Alpha 66

Tactical Operations Alpha 66









Tactical Operations Alpha-66 Tactical Rifle


Caliber:


.300 Win Mag (7.62x66)




Barrel:


Tac Ops proprietary chrome-moly steel Krieger, heavy contour


Barrel Length:


24" (610mm)


Twist:


RH 1:10" (300 Win Mag)


Weight (Rifle only):


14.1 lbs (6.41 kg)


Overall Length:


44.4" (1128mm)


Magazine:


4 Round Internal Box


Trigger:


Factory Remington 700 reworked by Tactical Operations


Stock:


McMillan Baker Special


Finish:


Birdsong Green-T


Price:


Around $4500 USD


It so happened that when we were reviewing the TacOps X-Ray 51 our own Alpha-66 that we have had on order for a while showed up. It is not usual for us to get two rifles from the same maker for review so close together. I would rather separate the time a bit, but I wanted to get this reviewed wrapped up and move onto the next.


So why another TacOps rifle? With the push of combat snipers to higher powered cartridges and the announcement by the US Army to migrate their M24 SWS to the 300 Win Mag, I felt it was time to bring in a very high end 300 Win Mag for use here for evaluations with the 300 and to make sure we stayed on top of the game. After researching some options, I discovered that the TacOps Alpha-66 platform has been used by a number of the Alphabet agencies of the US Government and specialized military units. Since I have had such good luck with their products before, I decided to order one, specifying that it needed to be the same Alpha rifle employed by the operators in the field. They were happy to oblige and the project got under way. After a fairly long building period the rifle arrived with a test target and the standard guarantee of .25 MOA or better.





If you have read our other reviews on the TacOps rifles you will know that all of their rifles are built using the Remington 700 action. TacOps sees nothing wrong with some of the new high quality tactical actions from the likes of Surgeon and others, but they continue to have such good success with the old tried and true Remington action and they have perfected their procedures, they do not see a need to use anything else and incur additional costs combined with having to revisit their procedures. While I like some of this new crop of custom actions, I value results and all of the TacOps rifles we have fired have produced results.


Like all the other TacOps rifles, this Remington 700 long action has been completely worked over as normal and is extremely smooth operating. All of the finish work is exceptional and the Green-T finish is perfectly even like usual. Of course, as we specified in the Green-T review we did awhile back, the birdsong finish is specified as a standard in most of the government agency contracts, and for good reason. It is the standard finish that TacOps uses on all their rifles, and short of the follower, all of the metal parts on the rifle receive the Birdsong finish. This includes all of the spacer system on the stock.


The barrel is a Kreiger Chrome Moly made to TacOps specifications in TacOps "Heavy" contour. The rate of twist is the standard 1:10" for the .300 Win Mag cartridge. In their 308 rifles, TacOps prefers the shorter 18-20" barrel length, but they use a 24" length for the 300 Win Mag to utilize the higher velocities of the cartridge. The barrel is threaded for a suppressor and is provided with a perfectly fitting thread protector to use when no suppressor is attached. The barrel is mated to the worked over Remington action with a precision ground recoil lug in between using a new proprietary system to reduce, or eliminate, any point of impact change from cold bore to warm bore shots. One thing that TacOps does differently with the 300 Win Mag is use a custom designed reamer when chambering the barrel. This reamer allows for a much tighter head space than you can normally do with the 300 Win Mag because of the magnum case head belt. This allows them to be able to squeak out some extra accuracy; the down side is that they recommend only shooting ammo with the 190gr Sierra Match King bullet. TacOps does have a custom reamer for the 220gr bullets as well, but ours came setup for the more common 190gr ammo.


The barreled action is then pillar bedded into McMillan's "Baker Special" stock. With the heavy contour and longer barrel length, the stock is bedded up to a few inches in front of the recoil lug to help support the weight of the barrel. After that the barrel is free floated with a good amount of gap to help maintain free floating when in field and combat conditions.





The McMillan "Backer Special" stock is not one of the normal A-series of tactical stocks from McMillan and is actually from their Target series. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this stock as you do not hear much about it, but it must have something going for it, since it is in use in the field by some of the most elite units out there. As soon as I got behind the rifle it was apparent that the target shooters know what they are doing. The stock is excellent for prone shooting and provides a very stable shooting platform. The adjustable spacer system and cheekpiece allow you to get the stock perfectly fitted to you. The area around the magazine is a bit deeper than a normal rifle and this allowed for a full 4 rounds of 300 Win Mag to be loaded into the magazine. The stock then steps down to a wide and flat beavertail forend that is great for sandbags or other shooting rests, including a bipod. The stock is large, and as such, brings with it extra weight which you have to tote around the field. But that extra weight also helps stabilize the rifle and absorb recoil allowing for pleasant shooting and rapid follow up shots. Combined with the standard rough TacOps texturing, the stock gets high grades in my book.


