Rifles, especially precision rifles, are advertised to be capable of shooting a certain MOA. Most commercial hunting rifles will shoot 2 MOA or greater. A 2 MOA hunting rifle would, at its best, be capable of shooting a 3 to 5 shot group into a 2-inch circle at 100 yards or a 10-inch circle at 500 yards. If you are shooting an elk, which has a kill zone of 24 inches, this accuracy is acceptable as long as you can center the shot in the kill zone. If you are being asked to take down a hostile human target in a crowd, a 2 MOA weapon could very well be unacceptable and result in a miss or worse—a friendly getting hit. Most sniper rifles are at least 1 MOA capable, with the majority being .5 MOA capable. So to do the math, a .5 MOA sniper rifle will be capable of shooting a .5-inch group at 100 yards, or a 5-inch group at 1,000 yards. Now that's tight!
The history of rifle design and manufacture shows that rifles have evolved over time to be more effective at killing the intended target, be it game or humans. It is also a reality that human beings do not require any special large, high velocity round to be forced into taking a “dirt nap.” A well placed .22-caliber air rifle has killed a child, and Robert Kennedy was gunned down with a .22-caliber handgun.
The Accuracy International's AS50 semiauto .50 BMG. The acronym designates this as a Browning Machine Gun .50 round, but it's also known as the “Badass Mackdaddy Gun.”
So, what characteristic sets a sniper rifle apart from your typical hunting rifle? ACCURACY! Sniper-grade rifles must be capable of superb accuracy under a wide range of shooting conditions. There is no room in a sniper's toolbox for an inaccurate rifle. Lives, including one's own, are dependent on that weapon. Imagine being called upon to take an 800-yard shot with a 2 MOA rifle! Two MOA at 800 yards is 16 inches. The average male torso at the shoulders is 20 inches, tapering to 12 inches mid-chest. The average human head measures 6 to 7 inches in width and 8 to 10 inches in height. Obviously, making an accurate shot with this rifle would require a lot of skill and a fair amount of luck.
OK, OK, we know a sniper rifle has to be accurate, but how accurate is accurate enough? We noted that most hunting rifles are usually good for 2 to 3 MOA accuracy. Sniper rifles, on the other hand, are built to have a potential MOA accuracy of at least 1 MOA, which in reality is at the upper end of acceptable accuracy for a sniper-grade rifle. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. A 1 MOA rifle will in all likelihood be less expensive than a more accurate rifle, because less expensive parts were used, it is built to looser tolerances, and has less “hand” build attention in its manufacture. A Remington Police Sniper Model 700 308 rifle is a good example of a 1 MOA rifle. This rifle will set you back around $1,000. With today's materials and knowledge, sniper rifles can be built to be capable of at least .5 MOA. The Remington M24 HS Precision Tactical rifles are good examples of .5 MOA sniper rifles. The cost of this grade rifle is about $2,000 to $2,500. There are some rifles, that with the right ammunition and right caliber, are capable of .375 to .25 MOA, but they will be significantly more expensive. Sniper rifles from GA Precision, Tactical Operations, and Accuracy International are good examples of this grade rifle, but the cost is $4,500 to $6,000 for the rifle alone. Add another $2,000 to $3,000 for good quality glass, and you are out $8,000 to $10,000 for your new toy. Let's look at some grade components.
The AK is definitely not a sub 1 MOA weapon.
The brand spanking new Knights Armament M110 SASS (semi automatic sniper system), a 7.62 match grade system with a lot of adaptability, is shown here with the digital desert camouflaged UNS LRLP (Universal Night Sight Long Range Low Profile), otherwise known as the PVS-26—an amazing setup for night operations.
Each manufacturer will, of course, claim that their barrel is the best and tell you why their way of manufacturing results in a high degree of accuracy. Sniper-grade barrels are constructed from both chromoly and stainless steel. Stainless is more expensive and may resist rust and wear better than chromoly.
