What makes a sniper rifle?

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Pond James Pond

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I see posts where members have "tactical" rifles, or sniper rifles and I found myself wondering "So, what exactly is a sniper rifle?".

When does a regular bolt gun cross that threshold? Take my CZ550 Varmint in .308 for example.
It is not a sniper rifle as they are commonly understood to be, but the CZ 750S1, would be described as a sniper rifle.

Yet, both share the same caliber, same mag well, both have a bipod (having fitted a Harris to my Varmint), both lack irons and rely on scopes, both have a 26" barrel (give or take). In fact, the local CZ stockist claimed they were the same action, although I have never tried to confirm this.

Indeed, the only differences (excluding standard mag capacity) are weight (the 750 is heavier), the twist rate (1:10 for the 750, 1:12 for the Varmint, and ergos (thumbhole and cheek pad stock for the 750). Oh, and price....

So which of the differences above put the 750 into that category (or indeed any rifle of that kind)?
What are the defining characteristics?

(Please note, I am not claiming my Varmint should be branded a sniper rifle, nor do I want to get such a gun: The Varmint is plenty heavy enough already!!)
 
a sniper rifle is a rifle that is used specifically by snipers.

tactical rifles are rifles that could serve a role as a sniper rifle in the right hands but are not officially used in any capacity for that purpose so the companies slap on the word tactical to coax ignorant people into buying them.
 
Remember the most successful sniper in history used an iron sighted Mosin Nagant.
Click to expand...

as did another one in the top ten - except that Vasily had his work cut out for him - his Mosin wasn't an accurized 39!! Maybe if Vasily had had a 39 instead of a 91, he'd have had more kills than Simo! :)

Wait, my bad - I think Vasily's was scoped most of the time, so Simo is definitely the greatest in known history..... Hathcock has got to be the 2nd most impressive, just on the conditions he endured if not the confirmed kills. Simo hid in trees with snow camo - I guaron that it's cold in a tree in the Finnish winter - not to mention very uncomfortable - so he's got to be the #1 undisputed all time, by nearly any measure.

Sniper rifle - no set definition - nebulous - no one is right or wrong, so it cannot be pinned down. We know what people mean: I call them "Precision" or "Interdiction" rifles, or just "Long Range" rifles. Lot of gray area.
 
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The shooter. Much the same way too many think a "combat " handgun-i.e.one with all the modifications suggested by "the experts" is better than an out of the box model. AFAIK military snipers do not reload and must use issued ammunition. And remember that military snipers -at least in this country-depend heavily on the armorers to keep their rifle in top shape.
 
First define sniper. Generally it is a military marksman who fires from a position of concealment. Therefore, a sniper rifle is a rifle used by sniper.

Modernly, it's what the marketeer says. :D
 
@008, James Pond: What is a sniper rifle?

There's another and important side to this question. A sniper rifle is also a mis-applied, and perjorative term for any heavy barreled bolt action rifle. I have already heard a few news outlets use that term to negatively describe varmint/target rifles, and the terms, sniper and tactical are becoming another tool for those opposed to the shooting sports. (Think about the mis-use of the term "assault rifle".) I sometimes feel like a modern cassandra, but I predict that "sniper", "tactical", scout rifles, or other bolt action rifles with high capacity detachable magazines will become the next target.
 
My Weatherby Mark V in '06 will hold sub-MOA at 500 yards. I don't know if that's tactical or sniperish, but it will danged sure kill a deer. :D
 
GySgt Hathcock's rifle used in 'Nam was a factory Win. 70 .30-06 shooting M72 match ammo. When it was retired on his retirement from active duty, tests showed it to shoot match ammo just under 2 feet at 1000 yards. At the 1971 Interservice Rifle Matches at MCB Quantico, he said its best accuracy was gone but it had the best trigger of several to choose from.

Accuracy specs for current military sniper rifles is nothing to write home about. Good commercial rifles with better handloads shoot as accurate as they do.
 
Traditionally military sniper rifles come in two categories.

Category 1, a standard issue rifle that has shown exceptional accuracy and is removed from the normal production line for dedicated sniper use. This covers the sniper rifles of pretty much every military up through WWII. The various 1903, Lee-Enfields, Mauser98s, Arisakas, etc, were all just accurate standard issue rifles modified as needed (addition of a scope, etc) to issue to a sniper. Generally the accuracy standards for these were 1.5 to 2 minutes of accuracy for five shots.