The overall weight of the rifle is heavy: a solid 14 lbs without optics. With our final duty scope we mounted - a Leupold 8.5-25x50mm LR/T M1 - the system is nearly 16 pounds, add a suppressor and it is even more. Yes, the rifle is large and heavy but for long range shooting the rifle is a great platform. As with many good rifles, getting it to and from your hide in stealth-like manner does require strength and endurance.


The trigger is the standard old style Remington 700 trigger that has been reworked by TacOps. They do not use the new XMarkPro triggers as they do not like them nearly as much. The trigger was set to 2.5 lbs and breaks very cleanly with no take-up or over travel. Custom tuned triggers like these have a great feel to them and this one is setup just right.







For the range work, we initially mounted one of our test mule scopes, a Leupold 6.5-20x50mm LR/T with target knobs. We also used this rifle as our platform to evaluate the Premier Reticle heritage tactical rifle scope. We then finally acquired the scope we plan to keep on the rifle permanently, a Leupold Mk4 8.5-25x50mm LR/T M1 with TMR that is common for these rifles in the field. The scope is mounted to the rifle with some 23 MOA bases to provide all the elevation adjustments we'll need to get out to about 1500 meters.


During the shooting evaluation, we used a few flavors of ammo including the industry standard A-191 Federal Gold Medal Match 190gr at 2900 fps as well as the same load from HSM. We also tried the HSM D46 load that pushes the Lapua 185gr D46 FMJBT to 3100 fps which makes an extremely good long range load. Due to the restriction of 190gr ammo we did not try any heavy weight loads. For the accuracy test, all of the measured groups were fired at 100 yards. As you can see from the picture below, the rifle shipped with a test target from Tactical Operations that measured 0.099" center to center. While we did not equal that, we were able to go sub .25 MOA several times with a group of .19" and a few in the low .20's. Overall the rifle did like the Federal Gold Medal Match loads best of all with an average group size of .44" with all groups fired. The HSM 190's were not far behind. While the rifle did not like the D46 185's as much, they still hovered around the .7" mark. I know that all of those groups can be improved upon with some familiarity with the rifle and a better shooter than I.







One thing I will note is that attaching a suppressor transformed the rifle for the better. Without it, the rifle is easily manageable and a good rifle to shoot, but with the 30 cal suppressor attached it is a joy to shoot and makes a fantastic long range sniper rifle. As mentioned above, the rifle is a very stable platform exhibiting exceptional accuracy with or without a suppressor attached. The reduced recoil and noise signature afforded by the suppressor only makes the rifle that much more effective in it's role. If your team or department is looking for a serious long range 300 Win Mag rifle, I recommend a serious look at the Alpha. The cost is a bit steep, and the rifle is no light-weight, but when setup with an effective suppressor, the Tactical Operations Alpha is an excellent platform that is a pleasure to shoot.

Barrett M-82A1 (XM107)

---

Caliber:	.50 BMG
Magazine:	10-shot detachable box magazine
Barrel:	29"
Weight:	32.5 lbs
Length:	57" overall
Stock:	Composite with Sorbothane recoil pad.
Sights:	Scope with ironsights.
Max Effective Range	1830 meters
Features:	Semi-automatic Recoil operated Recoiling barrel to reduce felt recoil Highly effective Muzzle Brake Three-lug locking bolt Self leveling bi-pod Barrett claims 1 MOA with match ammunition

Believe it or not, the M82A1 is not that bad to shoot. The spotter actually suffers more than the shooter (Due to the muzzle brake sending the concussion out and back, usually right into the spotters face). While the potential for extreme long range shooting is there, the current military ammo is not up to the task. There is no military match ammo, and that really kills the accuracy potential of this rifle. Even with match ammo, the rifle will have a hard time holding its claimed 1 MOA, there is just too many moving parts. But, for its designed purpose as a long range hard target interdiction rifle, the M82A1 is hard to beat! Its semi-auto, 10 round capability against a light skinned APC is outstanding.

