Type Sniper rifle, designated marksman rifle

Place of origin Soviet Union

Service history

In service 1963–present

Used by See Users

Wars Vietnam War,[1] Cambodian–Vietnamese War, Soviet war in Afghanistan, Iraq War, Yugoslav Wars, First and Second Chechen Wars, 2008 South Ossetia War, Kargil War

Production history

Designer Yevgeny Dragunov

Designed 1958–1963

Manufacturer Izhmash, Ordnance Factories Organisation, Norinco

Produced 1963–present[2]

Variants See Variants

Specifications

Weight 4.30 kg (9.48 lb) (with scope and unloaded magazine)[2]

4.68 kg (10.3 lb) (SVDS)

4.40 kg (9.7 lb) (SVU)

5.02 kg (11.1 lb) (SWD-M)

Length 1,225 mm (48.2 in) (SVD)[2]

1,135 mm (44.7 in) stock extended / 815 mm (32.1 in) stock folded (SVDS)

900 mm (35.4 in) (SVU)

1,125 mm (44.3 in) (SWD-M)

Barrel length 610 mm (24.0 in) (SVD, SWD-M)[2]

565 mm (22.2 in) (SVDS)

600 mm (23.6 in) (SVU)

Cartridge 7.62x54mmR[2]

Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt

Muzzle velocity 830 m/s (2,723 ft/s) (SVD, SVDS, SWD-M)

800 m/s (2,624.7 ft/s) (SVU)

Effective range 800 m

Maximum range 1,300 m with scope

1,200 m with iron sights

Feed system 10-round detachable box magazine[2]

Sights PSO-1 telescopic sight and iron sights with an adjustable rear notch sight

The Dragunov sniper rifle (formally Russian: Снайперская винтовка Драгунова, Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova (SVD), literally "Dragunov's sniper rifle") is a semi-automatic sniper rifle/designated marksman rifle chambered in 7.62x54mmR and developed in the Soviet Union.
The Dragunov was designed as a squad support weapon, since according to Soviet and Soviet-derived military doctrines the long-range engagement ability was lost to ordinary troops when submachine guns and assault rifles (which are optimized for close-range and medium-range, rapid-fire combat) were adopted.
It was selected as the winner of a contest that included three competing designs: the first was a rifle designed by Sergei Simonov (known as the SSV-58), the second design, a prototype designated 2B-W10 by Alexander Konstantinov, and the third rifle, the SVD-137, a design submitted by Yevgeny Dragunov. Extensive field testing of the rifles conducted in a wide range of environmental conditions resulted in Dragunov’s proposal being accepted into service in 1963. An initial pre-production batch consisting of 200 rifles was assembled for evaluation purposes, and from 1964 serial production was carried out by Izhmash.
Since then, the Dragunov has become the standard squad support weapon of several countries, including those of the former Warsaw Pact. Licensed production of the rifle was established in China (Type 79 and Type 85) and Iran (as a direct copy of the Chinese Type 79).
Design details
Operating mechanism
The Dragunov is a semi-automatic gas-operated rifle with a short-stroke gas-piston system. The barrel breech is locked through a rotating bolt (left rotation) and uses three locking lugs to engage corresponding locking recesses in the barrel extension. The rifle has a manual, two-position gas regulator.
After discharging the last cartridge from the magazine, the bolt carrier and bolt are held back on a bolt catch that is released by pulling the cocking handle to the rear. The rifle has a hammer-type striking mechanism and a manual lever safety selector. The rifle's receiver is machined to provide additional accuracy and torsional strength. The Dragunov's receiver bears a number of similarities to the AK action, such as the large dust cover, iron sights and lever safety selector, but these similarities are primarily cosmetic in nature.
Features
The weapon is fed from a curved box magazine with a 10-round capacity and the cartridges are double-stacked in a checker pattern.
The Dragunov's barrel is ended with a slotted flash suppressor. The barrel’s bore is chrome-lined[3] for increased corrosion resistance, and has 4 right-hand grooves with a 320 mm (1:12.6 in) twist rate. The rifled part of the barrel is 547 mm (21.5 in). Later the twist rate was tightened to 240 mm (1:9.4 in) which slightly reduces the accuracy of fire with sniper cartridges and reduces the muzzle velocity to 810 m/s (2,657.5 ft/s). This was done in order to facilitate the use of tracer and armor-piercing incendiary ammunition. These special bullet types required a shorter twist rate for adequate stabilization.[4]
For precision shooting, specifically designed sniper cartridges are used, developed by V. M. Sabelnikov, P. P. Sazonov and V. M. Dvorianinov. The proprietary 7N1 load has a steel jacketed projectile with an air pocket, a steel core and a lead knocker in the base for maximum terminal effect. The 7N1 was replaced in 1999 by the 7N14 round. The 7N14 is a new load developed for the SVD. It consists of a 151 grain projectile which travels at the same 830 m/s, but it has a sharp hardened steel core projectile. The rifle can also fire standard 7.62x54mmR ammunition with either conventional, tracer or armor piercing incendiary rounds.
The Russian military has established accuracy standards the SVD and its corresponding sniper grade ammunition have to meet. Manufacturers must perform firing tests to check if the rifles and sniper grade ammunition fulfill these standards. To comply to the standards the SVD rifle with 7N1 sniper cartridges may not produce more than 1.24 MOA extreme vertical spread with 240 mm twist rate barrels and no more than 1.04 MOA extreme vertical spread with 320 mm twist rate barrels. When using standard grade 57-N-323S cartridges the accuracy of the SVD is reduced to 2.21 MOA extreme vertical spread. The extreme vertical spreads for the SVD are established by shooting 5-shot groups at 300 m range. The accuracy requirements demanded of the SVD with sniper grade ammunition are similar to the American M24 Sniper Weapon System with M118SB cartridges (1.18 MOA extreme vertical spread) and the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System with M118LR ammunition (1.27 MOA extreme vertical spread).[5]
The Dragunov has a vented, two-piece wooden handguard/gas tube cover and a skeletonized wooden thumbhole stock equipped with a detachable cheek rest; the latter is removed when using iron sights. Newer production models feature synthetic furniture made of a black polymer - the handguard and gas tube cover are more or less identical in appearance, while the thumbhole stock is of a different shape.
sights
The rifle features mechanically adjustable backup iron sights with a sliding tangent rear sight (the sight can be adjusted to a maximum range of 1,200 m). The iron sights can be used with or without the standard issue optical sight in place. This is possible because the scope mount does not block the area between the front and rear sights.
The Dragunov is issued with a quick-detachable PSO-1 optical sight.[6] The PSO-1 sight (at a total length of 375 mm with a lens cover and sun shade, 4x magnification and 6° field of view) mounts to a proprietary side rail mount that does not block the view of the iron sight line. The PSO-1 sight includes a variety of features, such as a bullet drop compensation (BDC) elevation adjustment knob, an illuminated rangefinder grid, a reticle that enables target acquisition in low light conditions as well as an infrared charging screen that is used as a passive detection system. The PSO-1 sight enables targets to be engaged at ranges upwards of 1,300 m; effective ranges in combat situations have been stated at between 600 to 1,300 m, depending on the nature of the target (point or area target) quality of ammunition and skill of the shooter.[7][8]
Several other models of the PSO sight are available with varying levels of magnification and alternative aiming reticules.[9] Rifles designated SVDN come equipped with a night sight, such as the NSP-3, NSPU, PGN-1, NSPUM or the Polish passive PCS-6 and can be used to engage targets at night.
Accessories
A number of accessories are provided with the rifle, including a blade-type bayonet (AKM clipped point or the AK-74 spear point bayonet), four spare magazines, a leather or nylon sling, magazine pouch, cleaning kit and an accessory/maintenance kit for the telescopic sight.
Variants
In the early 1990s a compact variant of the SVD designed for airborne infantry was introduced, known as the SVDS (short for Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova Skladnaya, "Dragunov Sniper Rifle with folding stock"), which features a tubular metal stock that folds to the right side of the receiver (equipped with a synthetic shoulder pad and a fixed cheek riser) and a synthetic pistol grip. The barrel was also given a heavier profile, the receiver housing was strengthened, the gas cylinder block was improved and a ported, conical flash hider was adopted.
The SVDS also comes in a night-capable variant designated SVDSN.
In 1994 the Russian TsKIB SOO company (currently, a division of the KBP Instrument Design Bureau) developed the SVU sniper rifle (short for Snayperskaya Vintovka Ukorochennaya, "Sniper Rifle, Shortened") offered to special units of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD).
The SVU, compared to the SVD, has a considerably shorter overall length because of the bullpup layout and shortened barrel that also received a triple-baffle muzzle brake with an approx. 40% recoil reduction effectiveness. The rifle was equipped with folding iron sights (rear aperture sight in a rotating drum) and the PSO-1 telescopic sight.
A variant of the SVU, designed with a selective-fire capability and using 20-round magazines is called the SVU-A (A – Avtomaticheskaya).
In 1998 Poland adopted a modernized variant of the SVD designated the SWD-M, which uses a heavy barrel, bipod (mounted to the forearm) and LD-6 (6x42) telescopic sight.
Commercial Variants
The Dragunov also served as the basis for several hunting rifles. In 1962 the state armory in Izhevsk developed the “Medved” (Bear) rifle, initially chambered first in the 9x53mm cartridge and later in the 7.62x51mm NATO round for export. In the early 1970s Izhevsk introduced the “Tigr” (Tiger) hunting rifle with a fixed thumbhole stock without a cheekpiece. They were originally produced individually but since 1992 they have been made serially in batches. Today they are available with shortened (520 mm) and full length (620 mm) barrel, different stocks (including SVDS style folding stock) and chambered in 7.62x54mmR, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield or 9.3x64mm Brenneke.
Another variant of the SVD is the Iraqi 7.62 mm Al-Kadesih sniper rifle. The Al-Kadesih while stylistically very similar to the SVD has some key differences. The Al-Kadesih has a unique pressed-metal receiver which is longer than that of the SVD, although the overall length of the rifle is similar to that of the SVD. It is fitted for and uses the Soviet-era PSO-I Optical Sight. Further the barrel is pinned, rather than screwed, to the receiver, although it is of the same length as that of the SVD. The fore-end has four longitudinal slots on each side instead of six short slots. Another readily visible distinguishing feature of the Al-Kadesih is that the magazine has an ornamental relief pattern showing a stylised palm tree.
Deployment
The Dragunov is an original rifle design for several reasons. First, it was not meant for highly trained and specialized sniper teams, but rather for designated marksmen, spread in every basic infantry unit. In every platoon of Warsaw Pact troops, there was a Dragunov rifle marksman. In the German Democratic Republic arsenals alone, there were almost 2,000 Dragunov rifles,[10] while in many Western armies there was not even a single sniper rifle except in special forces units (as example, in the Italian Army until the 1990s), but in Warsaw Pact troop formations, the Dragunov marksmen were widespread among the regular units. To fulfill this role the rifle is relatively light for a sniper rifle but well balanced, making it easier to use in a dynamic battle. It also is a semi-automatic rifle, a rare feature for accuracy oriented rifles in the 1960s (except for customized ordnance, like M1 Garands), to allow rapid fire and quicker engagement of multiple targets. In order to fire effective API ammunition, its accuracy potential was slightly downgraded by shortening the twist rate, another uncommon priority for a pure sniper rifle. Its precision is good but not exceptional, also because it has a relatively light barrel profile. Like an assault rifle, the rifle has mounts on the barrel to fix a bayonet. The standard AKM bayonet can even be used to cut barbed wire. Lastly, the rifle was meant to be a relatively cheap mass produced firearm.
These features and unusual characteristics were driven by the tactical use doctrine of Dragunov armed marksman which was; from (just behind) the first line targeting high value targets of opportunity and providing special long-distance disrupting and suppressive fire on the battlefield, even with sudden close encounters with enemy troops in mind. A relatively small number of marksman could assist conventional troops by combating or harassing valuable targets and assets such as: enemy key personnel like officers, non-commissioned officers and radio operators, exposed tank commanders, designated marksman and snipers, machinegun teams, anti-tank warfare teams, etc.

