The FN Special Police Rifle (FN SPR) is a

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

sniper rifle marketed by FNH USA, a subsidiary of the Belgian company FN Herstal.

Design details

The rifle is manufactured at the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (owned by FN de Herstal) to FN specifications using

Winchester Model 70 The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt-action sporting rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". The action has s ...

actions. All current models of the SPR come in one of a variety of McMillan synthetic stocks. The earliest rifles were shipped in the H-S Precision aluminum chassis fiberglass version of the Winchester Marksman stock. While these "First Generation" rifles were simply dropped into the aluminum bedding blocks of the H-S Precision stock, the later guns are all glass bedded by hand. FN Special Police Rifles of all iterations are noted for being both very accurate (0.5

MOA Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

or somewhat less is not uncommon) and very low maintenance, featuring

Parkerized Phosphate conversion coating is a chemical treatment applied to steel parts that creates a thin adhering layer of iron, zinc, or manganese phosphates, to achieve corrosion resistance, lubrication, or as a foundation for subsequent coatings or pai ...

metal finish, synthetic stocks, and a chrome-lined bore in the barrel. A chrome-lined bore offers a more durable, more corrosion resistant, and easier-to-clean barrel for the end user to maintain and is rarely found on precision bolt-action

sniper rifles 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 ...

. The barrels of the "First Generation" rifles were said to be made from the hammer-forged blanks used for

M240 The M240 – officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240 – is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by t ...

General Purpose Machine Gun A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered f ...

production at the FN Manufacturing Inc. plant in

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. Later barrels are said to be from hammer-forged blanks intended exclusively for FN Special Police Rifle production.

Variants

*FN SPR 1st Generation: HS Precision Marksman-pattern stock, heavy 26-inch barrel. *FN A1: McMillan A3 stock, heavy 24-inch barrel. *FN A1a: McMillan A3 stock, heavy 20-inch barrel. *FN A2: McMillan A4 stock with buttpad spacers and adjustable cheekpiece, 24-inch barrel. *FN A4 Shooting System: FN A2 with scope and bipod. *FN A3G: McMillan A3 stock with buttpad spacers and adjustable cheekpiece, 24-inch heavy

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barrel. *FN A3G Shooting System: FN A3G with scope and bipod. *FN A5M: McMillan A5 stock with buttpad spacers and adjustable cheekpiece, 20-inch heavy barrel or 24-inch heavy fluted barrel. *FN A5M Shooting System: FN A5M with scope and bipod. *FN A5M XP: FN A5M with 5/8 x 24 tpi threaded barrel.

Users

* : The SPR was one of two rifles (along with the H-S Precision HTR) approved in 2004 by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

for use of by their

Hostage Rescue Team The Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) is the elite tactical unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The HRT was formed to provide a full-time federal law enforcement tactical capability to respond to major terrorist incidents throughout the ...

.FNH USA awarded FBI rifle contract , Shooting Industry , Find Articles at BNET.com
/ref> The FBI variant has the model name FNH SPR-USG (''USG – US Government''), and is also called the ''A3G'' by FN.

References

External links

* —FNH USA
Owner's manual

FNH Firearms Blog

"FNH USA SPR A5 M .308"
(''Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement Magazine'' article) ; Video
Official promotional video
{{FN Herstal firearms 7.62×51mm NATO rifles Bolt-action rifles of Belgium Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Police Rifle Sniper rifles of Belgium