Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle

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I am interested in a Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle or a Romak3....where should I be looking for one?? what kind of money should I be looking to spend?

Thanks
 
Russian SVD will run over $5000.00. A Russian Tiger will be about $2000.00 or less.

A Romanian Dragunov (RomAK 3) should go well under $1000. They aren't C&R eleigible, so, your usual FFL can order them. Century sells them, mine came from them. SOG usually has them (they get them from Century), same thing.
 
dragunov and romak 3 are 2 very different rifles...the original russian dragunovs will run you in the few thousand dollar area...and there are very few on the market...you may want to consider a russian tigr...which was considered the "sporting edition" of the dragunov...its a little bit smaller and stockier than the dragunov but a well built rifle with the same capabilities as the original dragunov...you'll probably have better luck picking up a chinese ndm rifle in .308...another well made rifle but not the quality of the dragunov...the tigr and ndm will run you about $2000....the romak 3 is a beefed up ak on an rpd receiver...they cost about $900 with a scope and are no where near the quality, fit/finish, of an original dragunov...just so you know...these rifles werent "sniper rifles" per say...they given to members of a squad who designated "marksmen" and could reach out longer distance than the standard issue ak's, sks's, and svt's...do not expect sub moa accuracy if you do find one...on that note...zero hour arms has a ndm for sale...but im sure the sticker price will be serious $$$$$ head over to dragunov.net for more info...good luck
 
The Russians deployed Snipers the same way the US Army did in the past. As members of an Infantry squad.

The RomAK 3 (or PSL) is used be a few countries as a Sniper Rifle. Rumour has it that they're not accurate. Well, they aren't, when shooting garbage ammo.

I can tell you that they can be moderately accurate, capable of hitting silhouette targets out to and possibly beyond 600 yards. Of course, you'll need decent ammo. Also, the RomAK 3 doesn't like bullets over 150 grain.

Mine actually shoots ammo made with M80 Ball bullets BETTER than ammo made with Sierra 168 Match bullets. And M80 bullets aren't known for accuracy.

A real good discussion has been had at AKFiles.com. My user name is the same.
 
Inter Ordnance had Romak 3s listed at one time. I got mine from SOG who told the 01 dealer I went through they couldn't ship them to Mass anymore. This was a few weeks after I got mine.[thinking] Classic Arms has them listed again too. Average price is $500 unscoped, $600 scoped.
I sugest getting the rifle w/out the scope, then adding your own. You can use several diferent styles of mounts and scopes that will give you better results than what ever the company youre buying from has slapped on there. Just make sure you specify what rifle you're putting it on when ordering, there are 2 diferent rails. I got my 8 power scope from Tantal for about $175 and love it.
 
I went through this a couple weeks ago for my brother. The posters above are all correct. Everywhere that had the Romaks was out of both receivers and parts kits, and nobody was selling on the gunbroker, auctionarms, or gunsamerica sites.

If you're interested in the idea of the dragunov type rifle as opposed to wanting the 100% real thing (or the 75% real ROMAK-3), you can achieve it by buying a VEPR rifle in .308, switching the stock to a Choate Dragunov Stock (stamped MAK90 version), switching the handguard to a slotted black VEPR handguard from robinson arms, and putting a POSP scope on top. There's a thread called "What's the AK Deal?" you can search for where I go into a little more detail about it. If I had to do it again, I would try harder to find a 23" barrel vepr, as I mistakenly thought there were only 20" and 16" versions when I got it.

To me, the biggest bonus is that it's in .308 and you can get whatever kind of ammo you want for it if you're going for accuracy. Getting the 7.62x54R sniper rounds is neither easy or cheap, though corrosive surplus is out there. We went to a two day appleseed shoot with it and it was awesome. Only problem is that mags aren't easy to find, and we were stuck with only one 10 round and one 5 round. Since then Krebscustom.com found a bunch in the corner of their warehouse and we bought 5 more 10 rounders. 20 round mags are apparently going to come from Russia this summer.

