Gessler
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Barrel isn't the issue, the receiver is. Barrels on sniper rifles are typically free-floated yes, but the receiver always has to be firmly bedded in the frame/stock. It won't matter what direction the wood is warping when it is in contact with the component (receiver), as any direction will mean it will slightly unseat the receiver from its original position.The wooden frame is NOT a problem!
Firstly, the barrels for such sniper rifles are 'floating' - which means that the barrels do not touch the frame.....there's an air gap. So minor warps (if any) do not affect the performance.
Secondly, the warp of wood is in very predictable direction. The wood could be fashioned in a way that it warps AWAY from the barrel.
It's no use free-floating the barrel when the chamber itself is being warped out of position.
And a very slight deviation here translates into a very significant deviation at long range. It's the reason US forces decided to ditch wooden furniture on their sniper rifles only an year into Vietnam. And believe me, once our CAPFs/State Police STFs start seeing some extended use of this OFB sniper in the jungles against Maoists, they will arrive at similar conclusions.
No actually. OFB makes fiberglass/polymer components just fine. Look at their 12 gauge shotgun, the newer rifles, the new MAG copies.It's likely that the 'polymer' tech that OFB has is not as advanced as its western counterparts (strong & not brittle), that why they must have chosen an alternative that they're comfortable with.
The reason why this rifle has wood is as I stated - it was required to do so in the original Army requirement (if I recall correctly). At the time I believe it was said they feel wooden furniture is more robust toward breakage or rough use, hence specified.
However, it's clear Army had a realization in the meantime. Maybe they learnt some things in from the Victrix/Barrett representatives they had to have been in conversation with for a significant time when they were evaluating their rifles? Who knows.
716s? Where?Large number of SIGs have already been inducted.........