http://warriortalk.com/From Gabe Saurez :
The Guerrilla Sniper - Kalashnikov Sniper
Recently we have been in on discussions about the concept of the Kalashnikov Sniper. This has been partly due to discussion of the Tabuk, and partly because of the availability of the Romanian PSL, and the long barrelled Saiga 308, as well as the availability of the inexpensive optics.
But immediately we seem to get bogged down into definitions. What is a sniper? Americans have visions of a Hathcockian Sniper shooting people with a super-accurized bolt cannon from five miles away.
Here is what a friend of ours that works as a contractor and goes by the Nom d' guerre of Iraq Ninja has to say -
I think the word "sniper" is perfect for what Gabe is talking about.
You are standing near a wall when suddenly you hear a single zipping sound and a small chuck of brick explodes off the wall, 6 feet from your head. Your initial thoughts are:
A. Was that an AK47 or possibly a SVD?
B. Iraqi bricks are not very well made
C. This person shooting at me is probably not very well trained and not school certified as a sniper.
D. I am probably being shot at by a sniper and need to move NOW.
When you are being shot at from long range with single rounds of fire, what do most people yell to their teammates as they run for cover?
A. Designated marksman
B. Precision long range shooter
C. Military qualified sniper
D. SNIPER
Your friend takes a round to his chest, but his armored plate saves him as he is knocked to the ground. You barely hear a single shot. Before he can get up, another round hits him in the buttocks, travels up his torso into his heart. He was killed by a:
A. Designated marksman
B. Precision long range shooter
C. Military qualified sniper
D. SNIPER
So, since we are not US Military, I don't think we need to be stuck with US Mil terminology when it comes to this, but perhaps some guidelines so we know what we are talking about?
A DMR (Designated Marksman's Rifle) is a slightly accurized infantry rifle of the same general make as those of his comrades. It must be in the same caliber as the Infantry Rifle and use the same magazines. It may be longer and heavier, and scoped, to fulfill its precision fire role, but it cannot give up its infantry rifle role.
In the sense of the AK, we could look at a Tabuk-styled rifle, a longer barreled and scoped AK (Modified RPK) for examples.
A Semi Auto Sniper Rifle. You don't have to like the term, but this is different than the above and it is what I plan to call it. This is similar to the Accurized M21, and AR10s in the US Arsenal. In the AK genre we could look at the SVD, PSL, Yugo M76, etc. Here we would also group the Saiga 308.
It is the caliber and different magazine, as well as different construction rifle that makes the difference. Its role is far more specialized than the DMR. Maybe still not in the realm of an Accuracy International House Payment Rifle with a House Payment Scope firing special handloads at a mile and a half, but good enough to do what we want to do with it.
Some at Warrior Talk have suggested that an accuracy envelope should be about 2MOA or less from shooter and weapon. I tend to agree and that opens the selection to various semi auto systems.
The rifle is an interesting point of discussion. In truth any rifle will do in this application as long as it is capable of the 200/600 requirement. It should be affordable for the shooter since he will need to shoot it often and in varying conditions. It should be able to use good quality ammo for the required precision as well as any surplus delinked machinegun ammo for closer engagements if that is all you can find. The necessity to penetrate cover, armor and glass, as well as resist wind deviation and any intervening shrubbery, requires the use of a 30 caliber round as minimum. We want this artifact to be as compact as possible without compromising the mission. A scope is mandatory. I am well aware that there are people who can do wondrous things with iron sights. They can do much better with a scope.
Where we stand at this point -
The Saiga 308 (Saiganov). I have a Saiga 308 rifle converted by Will Hayden at Red Jacket that shoots 1.5 MOA with Corbon ammo. Short and light, and in 7.62x51, it is a very good rifle and a first choice for those wanting an AK platform rifle for this mission.
The PSL Rifle Dynamics Conversion. I have a PSL that was basically turned into a Dragunov by the capable hands and shop of Jim Fuller. In 7.62x54R, it is the equivalent of the Saiga in every way and the 7.62x54R round very suited for the mission in discussion.
The Class - April 30-May2, 2010
Guerrilla Sniper
Kingman, AZ
Following the concept of the Guerrilla Sniper, this course will focus on the use of optically sighted rifles as sniper/marksman rifles. We will examine various models of weapons as well as their suitability for the application. While we will focus to a degree on the AK Rifle and the Guerrilla Sniper application, you can bring any type of rifle you wish to class.
In the 3-day course, students will bring their sniper skills to high levels. We will begin with zeroing, range estimation, and hopefully getting first round hits to 600 yards. Much of the class will also deal with field movement and field shooting against single and multiple adversaries (targets), and target engagement from 50 to 500 yards. And that only covers the first two days. Then it's a day of "hands-on" practical work, planning/execution at actual "start to finish" missions. This course is a "must" for any serious student of the rifle!
Learn to apply precision shooting skills under any all conditions, placing emphasis on how to fight with a sniper rifle instead of simply shooting bulls eyes.
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