In general, most sniper-grade barrels are thicker than commercial hunting rifle barrels. The extra thickness is beneficial to the barrel accuracy because it is stiffer, and therefore has less whip and motion during bullet transit. The additional thickness also makes the rifle heavier, especially toward the front of the rifle. This makes the shooter feel less recoil, again adding to the accuracy and shoot-ability. The added forward weight also decreases the muzzle jump, which helps the shooter stay on target and if necessary rapidly put another accurate round down-range. The added thickness will also help deal with the heat of repeated fire. The added weight is, of course, a concern to the sniper having to carry the rifle into the field, but the weight translates to improved accuracy and in most cases is an acceptable trade-off. Besides being thicker, most sniper-grade barrels are also longer than hunting rifles. The length of the barrel should be tailored to the caliber and the powder load. Again, you want the barrel to be long enough to maximize the full benefit of the gas developed by the powder. The shorter the barrel, the less the muzzle velocity; too long a barrel with an improper powder load could also reduce pressure, which could result in a lower muzzle velocity. Shorter barrels are stiffer, but the accuracy may suffer, especially at longer ranges, again because of the decreased velocity. Shorter barrels are easier to maneuver, but most snipers will not be doing house clearing with their rifle. But shooting offhand or in non-supported positions is easier with a shorter, lighter rifle. Most sniper rifles, especially for eight hundred to one-thousand plus shooting will have 24- to 27-inch barrels. Additionally, a shorter barrel will have a louder muzzle blast, which if unsuppressed could be a concern to a sniper trying to hide his location from the enemy.
This Barrett Model 95 is a shorter, lighter version of their bolt action .50 cal, the Model 99, and sports a (relatively for a .50) short 29” barrel.
The authors would love to find this complete kit under the Christmas tree some year.
A mandatory read for anyone interested in the science and art of firearm ballistics.
Rifling varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The cheapest method is hammer forging. Some very accurate rifles—the Remington 40 xb, the Remington M24, and Sig Sauer rifles—use this method to “cut” the barrel rifling. Custom barrel manufacturers, such as Bartlien, Schneider, Lawton, and Krieger, employ cut rifling exclusively. Modern technology tolerances for the bore and the rifling can be as small as .0002 inches, which, as those of us that managed to stay awake in fourth grade math know, is very tight.
More art from Iraq
All of these rifling processes will leave some imperfections that will need to be removed with some kind of lapping process. Lapping will make a mediocre barrel better, but not great, so what really matters is quality in the entire barrel building process. You may wonder why it is important to remove theses imperfections from the barrel: After all, the bullet is being pushed down the barrel in most instances at two to three times the speed of sound, so how can little imperfections in the barrel degrade the barrel's accuracy? These little imperfections interfere with the bullet smoothly moving down the barrel. They also strip away parts of the bullet's copper jacket, so the bullet leaves the barrel not perfectly symmetrical, which interferes with its gyroscopic stability during its flight to the target. The copper left behind in the barrel can build up, adding to the “roughness” of the barrel's bore and adding to fouling of the barrel during subsequent shots. An unstable bullet is an inaccurate bullet. Most manufacturers will recommend some kind of “break-in “process that is designed to help smooth out these imperfections. The break-in process is time consuming, usually requiring a series of shots, cleaning the barrel between single shots, double shots, and finally three- or five-shot groups. The theory behind this is that as you shoot rounds and then clean the barrel, these small imperfections are shot smooth. Additionally there are some abrasive bullets offered by David Tubbs, a multitime long-distance rifle champion, that are supposed to smooth the barrel quickly and more efficiently than the laborious break-in period. If the barrel manufacturer recommends a certain break-in process, it may be best to follow their routine so that they will honor any warranty. Lastly, there are some products that can be applied to the barrel to coat the bore. Again the barrel or rifle manufacturer can recommend these products, based on their experience and their product.
Detailed photo of the pointy end of the spear
The twist rate, as noted earlier, is the rate at which the helical or spiral pattern turns over a certain length of the barrel. A twist rate of 1 to 10 means that the rifling completes one complete revolution every 10 inches. You remember that this twist causes the bullet to rotate as it moves down the barrel, which gives the bullet gyroscopic stability during flight. Having the proper twist is very important to accuracy. Again, an unstable bullet is an inaccurate bullet. The proper twist rate can be determined with ballistic formulas that are too detailed to get into in this chapter. If you are interested in the math/science you should check out Understanding Firearm Ballistics by Robert A. Rinker. Rifle barrel manufacturers will usually match the twist rate to the intended ammunition for the sniper rifle. Most sniper-grade 308s, 300 Win Mag, and 338 Lapua rifles have a 1 to 10 twist. As a general rule, the heavier bullet will require a faster twist, so if you know that you will only be shooting a 300 grain 338 bullet out of your 338 Lapua sniper rifle, you may want a 1 to 9 or 1 to 9 to 5 twist rate. Again, custom built rifles can have this kind of “tweaking,” but it will cost more money.
