Sniper fly swatter for special forces, paratroopers and marines

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Sniper fly swatter for special forces, paratroopers and marines
FSO sniper, Moscow, Kremlin, May 9, 2022. Yes, news from May of this year that FSO specialists were photographed with a “new weapons", is not entirely true.


This rifle is actually not new and has been known for a long time, and many people know it under the slang names “fly” or “fly swatter”. Yes, yes, this is the same Steyr SSG 08 from the computer online games Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Counter-Strike 2. But this is more of a lyrical digression than a part stories this weapon.




Probably the most famous photo of an Austrian rifle in the Russian Army. Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev when he was President of the Russian Federation in Solnechnogorsk, 2010. A fighter training on a simulator is holding a Steyr SSG 04 rifle, which at that time was just entering service.

Like many weapons, the SSG 08 is a development of another system and has a long service history.

The ancestor of the SSG (Scharfschützengewehr, literally translated as a sniper rifle) series rifles from Steyr-Mannlicher was the SSG 69. In the 1960s, the Austrian army was still using weapons from World War II. Some were left over from the Germans, some were from the Soviet Army, some were supplied from the USA.

They decided to replace the variegated zoo of small arms, which were already quite outdated, by the end of the 1960s. The new army sniper rifle had quite stringent requirements. These are compactness, low (for such a weapon, of course) weight, reliability, and good accuracy.


A soldier of the 7th Guards Air Assault Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division (mountain) with a Steyr SSG 04 rifle at the shooting range, 2011.

And the heirs of the Austro-Hungarian weapons school from Steyr-Mannlicher did an excellent job. The rifle weighed 4 kg, was 1 centimeters long, and the rotary magazine held 140 rounds, without protruding beyond the dimensions of the weapon stock. The stock itself was also quite innovative by the standards of its time, as it was polymer.

Well, the bolt stem with three pairs of locking lugs in its rear part and the barrel, which was produced by cold forging, made the rifle incredibly durable and reliable. Well, that is, if you want to shoot a magnum rifle from a rifle, please, you want a machine-gun cartridge with a heavy or armor-piercing bullet, but for good measure (well, you never know, it’s an army weapon).


Weapons of fighters 7 dshd (g) on ​​display for journalists, 2011. In the foreground is an Austrian rifle Steyr SSG 04.

The rifle began to enter service with the Austrian army and police, as well as the Dutch marines. In 1970, a civilian model appeared. And the weapon simply blew up the arms market, becoming a real hit. It was used by various law enforcement agencies in more than two dozen countries, and the release of the civilian version was discontinued only in 2015.


A sniper pair from the Senezh Center near Moscow, who won the Team Open Competition in shooting with rifled weapons, November 4, 2012. The fighter in the foreground has a Steyr SSG 08.

In 2004, another sniper rifle for the army and police, the Steyr-Mannlicher SSG 04, was released. It became heavier and longer, because the requirements for range and accuracy have changed over almost 40 years, but the main thing remained unchanged - the emphasis on high performance and reliability. And the dimensions, by the standards of the early 2000s, were still quite modest.


One of the rifles of the sniper pair that won the competition on November 4, 2012 is the Steyr SSG 08 in .300 Win.Mag caliber. You can clearly see how compact the weapon becomes with the stock folded and without the BBBS.

The bolt stem has changed a lot. The locking lugs were moved forward. There were 4 of them, two after each other, the front ones were very massive, the rear ones were smaller, as if they were belaying.

The designers introduced the patented Safe Bolt System (SBS) into the rifle, which was tested over several decades on commercial models of the Austrian manufacturer.

In addition to the fuse of its own design, SBS is an increase in the reliability of the bolt (a special groove in the bolt stem allows it not to freeze to the receiver and should, up to a certain point, remove dirt, preventing jamming) and strengthening the receiver. The receiver is reinforced with an additional bushing, the main task of which is to prevent the breakthrough of powder gases from the chamber towards the shooter.


Weapons of the 155th Separate Guards Order of Zhukov Pacific Marine Corps Brigade fleet. In the foreground is a Steyr SSG 08.

The 2004 model was like a breakthrough in modern sniper weapons. The concept was tested, found successful, and 4 years later it was developed into the next model - Steyr-Mannlicher SSG 08.

