Valmet Sniper M86
| Valmet Sniper M86 | |
|---|---|
magazine | |
| Sights | Day or night optics, aperture sights for target shooting. |
The Valmet Sniper M86 (also Valmet M86 Sniper and Valmet Sniper) is a Finnish sniper rifle designed by the former Finnish state firearms company Valmet. The rifle was Valmet's first and only proper sniper rifle, and after the merger with Sako in 1986, its development work was the basis for the Sako TRG sniper rifles.[2] The rifle was produced only in small numbers in 1987 due to the merger.[3]
History
Valmet started also designing a proper sniper rifle completely from scratch on their own, which was also recommended by a FDF HQ major Kari Aro.[3] The initial setting was to produce a 7.62×53R sniper rifle; also .300 Winchester Magnum and other magnum options were planned to increase the effective range of the rifle, but since the initial aim was to produce a rifle which the FDF could use, the initial development was centered on the 7.62×53R.[3] Creating a magazine for the 7.62×53R was problematic, and Valmet opted for using a modified Lahti-Saloranta M/26 magazine for the 7.62×53R version.[3]
The trial rifle turned out very accurate, and a small batch was manufactured for the civilian market before the merger of Sako and Valmet. The produced rifles however didn't yet incorporate all of the features developed during the development, such as the multi-calibre rifle patent (Finnish patent № 72807), which featured an aluminium bedding block (chassis) to which barrelled actions of different calibres could then be quickly changed.[3] The produced rifle was meant to be a military sniper rifle in many of its features.[3]
The idea for the multi-calibre rifle was later used by a small Finnish firearms company Pirkan Ase to develop their Lynx TD12 and TD15 rifles, as well as a modification to Sako 85. Sako also took up a similar design based on the patent №72807 for production in their Sako M85 Exige.[5]
Design
The main design of the rifle features a forged receiver, to which a 60° rotating, three-lug bolt locks.
The two-stage trigger mechanism is derived from Valmet Suomen Leijona target/competition rifles, and is adjustable between 0.7 and 2.0 kg (7 and 20 N) force. Both stages and trigger position are adjustable.[3]
The production rifle had both wooden and
The magazine in the .308 production rifles is a 5 or 9 round double-stack staggered-feed box magazine. However, the competition variant doesn't feature a magazine.
A bipod with adjustable cant, traverse and tilt attaches to the ultimate front end of the stock, and folds to the underside of the stock when not in use.[3]
The scope mount made by Valmet attaches to a dovetail section on the receiver.[1]
The sniper version features a single chamber muzzle brake; this type of a muzzle brake was also tested on the
Variants
- Valmet 7,62 Kiv 85: the 7.62 TKIV 85, whose production was also done partially by Valmet.
- Valmet Sniper M86: the production series.
- Sniper rifle variant: the main planned military variant of the Valmet Sniper, of which only 25 were made. Included a muzzle brake.
- Target rifle variant: a target rifle single-shot variant without a magazine. Only 5 were made.
- Hunting rifle variant: a simplified hunting version of the sniper variant, of which around 200 pieces were made. Lightened stock, plain muzzle without a brake.
See also
- 7.62 TKIV 85- FDF sniper rifle whose development spurred the development of the Valmet Sniper M86.
- Sako TRG - successor of the Valmet Sniper M86.
- Accuracy International Arctic Warfare - contemporary development which also incorporated an aluminium bedding/chassis system.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-951-98371-9-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-951-97543-3-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-952-5687-35-4.
- ^ ISBN 978-951-25-0518-0.
- ^ "MAO:557/18 Lynx Rifles Oy vs Sako Oy". markkinaoikeus.fi (in Finnish). Market Court (Finland). 13 November 2018. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.