what kind of rifle do most snipers prefer?

Question

I love collecting firearms and my favorite is getting weapons that are very simular to military style weapons and accessories, my ext project is a sniper style rifle. What would you choose?

Answer 1

Depends on if you want a replica that you build on an available commercial or military rifle or if you want a real actual military built sniper.

One of the most interesting and affordable is the Russian Mosin Nagant. This is a great rifle as seen in the movie Enemy at the Gates and served the USSR well for decades.

Your local dealer can order you a hand-picked example, with accessories, shipped for under $450 including his fees for his services.

Ammo is readily available in cheap surplus or new commercial. Thousands of rifles in this caliber have been imported in the last decade and they are all a great deal. The Soviet Army sniper will only rise in value and it's a great shooter.

Answer 2

Last I knew, the official Army sniper rifle is the M-24. It is built on the Remington M-700 action. These are not factory standard rifles, but are built by the armorers of the Army Marksmanship Unit. In the past, they were built in 7.62 NATO (aka .308 Win). I think current sniper rifles are chambered for .300 WinMag.

Several different models of the Barrett Rifles in .50 BMG are also used for special ops.

If I were building a dedicated sniper rifle, I'd start with a Winchester Model 70 action. I'd have a Shilen .308 Win barrel installed, the action pillar bedded in a synthetic stock, with the barrel free floated. Then I'd mount a 4-12x50mm Leupold Vari-X III scope and call it good.

Doc

Answer 3

The most popular rifles used by Police Snipers and Tactical Officers (Here in the U.S.A.) is the Remington 700 series in 308 Caliber. The Remington Tactical versions are not available for sale to the general public. You can however, pay to have a conversion or long range rifle built that will be very similar to the specialized 700 Police rifles by using and building a custom rifle on a standard Remington 700 series receiver.

Answer 4

Remington is the popular choice in the U.S.

My dept uses three 700P LTR TWS Remington's with the only difference being the scope is a 10x mil-dot Leupold.

Its a great handy rifle but wish we would not have gotten the fluted barrel, as the barrel jumps around more than a standard heavy barrel.

When I'm out playing on my own time I use either a 26 inch heavy barrel Remington 700 .308 Winchester that I have customized to my preferences. Or a Remington 700 sps tactical 223 that Ive customized the same way.

Answer 5

For me: Pistols first - they are convenient to pack and still provide challenge at indoor gun range distances when it is cold and wet out. Further, there is more variety in how you can shoot, one hand, two hand, from the draw, from the bench, etc. Ultimately, I just like them better. Rifles second - I'm a plinker by nature so give me a carbine, reactive targets and a multitarget course and I'm a happy camper. I have as much fun making a soda can jump up a hill at 50 yards with a .22 as I am doing about anything else. Next, Bolt action/sniper - essentially I am combining these. Whether scoped or open sight, this is where you are taking long or tough shots and playing the "one shot one kill" game in your mind. To do it well takes a tremendous amount of concentration and is greatly satisfying to, "pip the ace at 900 yards" as one movie shooter put it. This kind of shooting can be done with a .22 at 100 yards, or .50 BMG at 1,500 yards. Ultimately it is about reaching out as far as you can and hitting something small. To be honest, I don't do that much of this. I find it satisfying when I am shooting well, but don't have the discipline to get as good as I would like. As for the rest? Well for me they are novelties. I've never got the chance to shoot a "heavy machine gun", but have shot a few full auto pistol caliber carbines and machine pistols. What I enjoy about shooting is the precision and the focus involved in shooting and I can't find that with any of these. I'm just not that much of a "smoke and fire " sort of shooter I guess. Perhaps if ammo were cheaper, and these were more accessible so I could do it enough to actually get good with an MP5 in full auto I might have more fun. As far as a grenade goes - I've never thrown one. I'd like to give it a try, but again, not being as interested in the smoke and fire component it isn't a big deal to me. Thinkingblade

Answer 6

You might have some fun with an M1 Garand. The US Army has used them as sniper rifles and a number of accessories were developed to help them fulfill their purpose. These included a leather, lace-on cheek piece; a scope mount and scope; a flash suppressor; and a bipod. While it hasn't been recently, I have seen all these items for sale as Army surplus items. There are probably some more, but that should get you started. And even without them, the Garand is a great rifle to own.

Answer 7

UK current Sniper Rifle;

Designed to achieve first-round hit at 600m and harassing fire out to 1100m, the superb Accuracy International L96 sniper rifle has been upgraded with a new x3-x12 x 50 sight and spotting scope. Selected units also field the L115A1 Long range Rifle (LRR), which fires an 8.59mm bullet, heavier than the 7.62mm round of the L96 and less likely to be deflected over extremely long ranges. Known commercially as the .338 lapua magnum.
If it's good enough for the SAS....

Answer 8

www.wikipedia.com

has a very informative article on sniper rifles. It covers everything from caliber to stock. It also lists the type sniper rifle used by several different countries. I was surprised to read the Singapore uses the .338 Lapura

Answer 9

I'd choose a Remmy 700 action with fluted barrel in a McMillan stock and a Schmitt-Bender scope. One of 3 calibers depending on the type of work, .308, 300winmag & 338 lapua. If I'm building one just to shoot, then .308.

Answer 10

the standard issue rifle is a accurized remington 700. if you're looking for something not so standard, you could try looking for a .338 lapua magnum rifle, those are really catching on. if you are looking for a soviet-era rifle, the dragunov and its variants are pretty popular