DEATH FROM A SHORT BARREL

By Peter G. Kokalis, Editor of Fighting Firearms Magazine

Soldiers, usually expert shots operating from concealment, who pick off individual enemy targets have, since the late 18th century, been called snipers in the British army. The word "snipe" is derived from the Middle English "snype," probably of Scandinavian origin. During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate troops employed large-caliber percussion rifles, weighing up to 40 pounds and often equipped with scopes of high magnification and limited field of view, to record kills at distances considered incredible even by today's standards. They were called "sharpshooters."

Over the last decade the term "sniping" has taken on a sinister tone with definite terrorist, or at least criminal, implications. As a consequence, it is now fashionable to refer to law-enforcement personnel equipped with scooped rifles as "countersnipers" or by the even more politically correct term, "selected marksmen." This tautological silliness aside, rifles with optical sights permit trained police marksmen to obtain the precise target discrimination so often required in hostage situations. Countersnipers are commonly an integral component in the composition of law-enforcement special reaction teams.

Despite its successful deployment by both sides during World War II, with the advent of the Cold War and the tactical concept of "fire and movement" and the fast-moving armored warfare that was anticipated in central Europe, interest in military sniping declined sharply. However by the mid-1970s the experience of Vietnam and low-intensity conflicts encouraged renewed interest in sniping.

A police selected marksman is not the equivalent of a military sniper. A sniper on the battlefield has three equally significant roles. They are 1) to kill selected enemy, such as commanders, snipers, weapons crews, helicopter crews and special-operations personnel at ranges from 300 to 600 meters; 2) to provide harassment fire up to about 1,000 meters intended to damage equipment and inhibit enemy troop movement; and 3) to observe and report information about enemy troop and vehicle movements and to sometimes act as forward observers to direct mortar and artillery fire and tactical air support.

The modern military sniper will often be equipped with night-vision equipment, a laser rangefinder, IR laser aiming module, communications gear, a thermal imaging device and a navigation system in addition to his rifle and optical sight. These latter two items are most important and should be of the highest possible quality and accuracy-potential.

In 1982, Malcolm Cooper of Accuracy International Ltd. (Dept. FF, P.O. Box 81, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, PO3 5SJ; phone: 011-44-705-671225; fax: 011-44-705-691852) was requested by the British special-forces community to design a new sniper rifle. Cooper's credentials in the area of competitive rifle shooting, in which he participated from 1962 to 1991, are impeccable. A member of the British national team from 1970 to 1991, Cooper has 156 international medals, which include two Olympic gold medals, eight world championships and 12 world records. Trained as an engineer, he started Accuracy International in 1978 and involved himself in various activities within the firearms industry, including development of a match rifle for international competition.

Recognizing early on that the British special-forces community did not have specialist support in this area and that neither his target rifle, nor any other rifle available at that time could meet the Mission Essential Need Statement (MENS), Cooper sat down with a design team and formulated two lists. One list comprised all of the failings of current designs, while the other outlined all of the desired features - which included user friendliness, ease of maintenance, first-shot hit capability, total and long-lived reliability, interchangeability of sights without loss of zero, durability, and safety and interchangeability of all components without use of special tools or gunsmithing techniques.

After a competitive evaluation, Accuracy International was awarded a contract to supply 1,238 rifles to the British armed forces in 1984. The special-forces and police version was known as the PM (Precision Magazine). As adopted by the Ministry of Defense(MoD), with emergency iron sights, a flash hider, and different optical systems, the rifle's nomenclature was L96. Export sales of these rifles to infantry, special-operations groups and police - including sound-suppressed versions for optimized for covert and counterterrorist operations which use subsonic ammunition at ranges out to 300 meters - in 19 other countries brought the total sales to 2,000 units. Production of the PM and L96 ceased in 1990 when the second generation AW (Arctic Warfare) rifle was introduced.

In 1983 the Swedish MoD invited nine small-arms manufacturers to participate in a test and evaluation process intended to provide the Swedish armed forces with a sniper weapon system. Since the Swedish army did not have snipers at that time, the selection and evaluation of both equipment and operational concepts, drawing largely upon the experience of the British army and the USMC, took seven years. In 1990, a contract was awarded to Accuracy International for 1,105 AW rifles, which are designated the PSG 90 by Sweden. Subsequent orders from the Belgian, Irish, New Zealand, Canadian, and Omanian armies and several police agencies and special-operations groups from half a dozen countries have brought the total produced to more that 3,000.