For snipers, Karabiner 98k rifles selected for being exceptionally accurate during factory tests were fitted with a telescopic sight as sniper rifles. Karabiner 98k sniper rifles had an effective range up to 1000 meters (1094 yards) when used by a skilled sniper. The German Zeiss Zielvier 4x (ZF39) telescopic sight had bullet drop compensation in 50 m increments for ranges from 100 m up to 800 m or in some variations from 100 m up to 1000 m. There were ZF42, Zeiss Zielsechs 6x and other telescopic sights by various manufacturers like the Ajack 4x, Hensoldt Dialytan 4x and Kahles Heliavier 4x with similar features employed on Karabiner 98k sniper rifles. Several different mountings produced by various manufacturers were used. The Karabiner 98k was not designed for mounting telescopic sights. Attaching such sights to a Karabiner 98k required machining by a skilled armourer. A telescopic sight mounted low above the center axis of the receiver will not leave enough space between the rifle and the telescopic sight body for unimpaired operation of the bolt handle or three-position safety catch lever. This ergonomic problem was solved by mounting the telescopic sight relatively high above the receiver and sometimes modifying or replacing the safety operating lever or using an offset mounting that positions the telescopic sight axis to the left side in relation to the receiver center axis. Approximately 132,000 of these sniper rifles were produced by Germany

After the allied landing in Normandy months of bloody combat followed until eventually the German defences crumbled and were transformed into a chaotic retreat. During this fighting many arms of the Wehrmacht distinguished themselves, not the least the German snipers. The sniper's role was to target and shoot important personnel such as nco's, officers, artillery observers, signalists, orderlies, gun crews etc, they also functioned as observers, listening posts and information gatherers. Another important feature of the snipers was that they had a demoralising effect on the enemy. It is reported snipers accounted for fifty percent of an American Battalion's casualties. With their stubborn resistance they became one of the most feared and hated enemy on the battlefield. It went so far that a myth or legend was created. Soon a sniper fear filled the allied lines.

A nineteen year old soldier, John D. Hinton, M- Company, 3. Battalion of the 116. Infantry Regiment remembers how he met a sniper already at the landing. When they had managed to get off the beach and reach the bank they tried to set up a gun on the top of the bank. Each time a soldier tried to get himself behind the gun a sniper, 800 meters to their left, began to fire at them. A number of soldiers were shot in their arms, Hinton was shot in the leg and one soldier died.

2. Battalion 'Royal Ulster Rifles', part of the 9. Infantry Brigade of the 3. Infantry Division met snipers early. After the landing the Battalion was ordered to take the heights northeast of Periers sur le Dan. On the way to the heights they captured seventeen German soldiers, seven were reported to be snipers!

At 1700 the seventh of June the Royal Ulster Rifles was ordered to move up towards Cambes, a small village about ten kilometres inland. Due to the fact that the village was surrounded by dense woods and a stone wall, observation of enemy positions was impossible. The judgement was made that only light resistance was to be expected. D- Company under Captain Aldworth received orders to approach the village together with a tank company. When they almost had reached the edge of the woods they met heavy sniper and mortar fire. The company was split- up in two parts to attack through the forest from two directions but met deadly crossfire from enemy machineguns. Stretcher bearers from the medic section were shot when they tried to save wounded soldiers. The tanks stood powerless due to the high wall surrounding the village. Captain Aldworth was hit and died immediately, one of the platoon commanders became wounded. The Battalion commander aborted the attack. The Company commander and fourteen others were now dead, one officer and eleven other were wounded, four soldiers were missing. Cambes proved to be a heavily defended German position and when finally, after bombardment by everything from light mortars to heavy naval artillery, the village was taken it was filled with dead Germans. A wounded SS sniper was captured.

