What is the best Semiauto. Sniper/Target Rifle out there ?
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CmdrSlander
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M21 Tactical / M25 White Feather edition (Springfield). Not cheap. Cheaper: M1A National Match, M1A Loaded, M1A Standard. Clones and the Russian stuff will not be all that good for target shooting, acceptable battle rifles certainly but maximum accuracy is desirable when shooting paper (you want a gun that shoots better than you do, leaving room for improvement every range trip, not some 4 MOA battle wagon).
Float Pilot
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The expensive SR-25 rifles are very accurate. And are very suitable for long range precision accuracy.
A precision rifle is a target rifle unless it is used for the act of sniping. In that case the precision marksman is acting as a sniper.
None of the three you mentioned are capable of any real long distance accuracy.
A precision rifle is a target rifle unless it is used for the act of sniping. In that case the precision marksman is acting as a sniper.
None of the three you mentioned are capable of any real long distance accuracy.
From the little I know, the Verp will be better (more accurate) then the PSL/FPK that most people mean when they say Dragnov..
If you mean a real dragnov then its going to be a good weapon (but expensive!).. but all 3 of those are not going to be great "target rifles" but would get out to 500+ yards with no trouble hitting the target.. duno what kind of groups youll get though
cant give any imput about the HK..
and thats just the opinions ive developed in my own research thus far.. I could easily be misguided myself.
If you mean a real dragnov then its going to be a good weapon (but expensive!).. but all 3 of those are not going to be great "target rifles" but would get out to 500+ yards with no trouble hitting the target.. duno what kind of groups youll get though
cant give any imput about the HK..
and thats just the opinions ive developed in my own research thus far.. I could easily be misguided myself.
Bill_Rights
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FNAR .308 Win street price $1,000 - $1,400 (OK, the FNAR is more of a DMR than sniper rifle, but you asked for semi-auto and lesser price. The round fired is adequate for a low-end sniper rifle and the accuracy is 1 MOA factory guaranteed, if that is good enough for your intended range vs. target size.)
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firesky101
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What kind of range are you looking for? The AR platform can be highly accurate and reasonably affordable.
sturmgewehr
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I will have my VEPR 7.62x54R this week and will post a review video on my channel. Of course I will test it for accuracy. It looks pretty promising but I don't expect it to be a sub-MOA rifle... Heck, I'll be happy with 2" at 100 yards.
If you want a super accurate rifle with a 3/4" accuracy guarantee that won't break the bank, check out the GA Precision GAP-10 rifle.
If you want a super accurate rifle with a 3/4" accuracy guarantee that won't break the bank, check out the GA Precision GAP-10 rifle.
henschman
Member
A DPMS LR-308 would be more accurate than any of those you mentioned; prices start around $1000.
But if you have the budget for a Dragunov, you should be able to afford something higher-end like a GAP-10 or a LaRue OBR. Those two seem to win a lot of matches.
But if you have the budget for a Dragunov, you should be able to afford something higher-end like a GAP-10 or a LaRue OBR. Those two seem to win a lot of matches.
allaroundhunter
Member
The Larue OBR is the most accurate semi-automatic rifle I have ever fired. My best group was 2.4" at 300 yards, and it held 1.3" groups in the hands of a former army sniper (who owned it and let me send a couple rounds downrange).
generally speaking the SR-25 line is extremely expensive and hit or miss on accuracy. of the people I know with them, roughly half are 1/2MOA and half are 1.25MOA rifles with factory ammo. Mine happens to be one of the 1/2 MOA (and I'm talking 5 round groups at 600 yrds) but it's apparently pot luck.
the GAP10 is what i would strongly recommend because you can get it in 6 CM or 260 Rem etc and you WILL get a rifle that shoots well. they're what i'll call mid-range as far as pricing, and are built on the POF receivers
the DPMS line is budget low-end but they put out some pretty accurate rifles usually and they make them in 260Rem too. However, reliability isn't the best, and they often need some tuning, which is ok because most people buy them with the intention of swapping out most of the parts anyway.
not a fan of Les Baer for several reasons.
Larue OBR is pretty comparable to the GAP10 in price, reliability and accuracy. Both are often used in sniper/practical competitions. I believe last year's winners at benning were shooting a pair of OBRs and spanked a field of bolt gun shooters.
as for non-ARs, they may compete on price, but you're not going to find any thing that can compete with any of the above on accuracy, ergonomics, versatility, or compatibility with all the common gadgets (from stocks and bipods to night vision)
you might consider the SCAR heavy sniper variant but after glowing initial reports, it seems the mood and opinion on them has soured a bit
the GAP10 is what i would strongly recommend because you can get it in 6 CM or 260 Rem etc and you WILL get a rifle that shoots well. they're what i'll call mid-range as far as pricing, and are built on the POF receivers
the DPMS line is budget low-end but they put out some pretty accurate rifles usually and they make them in 260Rem too. However, reliability isn't the best, and they often need some tuning, which is ok because most people buy them with the intention of swapping out most of the parts anyway.
not a fan of Les Baer for several reasons.
Larue OBR is pretty comparable to the GAP10 in price, reliability and accuracy. Both are often used in sniper/practical competitions. I believe last year's winners at benning were shooting a pair of OBRs and spanked a field of bolt gun shooters.
as for non-ARs, they may compete on price, but you're not going to find any thing that can compete with any of the above on accuracy, ergonomics, versatility, or compatibility with all the common gadgets (from stocks and bipods to night vision)
you might consider the SCAR heavy sniper variant but after glowing initial reports, it seems the mood and opinion on them has soured a bit
HILLBILLY-06
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of the people I know with them, roughly half are 1/2MOA and half are 1.25MOA rifles with factory ammo. Mine happens to be one of the 1/2 MOA (and I'm talking 5 round groups at 600 yrds) but it's apparently pot luck.