Here's what it looks like. The scope does have the eyepiece that goes further back but for whatever reason my brother forgot to put it on for the picture.

vepr.jpg
 
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Thanks a lot guys. couldn't find it on century arms website. I was able to find it on classic arms website...they seem to have it only scoped...$649...is this a good gun for the money?? I am looking for something sniper-like that is really fun to shoot (the louder the better, too :) ) and reasonably accurate...I don’t shoot long distance or anything like that (not just yet)...your input is much appreciated.
 
Classic Arms was out when I checked, even though they were listed. Call them up and make sure they actually have them before getting your hopes up. All told if I had to choose between the fake vepr dragunov we made and the romak, I'd pick the vepr. But that's just me.
 
sorry crakowski, i posted before i saw your reply...I'll look into your suggestion as well...and yes, i am looking for something that's dragunov type than the real deal...i also like the long barrel on the dragunov
 
I paid $635 dealer cost for mine. I'd do it again.

Someday, I may cough up the $ for a true SVD.

As to ammo, good 7.62x54R can be had. It isn't as cheap as MILSurp 7.62 NATO, but, it will outshoot M80 Ball. I make my own, and can make decent ammo cheap enough to not use the corrosive stuff.
 
Not to derail a really interesting thread, but it you really
are looking for a "sniperesque" rifle the dragunov style is one
of several rifles (polytech m14, psg-ized ptr91 ...)
in the ~$700 price range. It does, however, look
very cool.

F
 
crakowski said:
All told if I had to choose between the fake vepr dragunov we made and the romak, I'd pick the vepr. But that's just me.

any more reasons other than ammo availability (which could be a big problem i guess) ?
 
The main and most easily justifiable reason is that 308 fits within my scheme of other rifles I own, and there aren't any hoops to jump through to get as much match ammo for it as I want, though I'll defer to Nickle if he can show a source for 762x54R sniper bullets.

And now for the feely "from what I've read" opinions that I can't really justify out of extensive comparative experience, so take them for what they're worth:

A secondary reason is that I've read several reports of romaks 3s not being very accurate or coming with good fit/finish. In my head, I imagine this as being similar to the way some of the crappier WASRs (not all are crappy, but some are) I've seen look. ROMAK-3's actually are military guns in romania, and yours might come looking like it's been through the wringer or been banged together from a used parts kit by a bunch of Century monkeys in the states to make it import legal. I personally find the worn/historical aura awesome for something collectible that might've come from WW2 or the jungle or the desert, but wouldn't like that on my cool whiz bang sniper rifle unless I did the dinging myself. You might feel different about dinging, but I'm pretty sure that nobody likes dinging or shortcuts or a loose fit when those are put there by a parts kit manufacturer isntead of a soldier.

Try to get a sense before you buy it sight unseen what kind of quality rifle that company is selling at the moment. Best would be to get a romak-3 that somehow was still mostly the complete rifle it started as. Worst would be to get one put together from found parts that has screws where there should be welds or something like that (from what I can remember reading).

VEPRs on the other hand are new commercial "sporting" rifles made complete at the Russian factory and shipped here that way. If I'm not 100% correct on that, then whatever Robinson does to them when they do get here retains a high standard of quality, and the AK models in .223 and 7.62x39 are highly regarded. All this adds up to more theoretical accuracy than the theoretical badly built Romak-3 might have, and reports seem to show that from forums dedicated to these kinds of rifles.

I just wish I had an answer as to why there don't seem to be 23" barrel VEPRs anymore, while bloodhound says he has one.
 
a_man said:
Thanks a lot guys. couldn't find it on century arms website. I was able to find it on classic arms website...they seem to have it only scoped...$649...is this a good gun for the money?? I am looking for something sniper-like that is really fun to shoot (the louder the better, too :) ) and reasonably accurate...I don’t shoot long distance or anything like that (not just yet)...your input is much appreciated.

