PSL rifle
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The PSL (Romanian: Puşcă Semiautomată cu Lunetă, "scoped semi-automatic rifle") is a Romanian military designated marksman rifle. It is also called PSL-54C, Romak III, FPK, FPK Dragunov and SSG-97 (scharfschutzengewehr - 1997).
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[edit] Overview
PSL rifles were originally made at the Regia Autonomă pentru Producţia de Tehnică Militară - RATMIL Cugir arsenal in Cugir, Romania. After a consolidation of military arsenals when Romania joined NATO, production of the PSL is now at the SC Fabrica de Arme Cugir SA (ARMS arsenal) in Cugir, Romania which is completely retooled with all brand new state-of-the-art modern equipment purchased from Belgium and Croatia. The PSL rifle's primary purpose is to be used by a designated marksman and is used to extend the range of the average soldier beyond the capabilities of their issued AKM carbines. It is built around a stamped steel receiver similar to the RPK light machine gun's receiver. The PSL's operation is the same long stroke action of the Kalashnikov family of weapons. Its appearance is similar to the Dragunov Sniper Rifle though not one single part interchanges between the rifles. The PSL is chambered for the same venerable Mosin-Nagant Model 1891/30 7.62x54mmR (rimmed) cartridge as the Dragunov, and feeds from a ten-round detachable box magazine. The magazine used on the PSL differs from that of Dragunov models in that it is stamped with an X shaped pattern on the side, rather than the waffle style stamp found on the Russian and Chinese magazines. The magazines, though they look similar in shape and size, are not interchangeable between the Dragunov and PSL without modification.
The PSL is typically issued with a 4x24 optical sight called a LPS Tip 2 which is a simplified version of the PSO-1 telescopic weapon sight. This version, manufactured by IOR in Romania, lacks the battery compartment for the illuminated reticle and the infra-red detection mechanism because the reticle is illuminated by mildly radioactive Tritium rather than the LED of the Russian PSO-1. The optical sight is of 4x magnification and the lens is 24 mm in diameter. It shares the basic design and rangefinder found in the reticle of the original Russian PSO-1 scope.
The scope can be easily removed from the receiver of the rifle by swinging the locking lever open, then sliding the scope mount to the rear. This allows easy access to the receiver cover which needs to be removed for cleaning. The scope is mounted high enough so that the use of the iron sights is still possible by simply looking under the scope. The mounting rail is similar in design to the Russian SVD and scopes designed for these rifles are interchangeable.
[edit] Usage
The PSL has been in service in Romania since the 1970s and is widely sold on the world market. They are frequently encountered in Iraq where they appear to be quite popular. The simplicity of the rifle makes it ideal for soldiers to use and maintain. The action, being a variant of the AKM's, is extremely reliable despite lack of maintenance, and is particularly forgiving of sand and other debris. The scope's reticle pattern is easy to use and makes range estimation quick and reasonably accurate without any mathematical calculations necessary. With some simple instruction an average individual can be issued a PSL and successfully engage targets at ranges that far exceed the accurate capabilities of non-scoped assault rifles like the AKM, AK-47, etc. In the hands of a capable shooter and with quality ammunition such as 7N1 and 7N14 a PSL is capable of 1 Minute of arc or less. Accuracy varies, however, between individual rifles to a greater extent to other rifles in it's class.
PSL rifles have some notable features, the skeleton stock is somewhat similar to the Dragunov's but includes an interesting corrugated and spring loaded stamped steel buttplate. When the rifle is fired this helps reduce the felt recoil to a degree. The cheek riser on the comb of the stock is angled to benefit the right-handed shooter primarily. Some owners feel the cheek pad is not high enough to adequately attain a rigid cheek weld and have to make due with a chin weld.
The butt stock is much shorter than most Western shooters are used to. This is due to the fact that Romanian soldiers often operate in very cold climates and have to wear thick winter coats while operating. In theory, a rubber stock extender is to be fitted during warm weather but one is not issued with the rifle.
