impact of the bullet coincides with the tracked target mark, the computer will give a signal to the trigger mechanism to fire a shot (provided that the shooter still holds the trigger pressed). Thus, a very high efficiency of firing at targets not only located at considerable distances, but also actively moving at significant speeds is ensured.

In particular, for rifles of .308 Winchester caliber, the possibility of hitting targets at ranges up to 800 meters at a speed of up to 24 km / h is declared, for rifles chambered for .338 Lapua, these characteristics reach 1200 meters and 40 km / h. When shooting with conventional weapons, such conditions require extremely high marksmanship skills and a fair amount of luck; using the Tracking Point system, such shots become available to medium-skilled shooters.

Currently, the Tracking Point system is only at the beginning of its development. It has a number of disadvantages, such as the very high cost of the complex (from 15 thousand dollars and more), binding to a specific type of ammunition for each rifle, a relatively short battery life, but all of them can be solved in the near future. For military use, this system will need to get backup sights in case of failure of electronics or batteries, full-fledged secure wireless communication interfaces and the ability to work in electronic warfare, increased reliability and resistance to external conditions.

However, there is nothing impossible in this, and such complexes can have a wide variety of applications not only on sniper rifles, but also on various automatic weapons. For example, such a complex, after improvement, can be used for aimed firing at several targets marked in advance in one series of shots. The shooter in this version, after marking the targets, will simply transfer the weapon from one target to another, keeping the trigger pressed, and the weapon itself will shoot only exactly at the selected targets, automatically stopping fire as soon as the next target has disappeared from the crosshairs, and automatically resuming firing after accurately aiming at the next target. And this is far from the only possible scenario for using TrackingPoint technologies in the near future.

Back in 2015, American cybersecurity experts found a way to intercept control of the sight of a Tracking Point homing rifle.

As you know, the Tracking Point sight allows you to mark the target with a special button and set various variables (air temperature, wind speed and cartridge weight). Then the shooter must press the trigger and align the aiming mark with the mark made. When aligned, the reticle will turn red and the rifle will fire automatically, according to Wired.

To intercept control of the sight, the experts took advantage of the fact that the rifle has a Wi-Fi module, which is designed to allow its owner to wirelessly transfer images from the sight to an iPad or iPhone.

When Wi-Fi is on, the network connection is protected by a standard password, if cracked, you can access the rifle, and using vulnerabilities in installed software, you can, for example, make adjustments to the variables that determine which target will be hit.

The hackers were able to find out what these variables were after they dismantled one of the two rifles they had.

The experts filmed a special video in which they demonstrated how accurately the rifle can be reconfigured. The reprogrammed weapon hit a bull's-eye on a target that was near the original target, and it was also shown how to completely cancel a shot or permanently disable a computerized sight.

At the same time, it is noted that the vulnerabilities do not allow the weapon to fire spontaneously.

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The Dragunov SVD sniper rifle, nicknamed the "lash" for the characteristic sound of a shot, has been in service with the Russian army for more than half a century and meets many modern requirements for weapons of this class.

In terms of the number of copies issued and the prevalence in the world, the SVD occupies a confident second place among sniper weapons, second only to the American M24. The rifle has become an invariable external attribute of the soldiers of the Soviet and Russian armies; only one that appeared in service 15 years earlier can serve as a rival.

History of the Dragunov sniper rifle

Development of a specialized sniper rifle for Soviet army started in the second half of the 1950s.

The impetus for the development was a change in the staffing of motorized rifle units, which included a sniper. General requirements to the rifle took shape in the form of a technical task of the GRAU of the General Staff of the SA by 1958:

use as ammunition (7.62 * 54 mm);
have a self-loading principle of operation and do not exceed by and Mosin;
stock of cartridges in the store - at least 10 pieces;
the ability to conduct effective fire at a distance of up to 600 m.

For competitive testing, rifles from several design bureaus were presented, including E.F. Dragunova, S.G. Simonov and A.S. Konstantinov. Comparative firing took place at the training ground in Shchurovo (Moscow region).

Samples of Simonov and Konstantinov demonstrated the good work of automation along with the low accuracy of the battle.

The self-loading rifle SSV-58 designed by Dragunov showed high accuracy characteristics, but at the same time, the commission noted the fact of the low reliability of the weapon, which became unusable after 500 ... 600 shots.

All three versions of the rifle received recommendations for improvement and were re-tested in 1960. After this cycle of tests, the Simonov design bureau weapon was considered unsuccessful (due to low accuracy compared to the standard), and the remaining two samples were sent for revision.

In particular, on the Dragunov rifle there were complaints about the operation of the cartridge feed mechanism.

The third test cycle took place at the end of 1961 - beginning of 1962 and revealed the final winner - the Dragunov rifle, which surpassed its competitor in accuracy of fire.

Konstantinov's weapons were rejected for the possibility of firing only with a telescopic sight and for being too close to the shooter's face of the cartridge case ejection window.

