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M69 Sniper

description

INFO

Authorities in the 1960s set the experts of the Military Technical Institute and the "Crvena Zastava" Institute a specific task: to construct a dedicated 7.9 mm sniper weapon for the needs of the JNA (Yugoslav People's Army).  In the 1960s, the first completely new official military-police sniper rifle under the designation M1969, was developed by "Zastava Arms.".

 

After the end of the Second World War the original German carbines of the "Mauser 98K" system were re-designated the M48 and was developed in several variants. The M1969 sniper is not, as is commonly believed, a simple modification and redesign of the M48 military rifle. Most crucial parts such as the bolt are not interchangeable between the two weapons. The bolt is a bit longer on the M69.  Due to the body being 5 mm longer than that of the Yugoslav models 1924 and 1948, the operation of this bolt was somewhat slower. Namely, the final version of the weapon had a firing rate of 5-8 rounds per minute (by 2-5 rounds less than m.1948). In order to facilitate the handling of the bolt, the constructors installed a more ergonomically suitable carabiner handle (bent in two planes) instead of the original flat one. This shape of the handle did not interfere with the barrel of the optical sight, and the possibility of its getting stuck (on bushes and branches, etc.) was avoided when moving on rather difficult terrain. Additionally, the previous safety of the bottom, which was located in the inner arch of the trigger guard, was replaced by a safety button, placed on the side of the weapon. Thus, more free space was obtained around the trigger tail; this guaranteed safer firing and handling of the rifle even with winter gloves.

 

This sniper was issued with a 4x telescopic sight, the ON-2 which was manufactured by the Zrak factory. This rifle had the most effective range of targets up to 800 m, although the ON-2 had an aiming distance of 1000 m, and a mechanical sight of 2000 m. The M69 had a muzzle velocity of 735 m/sec. The weapon used a bullet with an ordinary grain M49 (Yugoslavian 7.9mm cartridge), a powerful sniper bullet and a bullet with a marking grain M70 (Yugoslavian 7.9mm tracer round).

 

The sniper rifle M1969 was accepted into the standard armament of the JNA (Yugoslav People's Army) in the early 1970s and stayed in service for about 30 years. It was the last bolt-action rifle in production by Zastava before the production of the semi-automatic M76, which eventually replaced the M1969.

Origin: Yugoslavia

Manufactured: 1969
Manufacturer: Zastava Arms

Type: Sniper Rifle

Caliber: 8mm Mauser
Barrel Length: 600mm (23.6")
Action: Bol
t Action

Magazine Capacity: 5 Round Internal Magazine

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