The AWP (Arctic Warfare Police - first introduced in 1993) version is equipped with a 24-inch barrel. The standard AW rifle has a barrel length of 26.5 inches with the muzzle brake. Recently, there has been a great deal of law-enforcement interest in sniper rifles equipped with 20-inch barrels. This envelope can be maneuvered more easily in urban environments and many now believe that short barrels provide their highest velocities with the same slow propellants used to obtain high velocities in long barrels. Furthermore, benchrest shooters have long maintained that short barrels are stiffer and thus possess inherently greater accuracy potential.

Fighting Firearms obtained a recently introduced AW CFI Limited Edition rifle which is equipped with a 20-inch barrel ( add another 1.9 inches if you attach the flash hider provided) for an extensive test and evaluation. Gunsite Training Center (Dept. FF, P.O. Box 700, Paulden, AZ; phone: 520-636-4565; fax: 520-636-1236) is the exclusive U.S. distributor for Accuracy International Rifles. The CFI Limited Edition rifle was developed for, and is sold by, CFI Law Enforcement Sales (Dept. FF, P.O. Box 820804, Fort Worth, TX 76180; phone: 817-595-2485; fax: 817-268-1155). CFI markets this rifle with a Schmidt & Bender 3-12X variable-power scope with Mil-Dot reticle pattern, bar graph rangefinder and scope cover, removable Belgian-pattern iron sights serial-numbered to the rifle, aluminum transport case, Parker-Hale bipod and cleaning equipment, sling, two magazines, muzzle brake and adjustable buttstock. The suggested retail price of this package is $5,995. An AWC Thundertrap sound suppressor with Birdsong's Black-T finish, serial numbered to the rifle, is also available as an option for and additional $950. FF tested this rifle system as described except we substituted a Leupold Mark 4 M1-10X40mm scope for the Schmidt & Bender optics. In my opinion, the Leupold Mark 4 M1-10X40mm is the finest piece of glass ever designed for military and law-enforcement applications.

All of the Accuracy International series rifles are fully NATO certified. They are available in three calibers: 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester), .243 Winchester and the new .338 Laupa Magnum. Our test specimen, chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO round, weighs approximately 15.75 pounds empty, but with the bipod, scope and magazine. This is heavy, but not overly so for sniper weapon systems. The overall length is 41.9 inches (1,064mm) with 1.2 inches (30mm) of spacers. Length-of-pull with the spacers indicated is 13.75 inches. Both 10mm and 40mm buttstock spacers are available to adjust the length of pull to suit the user.

The barrel and receiver have been furnished with a green epoxy paint, and the structural-filled nylon stock furniture is also green in color. The stock is a chassis system based upon benchrest rail gun technology. In other words, this rifle has an aluminum alloy frame, or chassis, to which the other components are attached. The two-piece, thumb-hole-type stock panels are made from reinforced nylon produced on a huge injection-molding machine and are present only to make the rifle ergonomically acceptable. They are held together by eight allen-head screws and washers. The buttstock cheek-rest is adjustable in the vertical plane to provide for a consistent, repeatable cheek-weld, an important, but all-to-often unmentioned, factor in the accuracy equation. The buttplate is adjustable in both the vertical and horizontal plane to accommodate the unorthodox shooting positions sometimes required by law-enforcement selected marksmen operating in constricted urban environments.

The massive action body is bolted and epoxy-bonded to the frame. This completely removes any interface between the action body and the stock panels, while greatly increasing the moment of inertia (or stiffness) of the barrel support system. This procedure also permits the stainless steel barrel to be totally free-floating.

The three-lug bolt locks into a ring which is sandwiched between a shoulder in the receiver and the end of the barrel. This ring has been designed to take up all of the wear, so that when the headspace becomes excessive, only the ring needs to be replaced to bring the headspace back to normal. This should not be necessary until more than 15,000 rounds have been fired (perhaps two barrel changes).

All of the lock-up system - the barrel spigot (threaded portion of the barrel), case-head protrusion, locking ring, and both action and bolt bodies - on Accuracy International rifles are held to very tight tolerances, which permit complete interchangeability between bolts and barrels without the need for "breaching" to get the correct headspace.

The bolt's three forward lugs are supplemented by an emergency fourth lug at he bolt handle. Bolt-lift upon opening is 60 degrees (as compared to 90 degrees on a '98 Mauser action). Total bolt throw is 4.2 inches (107mm), which allows the operator to maintain his cheek-weld on the stock while manipulating the bolt, and thus observe the target while chambering another round.

A large extractor, which is reminiscent of that found on the Austrian Steyr SSG rifle and gets its strength from its length rather that an auxiliary coil spring, and the spring loaded "plunger" or "bump-type" ejector were designed for covert bolt manipulation. No matter how slowly the bolt is operated, the empty case will still clear the action.

