The Steyr SSG 08 (german: Scharfschützengewehr 2008, lit= sharpshooter rifle odel08) is an Austrian bolt-action

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...

developed and produced by

Steyr Mannlicher Steyr Arms () is a firearms manufacturer based in Sankt Peter in der Au, Austria. Originally part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989. Prior to 1 January 2019, the company was named Steyr M ...

. The rifle is a further evolution of Steyr’s earlier SSG 04 sniper rifle.

Design

It is a highly accurate bolt-action sniper rifle, with a folding

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

and an adjustable cheek piece and butt plate. It is equipped with a bipod and a "butt spike" monopod for added stability. The pistol grip is customisable by changing the front and back straps. The rifle has a Picatinny rail for mounting optics. The rifle also features an improved muzzle brake over the SSG 04, with the ability to attach a suppressor. Introduced in 2008, Steyr claims EKO Cobra, Austria's primary counter-terrorism unit, had its hand in developing this weapon. The SSG 08 utilises the Safe Bolt System (SBS) action, cold hammer-forged barrels, trigger units and magazines of its parent, the SSG 04, but features an aluminium alloy stock, with side-folding, fully adjustable butt and additional Picatinny rails on the forend. The SSG 08 is advertised as capable of sub- MOA accuracy with proper ammunition. The SSG 08 is based on Steyr's SBS rotary bolt action with four frontal locking lugs, arranged in pairs. It also features free-floated, cold hammer-forged heavy barrels, which are available in 20 inch (

.308 Winchester The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

), 23.6 inch ( .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester,

.300 Winchester Magnum The .300 Winchester Magnum (also known as .300 Win Mag or .300 WM) (7.62×67mmB, 7.62x66BR) is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a m ...

) and 27.2 inch (

.338 Lapua Magnum The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70 mm or 8.58×70 mm) is a rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It was developed during the 1980s as a high-powered, long-range cartridge for military snipers. It was used in the War in Afghanistan and ...

) lengths. Feed is from detachable double-column box magazines, which hold ten .243 Winchester or .308 Winchester, eight .300 Winchester Magnum or six .338 Lapua Magnum rounds. The single-stage trigger is factory set for optimum performance, but can be adjusted by the user. It is not equipped with iron sights.

Users

* : Used by Jagdkommando * : Used by Azerbaijani

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

and

State Border Service The State Border Service of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət Sərhəd Xidməti), also known as Border Guard of Azerbaijan, is a governmental law enforcement agency in charge of protecting the borders of Azerbaijan. The C ...

(DSX) * * * : Used by Hellenic Army

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

s Steyr SSG M1 variant. * : Used by

Indonesian National Police '' , mottotranslated = (Serving the Nation) , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 440,000 (2020) , volunteers = , budget = , nongovernment ...

Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob) The Mobile Brigade Corps ( id, Korps Brigade Mobil) abbreviated Brimob is the special operations, paramilitary, and tactical unit of the Indonesian National Police (Polri). It is one of the oldest existing units within Polri. Some of its main ...

* * : Observed with Russian troops involved in the Syrian Civil War. * * : Used by Police Special Operation Department.

References

7.62×51mm NATO rifles .338 Lapua Magnum rifles Bolt-action rifles Sniper rifles of Austria {{Rifle-stub