Sureshot Armament Group is updating Dragunov SVD clones (such as the more affordable Tiger, Medved, Norinco NSG-85 and others) with a 21st Century chassis that includes a keymod forearm, Picatinny flattop and such goodies as a Magpul STR stock and BCM gunfighter grip for a very Costa-like 7.62x54mmR semi-auto.
It is an interesting asthetic.
As you know, the Dragunov SVD sniper rifle is a semi-automatic, gas-operated designated marksman rifle, chambered in old-school Mosin 7.62×54R, and developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. While the Russians have moved on to more advanced DMRs, the classic SVD is still in widespread use in the Third World and former Warsaw Bloc.
Click to big up. 1280×273. BATFE Photo
This particular firearm was used on June 2, 2005, by insurgents who shot at U.S. Army soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division while they were on patrol in Baghdad. In a videotaped attack, you can see one soldier being hit in the chest by the enemy sniper. Seconds after impact he was able to get up and take cover behind a Humvee.
Luckily, modern SAPI plate is rated to withstand .30-06 AP, which thumps a little harder than 7.62x54R.
After making contact with the enemies who shot him, the soldier rendered medical aide and took them into custody. The Army managed to retrieve the rifle in that attack and donated it to the ATF to add to their 15,000 gun reference library, where it remains today.
From the 1890s through both World Wars, the Russian Imperial and later Soviet Red armies lived with and loved the Mosin-Nagant rifle. This huge (as tall as a man) bolt-action rifle was simple, rugged, and could fire 7.62x54R rounds out to a 1000-meters with decent accuracy. The thing is, at the tail end of World War 2, the Soviets started to follow the lead of Germany and the US toward smaller rounds. This led to the new 7.62x39mm cartridge and new families of rifles, first the SKS45 and then the AK47, to use it. These guns finally ended the Russian military’s love affair with the Mosin.
The thing is, while the AK could let it rip at 600- rounds per minute, it just could not match the obsolete Mosin’s long-range capability, or its accuracy. This limited the average Ivan down to firefights at ranges less than 300-meters. The Soviets spent the early 1960s looking for a fix for this, and even included trying to make the AK fire long range darts (Editor add AO27 article here!), but in the end had to settle for keeping a few Mosins in every platoon to give some long range firepower. This had to change, and Yevgeny Dragunov was the man for the job. And, even though the gun is 50+ years old, its still in widespread use in the ‘Kraine.
the svd right replaced the various models of mosin nagant sniper rifles left
Although replaced in actual front-line Russian service, the gun has been seen often in the hands of Moscow-backed separatists and Ukrainian security forces alike in the past year. (Images via Reuters, AFP, AP)
A Pro-Russian separatist from the Chechen “Death” battalion takes part in a training exercise in the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine, December 8, 2014. Chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), dozens of armed men in camouflage uniforms from Russia’s republic of Chechnya train in snow in a camp in the rebel-held east Ukraine. They say their “Death” unit fighting Ukrainian forces has 300 people, mostly former state security troops in the mainly-Muslim region where Moscow waged two wars against Islamic insurgents and which is now run by a Kremlin-backed strongman. Picture taken December 8, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
You have to love the old school Cossack style caps…AND the bonus suppressed revolver. Old Tsar Putin really coughed up the neat-o gear for his insurgents.
Russian-backed separatists wait for their transport, preparing to leave towards the frontline, in the village of Vergulivka, just outside Debaltseve, eastern Ukraine, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. Fierce fighting surged Friday in eastern Ukraine as Russian-backed separatists mounted a major, sustained offensive to capture a strategic railway hub ahead of a weekend cease-fire deadline. At least 25 people were killed across the region, officials reported. (AP Photo/Maximilian Clarke)
Pro-Russian separatist in Ukraine. Besides his SVD and Red Dawn style amoeba camo, also note the Slav sweetness of the SVD mag pouch!
These are close-enough guns..
“Somewhere in the Ukraine…” Note the felkniki boots
A fighter with the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Army stands guard at a checkpoint along a road from the town of Vuhlehirsk to Debaltseve in Ukraine, in this file photo taken on February 18, 2015. REUTERS/Baz Ratner