The receiver is milled from solid barstock, working off the bolt-way hole. An integral, proprietary sight rail has been milled into the top of the receiver. Gas protection is offered by minimum action cuts and tight tolerances. Gas ports are away from the shooter's face. The bolt's gas protection is by shroud deflection.

A Winchester-style safety is mounted on the right side of the bolt shroud and is designed as an anti-freeze, anti-dirt mechanism. In the rearward position, the safety catch withdraws the firing pin and locks the bolt in its closed position, thus ensuring safety during airborne operations. When pushed forward into the middle position, the bolt can be manipulated to withdraw a round from the chamber, but the trigger remains blocked. Push the serrated knob all the way forward to fire the rifle.

The cocking piece is also close to that of the Winchester Model 70. The firing pin extends past the shroud. In this manner it serves as both a cocking indicator and a measuring device for firing pin lift. This is the distance the firing pin is pulled to the rear by the cocking piece. The ease with which the safety can be manipulated is a function of the firing pin lift. The firing pin cannot protrude until the bolt is fully closed. Grooves on the bolt body serve a dual purpose of lightening the bolt and providing an area for the accumulation of debris.

Removal of the cocking piece and spring-loaded firing pin from the bolt body is quite simple. With the bolt cocked and the safety lever set to half-safe, just depress the spring-loaded bolt location pin on the inner edge of the shroud and rotate the shroud clockwise until this subassembly can be separated from the bolt body.

The anti-freeze and anti-dirt trigger mechanism is of the two-stage type familiar to U.S. military high power shooters. The trigger pull weight can be adjusted to between 3.5 and 4.4 pounds. Our test specimen was set to the lowest pull weight.

The six-groove, heavy, match-grade, stainless steel barrel, with a right hand twist of one turn in 12 inches, is connected to the receiver via a large-diameter, long-threaded portion at the chamber end. This permits low torquing values to be used on the barrel. This, in turn, eliminates any possibility of stress being transferred to the barrel, which could compromise the first-shot hit probability.

AW barrels are currently manufactured by two well-known barrel makers: Neville Madden of Maddco Arms, Australia, who apprenticed under Pat McMillan in the early 1970s; and Jeff Kolbe of Border Barrels, Scotland. Kolbe barrels were fitted to the majority of rifles on the winning British Palma Match team in 1992 at Raton, New Mexico. Maddco barrels are button-rifled and Border Barrels are fabricated by the cut rifling process. These barrels are guaranteed to deliver sub 1/2 MOA accuracy.

As the AW series started out as a military sniper system, it is usually, and appropriately, issued with emergency iron sights. The front sight assembly bolts directly to the muzzle brake housing. The rounded front post, adjustable for elevation zero only, rests in a machined aluminum alloy block with protective ears.

There are two types of emergency rear sights. The one provided with the Swedish contract PSG 90 is a rather bulky, rotating disc aperture-type with apertures for elevations from 200 to 600 meters in 100-meter increments. It is adjustable for windage only. These sights can be pre-zeroed and either stored in the pouch provided or left on the rifle. However, if the scope's position has to be adjusted so the operator can acquire a proper cheek-weld on the stock within the eye-relief parameters dictated by the scope design, this latter option is precluded, at least with regard to the rear sight.

The emergency rear sight provided for the Belgian army contract is a flip-up aperture-type with a single aperture intended for use as a defensive battle sight at ranges from zero to 400 meters only.

Sniper rifles should, in my opinion, be equipped with a bipod, and the Accuracy International series are all provided with the very best - a modified, quick detachable Parker-Hale LM6 model. This is nothing more or less than a scaled-down version of the excellent Bren LMG MkI bipod. Its adjustable legs permit the command height (the distance from the ground to the centerline of the barrel's axis) to be varied from 8.5 to 12 inches. The head can be swiveled and canted approximately 15 degrees in either direction without altering the leg position. The bipod attaches to a spigot in the front of the stock panels that has a spring-loaded, heavy-duty catch/release.

There are five sling attachment points on the rifle: two at the butt end (one at the right and left sides) and three up front (left, right, and bottom). The olive-drab nylon web sling is 1.5 inches wide and has spring-loaded steel hooks on each end for attachment to the stock's sling points. This sling has enough buckles and brass loops to serve as either a carrying or shooting support sling. In addition, there is also available a competition-type, adjustable, aluminum-alloy hand-stop with a sixth sling point that attaches to the underside of the stock's forearm area and moves in a slot on an aluminum assembly containing the three front sling points and the bipod's spigot.

