SSG-69: Steyr's Cold War Sniper Rifle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มี.ค. 2023
- Make sure to also check out 9 Hole Reviews' field trial of the SSG-69 in military configuration out to 800 yards:
• Steyr SSG-69 (🇦🇹 Austr...
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In the 1960s, Steyr Daimler Pusch developed a modern sniper rifle for the Austrian military (and also for commercial civilian sale). It was adopted as the SSG-69 (Scharfschützen-Gewehr; sharpshooter's rifle), replacing the SSG-98k in military service. Mechanically, the SSG-69 uses a bolt with six rear-mounted locking lugs in 3 pairs, giving it a short 60 degree throw. The stock is made of polymer and the barrel is cold hammer-forged, both fairly cutting-edge elements at the time of its design. It was a factory 1MOA rifle, also something considered typical today, but quite impressive ein the 1960s.
In its military configuration, the rifle used a 5-round detachable rotary magazine and a Kohl's ZF69 6x42mm telescopic sight, along with backup barrel-mounted iron sights. This example is a civilian one, differing from the military pattern by having a double set trigger, a black stock (instead of green) and by including a second trigger guard designed to use traditional box magazines. The basic action was made in a wide variety of other civilian configurations, ranging in caliber from .222 Remington up to .458 Winchester Magnum.
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The SSG-69 seems really *nice,* but it's unfortunate that we don't see this more often. Hopefully they make a more modern model something along the lines of the "SSG-420."
Nice
😏
there are modernized versions
There are way better rifles than this at a much better price
Nice
First time I got issued the SSG 69 I managed to get 57 out of 60 rings on first try. (you can single load a cartridge and attach the magazine giving you 6 rounds)
It speaks for itself if a conscript with minimal experience can get shots on target that easily and this further enhances the military value of this rifle.
The trigger feel of the military version is also great.
I am still looking to snatch myself one of the military pattern rifles for private use, but they only rarely show up for sale and are pretty expensive.
From 98 to 69. This rifle is aging backwards, it even looks younger than before!
It's a curious case
From 1898 to 1969 though to be fair
@@cuongle7990 way to ruin the joke. 😠
Benjamin Button special.
@@Mygg_Jeager Way for you to ruin this reply section. 😡
As I recall those rifles were only US$600 (without scope) in 1976. All of them came with a target that had been shot using that particular rifle at 100 meters. All the holes made one slightly larger hole. None larger than two calibers. They were kind of "exotic", "bleeding edge", "the cats pajamas", "your euphemisms here" back then.
Henry and Josh just did a shooting review and practical accuracy demo over on the 9 Hole Reviews channel! It’s awesome the videos got released at the same time!
@@upscaleshack Now don't be crazy
I came here to comment this conspiracy
Clearly a conspiracy…
SSG’s being earnestly searched out on gunbroker now most likely.
I figured the comments would be about that or the number of the rifle. I wonder if they did plan it that way
@@jcorbo7518 The anonymous owner of this rifle most probably sent it to Ian who sent it to Josh and Henry.
It happened like this in the past - Ian was featured by 9 hole reviews and mentioned it.
Been collecting these since i first pulled trigger on one in 1986 during us army trials on Ft. Benning. One of the best sniper rifles ever made!!
Just curious, if you know how they got those rifles?
@@gunnermurphy6632 AMTU loaned them to our sniper platoon!! One Green SSG69 with Kahles 6x, one Black PII with tasco super sniper fixed 10x.
@@stephenpalano2188 thank you
In the austrian army the Ssg69 is still in service. Mostly as a training platform before you get your hands on a Ssg08 or M82. There is even a modernization program going on where the rifles get a bipod and a modern and high end Kahles 624i scope. Im glad that we don´t ditch these beautiful rifles because they deserve the best.
And I can tell you that I would choose the Ssg69 in some cases over every other modern rifle. Last week I was hitting targets at 900 meters like its nothing.... With a weight of only 4,6kilos and it being 50 years old
I had one of these as my main hunting rifle for 20 years. Really precise and accurate, it had the smoothest action of any bolt gun I have ever owned. The only weakness was the magazine, and while I had no problem with mine I know others did. The AICS upgrade would have been a great addition. Wish I still had it.