Early on the morning of the ninth July the Battalion's forward elements began to reach the outskirts of Caen. Lieutenant Burges secured St. Julien, northwest of Caen, and slowly but safely began his advance on the city itself. At first the enemy opposition was light and they had no problem with fighting back. Soon, however, the resistance stiffened, persistent snipers shot at the patrol. Lieutenant Burges was hit and wounded in the head by a well aimed bullet. Soon two nco's were killed. Burges' patrol had to pull back.

Some of the snipers that the allies met in Normandy had had excellent training in the Hitlerjugend, some of them had been trained in small calibre rifles. Before the war the Hitlerjugend had increased the military training for its members. Many boys were trained in sharpshooting. Those who distinguished themselves were later give sniper training. When they later went into combat they had been given good and valuable training. In Normandy the 12. SS Panzerdivision 'Hitlerjugend' fought. This was a unit composed of recruits from the Hitlerjugend and experienced officers from the 1. SS Panzerdivision 'Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler'. At Caen the young boys would have their baptism of fire.

Caen was an excellent place for the German snipers. Together with artillery observers who directed artillery fire on exposed infantry the snipers totally dominated the grounds around Caen. The Brits and Canadians had to go through every square meter to make sure the terrain was secured from the stubborn snipers, a time consuming task. It was at Caen that snipers like Gefreiter Kurt Spengler distinguished themselves. Spengler was at the northeast of Caen, isolated in a big minefield. He shot down a notable number of British troops until he finally was killed by heavy artillery bombardment.
On the twenty-sixth of June SS Pionier Pelzmann of the 12. SS Panzerpionierbataillon's fourth company is positioned under a small tree, he is a forward observer. He has dug a hole and then placed a big piece of armour from a Pzkpfw. IV and grass on top of it. The only opening is a small observation slit facing the enemy. It's impossible to discover him. From the observation slit he has shot a large number of British soldiers when he finally runs out of ammunition. He steps out of his dugout, grabs his sniper rifle and smashes it to the tree. He throws the rifle away and shout "So, I don't have any ammo left, finished enough of you- you can shot me now!". A big red haired Englishman then steps forward, grab Pelzmann's arm, places his revolver against his head and fires. Pelzmann falls dead to the ground. Oberscharführer Ernst Behrens, who together with a handful of other prisoners have witnessed the incident, is told to gather all the dead soldiers and concentrate them at a certain spot. When he comes to Pelzmann he counts about thirty dead Englishmen in front of Pelzmann's dugout.

A British soldier named Percy Lewis, who during and after the war was a professional boxer, witnessed the cruelties of war. When he served in the 6. Battalion K.S.L.I. of the 181. Field Regiment he witnessed a German sniper being executed by a soldier whose brother was killed by a sniper the day before. The allied attitude towards snipers was hard on the western front, it was due to these kind of events the German snipers fought so fanatical.

In spite of earlier experiences with snipers it's first at Normandy that they grow to be more than a source of irritation. That's anyway how the American soldiers felt. To clean out an area from snipers was time consuming and sometimes it took a whole day before a bivouac area was secured. The allied soldiers were forced to learn fast how to handle snipers and avoid unnecessary risks. Soon the soldiers began to squat when moving. The soldiers ceased to salute officers and no one was called by rank anymore. Everything was done to decrease the risks of exposing oneself to sniper fire. An unpleasant, tense feeling crept onto the soldiers who were forced to always stay on alert. An American officer commented: "Individual soldiers have become sniper-wise before, but now we're sniper-conscious as whole units."

When men from the 653. Tank Destroyer Battalion moved inland they met dead bodies lying along the hedgerows. The sniper fear spread immediately. There were even rumours circulating that French women collaborators had been left behind and were now acting as snipers. "They were everywhere sniping at us. We moved around very carefully and never alone. We would even take someone with us when nature called."

The German snipers spread themselves out in the Normandic landscape. When the allied troops began to advance they left behind a large number of German snipers who later shot at less alert troops. The terrain was perfect. The hedgerows that marked off fields only permitted a free sight of a few hundred meters. A suitable distance, even for the inexperienced sniper. A sniper could hit a chosen body part at a distance of 300 to 400 meters. The thick vegetation that characterised the hedgerows, or bocage, meant that it was extremely difficult to discover the snipers positions. A soldier compared the fighting with Guadalcanal. The hedgerows dated back to the time of the Roman empire. They had been put in place to mark property and were used as fence for the grazing fields- often only one exit existed. To fight in the bocage was like fighting in a labyrinth. The thick, high hedgerows made the allied troops feel like they were trapped in a tunnel. The terrain enabled maximum hiding opportunities for the snipers while their targets had to dangerously expose themselves. Among the hedgerows the snipers prepared a few positions from where they expected the enemy to approach. At company level the snipers were usually used for harassing the enemy and defending machinegun emplacements. Often the German troops dug in under the hedgerows and thus mortar fire had little effect. Among the hedgerows they also often placed booby traps, mines and trip wire explosives. From these positions they fired upon the allied troops until they had to retreat. The troops that were too far behind the enemy lines fought until they didn't have any food or ammunition left, then they surrendered- a riskful thing for a sniper.

In Normandy a new phenomenon appears on the battlefield. Earlier snipers usually had tried to withdraw at some point but suddenly some snipers began to behave differently. It became more and more ordinary that the allied troops met snipers who fired shot upon shot without any intent to leave their position. This tactic almost always ended with the sniper being killed but caused heavy casualties among the allies. Due to their young age these fanatical snipers were later given the nickname 'suicide boys' by the Anglo- American troops.

The American war correspondent Ernie Pyle reported from Normandy: "There are snipers everywhere. There are snipers in trees, in buildings, in piles of wreckage, in the grass. But mainly they are in the high, bushy hedgerows that form the fences of all the Norman fields and line every roadside and lane."

It was not only among the hedges and trees that the snipers hid. At crossroads important targets such as traffic police and officers, the crossroads were although quite often shelled therefore the snipers positioned themselves a bit away from these. Bridges were also ideal spots, here a sniper could easily create panic and havoc with only a few shots. Lone houses were an obvious place and therefore the snipers placed themselves a short distance from these. Sometimes the snipers hid among wreckage but this meant that they preferably had to change position often. Another ideal spot for the sniper team were the fields with crops, here it was difficult to find out the exact position of the sniper and the dense crop provided good concealment. Often the snipers tried to position themselves high. Water towers, windmills and church towers were perfect positions but also obvious and thus exposed to artillery fire. Despite the obviousness snipers often hid up in these places. The more experienced snipers usually positioned themselves in other, less evident, tall buildings. Sergeant Arthur Colligan served in the 2. American Armored Division, he remembers the church towers with horror: "They were used by German snipers to shoot at us."

A captured German sniper was interrogated and asked how he could tell officers, wearing normal uniforms, carrying rifle and not wearing any rank badges, apart from regular soldiers. He simply stated "We shoot the men who have moustaches", by experience they had learnt that moustaches were common among officers and higher nco's.