San Diego Padres’ incredible third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff gets some with the author's .300 Win Mag. Notice the rear accessory pack and speed loader.
SEAL heads North from Baghdad manning the .50.
The crown on a rifle barrel refers to a bevel cut at the muzzle. The crown of the muzzle is the last part of the rifle that will come in contact with the bullet as it leaves the rifle. Any imperfections, indentations, or nicks in the bore at the end of the barrel will impart some instability to the bullet.
Quality sniper rifle manufacturers will bevel the end of the barrel to ensure that the bore is free from any imperfections. Usually this machining is beveled in so the crown is recessed from the end of the barrel to help protect the crown or bore from being hit or dinged during operations. If the barrel is threaded to take a suppressor, there is usually a crown protector that can be put on the end of the barrel. If the crown is damaged you will see a drop in accuracy. A quality gunsmith can recrown the barrel, so don't despair if you drop yours muzzle first off the top of a ten story building.
The jump or bullet jump refers to the distance from the end of the chamber to the beginning of the rifling. As noted earlier, most rifle manufacturers cut the chambers to match standard cartridge dimensions. Most sniper rifles will have this as the standard chamber. Why? Because the rifle has to shoot all brands of ammunition issued to the sniper. There will be slight deviations in cartridge length from manufacturer to manufacturer and from lot to lot (a “lot” of ammunition is a quantity of ammunition assembled by one producer under similar conditions and is expected to produce similar results on target). Most snipers, especially in the military, do not have the option of hand loading all of their rounds—they shoot what they are given, so their rifles must be capable of shooting all ammo. If you can hand load and you want to further customize your rifle, you can have the barrel builder shorten the jump to tighter tolerances, or seat your bullets out slightly longer during the reloading process. Some reloaders try to have the ogive (curved sides) of the bullet actually touch the lands and grooves of the barrel. As always, there are trade-offs for doing this, and doing this may only give a slight increase in the accuracy of the rifle. Bench rest shooters are more likely to benefit from this than an active sniper. You should also note that having your chamber cut to precisely match the cartridge's overall length so that there is minimum to no bullet jump is for lead core bullets. You should not do this if you are going to use solids, since the solid bullets do not conform to the barrel as easily as lead core bullets. You could get into problems with very high pressures that could damage your rifle or you!
No, not you—how long will a sniper-grade barrel “live” or last? That depends on a lot of factors. Stainless steel is a bit more wear resistant than chromoly, but the three biggest factors affecting barrel life and, in turn, long-term barrel accuracy are the velocity of the round, the number of rounds through the barrel, and barrel care/maintenance. High velocity rounds (greater than 3500 to 4000 fps) will wear a barrel much quicker than slower cartridges. Again a trade-off in terms of wanting a flatter trajectory, less wind interference, higher energy, and being willing to buy a new barrel. The number of rounds through the barrel is important to keep track of, because over time you will see a decrease in accuracy as your barrel wears from shooting. Maintenance of your barrel—good cleaning, not scratching the bore, and keeping the crown from getting damaged—will make the barrel last a long time. Want an estimate for a sniper rifle barrel life? A good sniper-grade 308 barrel that's well maintained and never shot until it's red hot should last 8,000 to 10,000 rounds, unless you are pushing the loads as hard as you can. (That doesn't sound good!)
Accuracy is based on consistency—consistency in everything the rifle does as well as the human factors involved with making a good shot. The barrel should not come into contact with anything when the rifle is fired. This includes the stock. This requirement is known as free-floating the barrel. A quality sniper rifle will have the stock and the rifle barrel set so that the barrel does not come into contact with any part of the stock. The same cannot be said about all “hunting” rifles. You can check to see if the barrel is free-floated by running a sheet of paper folded in half along the barrel that is above the fore end of the stock. Some .50-caliber builders will eliminate this problem by not having a fore end to the stock. This principle now appears in a lot of AR-style rifles where the fore end is a “free-floated tube” that does not touch the barrel at all.