I'd say thats about right, or you could see if a dealer can get in touch with SOG for $49 less. The Romak 3s have a muzzle break that spells doom for anyone shooting right along side you. [laugh] Boom is definitely there. I shoot corrosive ammo through mine. I just strip it down and clean it well when I get home, including the gas tube. Take down is easy once you do it a few times, its just tedious when cleaning corrosive ammo deposits properly. A spray bottle of amonia based glass cleaner comes in handy. You can probably get light comercial ammo that would perform really well in it if you don't want the hassle of a thorough cleaning everytime you shoot. Or like Nickle said and load your own rounds.
These rifles are accurate enough to shoot w/out scopes, but a scope will get you closer to the target and let you see whats going on. I'd say call a few dealers and gun shops. You never know, someone may have one laying around for sale.

I mean c,mon... thats just bad ass looking.[smile]

edfa85d1.jpg


b1eb74aa.jpg
 
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a_man said:
any more reasons other than ammo availability (which could be a big problem i guess) ?

I myself have never seen a VEPR for sale anywhere be it catalog or gun shop. I think finding one of those may be harder than finding a Romak3. I wouldn't be opposed to shooting or maybe even owning one, i'd just like to see one somewhere.
 
Milsurps, did you make that stock so pretty yourself? [smile] If every romak looked like that, then I wouldn't have much to say about the quality department.

I had the opposite experience with availability. Nobody was selling Romaks in March. Believe me, I tried, otherwise I wouldn't have even spent enough time on the problem to have thought to make a fake one. Robinson still had .308 veprs direct, and they told me they'd put that slotted handguard on it for no charge if I bought the rifle from them.

Also forgot to mention that we'll be getting a flash hider for that vepr as soon as they're back in stock. That will really add to the look, usability, and barrel length. He's in PA so we don't have to worry about some lawyer moaning about whether a dragunov stock is thumbhole or pistol grip.
 
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crakowski said:
Milsurps, did you make that stock so pretty yourself? [smile] If every romak looked like that, then I wouldn't have much to say about the quality department.

I had the opposite experience with availability. Nobody was selling Romaks in March. Believe me, I tried, otherwise I wouldn't have even spent enough time on the problem to have thought to make a fake one. Robinson still had .308 veprs direct, and they told me they'd put that slotted handguard on it for no charge if I bought the rifle from them.

Also forgot to mention that we'll be getting a flash hider for that vepr as soon as they're back in stock. That will really add to the look, usability, and barrel length. He's in PA so we don't have to worry about some lawyer moaning about whether a dragunov stock is thumbhole or pistol grip.

I'll admit the furniture was redone. Main reason because it had a blonde upper handguard. Some stripper, a little scraping, and some light sanding and I used Red Mahogany stain with a polyurethane top coat to finish it off.
I've been trying to find a Saiga again but they're no where to be found. That means the $175 rifles will now be worth $375 at gun shows, etc.[sad2]
I have been wanting to grab another Russian AK style rifle so I will keep my eyes open for something new and a VEPR does sound nice.
Bottom line is no matter what rifle you decide to go with for a semi auto AK style sniper, finding one may be a little dificult.
 
Mine came direct from Century. If the butchers working there had touched them, trust me, I wouldn't recommend them (and I personally know a person or two that's worked there).

It was new production, not something cobbled up from a parts kit (like my L1A1 was).

I did take some steel wool to parts of the stock that the lacquer was too thick on.

Now, about match ammo.

I make it myself, I can arrange a source of it. It won't be overly cheap, but try finding cheap 308 Match Ammo.

Bulk purchasing helps, and ammo equivalent to USGI M80 Ball (with new brass) is fairly reasonable, considering what you get.

I will tell you these guns ding the brass up pretty bad, but that's more cosmetic than anything else.
 
I know where there might be an Norinco NDM 86 for sale ............. PM

yup its for sale $1900 missing scope eye piece. 7.62 x 54R about 2000 in the states.
 
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