Dragunov SVD

The Dragunov SVD sniper rifle is an automatic rifle based on the Kalashnikov rifle series. The weapon system was the standard sniper rifle issued to the Red Army and most Warsaw Pact nations during the cold war.

The SVD utilizes the heavy and hard-hitting 7.62mm round, with sighting accomplished through a removable scope (designated as the PSO-1). Unlike the Kalashnikov rifles it copies, the SVD actually uses a lower-recoil system so as not to spoil the accuracy of a given shot. The rifle system as a whole is quite long (nearly 50 inches) and features a fixed stock. The Dragunov SVD is still a favorite of snipers in former satellite states such as Iraq, where it is being used in guerilla warfare. It has proven quite easy to fire (the low recoil system mentioned earlier makes it so) and is as accurate as the shooter is trained to be.

There is also a sport rifle based on the military SVD known as the Medved (or "Bear") and is chambered to fire the 9x54R cartridge. Though over forty years old, the SVD can and will be found in some form or another all across the globe for decades to come.

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Last Updated: 10/24/2009