Kalashnikov Israel showed OFEK-308 sniper rifle
In its official group on the social network Facebook, Kalashnikov Israel in March 2017 published photos of its new product. A new sniper rifle by an Israeli company called OFEK-308 appeared before the general public. No detailed information about the new product is currently just there, as well as its technical characteristics are unknown. You can judge a rifle solely by photographs published by Israelis. Perhaps the rifle will be demonstrated for the first time live as part of the traditional SHOT Show, which will be held in Las Vegas on 23-26 in January on 2018.
Kalashnikov-Israel is a subsidiary of a fairly well-known Israeli company - CAA. CAA (Command Arms and Accessories) was founded in 2004 by the Moshe brothers, who had previously served in various special units of the Israeli army and police. Initially, the company specialized in designing various consoles and body kit for known types of rifle weapons. The first product of the Israelis was the console for firing standing from the roof of the car. It could easily be adjusted to fit any type of weapon, which quickly made it quite popular. Currently, it has been adopted by the special forces of several states.
Another CAA invention is a counter that shows exactly how many rounds left in a machine gun shop when firing. Also known was the development called “Ronit” (named after the daughter of the co-owners of the company and its designer Moshe Ouse). This is a prefix to the gun, which allows you to achieve improved aiming shooting and reduces recoil. Currently, CAA is based in Kiryat Gat, while the company has its US subsidiary in Florida. The company gained real fame in Russia after it introduced its own version of the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle in a modern ergonomic body kit on the market. It's about an assault rifle AK-ALFA, about which we have already written. Today, this model occupies a prominent place in the company's assortment and is presented in two calibers: 5,56 and 7,62 mm.
Since Kalashnikov-Israel does not provide any information about its new product - the OFEK-308 sniper rifle, the authors of the site all4shooters.com conducted their own small investigation regarding the novelty, based only on the available photographic images and the very name of the new rifle. There is no big surprise in the appearance of a new model of a sniper rifle on the world market. Exact and good "boltovik" with accuracy of less than 1 MOA today learned to produce many countries and companies, even from the outskirts of the arms world.
One of the advantages that the new rifle got from birth and is able to distinguish it from numerous competitors is the brand name Kalashnikov, which is known all over the world. At least from a marketing point of view - this is a big plus for any small arms. Today, CAA owns the official license of the Russian Kalashnikov Concern; it owns two brands, Kalashnikov-Israel and Kalashnikov-USA. Moreover, even their logos are made in the form of a stylized letter “K” based on the updated logo of the famous Russian concern. Talking about pirated trademark copying is not about CAA, they have no basis.
The technical details of the OFEK-308 sniper rifle, with the exception of the 7,62x51 mm caliber (.308 Win), which is indicated by the very name of the rifle, are not known. Most likely, the manufacturer keeps silence, seeking to complete the results of all tests. At the same time, something about the novelty can be said now, for example, experts note an unusually long shutter stroke, which may indicate that in the future the sniper rifle will be presented in other calibers for a longer sleeve (for example, 338 Lapua Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum, .408 Chey Tac, and maybe even .50 BMG). Perhaps the weapon will immediately be multi-caliber, but then it would be strange to put the 308 number in the title, although it may only be related to a specific model.
If we talk about ammunition caliber .308 Winchester or .308 Win, then this is the commercial version of the designation of the standard NATO rifle and machine-gun ammunition 7,62 × 51 mm NATO. According to its characteristics, this cartridge approximately corresponds to the common Russian cartridge 7,62 × 54 mm R. At one time, the main competitors of .308 Win cartridges in the USA were the old army cartridge .30-06 Springfield. Over time, the shooters and hunters tried out a new ammunition, finding a number of advantages in it. These include less, compared with .30-06, recoil, as well as a smaller stroke length. It was also important that this cartridge was cheaper, which also determines its popularity all over the world.
The cartridge, which appeared back in 1950-s, has come a long evolutionary path, during which time a huge number of different versions of it were presented with all kinds of bullets. It is unlikely that there will be an ammunition company in the world that would ignore the ammunition. In many armies of Western countries, the 7,62 × 51 mm NATO cartridge is a standard sniper ammunition. Existing standards in some countries provide for the destruction of a chest target using these cartridges at a distance of 600 meters and a growth target from 900 meters. For sniper and target shooting, many companies produce special versions of the cartridge with increased accuracy. The fact that the Israelis have chosen this particular caliber for their sniper rifle is not unusual.