I have two. An SSG69 with double sets and an SS69PII with a single trigger group. Both are extremely accurate. With the hand loads under 1/2" MOA is possible.
My local hunting fraternity (I don't know the correct english word) as a SSG-69 on the range. Damn I love this gun! Sadly the're rather rare on the second hand market in Germany and when I find one it's often for a price double of that what a new Steyr rifle would cost.
@@gunswiththedutchman No doubt about that!
Club = fraternity
I could get a new Steyr SSG-08 for about 5,500 €
@@tomhenry897 That's comparing like apples and oranges. Besides that importing guns from the US into europe is a pain in the ass, even for gun shop owners. 30% - 50% fail the proofing process.
@@tomhenry897 I could get a Ruger precision rifle for about 2,200 €. I'd be getting a better rifle with the Steyr but whether that's worth the price is up to every individual. For me, I won't be getting either one :)
My personal SSG69 has a wooden target stock and a ZF69. It shoots about 3/4 moa with handloads and under 1 1/2 moa with surplus 308 machine gun ammo
It's impossible not to love rotary magazines. So awesome.
I totally agree!
Unfortunately Steyr dropped the rotary magazine as well as the position of the locking lugs....
Now the actual design is far more conventional than back in the late 60ies/ early seventies. At that time you could get several progressive designs with Steyr-Mannlicher, the Mauser 66 and the Sauer 80/90. All are gone...
Unless you have to use them. In my time in the austrian military, the magazine was by far the biggest flaw of the gun. If covered in snow (or dirt), it is almost impossible to remove since the two release buttons become inaccessible. Had to remove my gloves to way often on the breezy mountaintops of styria.
@@ingowalkerling5141 The Mauser 66 seems to have been "reincarnated as the Blaser series; eye-watering money, but......
I'm a Steyr fan. I wish they would market their pistols better in this country
Seconded!
Same here in Austria. Although Steyr's kind of "meh" image here lately isn't all just bad marketing. I kept hearing stuff about lacking build quality and customer service over the past decade or so.
Can't confirm personally, and a lot of it is surely owed to "Steyr isn't what it used to be"-traditionalists.
The pistols are really nice, though. They manage to look good (for a plastic gun; not as simplistic/crude as Glocks), fit the hand well, and I even like those triangle sights more than the standard dots.
@@ShootAUT Those sights are fantastic.
Former (retired) shooting colleague had one, shot remarkable well (shot it myself on a number of occasions out to 400m) but I specifically remember the plastic magazine as being the most delicate part (2 broken in just a 5 years); 10 round metal magazine do exist (in theory) but were nowhere to be found/ordered in Europe.
Any gunsmith can order these magazines;but don't expect to receive them,in shorter than a year....or three!
That is crazy to think that the barrel is just shrink fit into the receiver, and with rear mounted locking lugs, the chamber pressure is acting directly on that shrink fit joint. That must be a heck of an interference fit to withstand a 7.62x51 trying to rip it apart.
This weapon is so nice I can't help but stop and steyr
taking the bolt out and looking down the barrel to bore sight it is always a good idea when shooting a new rifle for the first time 😁 i can zero my rifles at 100 or 200 yards right off the bat by just bore sighting it first then making adjustments after seeing the impact. saves alot of ammo and time 😁 works great on bolt guns and ar15s 😀
I used one of these many moons ago and found it to be supremely accurate and very user friendly. The one I used had thr polygonal rifling, an interesting detail and one I am a little surprised Ian didn't mention. I can't believe mine was in any way a "one off".
Steyr manufactures their own barrels--and never ever I heard of a single polygon one,they hammer-forge their barrels,and making the "pilot"is quite expensive,and not feasible for a small series.either you have a "one-of a -kind",extremely rare, or the rifle was rebarreled,perhaps with a "Lothar Walter"barrel.On Steyr barrels you see the hammer-markings.This should be a clear indicator!
I own a Steyr THB, and people have given me crap for spending as much as I did on a brand most of them have never heard of. They shut up after they fire it.
Very cool to see that the internals here look pretty much identical to their modern rifles.
Shooting is believing!
Funny, my local gun shop offered me one of only 350 ever made civilian Steyr/Rheinmetall RS 556. I first laughed at the idea of Steyr trying to build a AR-15 type rifle. After handling it a bit, I laughed even harder because it is such a piece of trash. Steyr sucks.