The German snipers always tried to hit important targets such as officers, nco's, observers, singalists, gun crews, orderlies, vehicle commanders etc. As opposed to the MG 42 the sniper didn't reveal his position as easily when he opened fire. A good sniper could pin down a whole infantry platoon. When he fired his first shot the whole platoon froze and he was then given time to change position. A typical mistake among green troops when fired upon by a sniper was to hug the ground and not return the fire. A platoon commander in the 9. Infantry division remembers: "One of the fatal mistakes made by infantry replacements is to hit the ground and freeze when fired upon. Once I ordered a squad to advance from one hedgerow to another. During the movement one man was shot by a sniper firing one round. The entire squad hit the ground and they were picked off, one by one, by the same sniper."

1944 became a turning point for German sharpshooting. The educational movie 'Die unsichtbare Waffe' was shown and new doctrines were created based on careful evaluations and earlier experiences. It was stressed that snipers must be used correctly and they have to act according to the new doctrines. As an example it was emphasized that snipers must work in pairs. Camouflage uniforms were standard and new sophisticated weapons and equipment was available in huge numbers although there was some trouble with meeting the demands of sniper rifles. Heinrich Himmler, himself very interested in sharpshooting, had early set up sniper programs for the Waffen SS. During the latter part of 1944 the numbers of snipers were also to increase within the grenadier- and volksgrenadier companies.

The snipers ten commandments 1944:
Fight fanatical
Shoot calm and contemplated, fast shots lead nowhere, concentrate on the hit
Your greatest opponent is the enemy sniper, outsmart him
Always only fire one shot from your position, if not you will be discovered
The trench tool prolongs your life
Practice in distance judging
Become a master in camouflage and terrain usage
Practice constantly, behind the front and in the homeland, your shooting skills
Never let go of your sniper rifle
Survival is ten times camouflage and one time firing

Snipers existed on different levels. The trained snipers usually existed at company and battalion level and above, they had received special training and received specific tasks. Most of the time these snipers acted in teams of two, on sniper and one observer, they could also act on their own and in bigger teams. There were also soldiers with sniper rifles at platoon level, the had no special training and usually operated within the company, supporting it.
A German company had for a long time been under accurate artillery fire. This was something that only an observer could be responsible for. A sniper team was sent out to no mans- land to locate the observer. For hours they were lying still and observing, always searching for a sign that could reveal the enemy's position. In the landscape there was a knocked out tank. Suddenly the sniper's discovered a piece of white paper in front of the tank that wasn't there before. They notified the company commander to put forward an anti- tank gun to force the enemy out from under the tank. The gun shot a well- aimed round and the sniper team was prepared. The shot hit the tank and two Englishmen came out. The distance was 200 meters. The sniper fired his first shot and hit one of the soldiers in the chest. The other soldier ran right in front of the snipers view, stopped and hesitated. The sniper fired and the English soldier fell dead to the ground, hit in the head.*

Military statistics have revealed that during the second world war it usually it took 25 000 shots to kill a soldier, the sniper needed an average of 1.3- the allies had every right to worry about the German snipers.

T/ Sergeant Frank Kwiatek was a forty-six year old platoon commander in a heavy-weapons platoon. During the first world war he spent nineteen months as a machine-gunner. He had spent twenty years in the same platoon and his soldiers called him 'Hardtack Murphy'. When he was in North Ireland he was given the news that his twenty-one year old brother Ted, a tank gunner, had been killed during the fighting in Sicily. Before his men Kwiatek swore to avenge his brother by killing twenty-five Germans. He was later given the news that another brother, Jerry, had been killed in Italy. Kwiatek swore to kill another twenty-five Germans. Frank Kwiatek had so far put twenty-two notches in his rifle. One for each German. He had killed twenty with his rifle and two with hand grenades. He has also killed a dozen of Germans with a tommy gun but he didn't count them because he wanted to be able to see his enemy in the eyes when he killed them: "I like to see him drop. When he drops, I can almost see my brothers smiling at me. I like shooting snipers especially; they're so sneaky."

The first sniper that Kwiatek shot was encountered when his unit was stopped outside Cerisy La Foret. The sniper had chosen to place himself at a crossroad- a good position. After the sniper had killed a number of men the company commander asked for a volunteer to eliminate the sniper. Kwiatek volunteers. He prowls through the woods until he was about twenty-five meters behind the sniper who was positioned behind a road marker. Sergeant Kwiatek lifts his rifle to shoot the sniper but then discovers another sniper about thirty meters to his right. He first shoots the sniper to the right and then the sniper behind the road marker. A few minutes later Frank Kwiateks company has begun to advance again. He walks behind to give rear protection. Suddenly he discovers a hedge move slightly, he becomes suspicious since it moves in the opposite direction of the wind. He sneaks up to the hedge until he sees a German. He then shouts "Hey!" The German turns around and Kwiatek fires a shot and the German falls to the ground. At first he thinks it was a common soldier but later learns that it was a fallschirmjägerhauptmann.

Once one of Kwiateks men stuck his head above a hedge to shoot but is shot by a sniper. "His brain splattered all over my face...I have never been so sick in my life, " Frank Kwiatek remembers. Private Floyd Rogers and Kwiatek decides to get the sniper. Kwiatek tells Rogers to hold up the dead soldier’s helmet on his signal. Kwiatek moves away about forty meters and then gives the signal. The sniper fires immediately. Sergeant Kwiatek gives the signal to Rogers to stick up the helmet again but at another position. Kwiatek now sees the snipers head and shoulders stick out from a tree. "Then I let him have it. All it took was one shot. Those bastards don't give you more than one shot."

Private James W. Justus remembers Sergeant Kwiatek as a good leader. "The only trouble is, he wants to finish off the war by himself. Every time I see him, he's looking at a tree. He's going to be a very sad man when the war is over and there are no more snipers to kill."

Vehicle commanders were a rewarding target for snipers, Sergeant Eugene W. Luciano often stood upright in his half- track to be able to better guide his driver. "I know I heard an occasional shot hit the half-track and also zip past me as we advanced." He also remembers how they used to use tracer ammunition at snipers who hid in barns and haystacks.

Eventually the allied units adapted new tactics that reduced their casualties to enemy sniper fire but snipers continued to pose a threat and be a source to fear among the allied soldiers on the western front throughout the war. They personified the fear the soldiers had. A new culmination of German sniper actions would happen when the allied forces started to enter German soil and during the Ardennes offensive. Then the German resistance would once again stiffen and more emphasis would be put on snipers.

*It is not certain whether this happened during the fighting’s in the bocage or not.

A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern (a reticle) mounted in an optically appropriate position in the their optical system to give an accurate aiming point. Telescopic sights are used with all types of systems that require accurate aiming but are most commonly found on guns. Other types of sights are iron sights, reflector (reflex) sights, and laser sights.

History 

The first experiments directed to give shooters optical aiming aids go back to the early 17th century. For centuries different optical aiming aids and primitive predecessors of telescopic sights were created that had practical or performance limitations.

The first documented telescopic rifle sight was invented between 1835 and 1840. In a book titled The Improved American Rifle, written in 1844, John R. Chapman documents the first telescopic sights made by Morgan James of Utica, NY. Chapman, the author, being a civil engineer, gave James the concepts and some of the design, whereupon they produced the Chapman-James sight. In 1855, William Malcolm of Syracuse, NY began producing his own sight. Malcolm used an original design incorporating achromatic lenses like those used in telescopes, and improved the windage and elevation adjustments. They were between 3X and 20X or greater. Malcolm's and those made by Mr. L.M. Amidon of Vermont were the standard during the Civil War.[1][2]

Still other telescopic rifle sights of the same period were the Davidson telescopic sight and the Parker Hale telescopic sight.[3][4]

An early practical refractor telescope based telescopic sight was built in 1880 by August Fiedler (Stronsdorf, Austria), forestry commissioner of Prince Reuss.[5][6] Later telescopic sights with extra long eye relief became available for handgun and scout rifle use. A historic example of a telescopic sight with a long eye relief is the German ZF41 which was used during World War II on Karabiner 98k rifles.