This rifle again became a hit with Austrian gunsmiths. It was adopted by the Austrian special forces themselves, law enforcement officers and the military of more than a dozen countries.

The main difference from the previous model was the presence of a folding stock. The rifle has grown in length, but the Austrians still want to make their weapons compact, so at least in the transport position they decided to be more compact than all competitors. With the stock folded, the rifle has a length of just under a meter (or a little more, depending on the cartridge used and the length of the barrel), which is generally a ridiculous figure for a sniper weapon.


One of the airborne troops who took part in the assault on Gostomel airport, with his Steyr SSG 08 sniper rifle.

Austrian rifles have long and firmly taken their place in the weapons of various domestic special forces. In fact, photos of FSO specialists on Red Square with the Steyr-Mannlicher SSG 08 have already been published, and there were plenty of other information sources with this weapon.

These rifles are firmly established not only in the arsenal of the FSO, but also the Airborne Forces, the Marine Corps, and the Special Forces. For snipers and reconnaissance airborne troops, this is a long-tested and beloved system.

Austrian sniper rifles were purchased both before and after the events of 2014. Several Western publications at one time lamented that after 2014, Western sanctions do not prevent the Russian military from buying Austrian weapons (we were talking not only about rifles, but also about the creations of Gaston Glock).

Now SSG rifles are actively used by our fighters in the Northern Military District zone.


A photo that appeared in the information field in the spring of this year. Allegedly, the photo shows a Steyr SSG 08 rifle from a fighter from one of the Airborne Forces units. Most likely, the cartridge exploded in the barrel; unfortunately, this is not such a rare problem in the case of self-loading ammunition. At the same time, the fighter himself was not injured; apparently, the Safe Bolt System (SBS) did its job, and there was no breakthrough of powder gases towards the shooter.

Even if the occasion turned out to be a little exaggerated: the rifle that was photographed at the parade was far from new, and it has been in service with the FSO for a long time, but this is still an opportunity to remember such an interesting weapon that faithfully serves our soldiers at the front and in the rear.


Weapons of soldiers of a sniper company of one of the Airborne Forces units in the airborne forces in the Northern Military District zone, 2023. A Steyr SSG 08 rifle is mounted on a tripod.
32 comments
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  1. +2
    27 May 2024 03: 56
    To hell with her, the swatter. Lobanov promised to master optics. And silence. Mastered it, no? Snipers seem to like rifles. And countersnipers
    1. AAK
      +6
      27 May 2024 13: 06
      "Lobaev-Arms" is not actually involved in optics, they make very good rifles, so let them continue to make them, and among the Russian manufacturers of good sighting optics we can note the Novosibirsk Mechanical Plant, "Shvabe" and "Dedalus", and then there are LOMO and Belarusians . They should all learn how to make good collimators, this is important for the guys at SVO...
  2. 0
    27 May 2024 06: 14
    Well, you did an advertisement for Mannlicher, what else are you going to advertise imported?
    And Lobaev? And what about some Lobaev, or Manlicher, that’s true.
    1. +2
      27 May 2024 06: 38
      It’s stupid to deny the obvious, the Manlicher weapons brand is almost one and a half hundred years old, the Lobaev brand is a young man compared to it.
      1. +4
        27 May 2024 06: 43
        Quote: faiver
        It’s stupid to deny the obvious, the Manlicher weapons brand is almost one and a half hundred years old, the Lobaev brand is a young man compared to it.

        And what? Is this the only reason why we need to advertise Manlicher and Nizzy Lobaev?
        When will you stop bowing to foreign countries? In the 90s they bowed down, now we are scratching our heads - that we had some good things and they threw them away.
        1. +6
          27 May 2024 06: 51
          is that why we need to advertise Mannlicher and Nizzy Lobaev?
          - You can, who's stopping you? advertise
          When will you stop bowing to foreign countries?
          - if my memory serves me correctly, Stalin had a pocket Mauser, will he also be accused of worshiping “foreign countries”?
          1. +1
            27 May 2024 07: 21
            Quote: faiver
            - if my memory serves me correctly, Stalin had a pocket Mauser,