I do not consider .50 BMG rifles true sniper rifles, they are much too large and heavy to be carried easily and effectively while a sniper team operates. I do feel they have an important role and should be in the inventory, but don't fool yourself into thinking they are an everyday sniper rifle. Use them when the mission dictates, which might include overwatch positions (where little movement is involved), defensive positions, small hunter teams searching hard targets (where more then just the sniper team goes out), etc. Because I do not consider the .50's a true sniper rifle, I have not really included any on my page, but the M82A1 is used by just about everyone, and its what I've been trained on, so I have included it on my page.

UPDATE The US Army has officially adopted the M82A1 as their special purpose long range sniper rifle. Believe it or not, a bolt action won the trials but for reasons not entirely clear, the US Army decided to adopt the M82A1M (The M has a few modifications over the USMC M82A3). The official designation for the rifle is XM107 Long Range Sniper Rifle. The max effective ranges are listed as 1500 meters at materiel targets, and 1000 meters at personnel.

U.S. Army M110 SASS

U.S. Army M110 SASS



US Army File Photo

---

M110 SemiAutomatic Sniper System (SASS)
Calibre:	7.62x51mm NATO (.308 win)
Operation:	Direct Gas-Operated
Feed:	10 or 20 Round Detachable Magazine
Weight:	13.7 lb (6.23 kg) empty with optics & bipod Suppressor adds 1.96 lbs (0.89 kg)
Length:	42" (1066mm) - no suppressor, stock collapsed 46.5" (1181mm) - With suppressor, stock collapsed 48.25" (1226mm) - With suppresor, stock extended
Sights:	Leupold Mk4 3.5-10x40mm M2 with Illuminated TMR, earth brown plus detachable emergency iron sights.
Barrel:	20" length, 1:11" twist, 5 radial land grooves
Stock:	Adjustable length.
Max Effective Range:	800+ meters (875 yards) depending on snipers ability
Expected Accuracy:	.5-1.0 MOA with M118LR, M118SB, M852

The M24 SWS has been the US Army standard issue Sniper Rifle for over 20 years now and it has done a great job, especially for a quickly developed weapon system. I loved the ones I used during my time and it has had a very successful service life and continues to do so, especially with the recent news that the US Army will be rechambering them in 300 Win Mag. But the recent combat experience in Iraq has changed the operational deployment of snipers within the US Army. The US Army found that their snipers were engaging in much closer and faster paced engagements and many of the sniper teams were getting most of their kills using sound urban sniping tactics combined with their M4 and M16A4 rifles (especially with the 77gr ammo). It became apparent that a new rifle needed to be added to the inventory that would better suit the needs of the modern urban combat zone as well as the traditional sniper role.

The US Army put out a request for proposals and received prototype rifles to be tested for the SemiAutomatic Sniper rifle System (SASS). Knights Armament Company (KAC) has been building the SR25 in various forms, such as the Mk11 Mod 0, for various Special Operations units for a number of years and this experience and history played a role in their rifle being adopted as the XM110 SASS in 2005. The US Army had specific requirements for sound suppressors and other features and the KAC made the required changes to their SR25/Mk11 rifles to meet these requirements. The rifle moved from Experimental (XM110) to standard (M110) a few years after the 2005 adoption date and with it came a few changes including an adjustable buttstock for length of pull only, sling swivel sockets or flush cups, a double sided bolt catch, and a button on the folding front sight to allow it to be locked into position.

After many years of M1C's, M1D'sa>, M21's as the US Army's primary sniper rifle, the M24 SWS was a return to a bolt action sniper rifle for the army. The M110 now brings the Army back into the realm of semiautos. The operation of the M110 is very similar to the M16 which the Army likes to do to reduce required training but there are downsides to a semi-auto. Some of these downsides are that they are not as well suited to the traditional sniper role due to their shape and the fact that they fling brass all over the ground which can compromise your position and potentially leave target identifiers, not to mention getting your ghillie tangled in the action of a semi-auto is never fun. But one of the things the US Army was trying to address was getting more firepower on target with quicker follow up shots which the Semi certainly will do better than a bolt action.

Another new feature with the M110 compared to the M24 is the addition of a suppressor as part of the platform. The combat experience in built up areas (Urban, MOUT) showed the need for suppressors to aide in the protection of the snipers by deception and concealment. The suppressor has developed into an integral part of many sniper teams over the past decade and I feel this is a good move on the part of the Army and the M110 requirements. The M110 suppressor is a stainless steel unit that is 14.25" long and weights 1.96 lbs, is a quick detachable design and is rated at a 30 db reduction. While full power loads do still produce the sonic crack from the bullet, the report of the rifle is greatly reduced and determining the direction of the shooter from just that crack is very difficult. The M110 has a shorter 20" barrel which means that adding the suppressor to the rifle makes it just a few inches longer than the M24 and the weight is very similar. Having that added advantage of the suppressor is nice to have and yet it is also quickly and easily attached, or detached, to the rifle adding additional flexibility to only use it if you need it, though you best keep track of your point of aim change when the suppressor is on vs. when it is not.



