Putin tests Kalashnikov’s latest SVCH-308 sniper rifle

SEP 19, 2018

RUSSIA BEYOND

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, is a sharp talker, but is he a sharp shooter? Well, he visited a shooting range in Moscow’s suburbs on Sept. 18 to test out Kalashnikov Concern’s latest sniper rifle, the SVCH-308. It’s earmarked to replace the aged Dragunov rifle in the Russian army, and who better to test its accuracy than the big man himself.

Putin fired five slugs, hitting three targets and missing two at a distance of 600 meters. Not bad, but perhaps the president is better suited to aiming barbs at other world leaders instead.

Kalashnikov plans to sell the SVCH-308 (7.62x54 caliber) to the country’s Defence Ministry, while also adapting a version for NATO calibers (.308 Win and .338 Lapua Magnum) to peddle to foreign countries.