            I don't know, maybe there was. But, if there was, it was only because the Republic of Ingushetia, its “elite,” just like you, worshiped all sorts of French-Germans and therefore there was nothing of its own. As you don’t understand, as long as we “look” to the West or the East, we will not have our own. You need to look inward and at yourself, and then your own will begin to appear. Yes, we need to learn from both the West and the East, but not mindlessly copy. We must rely on our own and develop ours. In the end, you need to learn to respect yourself and yours.
            1. +7
              27 May 2024 07: 48
              and who talks about mindless copying?
              Using something imported and good does not at all indicate worship of "foreign goods". The Berdan rifle, the Nagant revolver and the Russian Smith & Wesson, the Maxim machine gun, the Mauser pistol, the Lewis machine gun served our Fatherland faithfully and truly. Remember that GAZ and ZIL were born from the Americans, Moskvich (AZLK) from the Germans, VAZ from the Italians, the TT known to all of us is a Browning pistol redesigned by Tokarev, the engines on the MiG-15 are from Rolls-Royce, etc., etc. There is nothing bad about this. Unbridled jingoism will not lead to anything good, everything is good in moderation. The article says that our people use good Austrian rifles, is that bad?
              1. 0
                27 May 2024 13: 38
                But the record for firing range belongs to our rifle. But probably more than one foreign one was dismantled before this
                1. +5
                  27 May 2024 13: 42
                  Well, shooting for a record and shooting in practice and in combat conditions seem to be very different things.... hi
              2. 0
                27 August 2024 12: 19
                There's a mistake with the TT. It looks similar, but nothing more. It has been discussed to me more than once on the pages of VO.
                You are right about the rest, there were purchased licenses and everything was produced in Russia or the USSR (well, ok, almost everything from the list), but the current device is purely a purchase from abroad.
                Our country needs to have production on its territory, albeit foreign developments, but a full cycle - its own production.
                1. 0
                  27 August 2024 12: 33
                  Our country needs to have production on its territory, albeit foreign developments, but a full cycle - its own production.
                  - absolutely true....
                  and as for TT, this is already a matter of religion wink
    2. +5
      27 May 2024 07: 49
      And Lobaev? And what about some Lobaev, or Manlicher, that’s true.

      Go on a business trip to Lobaev or to Austria. These are 2 big differences.
    3. 0
      27 May 2024 18: 38
      It does not interfere. And it never bothered me.
  3. -4
    27 May 2024 07: 22
    Disgrace! A fighter with a bourgeois Berdanka! Where are ours? They praised everything they showed, but here we go again. And the cartridges are being developed again to some kind of American standard, and again so that they can sell at a higher price, and not so that their own people will be better off! That's why we live like this
    1. +11
      27 May 2024 08: 34
      Disgrace! A fighter with a bourgeois Berdanka!

      Yeah - should we give him a Makarov pistol, so that the sight of it will warm the hearts of true Patriots, or will we bait Stalin into attacking him? Threat...so be afraid!!!
      Now no sarcasm. The guys in the FSO perform quite specific tasks. Their snipers are the elite, who are mainly either “raised themselves” or “matched” from other law enforcement agencies. Moreover, the ability to shoot accurately is not the most important thing for them. Moreover, I will hint that they are selected for completely different qualities. The most important thing for them is efficiency, so this is one of the units that have the opportunity to choose weapons not only for the task, but also in principle the choice of weapons. Including improvements and modernization, within the budget. I won’t tell men that a weapon (like a car) sometimes “fits in” and sometimes “a priori does not work at all.” This rifle is in service with our special services and the army.
      The question is, what can we offer for our own linear army and no worse. Lobaev is good, but this is a small-scale production. Chuvatkin rifle? I haven’t held it in my hands myself, I think the guys who are in the subject will give their assessment themselves. For example, I did not like the new bolt guns based on the SVD and Mosinki, adopted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. SALT is a cool thing, but it’s heavy and the recoil, mom, don’t worry. The IED is inconvenient due to its weight distribution, although it is normal to shoot from the machine. I only held the fly from the article in my paws; they didn’t let me shoot. It feels like a cross between SVD and OSV.
      In fact, I will return to what was previously proposed, not to pull the owl onto the globe, but to wait for the guys who understand this. Luckily they come in sometimes.
      Have a nice day, everyone.
      1. +3
        27 May 2024 11: 31
        Yeah - should we give him a Makarov pistol, so that the sight of it will warm the hearts of true Patriots, or will we bait Stalin into attacking him?

