Sniper Rifles - Forgotten Weapons

L118A2: Accuracy International Arctic Warfare

March 22, 2019 Ian McCollum 4

After the British adoption of the Accuracy International PM as the L96A1 sniper rifle, other nations began to give a very serious look at the company and its rifles. One of the first was Sweden, […]

Yugoslav M52 Sniper: East Meets West

March 4, 2019 Ian McCollum 9

In 1947, Yugoslavia received about 4600 Russian M91/30 PU sniper rifles as military aid, which were basically not used, as Yugoslavia had standardized on the 8mm Mauser cartridge. In 1952, however, a new sniper rifle […]

Parker Hale M85: Traditional Sniper in a Modern World

February 27, 2019 Ian McCollum 32

The 1985 competition to pick a new sniper rifle for the British military came down to a closely fought contest between the Accuracy International PM and the Parker Hale M85. The M85 was a fantastically […]

L96A1: The Green Meanie – the First Modern Sniper Rifle

February 16, 2019 Ian McCollum 24

The Accuracy International Precision Marksman rifle was the winner of the British MoD’s competition to replace the L42A1 as the standard British sniper rifle, and was accordingly adopted as the L96A1. It was the vanguard […]

Book Review: The British Sniper – A Century of Evolution

February 3, 2019 Ian McCollum 8

Steve Houghton’s newly released book “The British Sniper: A Century of Evolution” is an excellent reference on British sniper rifles, accessory equipment, and training from World War One through the present. Where Skennerton’s work ends […]

Luxembourg FN49 Semiauto Sniper Rifle

January 30, 2019 Ian McCollum 16

After World War Two, Luxembourg was one of the nations which opted to purchase new FN-49 rifles. It bought a total of 6,203 of them for the military – an initial purchase of 4,000 semiauto […]

Zeroing the FR-F1

December 27, 2018 Ian McCollum 20

After about 2 years or working and waiting, my FR-F1 has arrived from France – so it’s time to get it zeroed! I am using the only commercial ammo available in the us; PPU 139gr […]

Germany’s WW1 Zeiss Bifocal Scope: the Glasvisier 16

November 24, 2018 Ian McCollum 6

This rifle sold for $4,600 at Rock Island on December 2, 2018. The Zeiss 2.5x Glasvizier 16 optic is one of the most unusual and interesting of the German sighting systems used on rifles during […]

British World War One SMLE Sniper Rifle

November 17, 2018 Ian McCollum 23

This rifle sold for $17,250 at Rock Island on December 1, 2018. The British started World War One without a sniper program, but were quick to develop one once faced with the threat of well-trained […]

The Last Lee Enfield: the L42A1 Sniper

August 31, 2018 Ian McCollum 28

RIA’s catalog page for this rifle When the British military adopted the FAL (L1A1 SLR) in 1960, they adopted the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge along with it. While the Brens guns were converted to the new […]