Detachable box magazines are another essential of a successful sniper weapon system. All AW rifles are equipped with 10-round, staggered-column, detachable, box-type magazines with steel, phosphated bodies and floorplates, and plastic followers. A ballistic (blank cartridge) magazine is also available. It can be identified by the floorplate, which has been painted red, and by the red plastic follower which will accept only blank rounds.

Other available accessories include a set of seven different-sized allen wrenches - used to disassemble almost every component on the rifle - a rubber muzzle cap and lens cleaning equipment. Two different types of cleaning rods are available: a Parker-Hale, single-piece, plastic-coated rod with chamber guide and both a jag tip and bronze bore brush; or a military-type, six-piece, sectioned steel rod with an eyelet tip and bore brush - all in a camouflage-pattern cloth bag. While a chamber guide is important for cleaning precision rifles, I do not like jag tips and I feel that abrasive material can imbed itself in plastic-coated rods.

The action/scope cover provided with the AW CFI Limited Edition rifle is Swedish army-issue and is reversible with a Swedish camouflage-pattern cloth on one side and white plastic on the other. A foam rubber housing inside the cover protects the scope from damage. The allen wrench set, jag tip and bore brush are housed inside an olive-drab plastic box that contains two extra-long screws for the buttplate extensions and a small bottle of Break Free CLP. I would discard the latter, because unless it is shaken continuously, its lubricating Teflon beads will settle to the bottom of the dispenser bottle. All of this, including a box of Parker-Hale bore patches and the rifle with its scope, can be stored in an olive drab, heavy-gauge, aluminum carrying case with steel furniture. A black foam strip around the inside edge of the case's lid gives rain protection, but it is not completely waterproof.

Personally, I prefer the sniper rifle case (catalog #SWCBSR) recently introduced by Assault Systems (Dept. FF, Shooting Systems Group, Inc., 1075 Headquarters Park, Fenton, MO 63026-2478; phone: 800-325-3049; fax: 314-349-3311). This fully padded rifle case carries like a backpack. It is constructed of 11-ounce polyurethane-coated Codura black nylon with half-inch, closed-cell foam padding. Its many special features include adjustable backpack and waist straps that are removable, a shoulder carrying strap with welded steel "D" rings, inside weapon tie-down straps, a zippered accessory pouch that will accommodate a spotting scope and a zippered enclosure over a double magazine pouch with double accessory tie-down straps inside. The main compartment has a full-length heavy-duty #9 zipper with an internal padded flap that surrounds the perimeter of the weapon and protects it from the zipper. Overall length is 49 inches and the case will accept the entire AW series, Steyr SSG, H&K PSG-1, and Remington, Savage, and Ruger law-enforcement sniper weapon systems. The case is a bargain at only $139.95. Their recent name change back to "Assault Systems" is to be congratulated. That's every bit as politically incorrect as Soldier of Fortune magazine.

Our test and evaluation of the CFI Limited Edition sniper rifle also included the Thundertrap sound suppressor manufactured by AWC Systems Technology (Dept. FF, P.O. Box 41938, Phoenix, AZ 85080-1938; phone: 602-780-1050; fax: 602-780-2967; catalog $5). The Thundertrap clearly demonstrates why the United States is at least a decade ahead of the rest of the world in sound suppressor technology. It's an example of what can be achieved when no limits are placed on research and development costs. This suppressor is available for all centerfire bolt-action rifles chambered for 5.56x45mm NATO up to .300 Winchester Magnum. Larger caliber suppressors of this design can be obtained on a custom basis.

The overall length is only 8.5 inches (215mm), with a tube diameter of 1.6 inches (40mm). The Thundertrap weighs 28 ounces (0.78 kg) and is constructed entirely from non-magnetic 304 stainless steel. No mesh packing or wipes are used in the design. The performance obtained by this incredibly small envelope is nothing short of extraordinary. The reduction in sound pressure levels is in excess of 35 decibels.

The design retains gasses for so long a period of time that the sound emitted resembles a "hiss" rather than the usual popping noise. The suppressor was actually "tuned" to reduce frequencies that are characteristic of a firearm. This is actually more important than the amount of sound pressure level reduction. During our test and evaluation, observers at a distance of 50-100 meters noted it no longer sounded as if a firearm was being discharged as the "sonic crack" is almost non-existent. The bullet impact downrange becomes the primary source of sound, even at ranges beyond 300 meters. The sound generated by the impact of a small arms projectile on a human target is very directional to anyone in the vicinity of the target. This sound will be immediately followed by the sound of the sonic crack. From where that sonic crack (no matter what its intensity) seems to indicate the shot originated, will depend entirely upon the listener's orientation.