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Out of the few people I know that shoot the 1,000 yard line, none of them use factory ammo. They reload thier own brass, not to save money, but to use cartridge data made especially for long distance shooting. They spent a lot of time developing these long range loads, and are tried and true with those guys. I personally have only shot my rifle at 600 yards, half that distance, and still had to load my own ammo to get the most potential out of my rifle. We stop using factory ammo at 300 yards. After that, sometimes a better bullet, more powder, the right primer, and the correct combination of these components give you the edge your looking for, especially in an AR. But be warned, that long range ammo don't fit in you magazine. The C.O.A.L. is too long and it must be fed one round at a time into the rifle. Hence the term "slow fire Prone" I personally don't know how "semi-auto" is going to pay off for him otherwise, with factory ammo and a full magazine? Unless he just want to see how fast he can send em' down range. Oh, and I hope you got a really big target to shoot at, the ones we use at 1,000 are humungus. And these guys got $1K to $2k invested in high power scopes to say something about the glass they use to see that far. If I was him, I'd stick with the M1A varients, they been shooting them at 1,000 yards for years. I know they work that far out. Just havent seen anybody try to use factory ammo from the service rifles at that distance. I am sure some one does somewhere I guess, but the folks I know don't.
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Out of the few people I know that shoot the 1,000 yard line, none of them use factory ammo. They reload thier own brass, not to save money, but to use cartridge data made especially for long distance shooting. They spent a lot of time developing these long range loads, and are tried and true with those guys. I personally have only shot my rifle at 600 yards, half that distance, and still had to load my own ammo to get the most potential out of my rifle. We stop using factory ammo at 300 yards. After that, sometimes a better bullet, more powder, the right primer, and the correct combination of these components give you the edge your looking for, especially in an AR. But be warned, that long range ammo don't fit in you magazine. The C.O.A.L. is too long and it must be fed one round at a time into the rifle. Hence the term "slow fire Prone" I personally don't know how "semi-auto" is going to pay off for him otherwise, with factory ammo and a full magazine? Unless he just want to see how fast he can send em' down range. Oh, and I hope you got a really big target to shoot at, the ones we use at 1,000 are humungus. And these guys got $1K to $2k invested in high power scopes to say something about the glass they use to see that far. If I was him, I'd stick with the M1A varients, they been shooting them at 1,000 yards for years. I know they work that far out. Just havent seen anybody try to use factory ammo from the service rifles at that distance. I am sure some one does somewhere I guess, but the folks I know don't.
by factory ammo, i didn't mean to imply winchester white box or wolf 
I'm talking stuff like match ammo from hornady, southwest, black hills, etc. When I was shooting across the course (AR15 service rifle including 600 yrd slow fire prone), lots of people used factory ammo. black hills and HSM ammo were particularly popular.
but you raise a good point about the COAL and magazines. That's one of the reasons I recommended the GAP10, because you can get it chambered in cartridges like 6 CM which were designed to be able to seat the long bullets in magazines without losing much if any case capacity. though I have won a couple 1000 yrd matches (any/any, not service rifle), it's been a few years. the matches I shoot and host now aren't slow fire, and magazines are highly desirable. The targets we shoot in the 800-1200 yrd range are usually 10-12" steel plates or occasionally steel ipsc silhouettes. not the 6x6' NRA paper.
to be fair though, i believe some 1000 yrd palma matches require factory 155g ammo which is issued.
edit: btw, i think the USAMU is now using SR-25s for their long range stuff at camp perry. i imagine their armors modify them considerably though
I'm talking stuff like match ammo from hornady, southwest, black hills, etc. When I was shooting across the course (AR15 service rifle including 600 yrd slow fire prone), lots of people used factory ammo. black hills and HSM ammo were particularly popular.but you raise a good point about the COAL and magazines. That's one of the reasons I recommended the GAP10, because you can get it chambered in cartridges like 6 CM which were designed to be able to seat the long bullets in magazines without losing much if any case capacity. though I have won a couple 1000 yrd matches (any/any, not service rifle), it's been a few years. the matches I shoot and host now aren't slow fire, and magazines are highly desirable. The targets we shoot in the 800-1200 yrd range are usually 10-12" steel plates or occasionally steel ipsc silhouettes. not the 6x6' NRA paper.
to be fair though, i believe some 1000 yrd palma matches require factory 155g ammo which is issued.
edit: btw, i think the USAMU is now using SR-25s for their long range stuff at camp perry. i imagine their armors modify them considerably though
Driftertank
Member
For out of the box accuracy, I'd give the nod to the AR platform (SR25 et al), followed by the M1A National Match, then the H&K types. The russian guns were designed as squad support weapons, accurate to minute-of-man at 600-800 yds. You won't be impressing any NM types with them, even the vaunted (and expensive!) Dragunov SVD.
I have a PTR-91F (US-made, heavy barrelled G3 clone) and i've seen a buddy of mine, a former Marine rifleman, print a 3.5" 12-rd group at 100yds with Brown Bear 147gr FMJ using irons on my rifle. I'm excited to see how it performs this spring when i get glass on it and run some "Match" loads through it.
I have a PTR-91F (US-made, heavy barrelled G3 clone) and i've seen a buddy of mine, a former Marine rifleman, print a 3.5" 12-rd group at 100yds with Brown Bear 147gr FMJ using irons on my rifle. I'm excited to see how it performs this spring when i get glass on it and run some "Match" loads through it.
More like +11,000...
Anyway, it helps to know what your actual budget is.
I second the M1A though.
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