@@arcuz7862 I don't know about an AR15 style rifle, but their bolt action guns are anything but trash. The SSG69 was the gold standard among some Special Operations groups. The THB is largely similar.
@@ChefJeff789 Cool, as an Austrian we get to see most of Steyrs new stuff way before the rest of the world. Most of it is pure trash and never even makes it out of the country. They got like three products that are somewhat acceptable.
I worked a CTR-Terrorism gig in Saudi working to modernize some of their training methods. One of the course we taught was for snipers. They were still using SSG69s (although they also had Accuracy Internationals). The SSG69 is a great rifle. It may be old, but it works.
I have an hunting version of it, Steyr Luxus with french set trigger, same light barrel profile, but in 7x64 with wooden stock, made in 1974.
And i have the civilian Kahles 6x42 on it, awesome combo 👌
Wearing a CZ Cap and firing a Steyr is a great combo
Very happy to see this episode. Have a .308Win PII since the early '90s topped with a Kahles ZF84 in Steyr rings complete with Parker-Hale bipod on handstop spigot mount. Awesome rifle. Always happy to see this rarity shown on infrequent occasions. IIRC, there was an episode of Magnum PI where he used one with the double set trigger. Can't remember if it was a PI or PIII. The PIII was the PII with double trigger.
Do any modern sniper/marksman rifles use .308win anymore? (Just curious)
Awesome rife, revolutionary given the 1 moa and reliability at the time. Relatively speaking maybe one of the best sniper rifles ever made!
I have an 80's vintage Weatherby (made by Sako I believe) and it's remarkable how much things don't change in gun design.
Another excellent video. One of the few guns I still somewhat regret letting get away was a green stock, single trigger SSG-69 that I brought back from my tour in Germany in the mid-’80s. Due to my lack of bench shooting skill and ignorance of ammunition selection at the time my precision results were poor and I assumed it was the rifle. I can only hope that whoever owns it today has been able to do it more justice.
What is the rifle's claimed MOA accuracy?
@@extragoogleaccount6061 When I acquired mine, I don’t recall that any precision level was claimed for the rifle by the manufacturer. I believe such claims as part of a rifle’s specifications were unusual at the time. According to Internet articles, though, the rifles consisted exhibited sub-MOA precision in various competitions and trials, including some in the 0.5 MOA range. And of course such results are highly dependent on shooter skill, shooting conditions, and ammunition quality. If the shooter is limited to factory ammunition, I would expect a rifle today to do much better than was common 40 or so years ago. To cite just two examples, both Hornady and Federal match loads can give very accurate results even from mid-tier rifles.
It might not!Problem is,that the good ones were sold to the army and for export;the rejected ones were sold to civilians in Germany and Austria!We had severalof these, out of specs,but Steyr just stone-walled us!🤢🤮,claiming bad shooter or bad ammo!
@@extragoogleaccount6061 Steyr will never guarantee any accuracy;this opens them the loophole to claim"your"ammo is just bad,and it's not the rifles fault!--They are a pretty arrogant bunch-at least to civilians!
3:47 Oh, that's super-neat! This is the rifle used by the character Jacques LaFleur in 'Harry and the Hendersons', a favourite movie of mine as a kid. When I got interested in firearms as an adult, I thought that little detail was an error, as he famously goes into a gun store looking for '458 Magnums' in one memorable scene, and I always thought the SSG-69 was exclusively built as a .308. I don't think the actual screen-used rifle was a .458 (the mag looks way too short) but that's still really cool to know the character absolutely would have used this. Thanks, Ian!
I did not know that and always loved that movie, going to watch it this weekend!
The SSG 69 was built in .243 also;but these are very rare!
I have always liked the SSG 69. Also, I love and own that Swarovski scope. Very good for long range, but not the best.
If the action and cocking shroud of this rifle look familiar in a way you can't quite put your finger on, but you're a fan of science fiction films...go take a look at the pistol from Blade Runner. It'll click in a second.
The top end of the prop gun was made from a Steyr model SL action, which is a design that shares some features/aesthetics with this SSG69.
In 1969 the British Army were still using the Lee Enfield No4(T) in .303'', they didn't adopt the L42 until 1972.