Other salient features include a significant reduction in perceived recoil. This is also important as it permits the operator to maintain visual contact with his target through the optical sight during the entire firing sequence. This, in turn, reduces the response time substantially if a second shot is required. In addition, sound suppressors such as the Thundertrap completely eliminate the weapon's flash signature. Finally, our tests also demonstrated that the Thundertrap serves to enhance accuracy, as groups fired with the suppressor in place were measurably smaller than those fired without the suppressor. When the suppressor was removed, the shift in zero was minimal: 1.5 inches high and 0.5 inches right.

Our Thundertrap carried the famous Black-T finish as supplied by W.E. Birdsong & Associates, Inc. (Dept. FF, 1435 Monterey Road, Florence, MS 39073-9748; phone: 601-939-7448). Black-T is especially popular with those who move in the shadows, from elite military organizations to clandestine government operatives. The FBI's HRT uses Black-T finish on their pistols and MP5 submachine guns. Black-T is a co-dispersion of fluoropolymer resin, Teflon and graphite, in a thermosetting binder. It produces a low-friction coating, free of so-called "stick-slip" (smear) characteristics, combined with excellent resistance to corrosion. Available colors are non-reflective black and NATO (olive) green.

All-metal (steel and aluminum) parts of the firearm or suppressor are treated. After vapor-degreasing, they are low-pressure blasted with very fine, 150-grit aluminum oxide. Then the parts are given two hot dip coatings. Black-T is then applied by spray in a fine mist, by centrifuge, or electrostatically or by hand-dipping, depending on the component being treated, and then heat-cured. The complete finish is no more than 2 to 3 ten-thousandths (0.0002-0.0003) of an inch in thickness (a slightly thicker coating is required on stainless steel). This compares favorably to salt bluing (black or blue oxide) which is usually about 4 ten-thousandths (0.0004) of an inch thick. The final result has a high resistance to salt spray and humidity (greater than 500 hours), a very low coefficient of friction (0.08) and a service-temperature high of 300 degrees Fahrenheit continuous (325 F for intermittent service).

This is an extremely low-maintenance finish - very little, if any, lubrication is required as it provides a 0.08 drag coefficient which is superior lubricity to almost all firearms lubricants. In most cases, a lightly oiled rag is sufficient to wipe away accumulated debris and carbon fouling. There is no better finish for fighting firearms.

Both the AWP and AW CFI Limited Edition rifles chamber throats optimized for the Federal 308M cartridge that features the superbly accurate Sierra 168-grain BTHP Matchking bullet. Developed for 300-meter shooting in international matches, this remarkable Boat-Tail Hollow-Point bullet has been winning competitions ever since it was introduced in 1959. It was used by the gold-medal winner in the 1968 Olympics and set a new Wimbledon record at 200-15 Xs in 1983 at Camp Perry. With Federal 308M I have shot 0.25 MOA at 200 yards and 0.5 MOA at 300 yards with the AW CFI Limited Edition rifle equipped with the AWC Thundertrap sound suppressor. It just doesn't get any better than this. The Sierra 168-grain BTHP Matchking bullet remains far and away the most popular bullet among law-enforcement selected marksmen in the United States. But, is it really the best choice from a wound ballistics' perspective?

The hollow-point cavity in this competition target bullet does not guarantee the type of consistent, early expansion exhibited by hollow points and soft points designed for use on living-tissue targets. Research recently conducted by Lucien C. Haag and reported in the Wound Ballistics Review (Vol. 2, No. 2), the journal of the International Wound Ballistics Association, revealed that these bullets frequently fail to expand in tissue simulant even after as much as 6 inches of penetration and with close range impact velocities. Dr. Martin L. Fackler, in the same issue of the journal, reported that these bullets will commonly break up after 7 inches of penetration. His experiments indicated that when the cavity was increased in diameter to 0.055 inch by a drill, reliable expansion was obtained after penetrating less than one inch of 10% gelatin or muscle. Recent controlled testing has demonstrated that this alteration degrades accuracy by no more than 0.1 MOA - an insignificant amount. Winchester is reportedly in the process of developing their own bullet for law-enforcement use that will provide both match-grade accuracy and reliable performance in tissue.

Is this the ultimate sniper weapon system? No. Technology in this highly specialized arena continues to evolve upward at an ever-increasing pace. There are also several rifles currently available that come very close to matching the performance potential of the AW series. However, there can be no doubt that the AW sniper rifles rest on the top level of this genre and represent, in essence, production-series benchrest rifles.

Taken from the Fall 1996 edition of FIGHTING FIREARMS magazine.