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The World’s Best Sniper Rifles Of All Time There are a lot of factors that go into producing a truly dedicated sniper rifle, and those have evolved over time.
Back in World War II, the combatants used either current or obsolescent infantry rifles that were outfitted with scopes.
As time wore on, the world’s armies began developing and producing dedicated sniper rifles, and the weapons improved by leaps and bounds over their grandfather’s weapons.
But the rifle is only a part of being an effective sniper or dedicated marksman. The training and experience that goes into training today’s snipers worldwide is really what separates the wheat from the chaff.
What are the top sniper rifles of all time?
The one caveat to these types of pieces is that the lists of “best of all time” is that they tend to be subjective. With that in mind and, in no particular order, here are the best sniper systems from here.
World’s Best Sniper Rifles: McMillan TAC-50
When compiling this list, one has to start with the rifle that currently owns the longest sniper shot in history. A Canadian Special Forces operator with the elite JTF2 used the McMillan TAC 50 to kill an ISIS fighter at 3,540 meters, or 2.2 miles.
The weapon was first designed in the 1980s and is used by several countries due to its accuracy. However, it is a hefty weapon and weighs 26 pounds. The rifle is a precision anti-materiel weapon that fires the .50 BMG (12.7×99 mm) caliber cartridge. TAC-50 Sniper Rifle. Image Credit: Creative Commons. TAC-50. Image: Creative Commons/US Government Release.
TAC-50 Sniper Rifle. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
TAC-50. Image: Creative Commons/US Government Release.
The TAC-50 uses a bolt action design and comes with a heavy match-grade barrel, 29 inches fluted to reduce weight and cool the weapon rapidly, and is fitted with an effective muzzle brake, which reduces recoil.
The stock is made from fiberglass, and the weapon has a detachable 5-round box magazine, as well as a folding bipod.
World’s Best Sniper Rifles: M24SWS (Sniper Weapon System), M40A6
The Army’s M24 SWS and the Marine Corps M40A6 both were based on the Remington 700. The M-24 replaced the Army’s M21 and was first fielded in 1988. The A1 and A3 models have a detachable 5-round box magazine, while the A2 has a 10-round magazine.
The M24’s “long action” refers to the weapon’s ability to be configured to either the 7.61x51mm NATO round, the .300 Winchester Magnum, or .338 Lapua Magnum. The stock is made from composite material with a fixed cheekpiece, while the buttplate is extendable up to 2 inches.
The bolt action design also has a free-floating stainless steel barrel with 5 grooves. The weapon has a folding bipod and uses the Leupold Ultra M3, Ultra M3A, or Mk.4 LR/T M3 scopes.
The M40A6 was adopted by the Marine Corps, and the main difference is that the USMC M40 models use the short-action version of the Remington 700/40x, which is designed for cartridges having an overall length of 2.750 inches (69.85 mm) or less (such as the .308 Winchester/7.62×51 mm NATO), the Army M24 uses the Remington 700 Long Action which allows for the use of different calibers.
World’s Best Sniper Rifles: Accuracy International L115A3:
This weapon also had some of the longest kills during the war in Afghanistan. Craig Harrison, a UK Corporal of Horse, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed two Taliban machine gunners from 2,700 meters away in 2009. In 2013, a British sniper in the Coldstream Guards killed six Taliban with one shot in a firefight with about 20 Taliban in southern Afghanistan.
From about 800 meters, this soldier killed a Taliban fighter wearing a suicide vest . The vest detonated and killed five other Taliban fighters standing nearby. The sniper also killed a Taliban fighter from more than 1,340 meters earlier in his deployment. L115A3 Sniper Rifle. Image Credit: Creative Commons. A sniper in full camouflage shows off the 7.62mm L115A3 Sniper rifle at the Land Combat Power Demonstration (LCPD).
L115A3 Sniper Rifle. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
A sniper in full camouflage shows off the 7.62mm L115A3 Sniper rifle at the Land Combat Power Demonstration (LCPD).