Test for a free-floating barrel
There are two basic types of triggers: single stage and two stage. In a single-stage trigger, there is virtually no uptake in the movement of the trigger as the shooter applies pressure to break the shot. The pressure required to cause the trigger to “break “or fire the rifle can be altered with some custom trigger work or in some cases the trigger may actually be adjustable. You want the trigger pull to be smooth and consistent. A trigger job can smooth parts in the trigger assembly to improve trigger pull. Single-stage triggers are the most frequent type of trigger used in American made sniper/tactical rifles. Most tactical/sniper rifles have a trigger pull of 2.5 to 3 pounds. You don't want a trigger that takes a tremendous amount of effort to break, but you also don't want a trigger that will break if you slam the bolt closed or that will break with the slightest pressure before you are a) sure of your target and b) have the green light to engage the target. More will add stress to the sniper during the natural respiratory pause of breathing that is generally recommended as the time to break your shot. A trigger can be adjusted to less than 2.5 pounds—all the way down to 8 ounces, but too light a trigger can resutlt in accidental discharges. Remember, once you squeeze the trigger there is no calling the bullet back!
Here's an old school double set trigger on an Sharps Model 1874 sporting rifle. The rear trigger is pulled first, which then allows the front trigger to fire the round.
Two-stage triggers are called this because there are two stages of engaging the trigger mechanism. The first stage is pulling up the slack in the trigger movement, which is fairly light. In the second stage, the required trigger pressure is higher but remains constant until the trigger breaks. Two-stage triggers are standard on Accuracy International rifles and other European rifles. It should be noted that most rifle actions will only work with one style trigger. You usually cannot switch out a single-stage trigger assembly for a two-stage trigger, even if the two-stage trigger is what you prefer.
Remington triggers are easily tuned and Remington does offer adjustable triggers on some of their higher end rifles. Aftermarket triggers from Timmey and Jewel are available for rifles built with a Remington Model 700 action (Tactical Operations and HS Precision).
“This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me…”
This part of the Marine Corp's “Rifleman's Creed” made famous by the movie Full Metal Jacket certainly applies to all snipers. It is the stock that lets a shooter hold, nestle, and fit a rifle to his body, becoming one with the rifle. To accurately place rounds down range the sniper must be able to consistently position the rifle with his body and support it the same way on every shot. Put another way, a sniper needs a rifle that “hits and fits.” In order for this to be accomplished, most sniper-grade rifles have adjustable stocks that can be changed to fit the sniper. Like a finely tailored suit, the rifle needs to be fitted to the shooter. The two parts of the rifle stock that are adjustable are known as the length of pull and the cheek well. The length of pull is the distance from the place you place your firing hand to the butt of the rifle stock. A good quality sniper rifle stock can be lengthened or shortened as needed by the sniper. Why would this distance need to be changed? Shooting with full body armor will add size to the sniper as opposed to shooting in a plain uniform. Shooting in the dead of winter will usually have the shooter dressed in warm, bulkier clothes as opposed to the dog days of summer. Additionally, different shooting positions will change the distance the shooter needs to get proper eye relief with the optics. The cheek well is the top edge of the rear portion of the stock, where the sniper rests his cheek during shooting. This, too, needs to be adjustable, depending on the shooters face/head structure and the height of the optics on the rifle. The height of the cheek well should be adjustable so the sniper can consistently place his cheek on the rifle in the same place every time. It should be adjusted so that the sniper can almost “fall asleep” on the stock, in such a way as to not be straining his neck or head to contort himself to the rifle. Despite what Hollywood shows, not all sniper missions entail shooting hundreds of rounds; many times there are long periods of observation, calling in air strikes or waiting for the target to present a shot. The rifle must fit the sniper, not the sniper fit the rifle, so that the sniper can comfortably position himself and his rifle to observe the enemy for long periods of time.
The J. Allen Enterprises JAE-700 RSA Precision rifle stock for the Remington 700 short action is part of a new generation of fantastic stocks on the market.
Tactical Ops stock from McMillan. Nice.
Today most sniper-grade rifles are made of synthetic/fiberglass materials as opposed to wood. The fiberglass stocks from companies such as McMillan, HS Precision, JAE, and Mannard are very strong, rigid, and do well in a wide range of operating conditions. Many of these synthetic/fiberglass stocks have aluminum pillars for holding the action in the stock, but the action should be “bedded” into the stock with additional epoxy or fiberglass so that the action of the rifle is snuggly nestled into the stock.
There is also a trend toward an all-metal or modular stock, or chassis, that does not require any bedding. Accuracy International Rifles have an aluminum chassis that simply requires that the rifle action be secured to the chassis with the appropriate screws with the proper amount of torque. McCree and the new Remington MSR Sniper rifle use modular aluminum stocks.
Sniper stocks, as compared to hunting rifles, will have areas usually on the stock forearm that are designed to hold a variety of sniper accessories, such as lights, lasers, night vision optics, and bipods.