Category 2, a purpose built rifle for issue to a sniper. The USMC started the trend by pulling match rifles from the rifle team and putting them into service as sniper rifles, but by the end of the Vietnam War had settled on the M40 built around the short action Rem700. At this time, the Army had gone with a "category 1" rifle in the M21, which was just an accurate and scoped M14. By the time the 1980s were over the Army had adopted the standard "long" action Rem700 based M24.

But either category of "sniper rifle" is only made so by being issued to a sniper.

There are loads of "tactical" and "varmint" rifles on the market that could easily be pulled off the rack and handed to a sniper and get put to use without modification. Heck, even many of the budget hunting rifles with thin sporter barrels meet or exceed the accuracy requirements of the WWII era rifles. And if any of them are pulled off the rack and used by a sniper, they will become "sniper rifles."

Jimro
 
A "sniper rifle" is a sales pitch
There is really no such thing.

There are rifles used by snipers. Call them sniper's rifles.

Clearly the most successful rifles used in the history of military sniping was the Mosin nagant. No one calls them "sniper rifles" these days. But in the hands of a good sniper ( "Sniper"----a very good hunter who knows how to hunt human enemies that can hunt him back)
a mosin nagant is still a very deadly tool. So is a M-70 "deer rifle' as well as an AR-15, or a Ruger #1.

More accuracy and more range are desirable, but buying such a rifle doesn't mean you are going to do better than someone with "Grandpa’s deer gun". That depends on your skills.
 
To me it's like the clip vs. mag debate.

My brother has a sniper rifle. I believe it's a Smith Corona A303. The only reason it's a sniper is because it was used by a sniper. So effectively it's more like a Snipers' Rifle. Hope I got the punctuation right.
 
Jimro left out 'special use' rifles; such as the m82 for anti material purposes.

And yes, sniper rifles are used by snipers.

It's funny seeing people mention the MN so much. Mosin Nagants (as well as 303 Lee Enfields) have been taken from plenty of Taliban/afghani 'snipers.'
 
"Maybe if Vasily had had a 39 instead of a 91, he'd have had more kills than Simo!"
I dunno. The Russians were moronically persistent in the Winter War. And Simo only stopped when half his face was shot off, after all. Numerous Finns had insanely high kill records in that conflict. I know for a fact that individual M31 subgunners killed scores of advancing soldiers on a regular basis, though I'm sure their kills were more disputed and possibly not as accurately recorded. Probably the most moronic tactics on display since the Civil War (and probably more moronic since the rifles at least weren't as accurate at range back then)

TCB
 
Wait, weren't "snipers" the Scottish game wardens that would shoot the master's quarry when he invariably missed? You know, the Ghillie suit dudes? Wouldn't that make hunting rifles "sniper rifles" rather than military ones? :D

TCB
 
Magazines have an inner spring to push rounds into a loading positions.

Clips don't. They're used to charge magazines.
 
Want to know what a "sniper rifle" is?

Wait until the gun bigots in the US write a bill and propose banning them. THEN, and only THEN will you have a clear(?) definition.

And if such a piece of trash actually passes into law, then it becomes a legal definition.

That's what happened with the media invented term "assault weapon".

Until then, aside from any rifle used by a sniper, a sniper rifle is whatever the marketing dept. says it is.
 
So what your all saying is,there are no accuracy standards between a standard issue rifle and one issued to a sniper?
 
Sierra280,

The "special purpose" sniper rifles used as an "anti-material" platform are just another subset of a sniper's mission, providing recon and precision fires. Sometimes the effect on target requires a bigger bullet, such as stopping a truck.

When Carlos Hathcock put a Untertl scope on top of an M2, he essentially turned a machine gun into a sniper rifle. Of course the M82/M107 is much lighter than the old Ma Deuce, but it is still a beast to carry.

On the flip side, I didn't cover the suppressed Ruger 10/22s used by the IDF either, which fills the same niche as some of the old M1/2 Carbine sniper rifles, in close range dispatching of the enemy.

But in either case, Barrett or Ruger, they are "Category 2" in that they are not general issue rifles, but specifically procured for the sniper to use.

Jimro
 
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