Earlier pic...

[Stl. boy]

This was posted by He219 on Wed.


http://accuweather.ap.org/apdbs/Intl_Photos/views/mini/7349/7349614.jpg

A U.S. Army 1st Cavalry, 2nd Brigade soldier watches the perimeter after two cars were detained at a highway checkpoint in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 28, 2004.

Why would he have that weapon and what is it. Is it a Dragunov?(I am definitaly not a russian weapons expert). Is he fed up with the 5.56 round or is he trying to look more iraqi following the transfer of power?

[ArmedPacifist]

it looks like a dragunov to me.

What I find funny is that there is no optic on the weapon, which is a funny thing to have mising on a weapon designed primarily as a marksman weapon.

[Shrap]

I am really not an expert but the mag well looks too close to the trigger guard so it's not an original one. The stock is also curving to give it a cheek rest unlike the old one.

New and improved ? Or another country import ?

[memphiz]

Mabey the guy is super bad ass and doesnt need any optics because hes just that cool, I bet he doesnt even need bullets he just runs around clubbing people with his huge ass gun,

[Howie Kaluha]

LOL, yeah I'd go with that one.....

[wormie]

Isnt it called a Tabuk in Iraq? :)

[American Patriot]

not a dragunov, its a Yugoslavian PSL 7.62x54R rifle either from yugo or iraq

[Obergefreiter]

It is a PSL, but it is from Romania. The Yugo M76 is nothing like it.

I have an imported version of one. They are very accurate despite the long stroke gas piston.

They come with a 4X scope similar to the Russian PSO scope. A Belorussian military 8X scope is also available on the US market.

They look like SVD Dragonov rifles, but internaly are more like the RPK.

[ZeroPositive]

The question is why was he using it?

[talib_killa34]

Improvise, adapt, and overcome

Maybe he feels his life is more secure with it in use or that it is a superior weapon...

Or hell, his issued weapon jammed or was destroyed or lost?


Dunno. :|

[ZeroPositive]

isn't he cav?
Probably wanna give those insurgents some of there medicine back :)

[obd]

Most likely he wants something with better knock down power and penetration than an M-16a2 or an M4a1 can provide........The weapons is NOT a druganov but it is a knock off of that design.......Im no weapons expert either, but I believe that the Russian 7.62 round it fires is more powerful than the NATO 7.62 standard.....not sure though......

There have been reports of troops prefering the Ak47 (tabuk) to thier service rifles......Now, even if you factor in that some of this is due to the "cool factor" of using an Ak-47, several studies have shown the Ak-47 to be more effective than the M-16 in certain situation such as where you will be shooting through doors and through cars and thin walls and such.......Also the Ak-47 slug has good power and dumps serious energy into the target.......The 5.56 NATO round fired from a full length barrel can cause massive traumatic wounds at ranges less than 250 yards but after that the round tends to lose the velocity needed to cause such wounds.....a problem the Ak-47 does not have.......although of course your run of the mill Ak 47 does not possess great accuracy beyond 300 yards......

Also, the "green hornet" armor piercing 5.56 round can penetrate better than the 7.62 short but it has some serious problems droping people......Several reports from Somalia in which Rangers used armor piercing rounds found that Somali fighters hit with them( even at ranges less than 100 yards where the round still had VERY high velocity) looked exactly as if they had been stabbed clean through with an ice pick......a kind of wound that does not often imediately incapacitate.....This, when combined with the fact that many Somali fighters went to battle high on khat (a narcotic plant widely chewed in Africa) meant that it often took head and spinal shots to drop them with one hit......otherwise it took multiple hits to center mass.......Not good........

My vote goes to the new 6.8 SPC cartridge which has the best characteristics of all three cartridges (5.56, 7.62 short, 7.62 NATO)

[ZeroPositive]

thought they fired a 7.92 round...

[Shrap]

I seriously doubt that the russian 7.62 x 39 beats the NATO 7.62 x 51. Any expert here ?

