300 WSM in an M40A1 package sounds like a good idea. It's about the same length as a .308 Win, so the action should be just as rigid. It's supposed to have the same velocity as a 300 Win Mag, so you should get flatter trajectory and less flight time (less time for the wind to influence your shot).

Which sniper rifles does the US military currently use?

Originally Posted by MosquitoMan73

The CheyTac M200 Long Range Intervention Rifle

Caliber: .408 CheyTac
Operation: manually operated rotating bolt action
Barrel: 762 mm (30")
Weight: 12.3 kg
Length: 1400 mm (stock retracted), 1220 mm (stock collapsed)
Feed Mechanism: 5 rounds detachable box magazine

The entire idea behind the CheyTac LRRS (Long Range Rifle System) is to provide long range soft target interdiction rifle package, with maximum effective range, but relatively compact and light. To achieve this goal, the professor John D. Taylor designed the .408 CheyTac cartridge. Being mid-way in size between the mighty .50BMG and already established long-range favorite .338Lapua, the .408 features a streamlined bullet with advanced patented design. This design allows the standard 419 grain (27.15 gram) bullet to retain its supersonic velocity at the ranges beyond 2000 meters (2200 yards). At the ranges beyond 700 meters the .408 bullet has more energy than the standard .50BMG ball bullet. The .408 cartridge also is lighter than .50BMG cartridge by about 1/3, and generates less recoil.

CheyTac papers state that the entire System is capable to deliver sub-MOA accuracy at the ranges of up to 2500 yards (2270 meters).

Nice looking gun!

Barret M82A1 is my personal favorite, but I also like the M40, or a nice Dragunov

Barret M82A1 is my personal favorite, but I also like the M40, or a nice Dragunov

The Barrett M82A1 is not a sniper rifle -- it is an anti-material rifle. Even with the best ammo, it is just over 1moa. By the way, unless you are built like Jesse Ventura, you will like the Barrett for about a kilometer -- after that it will be pretty miserable. It weighs almost 30 pounds.

The Dragunov is not a sniper rifle, either. It is really a DMR (Designated Marksmans Rifle) like the M14 that the USMC pulled out of cosmoline for DS2. The examples I've tried also are about 1moa to 2moa rifles -- better than a combat rifle, but definitely not sniper quality.

The M40A1 -- now THAT'S a sniper rifle!

the m40A1 is good and the m24 is also just as good.
The M82A1 is a heavy weapon and probably wound't be used for sniping as u dont sniping vehicles u snipe people and if u did snipe some1 with it u probably would have to clean up his missing boday parts

Originally Posted by Aaron

the m40A1 is good and the m24 is also just as good.
The M82A1 is a heavy weapon and probably wound't be used for sniping as u dont sniping vehicles u snipe people and if u did snipe some1 with it u probably would have to clean up his missing boday parts

When don't you use sniper techniques on convoys and other material targets? IT is one of the best uses of an antimaterial weapon, interdiction is a very important mission.

Originally Posted by "5CAV

The M40A1 -- now THAT'S a sniper rifle!

Would be even better in the 300 WSM. Flatter trajectory, less wind effect, less barometric effect. With each barrel made in Quantico, the chambering to the new round should be easy!

The Barrett M82A1 is not a sniper rifle -- it is an anti-material rifle. Even with the best ammo, it is just over 1moa. By the way, unless you are built like Jesse Ventura, you will like the Barrett for about a kilometer -- after that it will be pretty miserable. It weighs almost 30 pounds.

The Dragunov is not a sniper rifle, either. It is really a DMR (Designated Marksmans Rifle) like the M14 that the USMC pulled out of cosmoline for DS2. The examples I've tried also are about 1moa to 2moa rifles -- better than a combat rifle, but definitely not sniper quality.

Well Barrett industries list it as a sniper rifle and the Dragunov is also listed as a sniper rifle.

http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/manual/english/svd/


http://www.izhmash.udm.ru/svd.html


http://www.sovietarmy.com/small_arms/svd.html

notice that all the sites say that it is a sniper rifle, and so do many russian snipers i know.

Well Barrett industries list it as a sniper rifle and the Dragunov is also listed as a sniper rifle.

There is no Consumer Protection Commission standard that regulates the use of the term "Sniper Rifle". If you want to buy a bunch of surplus Moisin-Nagants for $70, mount some $40 scopes on them and advertise them as "Sniper Rifles" for $1,000 each, you are not breaking any truth-in-advertising laws. However, you may not sell that many, because most people who will put down $1,000 for a rifle will want to know something about how they shoot, not just if it's called a "sniper rifle".

Most people who buy "Sniper Rifles" are not snipers. Most snipers do not buy rifles -- they are supplied by their agency (USMC, US Army, SWAT, FBI, etc.). These organizations DO NOT issue Barretts or Dragunovs to their sniper teams (Barretts ARE issued to anti-material teams in the USMC and US Army). These organizations DO insist that any RIFLES issued to their sniper teams shoot at 1/2 MOA or better, and they usually have full-time staffs to make sure they keep shooting to those specifications. By the way, I was too generous to the Dragunov -- I really haven't gotten any better than 3 MOA with "match" COMBLOC ammo, but I was willing to give it benefit of the doubt since no-one seems to load REAL match ammo for it (one reason I don't own one).

If it floats your boat to buy a Barrett (I do own one of these) or a Dragunov (the Chinese versions are closest to the original COMBLOC issue, by the way), go for it. They are both fun to shoot. You are probably not a sniper, so it doesn't matter.