While doing a research for another article I came across a set of photos taken during live firing exercises of Russian Ground Forces’ snipers in Alabino proving grounds. Reportedly, the images are taken in December 2017. Let’s take a look at them and discuss the most interesting aspects.

The large rifle shown in the images is a KSVK anti-materiel rifle. It is a .50 caliber bullpup bolt action rifle chambered in 12.7x108mm. It is manufactured in V.A. Degtyarev Plant located in Kovrov, Russia. This rifle has a 1,000mm or one-meter long (39.4″) barrel and an overall length of 1,420mm (56″). It feeds from 5-round detachable box magazines. KSVK rifle weighs 12.5 kilograms (27 lbs 9 oz) with an attached empty magazine and without the scope.

I think it is probably not the best choice to use a full-size AK as a secondary weapon for the snipers and designated marksmen. I suspect if these guys are deployed, they’ll be issued something more compact like AKS-74U. The lack of any camouflage on the AKMs as opposed to the rest of the gear, makes me think that these AKMs are not a part of their standard gear but were issued for this particular exercise only.

Two snipers working in pairs and practicing shooting through a window or a hole in the wall. You gotta be creative on the battlefield, too – note the improvised chairs. Note also the non-standard muzzle device on the rifle of the soldier on right.

If you have noticed anything interesting that I missed, let’s discuss it in the comments section.