An interesting feature of the OFEK-308 rifle is also the widespread use of already existing parts of small arms manufactured by CAA, although this is quite an expected move on the part of the manufacturer, especially from a company that started with all kinds of gunsmiths. So on the rifle was used sniper multi-position butt SRS Long Multi Position Sniper Stock, made of plastic. The butt is equipped with a folding telescopic leg-support, adjustable rubber butt pad and cheek. In the presented butt, created by a sniper of one of the elite divisions, it successfully combines a variety of settings and the speed and convenience of handling it. This butt is of interest even without the rifle itself.
Also on the rifle OFEK-308 marked pistol grip UPG. This plastic accessory was originally intended for tuning AR-15 / M16 assault rifles (performed by UPG16), as well as Kalashnikov AK-47 / AK-74 assault rifles (performed by UPG47). The handle is made of high-strength plastic and is equipped with anti-slip rubber inserts. A feature of this handle are interchangeable pads on its front and rear walls. These pads allow you to perfectly adjust its size to the grip of the arrow, adjusting the handle based on the size of his palm. Inside the pistol grip UPG there is free space that can be used to store small parts of the spare parts.
New sniper rifle mounted on a stable and fully adjustable, folding forward or backward bipod NBP, manufactured by CAA. These bipods are made from steel and polymeric materials, which allows for a small weight of the product. Bipods are attached to the rifle using a Picatinny-type bottom bracket MIL-STD-1913. The top Picatinny rail was made in the entire length of the forearm and receiver sniper rifle. This gives a very wide scope for mounting various sights: day and night optics, night firing tips, etc. The authors of the site all4shooters.com have named the store shaft with an extended neck as another striking exterior detail of the rifle. This gives the shooter the ability to quickly change the plastic store, and also facilitates the replacement of the store when you are in an uncomfortable position or in the dark. It would seem a fine detail, but any little thing when creating weapons is of great importance.
Detailed information and technical information about OFEK-308 is likely to appear in the near future, it is likely that the rifle will be presented at an exhibition in Las Vegas in January 2018. It was here that the AK-ALFA submachine gun was first shown to the public for the first time.
Information sources:
https://www.all4shooters.com/ru/strelba/ruzhya/Israel-Kalashnikov-novaya-snayperskaya-vintovka-OFEK-308
https://nep.co.il/kalashnikov-israel-novaya-versiya-znamenitogo-avtomata
http://spec-naz.org/armory/ammunition/7_62_51_mm_nato_308_winchester
Open source materials
Kalashnikov-Israel is a subsidiary of a fairly well-known Israeli company - CAA. CAA (Command Arms and Accessories) was founded in 2004 by the Moshe brothers, who had previously served in various special units of the Israeli army and police. Initially, the company specialized in designing various consoles and body kit for known types of rifle weapons. The first product of the Israelis was the console for firing standing from the roof of the car. It could easily be adjusted to fit any type of weapon, which quickly made it quite popular. Currently, it has been adopted by the special forces of several states.
Another CAA invention is a counter that shows exactly how many rounds left in a machine gun shop when firing. Also known was the development called “Ronit” (named after the daughter of the co-owners of the company and its designer Moshe Ouse). This is a prefix to the gun, which allows you to achieve improved aiming shooting and reduces recoil. Currently, CAA is based in Kiryat Gat, while the company has its US subsidiary in Florida. The company gained real fame in Russia after it introduced its own version of the famous Kalashnikov assault rifle in a modern ergonomic body kit on the market. It's about an assault rifle AK-ALFA, about which we have already written. Today, this model occupies a prominent place in the company's assortment and is presented in two calibers: 5,56 and 7,62 mm.
OFEK-308 sniper rifle, photo: facebook.com/Kalashnikovisr
Since Kalashnikov-Israel does not provide any information about its new product - the OFEK-308 sniper rifle, the authors of the site all4shooters.com conducted their own small investigation regarding the novelty, based only on the available photographic images and the very name of the new rifle. There is no big surprise in the appearance of a new model of a sniper rifle on the world market. Exact and good "boltovik" with accuracy of less than 1 MOA today learned to produce many countries and companies, even from the outskirts of the arms world.
One of the advantages that the new rifle got from birth and is able to distinguish it from numerous competitors is the brand name Kalashnikov, which is known all over the world. At least from a marketing point of view - this is a big plus for any small arms. Today, CAA owns the official license of the Russian Kalashnikov Concern; it owns two brands, Kalashnikov-Israel and Kalashnikov-USA. Moreover, even their logos are made in the form of a stylized letter “K” based on the updated logo of the famous Russian concern. Talking about pirated trademark copying is not about CAA, they have no basis.