An early example of a man portable telescopic sight for low visibility/night use is the Zielgerät (aiming device) 1229 (ZG 1229), also known by its code name Vampir. The ZG 1229 Vampir was a Generation 0 active infrared night vision device developed for the Wehrmacht for the StG 44 assault rifle, intended primarily for night use. The issuing of the ZG 1229 Vampir system to the military started in 1944 and it was used on a small scale in combat from February 1945 until the final stages of World War II.

Types

Telescopic sights are classified in terms of the optical magnification and the objective lens diameter, e.g. 10×50. This would denote 10 times magnification with a 50 mm objective lens. In general terms, larger objective lens diameters, due to their ability to gather larger amounts of light, provide a larger exit pupil and hence provide a brighter image at the eyepiece. On fixed magnification sights the magnification power and objective diameter should be chosen on the basis of the intended use.

There are also telescopic sights with variable magnification. The magnification can be varied by manually operating a zoom mechanism. Variable sights offer more flexibility regarding shooting at varying ranges, targets and light conditions and offer a relative wide field of view at lower magnification settings. The syntax for variable sights is the following: minimal magnification – maximum magnification × objective lens, for example, 3–9×40.

Confusingly, some older telescopic sights, mainly of German or other European manufacture, have a different classification where the second part of the designation refers to 'light gathering power.' In these cases, a 4×81 (4× magnification) sight would be presumed to have a brighter sight picture than a 2.5×70 (2.5× magnification), but the objective lens diameter would not bear any direct relation to picture brightness, as brightness is affected also by the magnification factor. Typically objective lenses on early sights are smaller than modern sights, in these examples the 4×81 would have an objective approximately 32mm diameter and the 2.5×70 might be approximately 25mm.

Optical parameters

Telescopic sights are usually designed for the specific application for which they are intended. Those different designs create certain optical parameters. Those parameters are:

Magnification — The ratio of the focal length of the eyepiece divided into the focal length of the objective gives the linear magnifying power of telescopes. A magnification of factor 10, for example, produces an image as if one were 10 times closer to the object. The amount of magnification depends upon the application the telescopic sight is designed for. Lower magnifications lead to less susceptibility to shaking. A larger magnification leads to a smaller field of view.

Objective lens diameter – The diameter of the objective lens determines how much light can be gathered to form an image. It is usually expressed in millimeters.

Field of view — The field of view of a telescopic sight is determined by its optical design. It is usually notated in a linear value, such as how many meters (feet) in width will be seen at 100 m (100 yd), or in an angular value of how many degrees can be viewed.

Exit pupil — Telescopic sights concentrate the light gathered by the objective into a beam, the exit pupil, whose diameter is the objective diameter divided by the magnifying power. For maximum effective light-gathering and brightest image, the exit pupil should equal the diameter of the fully dilated iris of the human eye — about 7 mm, reducing with age. If the cone of light streaming out of the eyepiece is larger than the pupil it is going into, any light larger than the pupil is wasted in terms of providing information to the eye.

However, a larger exit pupil makes it easier to put the eye where it can receive the light: anywhere in the large exit pupil cone of light will do. This ease of placement helps avoid vignetting, which is a darkened or obscured view that occurs when the light path is partially blocked. And, it means that the image can be quickly found which is important when aiming at game animals that move rapidly. A narrow exit pupil telescopic sight may also be fatiguing because the instrument must be held exactly in place in front of the eyes to provide a useful image. Finally, many people in Europe use their telescopic sights at dusk, dawn and at night, when their pupils are larger. Thus the daytime exit pupil of about 3 to 4 mm is not a universally desirable standard. For comfort, ease of use, and flexibility in applications, larger telescopic sights with larger exit pupils are satisfying choices even if their capability is not fully used by day.

Eye relief — Eye relief is the distance from the rear eyepiece lens to the exit pupil or eye point.[7] It is the distance the observer must position his or her eye behind the eyepiece in order to see an unvignetted image. The longer the focal length of the eyepiece, the greater the eye relief. Typical telescopic sights may have eye relief ranging from 25 mm (1 in) to over 100 mm (4 in), but telescopic sights intended for scout rifles or handguns need much longer eye relief to present an unvignetted image. Telescopic sights with relatively long eye relief are favourable to avoid recoil induced facial and eye injuries and use in instances where it is difficult to hold the eyepiece steady. Eye relief can be particularly important for eyeglass wearers. The eye of an eyeglass wearer is typically further from the eye piece which necessitates a longer eye relief in order to still see the entire field of view.

Reticles

Telescopic sights come with a variety of different reticles, ranging from the traditional crosshairs to complex reticles designed to allow the shooter to estimate accurately the range to a target, to compensate for the bullet drop, and to compensate for the windage required due to crosswinds. A user can estimate the range to objects of known size, the size of objects at known distances, and even roughly compensate for both bullet drop and wind drifts at known ranges with a reticle-equipped scope.

For example, with a typical Leupold brand duplex 16 Minute of Angle (MOA) reticle (of a type as shown in image B) on a fixed power scope, the distance from post to post (that is, between the heavy lines of the reticle spanning the center of the scope picture) is approximately 32 inches (81.3 cm) at 200 yards (183 m), or, equivalently, approximately 16 inches (40.65 cm) from the center to any post at 200 yards. If a target of a known diameter of 16 inches fills just half of the total post-to-post distance (i.e. filling from scope center to post), then the distance to target is approximately 200 yards (183 m). With a target of a diameter of 16 inches that fills the entire sight picture from post to post, the range is approximately 100 yards. Other ranges can be similarly estimated accurately in an analog fashion for known target sizes through proportionality calculations. Holdover, for estimating vertical point of aim offset required for bullet drop compensation on level terrain, and horizontal windage offset (for estimating side to side point of aim offsets required for wind effect corrections) can similarly be compensated for through using approximations based on the wind speed (from observing flags or other objects) by a trained user through using the reticle marks. The less-commonly used holdunder, used for shooting on sloping terrain, can even be estimated by an appropriately-skilled user with a reticle-equipped scope, once the slope of the terrain and the slant range to target are both known.

There are two main types of reticles:

Wire reticles

Etched reticles

Wire reticles are the oldest type of reticles and are made out of metal wire. They are mounted in an optically appropriate position in the telescopic sight's tube. Etched reticles are images of the desired reticle layout that are etched on an optic element. This optical element (lens) with the etched reticle is then mounted in the telescopic sights tube as an integrated part of the optics chain of the sight. When backlit through the ocular a wire reticle will reflect incoming light and not present a fully opaque (black) reticule with high-contrast. An etched reticle will stay fully opaque (black) if backlit. Etched reticles are by most considered to be a more refined solution and offer greater reticle lay out flexibility. Because of this some manufacturers can provide client designed custom reticles on special order. In the more expensive and high end contemporary telescopic sights etched reticles dominate the market. In cheaper telescopic sights wire reticles are still often mounted to avoid a rather specialized and costly production step.

Mil-dot reticles

Modern military and law enforcement reticles are generally designed for (stadiametric) rangefinding purposes. Perhaps the most flexible ranging reticle is the "Mil-dot" reticle, which consists of duplex crosshairs with small dots at milliradian (Mil) intervals in the field of view.[8] A milliradian equates to 3.43774677078493 MOA, that is, approximately 21.6 inches at 600 yards; each MOA equates to 1.0471975511966 inch at 100 yards, often rounded to 1 inch at 100 yards for fast mental calculations.

Users who use the metric system are better off with a Mil-dot reticle, since they do not have to hassle with the unnecessary complications of a non metric system of measurement during mental calculations. Also the Mil-dot measurements and ranging calculations are always exact in the metric system.