The Day Optic Device (DOS) is the Leupold Mk4 3.5-10x40mm with M2 knobs, Illuminated TMR reticle and finished in earth brown. We reviewed this scope a number of years ago here: Mk4 3.5-10x40mm Brown. The M24 used the Leupold Mk4 10x40mm Ultra M3 and it is an excellent scope, very durable and high quality. This new scope on the M110 continues the partnership with Leupold and is a very good scope with good flexibility which includes a BDC elevation knob calibrated for the M118LR ammo. The elevation clicks are .5 MOA per click compared to 1 MOA per click on the M24. This requires that you overlap more than one rotation once you get beyond 800 meters on the BDC. The knobs on the M24 goes to beyond 1000 meters in less than one revolution, but you get the better granularity of adjustment with the M2 knobs on the M110. The scope is also a variable power which is more useful for the defined role the M110 was expected to operate in, closer but more rapid engagements. Being able to dial down to 3.5x gives you a lot bigger field of view but still makes you extremely effective to about 500 meters. The one thing I thought the scope could of benefited from was a FFP reticle so that you could not only mil your targets on any power, but also use your mil hold offs for moving targets, windage, etc. Not to mention, in the stresses of combat, it would be nice not to have to remember what power you are set at when holding off or estimating range.

The reticle on the M110 leupold scope is an illuminated reticle, and yes, it does introduce something else to break in the field, but the reticle will continue to work if the battery dies or the illumnation fails, it just will not be illuminated. The illumination does help with low light conditions, something that is nice for all combat conditions.



For when the light is no longer low, but rather non-existent, the M110 is setup to accept the AN/PVS-26 Universal Night Sight which is mounted in front of Leupold scope. The PVS-26 is a high power night vision scope that essentially adds night vision capability to the standard DOS and does not impact the point of aim of the DOS. When the M24 was designed, this type of technology did not exist, and it is excellent to include it on this rifle. This allows for easy conversion to night capability without altering any zero data. Of course, some weight is added but the increased flexibility and capability of the rifle is another added benefit for the rifle. The full rail along the top of the rifle does allow for the future use of additional new devices in the future to further expand its capability, which of course includes swapping scopes in an emergency or even mission specific DOS.

The US Army actually recommends a break-in period for the M110 which is an indicator that those responsible for the documentation and adoption of the M110 is aware of modern firearms practices. They also have a few other interesting recommendations for the M110 in which they state the barrel life should be better than the 5000 rounds of the M24 (the M24 routinely goes beyond that 5000 rounds). The US Army also advises that to preserve the effectiveness of the QD suppressor, that the sniper not fire more than 20 rounds of sustained fired through the suppressor which equates to 5 rounds a minute for 4 minutes. In a sniping environment that should not be an issue, but there are times in combat where this may become an issue during a firefight. Of course, there is no such limitation when the suppressor is detached.

There is a set of backup iron sights (BUIS) that consists of a rear match grade style peep aperture and front iron sight, both the front and rear sights fold and are fairly accurate. The sights also can stay mounted on the rifle when the scope is mounted and do not interfere with the scope. This is a nice feature to have that the M24 could not do. Not that you use the back up sights much, but it is still nice to be able to zero them, and then leave them mounted when you put the scope on for use when all else fails.

As mentioned earlier, the operation of the M110 is very much like the M16 and will be very familiar to the any soldier, with just a few differences the additional training is quick and the sniper should quickly be up to speed. Accuracy of the M110 has been good with typical accuracy between .5 � 1.0 MOA depending on ammo. The M118 (Special Ball), M118LR and M852 (168gr) ammo have all been approved for use in the M110 and in combat. The max effective range is listed by the US Army as 800 meters or longer depending on the skill level of the shooter. As many 308 shooters know, that max range is largely weather dependent as well, but with M118LR ammo and a good sniper, I would put that max effective range at 1000m or so. These rifles combined with M118LR have been good performers.

