Ukraine gets .50-cal WKW TOR sniper bolt-action rifles 3km range
KYIV ($1=29.68 Ukrainian Hryvnias) — Delivery of Polish sniper rifles with a large caliber WKW Tor is already underway for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to counter the Russian troops who invaded the country on February 24 this year. Pictures of the rifle on the social network profiles following the war in Ukraine are shared and distributed.
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WKW Tor is a Polish long-range rifle [sniper rifle] with a large caliber. The abbreviation WKW means exactly that in Polish – large-caliber sniper rifle [Wielkokalibrowy Karabin Wyborowy]. In this case – WKW Tor uses .50 BMG cartridges [BMG is Browning machine gun] or 12.7x99mm NATO standard.
The .50-cal WKW Tor was designed in the early 21st century and began mass production by Poles in 2005. It is estimated that the manufacturer Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów has so far produced 150 of these weapons. Except in Poland [and now in Ukraine] .50-cal WKW Tor is in service in Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. The rifle has another registered involvement in actual hostilities [apart from those in Ukraine] and that is the war in Afghanistan, where it continues to be used.
.50-cal WKW Tor weighs just over 16 kg and has a total length of 1,350 mm, and only the barrel is 880 mm long. The main action of the rifle is performed by manually operated rotary bolt action. Its muzzle velocity is 2,895 ft / s [882 m/s] from 800gr Barnes. Its feed system is a 7-round detachable box magazine and the rifle’s max effective firing range is 3,000 m.
.50-cal WKW Tor has a Picatinny attachment mechanism on which different day or night optical sights with different magnifications can be placed, often at 6x or over. However, the Polish manufacturer offers standard optical equipment, which is Schmidt & Bender X3−12 P / MII telescope sight.
Sources in Ukraine say that Ukrainian forces tested the sniper rifle and were left with good impressions, especially after the bullet fired from the rifle pierced armor and a soldier’s armored vest. However, no further details were given on the type of armor or the degree of protection of the body armor.
.50 BMG in Ukraine
BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that in late March this year the Armed Forces of Ukraine have received Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns and ammunition for them. Interesting fact: Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun can be used as a long-range rifle or sniper rifle.
Soldiers during the Korean War used scoped M2s in the role of a sniper rifle, but the practice was most notably used by US Marine Corps sniper Carlos Hathcock during the Vietnam War. Using an Unertl telescopic sight and a mounting bracket of his own design, Hathcock could quickly convert the M2 into a sniper rifle, using the traversing-and-elevating [T&E] mechanism attached to the tripod.
When firing semi-automatically, Hathcock hit man-size targets beyond 1,800 meters [2,000 yds] —twice the range of the standard-caliber sniper rifle of the time [a .30-06 Winchester Model 70]. Hathcock set the record for the longest confirmed kill at 2,250 meters [2,460 yds], a record which stood until 2002 when it was broken in Afghanistan by Canadian Army sniper Arron Perry
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