A trained user can relatively accurately measure the range to objects of known size, the size of objects at known distances, and compensate for both bullet drop and wind drifts at known ranges with a Mil-dot reticle-equipped scope.

This is what a Netherlands Army sniper sees through his Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II[9] telescopic sight. The Mil-dots can be seen on the cross hairs. By means of a mathematical formula - (width or height of the target/ number of mil of dots) x 1000 = distance - the user can measure the range to a target. An object of 1 meter tall or wide is exactly 1 Mil tall or wide at 1000 meters distance. If the user sees an object of 1.8 m tall for example as three mil dots tall through the riflescope the object is at 600 m distance - (1.8 / 3) x 1000 = 600.

The four horizontal bars over the horizontal line are also intended for (quick) ranging purposes.

Reticle focal plane

The reticle may be located at the front or rear focal plane (First Focal Plane (FFP) or Second Focal Plane (SFP)) of the telescopic sight. On fixed power telescopic sights there is no significant difference, but on variable power telescopic sights the front plane reticle remains at a constant size compared to the target, while rear plane reticles remain a constant size to the user as the target image grows and shrinks. Front focal plane reticles are slightly more durable, but most American users prefer that the reticle remains constant as the image changes size, so nearly all modern American variable power telescopic sights are rear focal plane designs. European high end optics manufacturers often leave the customer the choice between a FFP or SFP mounted reticle.

Variable power telescopic sights with front focal plane reticles have no problems with point of impact shifts. Variable power telescopic sights with rear focal plane reticles can have slight point of impact shifts through their magnification range caused by the positioning of the reticle in the mechanical zoom mechanism in the rear part of the telescopic sight. Normally these impact shifts are insignificant but make accuracy oriented users, that wish to use their telescopic sight trouble-free at several magnification levels, often opt for front focal plane reticles. Around the year 2005 Zeiss[10] was the first high end European telescopic sight manufacturer who brought out variable magnification military grade telescopic sight models with rear focal plane mounted reticles. They get around impermissible impact shifts for these sights by laboriously hand adjusting every military grade telescopic sight. The American high end telescopic sight manufacturer U.S. Optics Inc.[11] also offers variable magnification military grade telescopic sight models with rear focal plane mounted reticles.

Reticle illumination

Either type of reticle can be illuminated for use in low-light or daytime conditions. With any illuminated low-light reticle, it is essential that its brightness can be adjusted. A reticle that is too bright will cause glare in the operator’s eye, interfering with his ability to see in low-light conditions. This is because the pupil of the human eye closes quickly upon receiving any source of light. Most illuminated reticles provide adjustable brightness settings to adjust the reticle precisely to the ambient light.

Illumination is usually provided by a battery powered LED, though other electric light sources can be used. The light is projected forward through the scope, and reflects off the back surface of the reticle. Red is the most common colour used, as it least impedes the shooter's night vision. This illumination method can be used to provide both daytime and low-light conditions reticle illumination.

Radioactive isotopes can also be used as a light source, to provide an illuminated reticule for low-light condition aiming. In sights like the SUSAT or Elcan C79 Optical Sight tritium-illuminated reticles are used for low-light condition aiming. Trijicon Corporation uses tritium in their combat and hunting-grade firearm optics, including the ACOG. The (radioactive) tritium light source has to be replaced every 8–12 years, since it gradually loses its brightness due to radioactive decay.

With fiber optics ambient (day)light can be collected and directed to an illuminated daytime reticle. Fiber optics reticles automatically interact with the ambient light level that dictates the brightness of the reticle. Trijicon uses fiber optics combined with other low-light conditions illumination methods in their AccuPoint telescopic sights and some of their ACOG sights models.

Parallax compensation

Parallax problems result from the image from the objective not being coincident with the reticle. If the image is not coplanar with the reticle (that is the image of the objective is either in front of or behind the reticle), then putting your eye at different points behind the ocular causes the reticle crosshairs to appear to be at different points on the target. This optical effect causes parallax induced aiming errors that can make a telescopic sight user miss a small target at a distance for which the telescopic sight was not parallax adjusted.

To eliminate parallax induced aiming errors, telescopic sights can be equipped with a parallax compensation mechanism which basically consists of a movable optical element that enables the optical system to project the picture of objects at varying distances and the reticle crosshairs pictures together in exactly the same optical plane. There are two main methods to achieve this.

By making the objective lens of the telescopic sight adjustable so the telescopic sight can compensate parallax errors. These models are often called AO or A/O models, for adjustable objective.

By making an internal lens in the internal optical groups mounted somewhere in front of the reticle plane adjustable so the telescopic sight can compensate parallax errors. This method is technically more complicated to build, but generally more liked by parallax adjustable telescopic sight users—unlike AO models, which are read from the top, the sidewheel's setting can be read with minimal movement of the head. These models are often called side focus or sidewheel models.[citation needed]

Most telescopic sights lack parallax compensation because they can perform very acceptably without this refinement. Telescopic sights manufacturers adjust these scopes at a distance that best suits their intended usage. Typical standard factory parallax adjustment distances for hunting telescopic sights are 100 yd or 100 m to make them suited for hunting shots that rarely exceed 300 yd/m. Some long range target and military style telescopic sights without parallax compensation may be adjusted to be parallax free at ranges up to 300 yd/m to make them better suited for aiming at 300 yd/m+ ranges. Scopes for rimfire guns, shotguns, and muzzleloaders that are rarely fired at 100 yd/m+ ranges will have shorter parallax settings, commonly 50 yd/m for rimfire scopes and 100 yd/m for shotguns and muzzleloaders. Scopes for airguns that are commonly used at short ranges are very often found with adjustable parallax, usually in the form of an adjustable objective, or AO. These may adjust down as far as 3 yards (2.74 m).

The reason why scopes intended for short range use are often equipped with parallax compensation is that at short range (and at high magnification) parallax errors become more noticeable. A typical scope objective has a focal length of 100 mm. An optical ideal 10× scope in this example has been perfectly parallax corrected at 1000 m and functions flawlessly at that distance. If the same scope is used at 100 m the target-picture would be projected (1000 m / 100 m) / 100 mm = 0.1 mm behind the reticle plane. At 10× magnification the error would be 10 × 0.1 mm = 1 mm at the ocular. If the same scope was used at 10 m the target-picture would be (1000 m / 10 m) / 100 mm = 1 mm projected behind the reticle plane. When magnified ten times the error would be 10 mm at the ocular.

Bullet Drop Compensation

Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC) (sometimes referred to as ballistic elevation) is a feature available on some rifle scopes. The feature compensates for the effect of gravity on the bullet at given distances (referred to as "bullet drop"). The feature must be tuned for the particular ballistic trajectory of a particular combination of rifle and cartridge at a predefined air density. Inevitable BDC induced errors will occur if the environmental and meteorological circumstances deviate from the circumstances the BDC was calibrated for. Marksmen can be trained to compensate for these errors.

Adjustment controls

A telescopic sight can have several adjustment controls.

Focusing control at the ocular end of the sight - meant to obtain a sharp picture of the object and reticle.

Elevation or vertical adjustment control of the reticle.

Zero-stop elevation controls can be set to prevent inadvertently dialing the adjustment knob "below" the primary zero (usually 100 meters or 100 yards for long-range scopes), or at least prevent dialing more than a couple adjustment clicks below zero. This feature is also useful on long-range scopes because it allows the shooter to physically verify the elevation knob is dialed all the way down avoiding confusion regarding the elevation status on two- or multi-revolution elevation knobs.

Windage or horizontal adjustment control of the reticle.

Magnification control - meant to change the magnification by turning a ring that is generally marked with several magnification power levels.

Illumination adjustment control of the reticule - meant to regulate the brightness level of the lit parts of the reticles crosshairs.

