Content provided in partnership with
Featured Titles for Sports
Some have called it "sexy" and some "stylish." Whatever adjective you choose, Evgeniy Dragunov's design for a platoon-level sharpshooter's rifle is one of the most distinctive rifles in the world. The Dragunov and its clones now even make the nightly TV news in the hands of Iraq's current crop of domestic terrorists.
In Russia, it is called the SVD or Samozaryadnaya snaiperskaya vintovka Dragunova (the Dragunov semiautomatic, self-loading, sniper rifle). It was developed to replace the scope-sighted 1891/30 Mosin-Nagant and M1940 Tokarev deployed so successfully in WWII.
Dragunov, the man, was an experienced competitive marksman and sporting rifle designer when he was asked to take on the task of designing a new sharpshooter's rifle in 1958. When you look at the overall lines of the SVD, from its racy pistol grip stock to its light-contoured barrel, the competitive and sporting side of its designer really came roaring through.
Dragunov admitted he had a challenge on his hands when he began the work. In his own words, "The principal difficulties we encountered arose from the necessity to resolve all sorts of contradictions. It is sufficient to say that to achieve reliable action in difficult conditions, it is necessary to have the largest practical gaps between the moving parts; at the same time, to achieve the best possible accuracy, everything must be fitted together with minimal tolerances. In addition, weight needs to be low, but the best accuracy requires a rifle to be as heavy as possible, within reasonable limits of course.
"In general, the end had been reached by 1962 after a long series of alternating success and failure. Now I can only say that the magazine took us over a year. The fore-grip assembly, however simple it might look, was the most difficult and we only resolved the final shape at the very end."
While currently being advertised as Romanian "Dragunov's" in surplus ads, the Dragunov-looking rifles being imported from Romania are technically not Dragunov's. They are an adaptation of the Kalashnikov AKM or RPK design. Romania gives their model the designation of PSL or Puska Semiautomata Luneta (scoped semiautomatic rifle).
The primary differences between the original Dragunov and the PSL are the Dragunov receiver is milled while the PSL's is formed from stamped sheet metal and the Dragunov utilizes a unique spring-loaded, short-stroke gas-piston rod that is not attached to the bolt carrier while the PSL uses the long-stroke AK/AKM system in which the piston rod is integral with the bolt carrier. There are other minor differences like the design of the cheek piece, the forearm, the trigger, the muzzle brake, disassembly, quality of machining, but basically from an overall external profile, both models look exceedingly similar.
While it could be argued that the solid receiver of the Dragunov coupled with its refined short-stroke gas system would be the more accurate, the Romanian PSL leaves little to be desired in terms of precision if fed quality ammunition. Looking at it from the Romanian point-of-view, the PSL is cheaper and faster to produce plus being based on the AK/AKM/RPK design, its operation, disassembly and maintenance are immediately familiar to the average Kalashnikov toting conscript.
The brand new Romanians currently being imported and offered on the surplus market are made by CN Romarm SA/Cugir. Chambered in 7.62x54R and recently in 7.62x51, they carry the model designations of PSL or SSG-97. The PSL I worked with was chambered in the original 7.62x54R caliber and is imported by Century Arms Int.
AKM Lineage
As supplied to the customer, the new PSL's come with a correct PSO type, quick-detachable 4X scope with scope cover and filter, two 10-round magazines, a cleaning kit and sling. The only item lacking was a good instructional manual for both the rifle and the scope. If you are at all familiar with the AK/AKM family, 50 percent of the problem is taken care of. The PSO scope can be a bit of a challenge.
True to its AKM lineage, the PSL features a stamped, spot-welded receiver with an attached optics rail on the left-hand side for mounting the scope. The stamped receiver is reinforced by the addition of two plates on either side of the receiver where it joins the stock. The bore and chamber of the light 24" barrel are chrome plated, and the barrel is capped off with a muzzle brake sporting 12 vents. The heavy-walled magazine rocks into place like that of an AK and is released by pushing forward on the release paddle. The side safety/dust cover is pure Kalashnikov. The sculptured, Dragunov-styled, pistol grip stock is formed from laminated wood, the vented forearm from solid wood, and the butt plate is corrugated metal. With scope, the PSL weighs 10 pounds.
While the PSL is mounted with a tangent rear sight adjustable to 1,200 meters and a Kalashnikov-type front sight adjustable for windage and elevation, the primary sighting system is its intriguing PSO type scope. The scope is a copy of the original Russian PSO-1 design for the Dragunov but lacks the Russian model's ability to detect infrared light sources as well as its battery operated illuminated reticle. And what a reticle it is!
As you can see from the image I shot through the eyepiece, it's busy. The primary aiming point is the tip of the top chevron with the 10 Mil hash marks on either side being used for windage corrections, leads, and range determinations. The three lower chevrons are calibrated for 1,100, 1,200, and 1,300 meters respectfully when the elevation turret is set at "10" (1,000 meters).
In the lower left side of the image is a choke-type range finder based on a standing man 1.7 meters (5'7") tall and calibrated from 200 to 1,000 meters. In use, the target's feet are placed on the horizontal line and the distance in hundreds of meters is read off the point where the target's head touches the upper curve. The range is then dialed in with the bullet drop compensating elevation turret.
The reticle does not remain centered and moves slightly in the direction of the adjustments. For example, the aiming point moves down as the elevation is cranked up.
The elevation turret is calibrated from 100 to 1,000 meters for the 7.62x54R military 149-grain loading. From 100 to 300 meters, the click adjustments are in 100-meter increments. From 300 to 1,000 meters, the clicks tick off 50-meter increments.
The windage turret is graduated in 1/2 Mil units. My inclination would be to use the Mil hash marks on either side of the primary chevron for windage compensation, unless the range exceeded 1,000 meters.
I like this scope. It's clear, fairly bright, but not a low-light scope, and offers a generous field-of-view. The adjustment turrets are easy to read, easy to operate and consistent. The integral mount slides smoothly on or off the receiver rail and locks firmly and consistently into place with the flip of a locking cam latch. Its very functional integral sunshade slides forward and locks in place and a collapsing rubber eyecup blocks out extraneous light. The eyecup is even vented so it doesn't suck out your eyeball.
The only problem I have with the setup is that the comb of the stock is too low for the height of the scope, eliminating the possibility of obtaining a true stock weld. Then again, the Europeans tend to shoot with a head-up position that feels unnatural to most Americans who like to crawl into their stocks.
While machined portions of the rifle, like the locking lug recesses and bolt carrier are rough, the quality of the PSL trigger was a pleasant surprise. It's a two-stage trigger. The first stage is long and spongy, but the second stage, while gritty, breaks suddenly and cleanly at about 4 pounds. In short, the trigger's controllable.
How does it shoot?
We know that the Russians load match-quality sniper ammunition and I expect the Romanians do, too. Not having any, I put together some quality handloads using Sierra MatchKing bullets, Graf brass and Federal 210 match primers. If you break down 7.62x54R military ammunition, you will normally find that the projectiles weigh 149 grains exactly and the powder charges, 47 grains, exactly. (A powder charge of 47 grains indicates the use of a medium burning rate powder such as IMR 4064 or H4895 to provide the proper gas-port pressure.) The bullet forms vary tremendously from the short, hollow-based, lead-core Bulgarian projectile to the long, boattail, steel-core missiles. Bullet diameters are uniform at .311". For testing purposes, I added Wolf's current 149-grain FMJ and Bulgaria's brass cased, 149-grain lead-core load from Factory 10 to the mix.