The technical details of the OFEK-308 sniper rifle, with the exception of the 7,62x51 mm caliber (.308 Win), which is indicated by the very name of the rifle, are not known. Most likely, the manufacturer keeps silence, seeking to complete the results of all tests. At the same time, something about the novelty can be said now, for example, experts note an unusually long shutter stroke, which may indicate that in the future the sniper rifle will be presented in other calibers for a longer sleeve (for example, 338 Lapua Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum, .408 Chey Tac, and maybe even .50 BMG). Perhaps the weapon will immediately be multi-caliber, but then it would be strange to put the 308 number in the title, although it may only be related to a specific model.
OFEK-308 sniper rifle, photo: facebook.com/Kalashnikovisr
If we talk about ammunition caliber .308 Winchester or .308 Win, then this is the commercial version of the designation of the standard NATO rifle and machine-gun ammunition 7,62 × 51 mm NATO. According to its characteristics, this cartridge approximately corresponds to the common Russian cartridge 7,62 × 54 mm R. At one time, the main competitors of .308 Win cartridges in the USA were the old army cartridge .30-06 Springfield. Over time, the shooters and hunters tried out a new ammunition, finding a number of advantages in it. These include less, compared with .30-06, recoil, as well as a smaller stroke length. It was also important that this cartridge was cheaper, which also determines its popularity all over the world.
The cartridge, which appeared back in 1950-s, has come a long evolutionary path, during which time a huge number of different versions of it were presented with all kinds of bullets. It is unlikely that there will be an ammunition company in the world that would ignore the ammunition. In many armies of Western countries, the 7,62 × 51 mm NATO cartridge is a standard sniper ammunition. Existing standards in some countries provide for the destruction of a chest target using these cartridges at a distance of 600 meters and a growth target from 900 meters. For sniper and target shooting, many companies produce special versions of the cartridge with increased accuracy. The fact that the Israelis have chosen this particular caliber for their sniper rifle is not unusual.
An interesting feature of the OFEK-308 rifle is also the widespread use of already existing parts of small arms manufactured by CAA, although this is quite an expected move on the part of the manufacturer, especially from a company that started with all kinds of gunsmiths. So on the rifle was used sniper multi-position butt SRS Long Multi Position Sniper Stock, made of plastic. The butt is equipped with a folding telescopic leg-support, adjustable rubber butt pad and cheek. In the presented butt, created by a sniper of one of the elite divisions, it successfully combines a variety of settings and the speed and convenience of handling it. This butt is of interest even without the rifle itself.
OFEK-308 sniper rifle, photo: facebook.com/Kalashnikovisr
Also on the rifle OFEK-308 marked pistol grip UPG. This plastic accessory was originally intended for tuning AR-15 / M16 assault rifles (performed by UPG16), as well as Kalashnikov AK-47 / AK-74 assault rifles (performed by UPG47). The handle is made of high-strength plastic and is equipped with anti-slip rubber inserts. A feature of this handle are interchangeable pads on its front and rear walls. These pads allow you to perfectly adjust its size to the grip of the arrow, adjusting the handle based on the size of his palm. Inside the pistol grip UPG there is free space that can be used to store small parts of the spare parts.
New sniper rifle mounted on a stable and fully adjustable, folding forward or backward bipod NBP, manufactured by CAA. These bipods are made from steel and polymeric materials, which allows for a small weight of the product. Bipods are attached to the rifle using a Picatinny-type bottom bracket MIL-STD-1913. The top Picatinny rail was made in the entire length of the forearm and receiver sniper rifle. This gives a very wide scope for mounting various sights: day and night optics, night firing tips, etc. The authors of the site all4shooters.com have named the store shaft with an extended neck as another striking exterior detail of the rifle. This gives the shooter the ability to quickly change the plastic store, and also facilitates the replacement of the store when you are in an uncomfortable position or in the dark. It would seem a fine detail, but any little thing when creating weapons is of great importance.
Detailed information and technical information about OFEK-308 is likely to appear in the near future, it is likely that the rifle will be presented at an exhibition in Las Vegas in January 2018. It was here that the AK-ALFA submachine gun was first shown to the public for the first time.
Information sources:
https://www.all4shooters.com/ru/strelba/ruzhya/Israel-Kalashnikov-novaya-snayperskaya-vintovka-OFEK-308
https://nep.co.il/kalashnikov-israel-novaya-versiya-znamenitogo-avtomata
http://spec-naz.org/armory/ammunition/7_62_51_mm_nato_308_winchester
Open source materials
Information