Parallax compensation control.

Most contemporary telescopic sights offer the first three adjustment controls. The other three are found on telescopic sights that offer a variable magnification, an illuminated reticle and/or parallax compensation. A rather common problem with the elevation and windage adjustment controls is that once smooth working adjustment turrets ‘get stuck’ over the years. This is generally caused by long time lack of movement in the lubricated turret mechanisms.

Older telescopic sights often did not offer windage and elevation adjustments in the scope, but rather used adjustable mounts to provide adjustment. Some modern mounts also allow for adjustment, but it is generally intended to supplement the scope adjustments. For example, some situations require fairly extreme elevation adjustments, such as very short range shooting common with airguns, or very long range shooting, where the bullet drop becomes very significant. In this case, rather than adjusting the scope to the extremes of its elevation adjustment, the scope mount can be adjusted. This allows the scope to operate near the center of its adjustment range. Some companies offer adjustable bases, while others offer bases with a given amount of elevation built in. The adjustable bases are more flexible, but the fixed bases are more durable, as adjustable bases may loosen and shift under recoil.

Accessories

Typical accessories for telescopic sights are:

Lens hoods for mounting on the objective and/or ocular to reduce/eliminate image quality impairing stray light.

Lens hoods that extend the full length of a gun barrel to improve image quality by blocking out shot strings induced mirage ("heat waves" or aberrations resulting from a hot gun barrel).

Covers to protect the objective and/or ocular external lens surface against foul weather and damage. There are slide-over, bikini and flip-open type covers without or with transparent covering material.

Optical filters like Grey, Yellow and Polarising filters to optimize image quality in various lighting conditions.

Kill Flash or honeycomb filters to eliminate light reflections from the objective that could compromise a sniper.

Eye-safe laser filters to protect operators against being wounded/blinded by laser light sources. These filters are often an internal part in the assembly of lens elements.

Transit and protection pouches and cases.

Optronic technologies

Integrated laser rangefinder

In 1997 Swarovski Optik introduced the LRS series telescopic sight, the first riflescope on the civilian market with an integrated laser rangefinder.[14] The LRS 2-12x50 sight can measure ranges up to 600 m (660 yd).[15] The LRS sights are currently (2008) not produced anymore, but sights with similar features are commercially available from several manufacturers.

Ballistic support devices

An integrated ballistic computer/riflescope system known as BORS has been developed by the Barrett Firearms Company and became commercially available around 2007. The BORS module is in essence an electronic Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC) sensor/calculator package intended for long-range sniping out to 2500 m (2734 yd) for some telescopic sight models made by Leupold and Nightforce. To establish the appropriate elevation setting the shooter needs to enter the ammunition type into the BORS (using touch pads on the BORS console) determine the range (either mechanically or through a laser rangefinder) and crank the elevation knob on the scope until the proper range appears in the BORS display. The BORS automatically determines the air density, as well as the cant or tilt in the rifle itself, and incorporates these environmental factors into its elevation calculations.[16]

The SAM (Shooter-supporting Attachment Module) measures and provides aiming and ballistic relevant data and displays this to the user in the ocular of the Zeiss 6-24x72 telescopic sight it is developed for.[17] The SAM has different sensors integrated (temperature, air pressure, shooting angle) and calculates the actual ballistic compensation. All indications are displayed in the ocular. It memorizes up to 4 different ballistics and 4 different firing tables. So it is possible to use 1 SAM with 4 total different weapons without an additional adjustment.

CCD and LCD technology

A totally different approach has been applied in the ELCAN DigitalHunter Digital Rifle Scope series which combines CCD and LCD technology with electronic ballistics compensation, automatic video capture, 4 field selectable reticles and customizable reticles. In 2008 a DigitalHunter DayNight Riflescope that uses infrared light captured by the CCD to enhance low light capabilities became available. It is also possible to attach infrared light sources to use this telescopic sight as an active night sight in total darkness. Some jurisdictions however forbid or limit to use of night vision devices for civilian or gun aiming use.

Mounting

As very few firearms come with built-in telescopic sights (military designs such as the Steyr AUG, SAR 21 and the H&K G36 being exceptions) mounting a scope to a firearm requires additional equipment. Equipment is available to mount scopes on most production firearms. A typical scope mounting system consists of two parts, the scope base and the scope rings. By picking the appropriate combination of scope base to fit the firearm and scope rings to fit the scope, a wide range of scopes may be mounted to most firearms. With the appropriate combination of adjustable scope bases and scope rings it is also possible to mount several telescopic sights on the same gun to make the gun more versatile. However, it is important to take into consideration whether or not a gun is particularly hard to mount. If it is or if a gun is intended for long-range shooting, it could be that the amount of vertical adjustment range is smaller than required. This can be solved with the help of a vertically canted base or canted rings. Typical cant angles offered by mounting components manufacturers are 20 and 30 MOA. It is always wise to buy telescopic sights that provide a decent adjustment range, preferably at least 60 MOA or more.

Scope bases

The base is attached to the rifle, usually with screws, and is often designed to have a low profile, and to allow use of the iron sights if the scope is not present. Some manufacturers provide integral bases on many of their firearms; an example of such a firearm is the Ruger Super Redhawk revolver. The most commonly encountered mounting systems are the 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) and the 11 mm dovetail mounts (sometimes called tip-off mounts), commonly found on rimfires and air guns, the Weaver type base and the STANAG 2324 (MIL-STD-1913 "Picatinny rail") base. Ruger uses a proprietary scope base system, though adapters are available to convert the Ruger bases into Weaver type bases. Scope base and mounting systems are also manufactured in Europe. Specialized manufacturers like Ernst Apel GmbH[20][21] offer an elaborate program of mounting solutions for many different guns. Some of the European mounting solutions are virtually unknown and hence rarely applied in America. Many European gun manufacturers also developed and offer proprietary scope base systems for their guns, for example Sako has tapered dovetails and Tikka uses 16mm dovetail.

Scope rings

In addition to needing the right type of connector to attach to the desired base, scope rings must be used to hold the scope to the mount. The rings must be of the proper size to fit the scope; common sizes are 3/4 inch (19.05 mm), 22 mm, 1 inch (25.4 mm), 26 mm, 30 mm and 34 mm. Red dot sights commonly are found in larger sizes, such as 40 mm, and these often use ringless mounting systems designed to fit dovetail or Weaver type bases. Rings are also available in a variety of heights and materials. Ring height is chosen to place the scope high enough to clear the firearm, and at a height comfortable for the shooter.

Scope mounting rails

European telescopic sight manufacturers often offer the option to have mounting rails underneath the riflescope to provide for mounting solutions that do not use scope rings or a single scope ring around the objective of the scope. These rails are an integral part of the scope body and can not be removed. The mounting rail permits the riflescope to be securely and tension-free mounted at the preferred height and correct distance from the shooter's eye and on different guns.

There are several mounting rail systems offered:

Standard prism

Zeiss ZM/VM, also used by DOCTER

Swarovski Optik SR

Schmidt & Bender Convex

The traditional standard prism mounting rail system requires to have the scope rail drilled from the side for fixture screws. The more recent propriety systems mainly offer aesthetic advantages for people who have problems with redundant drill holes in sight in case the riflescope is used on different guns. To avoid drilling the scope rail, the propriety rail mounting systems have special shape connections machined in the inside of the rail. These shape connections prevent ever showing any exterior damage from mounting work on the rifle scope. The propriety rail systems use matching slide-in mount fasteners to connect the riflescope to the gun. Some propriety rails also offer the possibility to tilt the scope up to 1° to the left or right.