That bolt throw looks really nice.
A friend of mine had one here in the UK in 7.62 it was BEAUTIFUL to shoot.
Thanks, Ian. I inherited a ssg 69 p2 and was unable to find a lot of info other than a wiki page. Really enjoy mine. Have shot it at 300 yards with very good groups with a mediocre scope. Love the dual trigger setup once I got used to it.
I get the feeling, with the cocked trigger, a slight variation in the earth's magnetic field will be enough to fire it.
I’ve lusted after one in the P1 configuration like that one since seeing it in the Chuck Norris movie Lone Wolf McQuade. But it’s always been outside of my budget. The passing years induced scarcity and value haven’t helped. But it’s still at the top of my wish list.
Thanks Ian. Great vid as ever.
Bought mine in 1988 and still shoot it competitively. Mine seems to prefer projectiles of 155gn, such as SMKs or Nosler CCs. The trigger guard and mags are indeed flimsy. My original trigger guard disintegrated, not helped by exposure to the bore cleaner I was using at that time.. Steyr apparently realised the shortcomings of their original design as the replacement I obtained featured steel inserts for the action screws. A better option is the alloy trigger guard made by Styria Arms which takes AI mags. I'm told barrel replacement is possible by any decent gunsmith. Push out the old barrel with a hyraulic press, chill new barrel in dry ice and insert by hand into warmed action.
This is one of the most impressive firearm designs that I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing it Ian!
Isn't it pretty basic? It is really well done. And each component serves its purpose. But the design is impressive?
@@extragoogleaccount6061 Sorry, that's what I meant...
Amazing piece, had the loan of one for driven boar a few years ago. Once zeroed they are deadly.
Good job, good video, Ian. I like the metal trigger guard/ magazine box/metal mag. If I owned that rifle, the stronger parts would be installed and I’d never look back. The group size on your 100 yard target looked fine to me. Different bullet brand and grain weight could easily print tighter. As in Sierra 168 gr. BTHP
The parts are almost impossible to get, the plastic mags are very fragile, and very expensive. Steyr won't even respond to emails regarding spares. Shoots great for its age though.
Kahles ZF84s were not 10x40, they came in 2 variants: 6x42 and 10x42. There was another upgrade late to Kahles ZF95 also 2 variants: 6x42 and 10x42
I owned a Steyr SSG P2 Police sniper rifle. Single trigger, heavy hammer forged barrel, no iron sights.... it was a supreamly accurate rifle from 200m and 600m in 7.62x51mm (.308") BUT those 5 round plastic magazines WERE CRAP! rounds would stick, tilt, and rarely feed more than 3 rounds without jamming! I had 5 magazines and they all were bad. There was a plastic 10 round stacked (not rotary) that were slightly better..... the steel magazine and trigger guard upgrade looked great BUT the cost was nearly 75% of what I paid for the rifle new in 1988 (£ 1,050).....
I have several Steyr rifles and they are amazingly accurate. I absolutely love them. I bought one years ago that was on sake not knowing what it was and after shooting it couldn't believe how accurate and comfortable it was. I have the Steyr THB and know where I out the crisshairs that bullet is going
Proud owner of a P2. It'll pretty much put rounds through the same hole on a bipod at 100.
Love it!
Pretty cool to see the early hammer-forge barrel ripples. I think its a cool look
I feel like ive seen that pattern before on things that weren't made with that technique. I guess its cool and upscale so imitating it makes products look more legit.
As soon as I’m done here, learning about the history of this rifle, I’m heading over to 9-Hole Reviews to see them do the shooting!
Damn, those double treats between 9-Hole & Forgotten weapons are great ! Thanks.
Our club captain has one of these. Absolutely gorgeous.
You and 9-Hole Reviews on same day. Awesome
I remember back in the 90's when Steyr Mannlicher was propping this rifle and four other variants with/without set triggers, bull barrel and carbine option for around I think $2800.
I had that 308 version of this rifle, with the double trigger, I bought it back in 1984 while stationed in Germany
Ian, thank you for confirming that going in 2" deeper is "quite a bit."
After 15 minutes of this video was uploaded, a new video about SSG-69 appeared at 9-Hole Reviews... This is a diversion! 🤔
Thanks for the info. I just inherited one and have been researching for information on it.