[Ratamacue]

I seriously doubt that the russian 7.62 x 39 beats the NATO 7.62 x 51. Any expert here ?
I believe the round used in the SVD is 7.62x54mm.

[SR15]

yes SVD shoots 7.62x54mm ( same round used in PKM)
and its different from 7.62 x39mm ak round

[American Patriot]

He wants to reach out and touch an Iraqi terrorist. Very nice choice BTW. woot

BTW 7.62x54R only provides very slightly better performance versus 7.62x51 NATO.

[Hiroshima]

Actually it's because he's probably a dismounted tanker. I worked in the Pentagon over the 2003 summer and our phone lists were not updated, so I was labled as the Army's Weapons guy in the Congressional Budget Liason office....I got a call from an irrate higher up demanding to know why our troops were using AK-47s. Now, me being an intern didn't have access to any information, and I admited to this, but I did give him a guess. Namely, there were not enough M-16s for our tankers.

Now, if you're a tanker, and I'm sure there are folks on this forum who'd probably agree....unless there are some...special conditions...One does NOT leave the tank while in a combat zone. The US tankers usually have two M-16s and five or so sidearms. Now....That's just what I know, this could be different. Untill we started issuing M-4s to our tankser...those poor fellas who had to get out of their beasts had to use the nearest thing on hand. Think about it..your .50 Caliber just mowed down several morons who thought they'd take on a tank with rifles, then you're ordered to search that building they came out of. Well, with only a few rifles inside your beastie, you 'borrow' one of those AKs and a few clips while on that.

[Stl. boy]

But wouldnt the tank crew have infantry support since it is a cavalry unit? And the original post had it with a group of photos that said he was manning a checkpoint when a car blew through and they gave chase on foot. But that is a possibility, your guess is as good as mine...

[Obergefreiter]

The rifle is in the Soviet/Russian 7.62X54R round that is superior to the NATO 7.62X51 round. This rifle prefers the light ball as opposed to the heavier machine gun bullet.

Again, the rifle only looks like the Dragonov, internaly it is a different rifle all together.

The dragonov uses a gas impulse system similar to the FN FAL rifle. This is nothing more than an enlongated RPK.

There is a Romanian contingent in Iraq, and some of these rifles were sold to Iraq through third parties before the war. The scope is the easiest part to break and maybe itis no longer usefull. The weapon has standard AK style sights, so maybe he just wanted to use it that way without the scope getting in the way.

The 10 round magazine is very rare, with usually only two being issued to each marksman. He would be at a disavantage should he need more munitions than that.

[gilgoul]

This was posted by He219 on Wed.


http://accuweather.ap.org/apdbs/Intl_Photos/views/mini/7349/7349614.jpg

A U.S. Army 1st Cavalry, 2nd Brigade soldier watches the perimeter after two cars were detained at a highway checkpoint in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, June 28, 2004.

Why would he have that weapon and what is it. Is it a Dragunov?(I am definitaly not a russian weapons expert). Is he fed up with the 5.56 round or is he trying to look more iraqi following the transfer of power?

Not an expert either, but looks to me like a zatztava M 76, that was chambered in 7.92*57 mauser, but i know it has been chambered also in 7.62*54 soviet and later 7.62 Nato.
For my two agorot worth

[gilgoul]

oups double post :oops:

[Stl. boy]

Wasnt so much worried about the type of weapon as to reasons he is carrying it...

[el_kab0ng]

Yeah, it's an SSG-97/PSL. It could also very well be a standard Romak 3, though the differences are slight. Not sure why he's using only irons, since that weapon is considered a designated marksman weapon usually supplied with an 8x PSO scope.


http://www.*************/romak3.html

[khukuri]

Can any american see on the patches if hes a tanker or not?

cuz last time there were americans with ak:s, just as mentioned before it were tankers that didnt have anything other to grab.

Now if its not the same case here it would be interesting... atleast it feels so. If youre a tanker a need rifle to clear buildings you wouldnt choose that weapon. there are more suitible weapons for MOUT