One question that was not initially answered with the original order of XM110 and M110 rifles was whether this was a replacement for the M24 or not and the Army was somewhat unclear on the matter. The initial order of M110's was far fewer than there were M24's in service so it was my personal opinion that it was going to be fielded as a complimentary rifle to the M24 and not a replacement. As time went on, the Army was indicating it as a replacement, but yet no M24's were removed from service and the numbers were still far too low to be a replacement. As it turns out, the M24 SWS was recently given new life with the announcement that the M24's would be converted to the 300 Win Mag cartridge and that the M110 and M24 would work side by side. I am not sure how many sniper units will get both systems and exactly what the time frame is on the M24 conversions, but I do know that this tandem of rifles should make an excellent battery of rifles to use for a given sniper team. These two rifles together should cover a very wide assortment of shooting and combat conditions that a sniper team would find itself in.

With the announcement of the M24 conversion to 300 Win Mag also came the adoption of the Mk 248 Mod 1 ammo which uses a 220gr Sierra Match King bullet launched at 2850 fps. This will greatly expand the range of the M24 up to potentially 1500 meters and provide a traditional bolt action sniper rifle. The M110 then will fill the role of a closer in, higher firepower rifle with suppressed capability that will work well in urban, closer range, and more intense combat scenarios. Together, you have a very formidable duo of rifles. I like this setup for our US Army snipers as it provides them with a lot of flexibility and capability, exactly what they need.

Marine Scout Sniper Rifle

Philippine MSSR - "Marine Scout Sniper Rifle"


NSWAG with 3rd Gen MSSR

---

Caliber:	5.56x45mm NATO (.223 Rem)
Operation:	Gas operated semi-automatic
Scope:	Tasco Armored 3-9x40mm Bushnell 3-9x40mm w/Mil-Dots (3rd Gen).
Feed:	20/30 round detachable box magazine.
Weight:	10 lbs (4.55 kg)
Length:	42.25" (107.3 cm)
Barrel:	24" (68 cm) DPMS Heavy Stainless Steel Match 20" (50.8 cm) DPMS Heavy SS Match (NSWAG 3rd Gen)
Barrel Twist:	RH 1 - 8.5", or 1-8" (3rd Gen)
Stock:	Black synthetic M-16A1 design with Cheek Rest. Black syntehtic M-16A2 (3rd Gen)
Trigger:	J&P match trigger
Accuracy:	At least 1 MOA with M855 ammo

The MSSR was developed out of a need for a designated sniper rifle for the Landing Battalions of the Filipino Marines. They were operating on a limited budget, and didn't have the expert gunsmiths to modify a M14 or any of the other standard rifles used for sniping. But they do have the experts who know how to work on M16's. They have been producing the M16A1 under license for several years, and all the troops are framiliar with the handling of the weapon. So they did the logical thing and built a sniper rifle on the M16A1 platform.

The armorers take an existing M16A1 lower receiver and replace the upper with a DPMS match upper and Barrel. This includes a floating aluminum handguard tube and a Harris bi-pod is attached to that. They use a Tasco Armored 3-9x40mm scope, not really my first choice, in fact, not a very good choice in my opinion. But they did have a very limited budget to work with, so this is probably the one area they thought they could get away with cutting. They use a J&P match trigger that has been fine tuned. The rifles are tested and only get issued if they will shoot 1 MOA or better with M855 ammo.

I am not a fan of the 5.56mm being used in sniper rifles, but this is a unique case were it isn't such a bad plan. The limited ranges found in the Filipino jungles helps reduce some of the short comings of the round. The rifles will generally shoot right around 1 MOA out to 600 meters. The ease of training due to framiliarity with the M16 helps to reduce training costs, both for the sniper and the armorers. All in all, its not a bad implentation, and shows some creativity in developing a sniper rifle with a set of rigid constraints.

Update The Filipino Marines have started deployment of the 3rd generation MSSR with the Naval Special Warfare Group (NSWAG) and some Marines starting the transition. Changes to the 3rd Gen includes the DPMS 24 inch heavy barrel (with the NSWAG opting for the 20 inch). The new barrels have a change of twist from the old 1-8.5" to a new 1-8". The rifles also have a DPMS gas port, A2 pistol grips, and use three scope rings rather than two. The new 3rd Gen MSSR has also replaced the rubber coated Tasco scope with a Bushnell 3-9x scope with mil dots. The standard ammo for the MSSR has been changed from M885 to the federal 69 grain match. The MSSR has also began evaluation of Remington 700P's to be used as an intermediate range sniper rifle to compliment the MSSR and their long range .50 that is used in small numbers. With the upgrades to the MSSR, it has become a very nice rifle for its intended mission. Thanks to Lt Col John Martir of the Philippine Marine Corps for the updated info and images!!