By mid-1962, the troops received the first batch of 40 copies of the SSV-58. Based on operating experience, adjustments were made to the design, and in 1963 mass production of weapons began under the designation Dragunov self-loading rifle (GRAU code 6V1). At the same time, an optical sight of the PSO-1 model (code 6Ts1) entered service.

Early samples of the SVD had a barrel with a 320 mm thread pitch, which corresponded to conventional bullets and provided high accuracy parameters. When using the upgraded B-32 armor-piercing incendiary bullets, increased dispersion began to be observed.

Therefore, in 1975, the pitch was reduced to 240 mm, which somewhat reduced the accuracy when using conventional bullets, but significantly improved the accuracy of fire.

Device and main characteristics

To drive the reloading mechanism, a part of the powder gases is removed from the barrel into a separate chamber with a piston. In the device of the mechanism there is a two-position gas regulator, which determines the speed of the frame during rollback.

Under normal conditions, the regulator is in position 1. If the weapon is used for a long time without lubrication and cleaning, delays in operation may occur. In this case, the regulator is transferred to position 2 by rotating the lever with the flange part of the sleeve.

After the shot, the gases expand and push the bullet out of the barrel.

After the bullet passes through the gas outlet on the surface of the barrel, part of the gases enters the chamber and sets in motion the piston, made in the form of a single piece together with the pusher. The pusher shifts the frame to its rearmost position, while compressing the return springs.

When the frame moves, the bolt opens and the cartridge case is removed from the chamber. An empty sleeve is ejected from the cavity of the receiver and at the same time the cocking and setting of the trigger to the self-timer mode takes place. Then the frame reaches the stop and begins to reverse movement under the force of the springs.

After the frame begins to reverse, the bolt takes the upper cartridge from the clip, feeds it into the chamber and locks the barrel. When locking, the bolt part rotates to the left, which allows you to engage the protrusions on the bolt with slots in the receiver.

Additional protrusions on the frame actuate the self-timer sear rod, which puts the trigger in the firing position.

By pressing the trigger, a rod is activated, which is engaged with the sear rod. Due to this, the sear turns and releases the trigger, which begins to rotate around its axis under the influence of the force of the compressed mainspring.

The trigger strikes the firing pin and moves it forward. The sharp end of the firing pin breaks the primer and ignites the charge of gunpowder in the case.

After the last shot is fired and the frame moves back to the rear point, the feeder leaves the magazine, which turns on the shutter stop. The stop locks the shutter in the open position and prevents the frame from starting the rollback movement.

Based on the SVD, since the beginning of the 90s, it has been produced, designed for firing with semi-shell bullets weighing about 13 grams (cartridge type 7.62 * 54R).

The weapon is used for hunting large and medium-sized animals. There are variants with non-self-loading supply of cartridges, as well as export versions chambered for caliber .308Win (7.62 * 51), .30-06 Springfield (7.62 * 63) or 9.3 * 64 (Brenneke cartridge). "Tiger" differs from the basic version with a shortened barrel and dismantled flame arrester and gas regulator.

Combat use

Despite the fact that the rifle began to enter service in the 60s, it was not reported anywhere until the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan. After the collapse of the USSR, the rifle was used in many local conflicts in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

To date, the 7.62 mm Dragunov sniper rifle is in service with the Russian army and the armies of several dozen states.

Opinion about weapons

Despite the age of the weapon, it remains competitive today. Over 50 summer history use of the Dragunov sniper rifle did not receive explicit negative feedback.

SVD is used by snipers in many military conflicts, despite the possibility of acquiring more modern products.

The difficulties that arise when firing at long distances are associated with incorrect calculation of the initial data by inexperienced shooters.

Some shortcomings of the SVD are also noted, first of all, it is a self-loading mechanism that is suitable for army snipers for shooting at a distance of up to 500-600 meters, but absolutely not suitable for long-range sniper shooting, since the operation of the automation knocks down the sight.

In addition, the rigid mount of the barrel is also noted in the shortcomings, it is believed that the floating barrel is optimal for sniper weapons. The tide on the barrel and the bayonet-knife itself in the rifle kit are bewildering. Sniper and bayonet attack is a rather strange combination.

Confirmation high level characteristics of a rifle can serve as an officially registered record of the distance to hit the target (for weapons with a caliber of 7.62 mm). This happened in 1985 on the territory of Afghanistan, when sniper V. Ilyin shot a dushman at a distance of 1350 m. The record has not been broken up to the present.

Modern SVD replicas

On sale there is a Dragunov air rifle manufactured by MWM Gillmann GmbH. Bullets with a caliber of 4.5 mm are installed in simulators of a real cartridge, which are located in the magazine. The gas tank is installed in the bolt of the rifle.

Thanks to this arrangement, it was possible to provide a visualization of firing similar to a real weapon - with reloading and ejection of the “sleeve” outward.

To date, work is underway to create modern sniper rifles (for example, OTs-129), but the prospects for their adoption are not clear. Therefore, the good old Russian SVD rifle will remain the main weapon of snipers in the Russian army for the next few years.