The bolt and the action should be machined so that the bolt's locking lugs perfectly match the action and should be perfectly aligned with the chamber and bore of the rifle. The bolt face that comes in contact with the base of the cartridge should be perfectly flat so that the cartridge cannot be bent, warped, or twisted in the chamber. Any misalignment will result in decreased accuracy. The firing pin that is housed in the bolt should be set to strike the cartridge with enough force to detonate the primer but not so much as to cause excess vibration in the rifle. “Lock time” is the time that passes between your trigger finger releasing the trigger mechanism and the firing pin striking the primer. Lock time should be as fast as possible so that the rifle has no time to move between the instant you actually activate the firing pin and resulting ignition of the powder. Lock times vary from 0.0022 to 0.0057 of a second. You can have the lock time adjusted with different springs and also by replacing the steel firing pin with one made of titanium. Again, you get what you pay for.
Detailed view of an HS .308 Witra McCree aluminum stock
Accuracy International bolt
If you hear that that bolt has a “tactical” knob, all this means is that the bolt operation lever is a little longer and may have a bigger knob on it, compared to a nontactical rifle, since a sniper may be using gloves. However, the biggest reason for a tactical bolt lever or knob is that under the stress of combat, your fine motor skills decline at least 40 percent, so having a larger knob to grab and manipulate may be a benefit when you are being shot at.
The Remington Mil-stock R bolt and action in an Accuracy International aluminum chassis. Note the machine work.
Sweet McMillan 3A stock on a Fulton Armory M14 rifle
Depending on the caliber or the shooters preference, the barrel may be fitted with a muzzle brake. A muzzle brake will definitely reduce the felt recoil but will increase the sound of the rifle firing. Most muzzle brakes will on average reduce recoil about 30 percent. Smaller caliber rifles (.223, 6.5 mm,.308 Win) may not be fitted with a muzzle brake, since the recoil of those calibers is not an issue for most shooters. However, the muzzle brake's reduction in recoil and barrel jump do help keep the rifle on target and allow the sniper to put additional shots down range more quickly. For larger cartridges (.300 Win Mag, .338 Lapua, .408 CheyTac, and .50 BMG), muzzle brakes are much more common as the recoil without the brake will be much more difficult to manage. A suppressor is in some snipers’ minds “the ultimate muzzle brake.” Suppressors will reduce felt recoil and will drastically reduce the sound of the rifle firing—a great benefit for a sniper in hiding from the enemy. If you plan to shoot with a suppressor, you should be sure to zero the rifle with and without the suppressor as the addition of a suppressor will change the weapons zero to some degree.
One of the many different styles of muzzle brakes
1. A match-grade, free floated barrel. This will be thicker than regular hunting rifle barrels and manufactured with tighter tolerances. Hopefully this will give the barrel the potential for sub 1 MOA accuracy. The barrel should have been stress relieved during manufacturing and should be lapped to reduce as much of the defects associated with the boring and rifling process as possible. BREAK IN YOUR BARREL ACCORDING TO MANUFACTURERS’ SPECIFICATIONS! If you don't, you'll sacrifice barrel life and accuracy.
2. An action mated to the weapon constructed with the highest standards.
3. If shooting a large-caliber weapon, ensure you are using a muzzle brake or suppressor. Your shoulder will appreciate it if putting a lot of rounds down range, and if you are shooting from a concealed position, the suppressor will ensure you STAY concealed.
4. An adjustable stock, quality bipod, and the best optics you can afford.
Sniper stocks as compared to hunting rifles will have areas, usually on the stock forearm, that are designed to hold a variety of sniper accessories, such as lights, lasers, night vision optics and bipods.
This Remington 700 has a Speed-lock titanium firing pin kit with the U.S. Optics SN3 Variable power scope and a Harris Bipod, and was built by ARM U.S.A's Darkhorse Gunworks.
Co Author getting the feel for Springfield Armory's re-release of the M21 Sniper System. Basically an M1A Supermatch with a custom Douglas barrel and an adjustable cheek piece stock. I love this rifle.
Ashbury International's Asymmetric Warrior ASW338LM Precision Sniper Rifle System. This sweet weapon uses Rock Creek Pinnacle barrels and comes equipped with an integral muzzle brake and sound suppressor system. This cutting edge U.S. company is pushing the technological envelope with their weapons systems. Expect to see more from them.
Example of a “sniper grade rifle,” the Accuracy International 338 Lapua Magnum
The Allen Precision Shooting “Painkiller” Muzzle Brake
Accuracy International Muzzle Brake