Russian Dragunov SVD

Russian Dragunov SVD

---

Caliber:	Russian 7.62x54mm Rimmed
Operation:	gas, semi-automatic
Capacity:	10 round detachable box magazine
Weight:	9.5lb (4.31kg) empty with telescope
Length:	48.2 in (122.5 cm)
Barrel Length:	24 in (62 cm)
Rifling:	4 grooves, 1:10 right hand twist
Max Rate of Fire:	30 RPM
Aimed Rate of Fire:	3-5 RPM
Scope Type:	PSO-1 with IR detection capability
Scope Data:	24mm objective lens, 4x, 6 degree field of view
Exit Pupil Measurement:	6mm
Compatible Passive Night Scopes:	NSP-3: 2.7x, 7 degree field of view range of approx 300 yds PGN-1: 3.4x, 5.7 degree field of view range of 400-500 yds

The SVD (Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova)-Dragunov Sniping Rifle was the first rifle designed from scratch as a sniper rifle, and was introduced in the 1950's. It has very limited similarities to the Kalashnikov series of rifles. The SVD can be expected to shoot 2 MOA with quality ammo.

I have some personal experience with an original SVD (circa late 1970's). While the weapon was a bit crude when it comes to workmanship, it still functioned flawlessly. We shot extensively out to 900 meters. The rifle is extremely deadly, even with cheap surplus ammo, out to about 600 meters. After that, your pressed to hit consistantly. We easily were maintaining sub 2 MOA. The SVD is not a true sniper rifle in todays terms, but it performs exceptionally well for what it was designed for, a weapon to extend the range of the average rifle squad.

Mauser SP66 sniper rifle

Mauser SP66 sniper rifle (Germany)

Mauser SP 66 sniper rifle.

Mauser 66 hunting rifle, which served as a starting point for a sniper weapon.

Caliber(s): 7.62x51mm NATO (.308Win)
Operation: manual; rotating bolt action
Length: 1120 mm
Barrel: 730 mm 
Weight: 6.12 kg empty with Zeiss scope
Feed Mechanism: 3 rounds integral box magazine

The Mauser SP66 sniper rifle had been developed fomMauser Model 66 Super Match sporting rifle circa 1976. It was widelyused by various military and police forces from many countries,including Germany, Italy and Israel. Currently some of the SP 66 rifles arestill in service, but production had been ceased circa 1985 with the introduction of the Mauser 86 SR.

Mauser SP66 (like all other Model 66 Mauser rifles)is based on short-throw bolt action, developed by Gehmann. In thisaction bolt has two frontal lugs that engage the barrel extension,which is screwed onto the barrel. Unlike the famous standard Mausercation, the Gehmann bolt has cocking handle near the front end of thebolt, and the receiver has a split bridge. The magazine is integral andholds only 3 rounds. The thumbhole stock is made from laminated woodand is ajustable for lenght of pull and position of the cheekpad.Heavy, macth-grade barrel is equipped with combined muzzle brake/flashhider. Mauser SP66 in standard configuration has no iron sights andcomes with Zeiss Diavari ZA 1.5-6X variable power scope.

Enfield L39A1, L42A1 and Enforcer (Great Britain)

Enfield L42A1 military sniper rifle.

Enfield "Enforcer" police sniper rifle.

Caliber(s): 7.62mm NATO (.308Win)
Operation: manual, rotating bolt
Barrel: 700 mm
Weight: 4.42 kg
Length: 1180 mm
Feed Mechanism: 10 rounds detachable box magazine

After the adoption of the 7.62x51mm round as the NATO standard rifle round in 1950s, British Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) at Enfield Lock developed a conversion for many surpulus .303 British caliber Lee-Enfield SMLE No.4 rifles. The conversion included new, heavy barrel, chambered for 7.62mm NATO ammunition, shortened forend and handguard. This conversion was intended for competitive shooting. The civilian version had been known as Enfield "Envoy" match rifle, military target rifle was designated as L39A1. Both versions fetaured ajustable open sights.

Later, with the addition of the scope mounting bracket to the left side of the receiver, the L39A1 became the L42A1 military sniper rifle.

Early in the 1970, RSAF developed a police version of the L42A1, called "Enforcer". It differed from L42 by having more sporterised buttstock with semi-pistol grip and integral cheeckpiece. It also used match type open sights and commercial telescopic sights.

Production of the "Enforcer" and L42 rifles ceased circa 1985, and it was replaced in military service by Accuraly Intl. L96A1 rifle.