Russian Izhmash Dragunov SVDS Military Sniper Rifle 7.62x54R СВДС
7.62 mm Izhmash SVDS |
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Caliber:
7.62mm x 54r |
Sights:
fore, post; rear, U notch; adjustable 0 to 1200 m; Scope: 4x24 PSO-1M2 |
History
Very early prototypes of the SVDS with folding butt stock.
Barrel was shortened and hand guards were changed to standard type.
In 1991 when Izhmash updated the design of the SVD some branches of the Russian military requested a version of the rifle that would be easier to carry for highly mobile troops. Work on a new design was carried out by two design teams one working on a variation of the SVD with the long barrel but with a folding butt stock, and the other with a shorter 590mm barrel. Evgeniy Dragunov, the designer of the SVD, was not available for the redesign so this work was completed by a team headed by Azariah Ivanovich Nesterov, an experienced designer who had worked in the defense industry for about 40 years. The final version of the rifle was completed in 1994 and given the designation model SVDS (Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova, Skladnaya).
This is an early version of the SVDS with the long 620mm barrel. The final version had a shorter and thicker 565mm barrel.
Pre-1993 receiver with lightening cut on side.
The differences between the SVD rifle and the SVDS carbine are:
– folding
buttstock
– separate pistol grip
– shorter heavier barrel
– shorter flash hider
– wider adjuatable gas tube
– thicker receiver
– no bayonet lug
The SVDS is only 35.5 inches long with the butt stock folded.
The SVDS is shorter but slightly heavier than the SVD due to the metal butt stock and thicker receiver and barrel.
These photos were taken by the very talented Russian photographer "KardeN". KardeN is a lieutenant colonel in a special unit of the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation with twenty years of experience with weapons.
The folding butt stock proved to be the most difficult feature to design. The stock on a sniper rifle has to be as rigid as possible in order to give consistant accuracy. Because of this requirement the SVDS butt stock is made of very strong steel tubing with a heavy-duty hinge and latch. The butt stock folds to the right, unlike on the Kalashnikov rifles, and was thought to be easier to manipulate than a left folding stock.
The plastic cheek pad can rotate over to allow a lower cheek weld for use with the iron sights.
The short conical flash hider specifically designed for the SVDS. Note the cross pins at the sight base are closer together than on the SVD.
This flash hider will not fit a SVD barrel (or US imported Tiger) without adding a thin sleeve around the barrel and drilling new cross pin channels.
The rear of the receiver had to be redesigned to accomodate the folding stock mechanism. The folding stock is very strong and was specially designed to solidly lock in place, giving the shooter a stable platform on which to aim.
The folding stock can not be mounted on a standard SVD or Tiger without extensive modification to the receiver.
The latest version of the SVDS includes a new polymer magazine, which still holds ten rounds of 7.62x54R. It is lighter and longer than the original steel magazine.
The button to fold the stock is visible just above the pistol grip. Also note the smooth, non-ribbed, receiver cover. This cover is thicker and more rigid than the previous design and gives even more stability to the receiver against torque and flexing.
The rear of the SVDS receiver is very different from the standard SVD (and Tiger). To accomodate the folding stock mechanism a redesign was needed which also features a completely flat bottom for the pistol grip to attach. It would require significant welding and fabricating of metal to adapt a Tiger receiver to take the SVDS folding stock.