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I talked to Troy Sellars of In Range about this..........we shared thoughts, notes, etc.....
Could probably use:
- Centerfire Systems M70 kit
- NoDAK / DCI Yugo Receiver (bulged trunnion)
- Romanian RPK or Bulgarian RPK 23.7 inch barrel
- US Yugo Grip
- Scope
- Redesigned Global "SVD" Flash Hider
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The Tabuk Sniper Rifle is made from a modified Kalashnikov (AK-47 and AK-74) rifle adding a telescopic sight, a skeletonized rear stock with a cheek piece. It's barrel is longer than the standard (non-paratrooper) AK whose nominal length is 415 mm / 16.3 inches. It uses the same magazines as the AK-47 as it is also chambered in 7.62x39mm, taking good advantage of cheap and plentiful ammunition for this round.
After incidents in Baghdad in the Summer of 2005 Initial media descriptions of the Tabuk Rifle were misspelled in many media reports as "Tobuk" or "Tobok". Tabook/Tabouk (the latter two spellings are more correct transliterations of the Arabic تبوك ) is a common place name in the Arab world, as it was the site of an historically significant battle during the lifetime of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. The most common association is probably the capitol city of the Saudi province of the same name (Saudi Arabia maps county detail provinces)
In many of these reports, the Tabuk Rifle is described incorrectly as being based on the SVD Dragunov. Unlike the Kalashnikov (AK-47 and AK-74) rifles, which fire 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm rounds respectively, the SVD Dragunov and its variants chamber the older 7.62 x 54 mm R cartridge, adopted by the Russian Army in 1891 by way of the Mosin-Nagant 1891 rifle that, in various forms, was used through the end of WWII and beyond.
This would be an easy mistake to make, as the furniture of the Tabuk looks much like the Dragunov and has a longer barrel like that of the latter rifle's 620 mm/24.4 inches.
A much more important point to make is that in most of the world's armies this would not be called a Sniper rifle per se, but a Designated Marksman's weapon. Different countries and different branches of military service within those countries all have slightly differing terminology for these roles, and differing distances that are covered by them. In armies that use a relatively modern assault rifle (AR-15, AK-74, G3 et al) the average infantryman is trained for striking targets out to 200-300 meters. A sniper is typically trained to dispatch targets farther than 500-600 meters, and is generally not assigned typical infantry duties. This leaves a significant gap between the roles, which is filled by (what is called by the US, Canadian and UK forces) the Designated Marksman. (note that the details of weapons used and distances mentioned in he latter wiki article differ significantly from the NATO designations) A Designated Marksman is generally part of a conventional infantry unit and fills the gap between a typical infantryman and the Sniper.
It should be noted that the equipment and distances employed by the military Designated Marksman overlap that of the (civilian) Law Enforcement (Police) "Sniper". Other than target distance, the main differences between the military and civilian sniper/marksman/sharpshooter are that the civilian rifleman typically has less concern about concealment from persons other than the target(s); the second is the concern about over penetration dictates not only which chamberings are appropriate (e.g a police sniper would typically not use a 300 Winchester Magnum, and would have no use at all for a .338 Laupa Magnum) but even bullet selection. The civilian police marksman is typically less concerned about penetration of body armor, but more often concerned about round performance through glass, often tempered or automotive safety glass.
Juba, the nickname for an alleged sniper shooting American soldiers in Baghdad, is thought to use the Tabuk Sniper Rifle.
Could probably use:
- Centerfire Systems M70 kit
- NoDAK / DCI Yugo Receiver (bulged trunnion)
- Romanian RPK or Bulgarian RPK 23.7 inch barrel
- US Yugo Grip
- Scope
- Redesigned Global "SVD" Flash Hider
The Tabuk Sniper Rifle is made from a modified Kalashnikov (AK-47 and AK-74) rifle adding a telescopic sight, a skeletonized rear stock with a cheek piece. It's barrel is longer than the standard (non-paratrooper) AK whose nominal length is 415 mm / 16.3 inches. It uses the same magazines as the AK-47 as it is also chambered in 7.62x39mm, taking good advantage of cheap and plentiful ammunition for this round.
After incidents in Baghdad in the Summer of 2005 Initial media descriptions of the Tabuk Rifle were misspelled in many media reports as "Tobuk" or "Tobok". Tabook/Tabouk (the latter two spellings are more correct transliterations of the Arabic تبوك ) is a common place name in the Arab world, as it was the site of an historically significant battle during the lifetime of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. The most common association is probably the capitol city of the Saudi province of the same name (Saudi Arabia maps county detail provinces)
In many of these reports, the Tabuk Rifle is described incorrectly as being based on the SVD Dragunov. Unlike the Kalashnikov (AK-47 and AK-74) rifles, which fire 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm rounds respectively, the SVD Dragunov and its variants chamber the older 7.62 x 54 mm R cartridge, adopted by the Russian Army in 1891 by way of the Mosin-Nagant 1891 rifle that, in various forms, was used through the end of WWII and beyond.
This would be an easy mistake to make, as the furniture of the Tabuk looks much like the Dragunov and has a longer barrel like that of the latter rifle's 620 mm/24.4 inches.
A much more important point to make is that in most of the world's armies this would not be called a Sniper rifle per se, but a Designated Marksman's weapon. Different countries and different branches of military service within those countries all have slightly differing terminology for these roles, and differing distances that are covered by them. In armies that use a relatively modern assault rifle (AR-15, AK-74, G3 et al) the average infantryman is trained for striking targets out to 200-300 meters. A sniper is typically trained to dispatch targets farther than 500-600 meters, and is generally not assigned typical infantry duties. This leaves a significant gap between the roles, which is filled by (what is called by the US, Canadian and UK forces) the Designated Marksman. (note that the details of weapons used and distances mentioned in he latter wiki article differ significantly from the NATO designations) A Designated Marksman is generally part of a conventional infantry unit and fills the gap between a typical infantryman and the Sniper.
It should be noted that the equipment and distances employed by the military Designated Marksman overlap that of the (civilian) Law Enforcement (Police) "Sniper". Other than target distance, the main differences between the military and civilian sniper/marksman/sharpshooter are that the civilian rifleman typically has less concern about concealment from persons other than the target(s); the second is the concern about over penetration dictates not only which chamberings are appropriate (e.g a police sniper would typically not use a 300 Winchester Magnum, and would have no use at all for a .338 Laupa Magnum) but even bullet selection. The civilian police marksman is typically less concerned about penetration of body armor, but more often concerned about round performance through glass, often tempered or automotive safety glass.
Juba, the nickname for an alleged sniper shooting American soldiers in Baghdad, is thought to use the Tabuk Sniper Rifle.
