Originally Posted by Mark R Dobrenski
My mind has to ask the question, and that's if the light barrels shoot as well as the heavy barrels then why have Snipers long toted rigs with heavy tubes on them...?

Thoughts anyone why these guys would carry the weight when they don't need it?

Thx
Dober




A little of it is thinking inertia: it is widely believed that long range rifles need heavy barrels, especially within the military. Another is because the role and missions of snipers has changed significantly since the M40A1 was adopted. In the 60's and 70's snipers were closer to acting like backpack hunters. Portability, weight, "shootability" from field positions with one or two precision shots was more important then. In short, a more accurate "hunting" rifle was appropriate. The M40A1 is a heavy hunting rig.


Contrast that with the M40A5 and today's role (esp. Iraq), with multiple targets with rapid engagements, generally shots from static positions, the need for mag fed guns, suppressers, night vision, etc. All of those reasons and more are why gas guns have become so prevalent. What we're seeing is a meshing of bolt actions and semi autos and that leads to a very heavy rifle. I believe we have reached the end of the 308 bolt gun in military service. For 600m and in a semi auto in 223 or 308 is perfect. Past that you need a 300WM or 338L. Those guns are going to be heavy and long.



As far as accuracy goes anyone that believes that a #1 contour will place every single round fired into the same size group as a 1.25in full length is smoking crack. Are they capable of producing hunting accuracy? Of course they are. However if all those people with "sub MOA all day long" (when they do their part, of course) 6 pound rifles actually shot a statistically relevant amount of rounds and didn't make excuses for "fliers" they'd find out that their benchrest sheep rifles, aren't. Of course there are some really, really good shooting light weights, but they are not nearly what people on the Internet and in gun shops claim. I see several hundred hunting and LR comp rifles a year actually shot in training and competition and have never seen a 6lb 1/2MOA big game system despite a whole bunch of custom rifles and owners who swore that their rifle was a 1/2 MOA gun. Now I'm sure that there will be posters all in a tissy over this and will post a target or two showing a .5 inch group somewhere on the paper as proof that their Kimber Montana is a match quality rifle. Of course where I come from to be a true 1/2 inch at 100 yards gun, then it has to be able to hit a 1/2 inch dot on demand with no excuses at that range.

Even a lot of "sniper" competition guns aren't true .5 MOA rifles.

This one of my comp rifles. A built 243Win.

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It is a true sub MOA gun but not quite a half minute one.
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This one of my partners rifles. An APA built 7WSM. It is also the lightest dedicated rifle we have seen at a LR match. It's about 11lbs empty sans bipod. While it is a very accurate gun and has produced many sub half MOA groups, it also is not a 1/2 inch rifle.

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Of course .5 MOA rifles aren't required for hunting, sniping, or LR tactical matches. A true 1.5MOA rifle will easily keep all it's rounds on a 12 inch plate at 600 yards, which is about the practical limit of general hunting rifles and a solid 1MOA gun can win every sniper match in the country.....




fwiw.... ULA/NULA rifles have been the most consistent light rifles I have seen.