The weapon was developed by British Olympic shooting Gold medalist Malcolm Cooper and Accuracy International. The weapon weighs 15 lbs and is chambered in .338 Lapua for the UK forces, while other countries use the .300 Winchester Magnum.
It has a 5-Round detachable box magazine and has an effective range (with the .338 Lapua) out to 1,500 meters. The rifle has a stainless steel, fluted, 27.0-inch barrel, which was found to be the best compromise between muzzle velocity, weight, and length during tests.
The weapon is outfitted with the Schmidt & Bender 5-25×56 mm PM II LP/MILITARY MK II 5-25×56 telescopic sights, suppressors, folding stocks, adjustable cheek pieces, and an adjustable bipod.
World’s Best Sniper Rifles: Barrett M82/M107 .50 Caliber:
The Barrett M82 is a semi-automatic anti-material rifle designed and developed by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing company in 1982; it was a commercially designed weapon but was soon adopted by several countries’ militaries. In the US, it was dubbed the M107 Long Range Sniper Rifle .
At the time, the thought of a .50 caliber shoulder-fired weapon was considered way out-of-the-box thinking. Now dozens of countries use the cartridge.
The rifle was designed to take out parked aircraft, radar units, trucks, and various other essential enemy targets at long range. It is also used as a long-range anti-personnel sniper weapon. Barrett M82. Image Credit: Creative Commons. Spc. Alexander Day, a scout sniper with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, fires a Barrett M82 .50-caliber sniper rifle during a basic sniper course being taught by a mobile training team Nov. 9, at Fort Bragg, N.C. The MTT is part of the Army’s Sniper School based at Fort Benning, Ga. Belgian Special Forces sniper teams fire upon long-range targets from an elevated shooting range at the High Angle Sniper Course, in Hochfilzen training area, Austria, September 30th, 2020. The high angle sniper course lasts two weeks and is designed to teach and train sniper teams the necessary skills to operate in mountainous terrain. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Patrik Orcutt)
Barrett M82. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Spc. Alexander Day, a scout sniper with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, fires a Barrett M82 .50-caliber sniper rifle during a basic sniper course being taught by a mobile training team Nov. 9, at Fort Bragg, N.C. The MTT is part of the Army’s Sniper School based at Fort Benning, Ga.
Belgian Special Forces sniper teams fire upon long-range targets from an elevated shooting range at the High Angle Sniper Course, in Hochfilzen training area, Austria, September 30th, 2020. The high angle sniper course lasts two weeks and is designed to teach and train sniper teams the necessary skills to operate in mountainous terrain. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Patrik Orcutt)
The M107 is chambered for powerful 12.7×99 mm (.50 BMG) ammunition that was used in the M2 .50 caliber Browning machine gun (known as “Ma Deuce”). The M107 has a semi-automatic action that uses recoil operation. With each shot, the barrel moves rearward with the bolt slightly before stopping and being returned forward by a set of large springs.
The weapon is fed from a 10-round detachable magazine, has Picatinny rails, and is usually outfitted with Leupold Mark IV telescopic sights. The Marine Corps uses US Optics sights. It is another heavy weapon weighing 29-35 lbs, depending on the model.
There are two different barrels, 20 and 29 inches, that are fluted and have a large muzzle brake that improves heat dissipation and reduces weight and recoil.
World’s Best Sniper Rifles: Barrett Mark 22 MRAD:
For a new weapon, this newest sniper system looks to be the best one yet. In 2016, the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) put out specific specs that they wanted in a new precision sniper rifle.
Barrett once again was chosen and was awarded the $50 million contract for a version of their MRAD (Multi-Role Adaptive Design) bolt-action rifle. The MK22 came with three barrels: 7.62x51mm, .300 Norma Magnum, and .338 Norma Magnum. SOCOM, the Army, and the Marine Corps are all purchasing the newest Barrett.