A couple of additional things I can add... the factory rotary magazines and the plastic receiver are fragile even when new and are not mil spec in any way. If you improperly clean the gun and solvent (especially copper solvent) saturates the receiver or the plastic latching mechanism on the magazines, the plastic becomes brittle and literally disintegrates. Clean this gun from muzzle to breach if you have the factory receiver/mags. The best solution is to buy the metal receiver that accepts AW .308 straight mags. The ABS stock is not affected by chemicals like the receiver/mags by the way. Another issue are the scope rings and trust me they are in no way "Quick Detachable" as designed. Only the factory dovetail rings will work... which are fine if they are installed properly. The screws for the rings are a proprietary flat head... which can be difficult to cinch down tight enough of you don't have screw driver with a small enough head that can also provide enough grip/torque. They are easily buggered up if you are not careful. The last issue is the aluminum accessory slot at the bottom of the foregrip. It is very fragile cast aluminum... and a slotted adapter with a sling stud and set screw is used to attach bipods and other accessories. The problem being you have to really screw the set screw in tight so your bipod/accessory doesn't shift and move under the recoil of the gun. Barely overtighten the set screw and you will crack and blow out the rail. I went through two of them before I had a local machine shop make me one out of steel. Not perfect out of the box, but overcome these issues and it really shines. Mine shoots 1/2 MOA all day long with factory match grade ammo... shoots slightly under that with hand loads.
When Ian cocked the first trigger back and then barely touched that second trigger where it broke like glass I bout came.
@12:00, The stock needs to be shimmed properly to the new replacement metal receiver. That is why you had trouble inserting the Arctic Warfare single stack magazine when the bolt was closed. The rear dovetail scope ring also needs to be set further back like an 1/8" to completely clear the ejection port.
Essentially the same action but with a lighter barrel profile and stock is called the M Professional and in it's day was pretty much one of the first modern synthetic stock weather resistant hunting rifles. Still good guns today they are known for their accuracy with that rear locking action of theirs...
Swarovski, now famous for jewelry, built some solid commercial Opics in the Past. Have a few on them on Huntingrifles. Most favorite Rifle of my dad, a Steyr-Mannlicher "Bergstutzen" has an 4-12x on it, 40 Year old Rifle with a german trigger (double set) and it is awesome.
tbh, I have been trying to think of a rear locking bolt action design but couldn't really think of a really good one with the best one is mauser inspired but this design blew me off, again your content shows me what I look for in a long time, your channel is absolutely golden
Remington 788.
SMLE.
@@neodutch I know about it but not having a single piece of bolt creates problems but thanks nonetheless
@@neodutch thanks
So many similarities to my 270 luxus and the bolt internals look identical.
The single set trigger i use on every shot iv ever taken over the past 30 years.
It takes some of the guess work out of the guess work in the field and would not be without one.
You should have shown them on how to unset the trigger it with the safety on or off :)
Keep up the good work.
I do have to disagree that the guard is the most common failure point. It is actually the magazine. There is a very small plastic connection that likes to break. That's why 5 round magazines are basically non available, you can find 10 rounders which are double stack for a few hundred bucks. I found out the hard way.
You can buy new rotary Steyer mags for the SSGs from Steyer America, just got two a week ago for my PII. I'm ordering the metal trigger guard/mag well from Austria this summer. My plastic unit hasn't failed, I just want a reliable set up with the AI mags.
I remember handling a Steyr SSG in Field & Stream in 1980s plus. Fantastic trigger. Should have bought one. The one I looked at had a single trigger. Don't remember the stock though.
9-Hole Reviews just posted a video on this rifle as well this morning.
I've seen a hunting version of this rifle( same action, different cal. ), and I realized that the striker can be fired even if the bolt is not completely closed.
The SSG 69 P4 is an amazing rifle. Thank you for this review 🇺🇸🇺🇸
A "nice" rifle
Aren't they all ?
XD
Mmm. 😏
Getting 69ed by an SSG-69 at 690 meters.
SSG-69 introduced at 1969. Very nice
yes finaly a video on this rifle !
Oh man, that first group, I could never compete with that! 😄
While you're still on European rifles, one that I think you should definitely cover, simply because of the channel name, is the R93 Duo Hamed. It's basically the Fuchs Fine Guns double bolt action rifle, but as a straight pull with manual cocking. It's been so far left behind in the past, it's even mostly forgotten in Germany!
