Top 10 most modern sniper rifles in the world 2020

Topping the list of the top 10 is the US M82 Barrett heavy sniper rifle; This is a sniper rifle operating on the principle of semi-automatic, with great penetrating power. The M82 Barrett development began in the early 1980s, entered service in 1982, hence the designation M-82. Currently M82 Barrett is present in the payroll of 60 armed forces, worldwide.

The M82 Barrett is designed to destroy important enemy vehicles and weapons such as airfield parked aircraft, radar stations, trucks and many other important vehicles at long range. Although M82 Barrett can still use sniper enemy life force, but the main purpose is to destroy weapons and military weapons.

The Barrett M82 uses a powerful 12.7x99 mm (.50 BMG) ammunition developed for the Browning M2 heavy machine gun. To limit the recoil of the gun, the gun is equipped with two shock-type shock absorbers, capable of absorbing 70% of the recoil of the gun when fired; 10 bullets reload box, 10x magnification viewfinder.

Second in the top 10 sniper rifles is the Austrian Steyr SSG 69. Its appearance resembled a hunting rifle, however it was specially designed to be used as a weapon for the military and law enforcement. SSG 69 entered service in 1969; Currently SSG 69 is one of the most popular sniper rifles in the world, available in the Army of 12 countries.

Steyr SSG 69 is a sniper rifle operating on a classic rifle principle, reloading after each shot; The gun uses a spanner, uses 7.62x51 mm ammunition (.308 Winchester). The gun is only half the weight of a modern sniper rifle with comparable functionality. Additionally, the SSG 69 has proven to be a durable and reliable design.

SSG 69 used an unusual ammunition box, which had to be squeezed on both sides to be removable, with a capacity of 5 bullets. The magazine is transparent so the loaded ammunition can be easily seen. The gun uses Kahles ZF84 viewfinder, has a magnification of 10x, an effective range of the gun 800 meters.

The sniper rifle from the UK that entered the top 10 is the Arctic Warfare Magnum (AWM), which entered service in 1996; guns designed to use larger and more powerful Magnum-type ammo. There are two main versions, the .300 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum ammo. Currently AWM is serving in 14 countries around the world.

AWM is a sniper rifle model that works on a classic rifle model, firing every shot; the gun uses a 5-round, detachable reload box; if using .300 Winchester Magnum (7.62x67 mm) ammunition, effective range up to 1,000 meters; When using .338 Lapua Magnum ammo, the effective range is 1,500-1,700 meters and has a very strong penetrating ability.

The AWM is one of the best modern, proven sniper rifles in the world; This is also the gun that sets the world record in combat reality; In 2009, British Army ADC Craig Harrison, using .338 Lapua Magnum ammo, killed two Taliban fighters, at a distance of 2,475 meters.

Another model sniper rifle from the US is the Barrett M95; This is also a heavy sniper rifle, an improved model of the Barrett M90. Barrett M95 is currently in use by 15 countries. However, the Barrett M95 can never match the popularity of the Barrett M82. As of 2017, the Barrett M95 is still in production.

Basically, the Barrett M95 can be considered an improved version of the Barrett M82, but is used on hand bullets after each shot; The gun adopts a "pipe" design, to reduce the overall length of the gun. However, the Barrett M95 maintains the same barrel length and performance as the M82.

The M95 gun uses 12.7x99 mm (.50 BMG) ammunition with very strong penetrating power, the ammunition box can hold 5 bullets; effective gun range up to 900 meters; about features like the Barrett M82; Due to the use of 12.7x99 mm bullets, the gun also had to use a shock absorber like the Barrett M82; The gun works reliably, can be removed within 60 seconds for storage without the use of any tools.

Standing in the number 5 list of the top 10 sniper rifles, is the Finnish SAKO TRG 42. This is a long-range sniper rifle, designed to be able to shoot more powerful ammo, with a maximum ammo length of 95 mm. The TRG 42 is present in at least 14 countries around the world, mainly used by army units, special forces and law enforcement.

SAKO TRG 42 is structured on the principle of a classic rifle, using a key barrel, and reloads after each shot; The gun can use .300 Winchester Magnum (7.62x67 mm) and .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6x70 mm) ammo. Both types of ammunition used a barrel length of 690 mm; The effective range of the gun is up to 1,500 meters when using the .338 Lapua Magnum ammo.

The SAKO TRG 42 has a Picatinny ray for the viewfinder, detachable tripod, and the stock can be adjusted to suit the shooter. In addition, the shock absorber can be removed and replaced with the muffler.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 25 November 2020