SSG-69: Steyr's Cold War Sniper Rifle
Bolt Action Rifles
•
15m
Make sure to also check out 9 Hole Reviews' field trial of the SSG-69 in military configuration out to 800 yards!
In the 1960s, Steyr Daimler Pusch developed a modern sniper rifle for the Austrian military (and also for commercial civilian sale). It was adopted as the SSG-69 (Scharfschützen-Gewehr; sharpshooter's rifle), replacing the SSG-98k in military service. Mechanically, the SSG-69 uses a bolt with six rear-mounted locking lugs in 3 pairs, giving it a short 60 degree throw. The stock is made of polymer and the barrel is cold hammer-forged, both fairly cutting-edge elements at the time of its design. It was a factory 1MOA rifle, also something considered typical today, but quite impressive ein the 1960s.
In its military configuration, the rifle used a 5-round detachable rotary magazine and a Kohl's ZF69 6x42mm telescopic sight, along with backup barrel-mounted iron sights. This example is a civilian one, differing from the military pattern by having a double set trigger, a black stock (instead of green) and by including a second trigger guard designed to use traditional box magazines. The basic action was made in a wide variety of other civilian configurations, ranging in caliber from .222 Remington up to .458 Winchester Magnum.
Up Next in Bolt Action Rifles
-
SSG-98k: Austria Repurposes German Sn...
In the aftermath of World War Two, the Austrian Army was basically disarmed and disbanded. When it was allowed to reform in the 1950s, it needed new armaments, and in 1958 it adopted the SSG-98k as a new sniper's rifle. This replaced the leftover German K98k snipers that had been used by the smal...
-
M1903A4: America's WW2 Sniper Rifle
The United States Army entered World War Two with neither sniper rifles nor a sniper training program. As troops began to see combat, requests began to come back to the War Department that both were urgently needed. The newly-adopted dM1 Garand rifle was going to be a bit tricky to mount optics o...
-
M28/76: A Finnish Competition & Snipe...
The Finns developed several difference scopes rifles in the 1930s, but none were made in large quantities, and they were not really much used during the Winter War or Continuation War. The first post-war consideration was given to a new model in 1954, but that led instead to a decision to make a ...