        hi
        Don't worry, everything is already done feel : so that “his appearance would warm the hearts of true Patriots,” Sig-Sauers were issued, in special. performance. soldier
        1. +1
          28 May 2024 00: 02
          I really don't like PM... Maybe I was lucky with the regular one :-) and that's without a paper clip... four ducks (not in flight :-) ) were eaten safely - all my fighters hit the standard and forced them to 50 in the chest, as well as 6p9...
      2. 0
        10 August 2024 08: 10
        Even the AVSK will be better in accuracy than the OSV 86 because the AVSK bolt and weight distribution are good, although different tasks require different solutions, I would probably shoot with a fly if they let me do it, but I’m afraid my 2 knocked out joints won’t thank me. My love PVSK prototype of AVSK.
    2. 0
      3 June 2024 12: 59
      That's why they are developing for a different standard, because there are practically no of their own. The army with its apparatus for decades was engaged only for AK and SVD. Everything is hanging on this. There are few shooters, hunters are not allowed to develop anything either... No way... Otherwise terrorists will come running with thugs...
  4. -2
    27 May 2024 08: 37
    Sniper fly swatter...

    Everything is clear: there is a lot of everything, but what does the fly swatter have to do with it!? If you shoot at flies, it’s better with a machine gun or RPG, otherwise they’ll run away... Otherwise, you might get hit...
    1. +4
      27 May 2024 09: 12
      If you shoot at flies, it’s better with a machine gun or RPG, otherwise they’ll run away... Otherwise, you might get hit...

      Yeah from a flamethrower...
      As a child, I used a can of hairspray and a match to kill cockroaches. With minimal skills, a portable “flamethrower” was obtained!!!
  5. Tim
    +1
    27 May 2024 08: 51
    There is such a word as barrel resource (especially small arms), which means that what you bought is good, but you need to produce and curl your own domestic one.
    1. +5
      27 May 2024 09: 32
      But no - domestic hi For example, I long ago added all my domestic hunting bullets to the trash can, leaving only foreign cars. In general, everything is not good with domestic cartridges.

      Because effective Russian managers just don’t turn out to be a stone flower, literally at all. Although it would seem - capitalism.
  6. -1
    27 May 2024 09: 38
    Again, “abroad will help us,” but then they refuse, what are we going to do? Or maybe it’s better to make do with your own people?
    1. -1
      27 May 2024 13: 44
      Maybe it’s better to get along with your own people?
      - You probably still drive a Zhiguli-six?
      1. -2
        27 May 2024 16: 23
        How are things going with the Mistrals?
        1. +1
          27 May 2024 16: 30
          it’s good with the Mistrals - they made a lot of money, and got some experience, technical documentation for the ships, sold helicopters that weren’t fully tested to the Egyptians, and received a contract for their maintenance....
          1. +1
            27 May 2024 16: 31
            “Blessed is he who believes, he has warmth in the world!” (C)
  7. +1
    27 May 2024 12: 02
    Dear administrators! Under the photo with the caption: "A soldier of the 7th Guards Airborne Assault Red Banner, Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division (mountain) with a Steyr SSG 04 rifle at the shooting range, 2011." in the description of the rifle, please correct the annoying typo, if it is technically possible in the posted text of the material: "The rifle weighed 4 kg, was 1 centimeters long,"
  8. 0
    27 May 2024 15: 45
    Quote: Kote pane Kohanka
    The question is, what can we offer for our own linear army and no worse.

    Can. Take Orsis T5000. In terms of accuracy/reliability, the T-shka is not inferior to Steyr.
    Another thing, of course, is that Steyr’s shutter function is certainly better without question. Only Orsis is still a full cycle for us, albeit on US machines, and Steyr is a weapon of a potential enemy. Well, in terms of price, Steyr is several times more expensive.
    1. +1
      27 May 2024 18: 01
      On US machines you can only make US Orsis. Lobaev at one time wrote that his machines are imported, as is the steel. Perhaps something has changed now. We don’t make rifles not out of poverty or lack of skill; everything, or almost everything, has already been invented a long time ago. And the rifle itself, without optics and high-quality ammunition, is a piece of iron. Apparently the need for such complexes was low and making them did not make economic sense.