Rail interface systems

For mounting telescopic sights and/or other accessories to guns several rail interface systems are available to provide a standardized mounting platform. Probably the best known rail interface system is the Picatinny rail or STANAG 2324 rail or MIL-STD-1913 rail used by NATO forces and other official and civil users. The name of this interface system comes from the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, where it was originally tested and was used to distinguish it from other rail standards at the time. The Picatinny rail comprises a series of ridges with a T-shaped cross-section interspersed with flat "spacing slots". Telescopic sight mounting rings are mounted either by sliding them on from one end or the other; by means of a "rail-grabber" which is clamped to the rail with bolts, thumbscrews or levers; or onto the slots between the raised sections. Another commercially available rail interface system is the Weaver rail mount from Weaver Optics. The only difference between the Picatinny rail and the Weaver rail is the size of the slots, although many rail-grabber-mounted accessories can be used on either type of rail.

Mounting issues

Scopes for use on light recoiling firearms, such as rimfire guns, can be mounted with a single ring, and this method is not uncommon on handguns, where space is at a premium. Most scopes are mounted with two rings, one in the front half of the scope and one on the back half, which provides additional strength and support. The heaviest recoiling firearms, such as Thompson Center Arms Contender pistols in heavy recoiling calibers, will use three rings for maximum support of the scope. Use of too few rings can result not only in the scope moving under recoil, but also excessive torque on the scope tube as the gun rolls up under recoil.

Scopes on heavy recoiling firearms and spring piston airguns (which have a heavy "reverse recoil" caused by the piston reaching the end of its travel) suffer from a condition called scope creep, where the inertia of the scope holds it still as the firearm recoils under it. Because of this, scope rings must be precisely fitted to the scope, and tightened very consistently to provide maximum hold without putting uneven stress on the body of the scope. Rings that are out of round, misaligned in the bases, or tightened unevenly can warp or crush the body of the scope.[22]

Another problem is mounting a scope on a rifle, such as some lever action designs, where the shell is ejected out the top of the rifle. Usually this results in the scope being offset to one side (to the left for right-handed people, right for left-handed) to allow the shell to clear the scope. Alternately a scout rifle type mount can be used, which places a long eye relief scope forward of the action.

A firearm may not always be able to fit all aiming optics solutions, so it is wise to have a preferred aiming optics solution first reviewed by a professional.

Uses

Telescopic sights have both advantages and disadvantages relative to iron sights. Standard doctrine with iron sights is to focus the eye on the front sight and align it with the resulting blur of the target and the rear sight; most shooters have difficulty doing this, as the eye tends to be drawn to the target, blurring both sights. Gun users over 30 years of age with keen eyesight will find it harder to keep the target, front sight element and rear sight element well enough into focus for aiming purposes as human eyes gradually lose focusing flexibility with rising age, due to presbyopia. Telescopic sights allow the user to focus on both the crosshair and the target at the same time, as the lenses project the crosshair into the distance (50 m or yd for rimfire scopes, 100 m or yd more for centerfire calibers). This, combined with telescopic magnification, clarifies the target and makes the target stand out against the background. The main disadvantage of magnification is that the area to either side of the target is obscured by the tube of the sight. The higher the magnification, the narrower the field of view in the sight, and the more area that is hidden. Rapid fire target shooters use reflex sights, which have no magnification; this gives them the best field of view while maintaining the single focal plane of a telescopic sight. Telescopic sights are expensive, and require additional training to align. Sight alignment with telescopic sights is a matter of making the field of vision circular to minimize parallax error. For maximum effective light-gathering and brightest image, the exit pupil should equal the diameter of the fully dilated iris of the human eye — about 7 mm, reducing with age.

Military

Though they had been used as early as the 1850s on rifles, and even earlier for other tasks, until the 1980s, when optical device and assault rifle combinations such as the Austrian Steyr AUG and the British SUSAT mounted on the SA80, became standard issue, military use of telescopic sights was restricted to snipers because of the fragility and expense of optical components. Additionally the glass lenses are prone to breakage, and environmental conditions such as condensation, precipitation, dirt, and mud obscure external lenses. The scope tube also adds significant bulk to the rifle. Snipers generally used moderate to high magnification scopes with special reticles that allow them to estimate range to the target. Since the 1990s many other armed forces have adopted optical devices for general issue to infantry units and the rate of adoption has increased as the cost of manufacture has fallen.

Telescopic sights provide some tactical disadvantages. Snipers rely on stealth and concealment to get close to their target. A telescopic sight can hinder this because sunlight may reflect from the lens and a sniper raising his head to use a telescopic sight might reveal his position. The famous Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present less of a target. Harsh climate can also cause problems for telescopic sights as they are less rugged than iron sights. Many Finnish snipers in WWII used iron sights heavily because telescopic sights did not cope with very cold Finnish winters.

The market for military telescopic sights intended for military long-range shooting is highly competitive. Several high end optics manufacturers are constantly adapting and improving their telescopic sights to fulfill specific demands of military organizations. Two European companies that are active this field are Schmidt & Bender and Zeiss/Hensoldt. American companies that are also very active in this field are Nightforce, U.S. Optics Inc. and Premier Reticles.[citation needed] These high end sighting components generally cost € 1500 / $ 2000 or more. Typical options for military telescopic sights are reticle illumination for use under adverse light circumstances and the presentation of scope settings or ballistic relevant environmental measurements data to the operator through the sights ocular. Military organizations also are a main driving force behind the development of ever more versatile mil-dot reticles,[citation needed] the US Marine Corps specified for their 7000 USMC M8541 Premier/Schmidt & Bender 3-12x50 PM II LP telescopic sights.[citation needed] Other range finding reticle variations like Schmidt & Bender's P4L (Fine) reticule, which uses mil-hash marks instead of mil-dots for ranging purposes, also were developed on request of active snipers and other long-range field shooters.[citation needed]

The former Warsaw Pact members produce military telescopic sights for their designated marksmen and developed a range finding reticle based on the height of an average human. The reticle used in the Romanian I.O.R. LPS 4x6° TIP2 4x24 rifle scope is calibrated for ranging a 1.7 m tall target from 200 m to 1000 m. This Romanian scope shares the basic design and stadiametric rangefinder found in the reticle of the original Russian PSO-1 and POSP scope series. The target base has to be lined up on the horizontal line of the range-finding scale and the target top point has to touch the upper (dotted) line of the scale without clearance. The digit under which this line up occurs determines the distance to the target.

The Israeli military began widespread use of telescopic sights by ordinary infantrymen to increase hit probability (especially in dim light) and extend effective range of standard issue infantry rifles. Palestinian militants in the al Aqsa Intifada likewise found that adding an inexpensive scope to an AK-47 increased its effectiveness.

Today, several militaries issue telescopic sights to their infantry, usually compact, low-magnification sights suitable for snap-shooting. The US military issues the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG), designed to be used on the M16 rifle and M4 carbine. They also use the non-telescopic Aimpoint CompM2 reflector (reflex) sight and the EOTech 553 holographic weapon sight.[citation needed] American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan frequently purchase their own combat optics and carry them from home. The British army fields the SA80 rifle with the SUSAT 4× optical sight as standard issue. The Canadian Forces standard C7 rifle has a 3.4 Elcan C79 optical sight. Both Austria and Australia field variants of the Austrian Steyr AUG which has built an integral 1.5x optical sight since its deployment in the late 1970s. The German Army G36 assault rifles have a more or less built in dual combat sighting system consisting of a ZF 3x4° telescopic sight combined with an unmagnified electronic red dot sight. The dual combat sighting system weighs 30 gr (1 oz) due to a housing made out of glass fibre reinforced polyamide. All German G36 rifles are adapted to use the Hensoldt NSA 80 II third-generation night sight, which clamps into the G36 carry handle adapter in front of the optical sight housing and mates with the rifle's standard dual combat sighting system.