The Mk22 is a very advanced, extremely accurate, and allows the shooter to easily adjust the trigger to his/her preferred pull weight, modify the manual safety for right- or left-handed operation, extend the stock and cheek rest to a preferred, comfortable position, and collapse the buttstock. Barrett MRAD. Image Credit: Creative Commons. Barrett MRAD. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Barrett MRAD. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Barrett MRAD. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The three different calibers allow the shooters to train with the more plentiful (and much cheaper) 7.62x51mm cartridge. The barrels are easily swapped out by simply removing two Torx bolts, the weapon comes with the needed torque wrench. Barrel lengths are 20 inches for the 7.62x51mm, 26 inches for the .300 Norma Magnum, and 27 inches for the .338 Lapua Magnum.
There is a 23-inch Picatinny rail mounted on top of the barrel. The stock folds to protect the bolt during field conditions. It comes with a 10-Round detachable box magazine. It weighs 15.2 lbs, has an adjustable polymer cheek piece.
Honorable Mention: The Soviet/Russian Dragunov sniper rifle has been a long-serving successful weapon. The Russians have also copied the .50 caliber design and have a new DXL-5 Ravage r system that they have typically claimed is superior to the Barrett.
Expert Biography: Steve Balestrieri is a 1945 National Security Columnist. A proven military analyst, he served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer in the 7th Special Forces Group . In addition to writing for 19fortyfive.com and other military news organizations, he has covered the NFL for PatsFans.com for over 11 years. His work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
Steve Balestrieri is a 1945 National Security Columnist. He has served as a US Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. In addition to writing for 1945, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and his work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
Articles like these are fun, and for high-end military units with unlimited budgets, maybe wringing out the last decimal of accuracy is worth it, along with everything else that goes into making a sniper.
But it’s worth mentioning that the greatest sniper in history, Simo Häyhä, “The White Death,” used an iron-sight Mosin-Nagant to kill 100s of Russians in Finland’s Winter War.
And as well, Marine snipers did very well in Vietnam with pretty basic Remington 700s with Redfield or similar scopes.
My only point being that stalking skills are always going to be FAR more important than which exotic rifle – scope – caliber – projectile combination is 0.1% better at long range than the other.
Another new factor on the scene is that modern precision production techniques mean that basic off-the-shelf “budget” rifles like the Ruger American can shoot sub-MOA out of the box.
A friend has a Ruger in 6.5 Creedmoor and it puts shots in 10” at 800 yards (steel) all day, and he’s just an old duffer, no military trained sniper.
So for most folks, your money is better spent on getting trained in fieldcraft and stalking than spending way more $$ getting another 1/10th MOA out of an exotic rig made by elves from pure unobtanium.
Unless that’s your game, precision long range shooting, but for actual snipers, ultimate success is far more about fieldcraft than this or that rig.
“And as well, Marine snipers did very well in Vietnam with pretty basic Remington 700s with Redfield or similar scopes.” …..Matt’s right….I served in the Army with a man in the late 60s who had great confidence in the basic Remington BDL(a deer hunter’s set up) with a good scope…it’s important to remember that you don’t have to make a perfect kill shot every time….a near miss will rattle your adversary’s confidence and give you psychological advantages…..that is why snipers are so universally hated.
It takes years of training and thousands of rounds to train up a Sniper to sneak into range and maybe hit a man sized target 1,000 meters away.
It takes 30 mins to train a private to fire a Javelin and kill a tank 4,000 meters away with 95% reliability.
Combat Power rule of thumb: 1 smart weapon = 500 dumb weapons
The “mature precision strike regime” is here to stay, adapt or die.
Sniping and launching anti-tank missiles are different tasks….
A British sniper took out a feared ISIS executioner as he prepared to murder several hostages by shooting a fuel tank on his back and incinerating him.
The SAS marksman fired a single round from his Barrett .50 calibre sniper rifle at the terrorist, who was about to use a flame thrower to kill 12, from 1,500m.
The bullet hit the flame thrower’s fuel tank and caused a huge fireball, also killing three other ISIS members who were ready to film the execution.
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