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The Dragunov sniper rifle has been in service with our country since 1963 and is the second most popular sniper rifle in the world after those created on the basis of the American Remington 700.

Excellent technical characteristics even today, recognizable appearance and the original sound of the shot made the SVD popular among civilians. It is present in games, books, there are many stories about its accuracy and penetrating power, often with a bit of fiction.

History of creation

In the 50s, the USSR army was rearmed, which required a modern self-loading sniper rifle firing single shots.

E. F. Dragunov, who has been working since 1945 as a senior gunsmith, and known for creating his sporting firearms, in 1962 began to design his own rifle. In parallel, the development was carried out by A. Konstantinov, both designers completed their projects at about the same time, the Dragunov weapon proved to be more accurate in tests and demonstrated greater accuracy of fire.

In 1963, the rifle, called the SVD, was adopted by the Soviet army.

Peculiarities

The future rifle was supposed to fulfill only certain goals and versatility was not required from it, but the goals set were not easily achievable. High reliability was required, implying increased clearances between moving parts, while high accuracy implied as rigid a design as possible with minimal clearances.

Also, heavy weapons have better stability and show higher accuracy when firing, but it was required to create a light rifle.

When creating Dragunov, he used the design of the shutter, which he used in sporting weapons. The bore was closed by a bolt that turned counterclockwise and had two lugs, plus used a cartridge rammer as a third. Such a scheme of work makes the area of the lugs no longer changing the dimensions of the shutter itself, which has a positive effect on the accuracy of fire.

The safety lever not only blocks the trigger, but also locks the bolt carrier, preventing it from moving backwards. The only shooting mode is single. There is a flash hider on the barrel, which protects the barrel from contamination and masks shooting at night.

The magazine contains 10 cartridges of 7.62x54R caliber, ordinary, tracer, armor-piercing-igniting rifle cartridges, 7N1 and 7N14 sniper cartridges, cartridges with JSP and JHP expansive bullets are used.

Specifications, accuracy and accuracy

Thanks to self-loading, produced using the energy of powder gases, the SVD has a good combat rate of fire - up to 30 rounds per minute.

The PSO-1 sight is used, which provides shooting at a distance of up to 1300 meters, however, such shooting is not accurate and makes sense only as a distraction or in the presence of group targets.

The rifling in the barrel when adopted was in increments of 320 mm, later the pitch was reduced to 240 mm, due to which the dispersion of armor-piercing incendiary bullets decreased, but the dispersion of others increased from 8 to 10 cm when firing at a distance of 100 meters.

It is possible to use a specially designed sniper cartridge, which includes a bullet with a steel core, which increases accuracy by 2.5 times.

According to the regulations, the range of a direct shot at a target 30 centimeters high is 350 meters, at a target 50 centimeters high - 430 meters, at a moving target at the speed of a running person 150 centimeters high - 640 meters.

Excellent performance characteristics allow experienced shooters to hit helicopters and planes flying at low speed. In 1989, a Cessna A-37B jet attack aircraft was shot down, and cases of RQ-11 Raven reconnaissance drones are also known.

SIDS

In 1991, the rifle underwent modernization, having received a shortened barrel, improved flame arrester along with a gas outlet assembly, a right-folding stock and a new PSO-1M2 sight.

The modernization was caused by the need to reduce the length of the original weapon, which made it inconvenient to transport it inside military equipment.

SVDK

In 2006, a large-caliber modification 6B9 appeared, designed to destroy targets protected by bulletproof vests inside light equipment or behind cover.

A 9.3 × 64 mm 7N33 cartridge is used, whose bullet has an energy of about 4900 J, which makes it possible to penetrate armor 1 cm thick with an 80% probability at a distance of 100 meters.

Created on the basis of the SVD, however, many nodes have undergone changes in order to adapt the weapon to use a powerful cartridge.

The barrel is partially covered with a perforated steel casing, designed to reduce the load on the forearm and bipod. The buttstock and pistol grip are similar to those used on the SVDS, but the butt pad made of rubber is significantly increased due to the increased recoil when firing. Installed a replaceable flame arrester.

Aiming takes place using the 1P70 Hyperon sight, accuracy when firing at a distance of 300 meters is at the level of 18 centimeters.

SVU

The shortened sniper rifle appeared in the 90s and is used as a sniper weapon used in urban environments. Created on the basis of SVD, but with a bullpup layout, which provides for the removal of the trigger in front of the magazine and percussion mechanism.

There is a silencer on the barrel, which reduces the sound of the shot by 10% relative to the SVD and disperses it to make it impossible to determine the position of the sniper, and also suppresses the muzzle flash.

It is capable of automatic burst fire, but this mode is used only in emergency situations due to high recoil and a small capacity magazine.

conclusions

Despite its impressive age, the rifle remains relevant even today. Successful design makes it an ergonomic and balanced weapon, from which aimed shooting is carried out with convenience, and the rate of fire, reaching 30 rounds per minute, distinguishes it from ordinary sniper rifles.