With the locking lugs and bolt handle on a rotating collar behind the bolt body this must be the ultimate evolution of the Vetterli action
mine is almost identical. i also had a remington 788. it was their economy rifle in the sixties. the action and bolt are the same design and was the most accurate rifle remington made.
The box magazine conversion is made by Styria Arms.
Something about that whole package speaks to my soul.
I have a Thomson center flintlock with a set trigger.
I wish more rifles had them.
Some years ago I got the chance to shoot the SSG with the green stock and period correct bipod and scope. The trigger is so sweet! And despite that scope was really old, everyone who shot it that day got really close groups.
Thank you for your videos.
I've been waiting for years now, and finally Ian has a Blade Runner blaster on his table. At least half of one.
I knew I recognised the bolt and bolt handle from somewhere... it was used as part of Deckard's pistol in Blade Runner, and also the .223 pistol/That Gun in the Fallout series.
It genuinely looked pleasant to shoot.
Argentine Guardia Nacional we’re using that rifle back in the ‘90s when I went there on a deployment. Wood stock, double set trigger. Beautiful rifle.
9-Hole reviews just posted an accuracy test for the SSG-69, idk if this was done in purpose as a collab (haven't finished watching the video as of writing this), but if it wasn't, the stars have aligned today.
Nice
Nice
At the shop we had a green stock, with a spare rotary mag in the rt side of the stock. Normall double set triggers in .308. She drove tacks. We also had a Steyr millennial anniversary Mannlicher stocked hunter with a claw mounted scope. Much better than the picala la modern stuff
You need a sock with rice for your right hand. Use it under the back of the stock to squeeze to raise or lower your point of aim. Helps a lot
We have this gun in England in 22-250. Insanely accurate. Easily gets hole on hole shots at 300 yards.
I believe it. Super fast round with a flat trajectory.
Thank you , Ian .
🐺
Thanks
I have one on my shop. Green stock, updated trigger, updated steel triggerguard and steel magazine.
I mean, the Remington 788 was also a rear-locking design, but it was legendary for it's accuracy, thanks to a stiffer receiver thanks to a smaller ejection port and a ridiculously short lock time
So does the fr-f1 which the 9 hole review guys showed to be basically sub moa. So basically just people making up nonsense.
My go to hunting rifle for the last 30 years is a green stocked P1 with the Kahles 6x. It is bullet drop compensated for Federal 168g Match ammunition. I also have a SSG Match rifle with the wood stock, set trigger, and diopter sights. Picked up a P2 a few years ago when Steyr discontinued the original receiver and went with the safe bolt system. They make an average shooter look like a great shot.
Great video
These rifles were also available with a wood stock to the commercial market because at that point in time many potential buyers viewed the synthetic stock as cheap plastic.
Impressive. Very nice. Let's see Paul Allen's sniper.
As a i hunt with a SSG08 in .300wm, it is nice to watch some history of it's grandparent👍
Why am I having flashbacks to the late Jerry Ahern's series of books from the 1980's about Dr. John Thomas Rourke?
Nice.
Nice.
@@sethmoyer Nice.
@@jmjedi923 Nice.
Nice
Nice
Backward lugs were also chosen for reliability reasons in muddy environments.
I‘m in the lucky position to own one as my primary hunting rifle. Mine has a wooden benchrest stock. It‘s very precise, kicks like a horse and brings meat to the table. I‘m very lucky to own it and keep it in honor since it was the benchrest rifle of a friend and his deceased father.
Love these rifles
thank you for the video
To the best of my knowledge, the Steyr SSG was only available with one receiver size and in .308 and .243. The hunting variants, could be had in all popular calibers from .222 to .458.
As Ian and many commenters rightly remarked, the synthetic parts are its greatest weakness, as they are aging with use (sunlight) and possibly also without. The police of Berlin had them in their arsenal, until the stocks lost their ability to hold the screws. It was availabe with a similarly looking wooden stock, though. One of its biggest drawbacks is the practically almost impossible rebarreling, when the barrel is worn. Steyr claimed a maximum spread of 70 mm at 300 metres with sniper grade ammunition.