# How good is, was....



## Lucky13 (Sep 16, 2017)

....the Dragunov rifle?


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## The Basket (Nov 19, 2017)

It looks cool.
And it isn't a sniper rifle.
Longer ranged AK with 10 rounds. Looks like an AK family gun but isn't although Yugo and Rumanian Dragunovs are.
But it looks cool.

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## Boa (Nov 19, 2017)

It isnt a sniper rifle and isnt used as a sniper rifle more "designated marksman" rifle.
A OK rifle on "medium" range (500m + - 100m).
Equivalent to a G3 or M14 with optics.

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## Wurger (Nov 19, 2017)

Lucky13 said:


> ....the Dragunov rifle?
> 
> View attachment 382992



Yes, it is the 7,62mm semi-automatic sniper's rifle SVD Dragunov. There is a couple of exact copies of the rifle made in China and Romania.

SVD Dragunov karabin snajperski


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## rochie (Nov 19, 2017)

Always thought it looked the best


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## Glider (Nov 19, 2017)

I would have thought that with the heavier cartridge and a decent sight it would be very useful in places like Afghanistan were the range would often be beyond 300m.


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## The Basket (Nov 19, 2017)

The Chinese version is an exact copy but the Romanian version is only a look a like and is a different gun based more on the AK.
Genuine Soviet Dragunovs go for crazy money in the USA
To call the Dragunov a M-14 with optics? People have been sent to the gulag for less!!!!!!

The Dragunov offers a long range standoff capability which a bog standard 5.56 assault rifle can't match. But then again so would a Gewehr 98.


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## Shortround6 (Nov 19, 2017)

Main improvement in range for the Dragunov is the sight. 

So much of the effective range of the Dragunov (or any designated Marksman) rifle depends on the quality of the ammunition and the skill set of the shooter. 

Russian (or Warsaw pact/com bloc) ammo quality is all over the place, some can be good, very good. But some can be a lot less than desired. 

A "_bog standard 5.56 assault rifle_" if an M-16 with 20in barrel and fired by a soldier who knows what he is doing (rarer than good russian ammo) can do surprisingly well out to 500yds or so. An optical sight won't extend the range much but will make it easier to use and make the light situation a bit less critical. 

A bog standard Gewehr 98 using bog standard ammo is not an easy rifle to use at long range.


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## The Basket (Nov 19, 2017)

The Dragunov was meant to go further than 500 yards. 
A few points... Dragunov has a bayonet attachment and also has to be used for CQB and not for extreme accuracy.
It is kinda mass produced so offers more than a AK with irons in the hands of poorly trained cannon fodder...but isn't the commie space magic that it's held to be.
It would be interesting to see if the Dragunov offers more than the PSL or the Yugo M76 both are AK clones. 
The Dragunov SVD uses the 7.62x54mmR which is the same as the Mosin and PKM and SVT-40. That old cartridge offers more full power goodness than the intermediate 7.62x39 
Itsn't a sniper rifle and you wouldn't design a sniper rifle like the SVD.
But you probably would design a SVT replacement like the SVD.


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## Shortround6 (Nov 19, 2017)

The ammo may be the limiting factor. 
I don't like 5 shot strings for accuracy. It is better than 3 shot strings but not as good as 10 shot strings. And even 10 shot strings are not always definitive. 
I once did an ammo test of two different lots of .22 ammo. 3 ten round groups of each lot. Lot "A" had the best group, Lot "B" had the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th best groups with Lot "A" bringing up the rear with 5th and 6th sized groups. I needed over 800 rounds to take to the National matches. Which lot would you choose? 

Trying to compare single examples of different factories guns doesn't prove a whole lot either. You can get a clanger from anybody, you can also sometimes get a gun that defies expectations (to the good) or for some reason decides it "likes" a particular manufacturing lot of ammo. I shot for a team that in the days before I shot for it had five accurized M1 rifles and they discovered that a particular "lot" of WIN 1952 Armour piercing ammo would shoot under 2 minutes of angle in all 5 guns. AP ammo wasn't supposed to do that. And older or newer AP ammo wouldn't do it either. One of the team members had access to the underground test tunnel at WInchester.


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## The Basket (Nov 20, 2017)

Since it uses regular ammo which is also in the PKM then that's solves a problem in supply. 
The SVD does have the X factor which certainly makes it desirable to a collector. 
So answer the question....yes it's good but its not this super worshipped made out of Gold and unicorn tears that some say it is.


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