Steyr HS .50 / HS .460
| Steyr HS .50 | |
|---|---|
 Steyr HS .50 | |
| Type | Anti Materiel Rifle/Sniper Rifle |
| Place of origin | Austria |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Iraq War Syrian Civil War[1] Iraqi Civil War (2014-2017)[2] Yemeni Civil War (2015-present)[3] Saudi-led intervention in Yemen (2015-present) Conflict in Najran, Jizan and Asir |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Steyr Mannlicher |
| Unit cost | $5,299 |
| Produced | 2004 |
| Variants | HS .460 HS .50 M1 |
| Specifications (HS .50) | |
| Mass | 12.4 kg (28.5 lbs) |
| Length | 1,370 mm (54 inches) |
| Barrel length | 833 mm (33 inches) |
| Cartridge | .50 BMG .460 Steyr |
| Caliber | .50 BMG |
| Action | Bolt action |
| Effective firing range | 2500 m – 1500 m |
| Feed system | Single shot |
The Steyr HS .50 is a .50 BMG single-shot anti-materiel sniper rifle manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher.
Design and features
The Steyr HS .50 is a single-shot bolt-action rifle. It has no built-in magazine so each round has to be loaded directly into the ejection port and is pushed into the chamber by the bolt. The fluted barrel is cold hammer forged and provides excellent accuracy at an effective range up to 1,500 m. It has an adjustable bi-pod, a highly efficient muzzle brake which reduces recoil substantially to increase shooting comfort and a Picatinny rail for installation of various optics.
However, due to customer demand, a recent change to the HS .50 has included a 5-round detachable magazine that can be inserted on the left-hand side of the rifle much similar to the Denel NTW-20
Variants
HS .460
The rifle is also available in the proprietary .460 Steyr round, developed for markets where ownership of the .50 BMG by private citizens is banned, but .46 rounds are not, such as California. The .460 caliber version is known as the HS .460.
HS .50 M1
The HS .50 M1 is an evolution of the HS .50. The biggest differences are: it is magazine fed from a five-round magazine feeding horizontally left from the receiver, has a longer top Picatinny rail and more Picatinny rails on the side, an adjustable cheekpiece, a newly designed fixable bipod, and a monopod at the buttstock.
Users
Austria - Austrian army
Albania - Albanian army
Argentina - Used by the Argentine Army.
Bolivia
Cameroon
Palestinian Authority - Used by Hamas and other groups in Gaza.[4]
Iran - A quantity of 800 rifles was purchased in 2006.[2] Iran also produces an unlicensed version under the name AM-50 Sayyad.[5]
Iraq - used by the Shia militia and the Iraqi Special Operations Forces.[2]
Mexico - Used by the Corp of Mexican Army Special Forces.
Russia - Used by police forces and special forces.[6]
Syria - Iranian clone (Sayyad-2 / AM-50) used by Syrian armed forces.[1] Syrian rebels also have acquired HS .460 through Turkey and other countries.[citation needed]
Turkey - Used by the Turkish Land Forces
Uruguay
Namibia - Used by the Namibian police special Forces
See also
References
- ^ a b "La 104ème brigade de la Garde républicaine syrienne, troupe d'élite et étendard du régime de Damas". France-Soir (in French). 20 March 2017.
- ^ a b c Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran – Telegraph
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y6g0O9An_I[better source needed]
- ^ http://www.arabic-military.com/t81841-topic
- ^ http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/03/iran-deploys-army-special-forces-to-syria-and-iraq.php
- ^ Lenta.ru: Наука и техника: Спецподразделения МВД вооружатся австрийскими пистолетами Template:Ru icon
External links
