April 16th : Steyr SSG-69

Name     :     Steyr SSG-69


AKA       :     The Green Gun, Scharfschutzen gewehr

Caliber   :     7.62x51mm NATO / .308 Winchester


Capacity :     5 or 10 Rounds


Weight   :     10.14lbs or 4.6Kg


Length   :     44.9in or 1140mm (25.6in barrel model)


Action    :     Rear Locking Bolt Action 


Origin     :     Austria


Adopted as the standard sniper rifle for the Austrian army in 1969 the Steyr SSG-69 has gone on to serve with fifteen armies and many more law enforcement agencies around the world.  The name SSG stands for ScharfSchutzen Gewehr  or sharpshooters rifle.  Unusual in a sniper rifle the SSG-69 uses rear locking lugs on its bolt instead of frontal locking made so popular by Mauser.  Inspiration for this rifle may have been drawn from the Steyr Model 1903 that was produced for the Greek army, that rifle had six rear locking lugs and a rotary magazine.


The spiral shaped barrel of this rifle screws into the receiver a considerable distance of 2.24in or 57mm making for a very sturdy action.  The teflon coating on the bolt and the quality construction of the rotary magazine makes for a very smooth cycling of the action.  A smooth action is quite often attributed to rear locking rifles, a similar complement is quite bestowed upon the Lee-Enfield series of rifles, those rifles in particular were able to achieve significantly higher rates of fire because of this feature.  Rear Locking bolts were considered unsafe because the locking was not taking place at the 'business end' of the action but in spite of this no major catastrophe has been reported on the Lee-Enfield series or the SSG-69, this can probably be attributed to the strength of the materials used in both of these rifles, as it as often said : There's no substitute for quality.


Accuracy, the make or break for any would be sniper rifle, this is were the SSG-69 stands out.  Minute of Arc, or Minute of Angle, a unit of measurement for the accuracy of a rifle, for ease of understanding one minute of arc is equivalent of a group of three to five rounds landing within an one inch spread at 100 yards.  It is reported that a competent shooter with match grade ammunition in good conditions should be able to land five rounds in a 0.6 spread group or slightly better at 100 yards with this rifle, an excellent feat for any sniper rifle.  To aid accuracy modern sniper rifles have free-floated barrels meaning that the barrel does not touch the stock in any way and the SSG-69 is no exception.


Different versions of the SSG-69 are available :
PI,    .308 Win, 508mm barrel,
PII,   .22-250, .243 Rem, .308 Win, 650mm barrel,
PIV,  .308 Win, 409mm barrel


Also Steyr has the option for double set triggers and 10 round magazines.


INTERESTING FACT :  The magazine on the SSG-69 has a transparent section at the back so you can verify how many rounds you have loaded into the magazine.


PRO's     :  SUB MOA Accuracy, Smooth Action, Many Variants, 10 mags available


CON's     :  Swapping out the barrel is just about a factory only job


COOL FACTOR   : 8/10