The PSL's scope is made by the Industry Optic Romania (I.O.R.) firm in Bucharest. I.O.R. is a Romanian company which has been making optics since 1936. They currently use German made Schott glass coated with the Carl Zeiss T-3 system to eliminate glare and maximize light transmission. It is unknown what glass and coatings they used at the time they produced the PSL's scope, however I.O.R. had a long association with western European optics manufacturers and maintained these despite being caught within the Iron Curtain. In 1967 I.O.R. collaborated with various German manufacturers and in 1975 an association was established with Carl Zeiss which led to even more expansion and modernization. Initial versions of this scope were more or less identical to the Russian PSO-1 with battery powered lamp reticle illumination. Shortly afterward the scope was revised to eliminate the electrical illumination and replace it with a radioactive based glowing light source, thus simplifying the maintenance and construction of the scope. The scopes found today typically show no illumination because the tritium has expired. Original examples of the LPS scope featured a battery powered reticle illumination and the IR detection mechanism. These scopes stopped being produced around 1974 and are rather rare today with collectors paying a premium for them.
[edit] Sporting version
A sporting version of the PSL, intended for export, is offered as the PSL-54C, Romak III, FPK, FPK Dragunov or SSG-97. This weapon is identical in almost every respect to the original military version of the PSL except for modifications to comply with the U.S. import laws regarding sporting rifles. These modifications include the replacement of the original military receiver, which has three axis pin holes instead of two. In addition, the bayonet mount is removed and the muzzle brake is permanently attached to the barrel. The third hole is for a safety sear that is thought to allow the rifle to be capable of being converted to "full-auto" by the end-user. US import versions are manufactured with a BATFE approved semi-auto Romanian receiver. The so called "third hole" is not present thus the "full auto" safety sear is not installed. The military spec FPK is not capable of fully automatic fire however it includes this safety sear to insure the rifle's hammer can not be released before the bolt is fully forward and locked in place in the trunion. Because of this fact and the lack of a spring loaded firing pin there is some theoretical potential that the US legal PSL could fire out of battery. The US commercial-spec rifles also sometimes omit the bolt hold-open mechanism that is on the true military spec rifles. All sporting versions of the PSL are constructed using original Romanian parts and assembled either in Romania or in the United States. Examples of the commercial sporting version were also available (on a very limited production run) in the 7.62x51 mm NATO (.308 Winchester) cartridge as opposed to the 7.62x54R mm these rifles are typically chambered for. These rifles were primarily imported by Century Arms International, InterOrdnance, and Tennessee Gun Importers (TG Knox) and used a proprietary clear plastic ten round magazine.
[edit] Resources
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Gun Owners' Resource has the following relevant documents available for free download for the PSL rifle and/or its variants: |
- Romak-3 Dragunov 7.62x54R Instruction Manual - 7 pages, 790KB .pdf file. (see also: the SVD Dragunov sniper rifle Technical Description and Service Manual for a similar weapon)
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[edit] Gallery
PSL detail
Muzzle brake
Rear sight
Scope
ID tag
Scope windage knob markings
Scope elevation markings
Reticle
Ethiopian soldier fires a PSL sniper rifle at a shooting range outside Camp Ramrod, Ethiopia
PSL rifle
PSL rifle scope detail
scope mount and magazine detail
[edit] References
- Ezell, E (1983) Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, p. 637. ISBN 0-88029-601-1
- Günter Wollert; Reiner Lidschun; Wilfried Kopenhagen, Illustrierte Enzyklopädie der Schützenwaffen aus aller Welt : Schützenwaffen heute (1945-1985), Berlin : Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1988. OCLC 19630248
[edit] External links and sources
- Official Site
- Dragunov.net: Romanian PSL
- Website by "Tantal" which describes proper method for adjusting the PSO type scope clamps
| "PSL rifle" is part of a series on the AK-47 and its cousins |
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