The SAKO TRG is a bolt-action sniper rifle line designed and manufactured by Finnish firearms manufacturer SAKO. It has 4 variants – the TRG-21 and TRG-22 are designed to fire the 7.62×51 mm NATO (.308 Winchester) rounds while the TRG-41 and TRG-42 are designed to fire the .308 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum rounds. The Indian Army had inducted the Sako TRG-42 sniper rifles from Finland in March 2022 for immediate operational use along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border, as in the reported replacement of the existing Dragunovs, and the Beretta Scorpio TGT and Barrett M95 anti-material rifle which was procured in 2019-2020.
According to senior army officials, the TRGs are already in use with full exploitation of the capable rifle’s benefits in what is being believed as an operational and dynamic change in the army sniping operations along with increasing our snipers’ lethality. This sniper rifle keeps up with its statistics to be proud of. Moreover, the ergonomics, design, usage, and shooting capability have made it a reliable gun among not only armed forces but also special forces of various countries.
Indian Army has taken delivery of roughly 750 TRG-42s and around 3,55,000 .338 Lapua Magnum rounds – an order estimated worth $7-8 million, and a repeat of the after the previous 370 TRGS and 4,20,000 .338 ammo rounds. Sako’s TRG was shortlisted for our sniper roles after it beat British Accuracy International’s Arctic Warfare Magnum (AWM), and is likely to completely replace the Soviet-era Dragunov SVDs.
Well, Let’s See Why This Rifle Is Such a Good Fit For Indian Snipers and Perfect For Our SVD Replacement?
Cartridge – The Dragunov fires a 7.62×54 MMR cartridge, a Soviet-era rimmed-bottleneck round that can travel upto 2840 ft/s, but the TRG fires the mighty .338 Lapua Magnum, an 8.6×70 mm rimless, bottlenecked, center-fire rifle cartridge which was specially designed for high-powered long-range sniper operations and can travel up to 3360 ft/s. .338 has a significant round velocity and energy advantage over the former thus giving more power, penetration capability, and lethality in hardcore sniper missions.
Range – SVDs have an effective firing range of 800m (875 yards) while the TRG-42 can punch bullet holes even at 1500m (1640 yards). Considering the scenario that most of the sniping missions will be conducted in the Northern mountainous border regions, this almost-double range capability over the former is a boon like no other. Most situations may have cross-mountain shots, so the excessive range is one of the utmost important factors that can give a rifle its edge over the other.
Action – The SVD is a semi-auto rifle whereas the TRG is a bolt-action one. This semi-auto vs. bolt-action debate is a long-standing topic. Typically bolt action mechanisms are meant specifically for long-range snipers while semi-auto is a pure characteristic of DMRs but not necessarily for every sniping role. Bolt-action rifles largely fall short in their rate of fire and sometimes in their ammo capacity but they are convincingly superior in terms of precision and long-range accuracy. Also, TRG being a bolt-action rifle has only one stage of recoil (to the rear) while the SVD”s semi-auto mechanism has 3-stage recoil (bullet’s muzzle exit -> bolt slam into the buffer -> picking up the additional cartridge) and its consecutive firing is straining due to this. TRG’s single-stage recoil mechanism helps it in driving the gun in a superior manner than the SVD. In the SVD, the actions are tuned to cycle just enough rearward recoil and may be prone to malfunctions in dirty/hazardous environments.
Design & Accessories – The SVD has a thin barrel with a corrosion-resistant, chrome-lined bore, but the TRG features a cold-hammer-forged receiver and barrel, the best a rifle can have. It provides maximum strength, good weight distribution and excellent wear resistance. Moreover, considering both marksman and sniping roles, Dragunov is not at all suitable for covert missions as it doesn’t have a threaded barrel for suppressor mounting, so firing it will easily give away the positions to the enemies. Only the latest SVDM variant can be suppressor mounted, which entered service just in 2018. On the other hand, the TRG can be found with flash eliminator/muzzle brakes/threaded barrel for suppressor attachments according to the specific order/roles. The overall design of the TRG provides a high degree of stability.
In the case of accessories, the SVD can be fitted with a blade-type bayonet, similar to those found in the AKMs. The default body kit isn’t available for many accessory fits, a retrofit-upgradation deal of which has been bagged by SSS Defence. The majority of the preset being wooden denies many possibilities of accessory mounting. The latest SVDM has a Picatinny rail mount, a stronger barrel and a detachable bipod. TRGs however feature auxiliary iron sights, a STANAG 2324 Picatinny rail, an ITRS top-tri-rail, an accessory rail on the bottom, a night sights adapter and a two-leg bipod. The abundance of accessories and the synergy in their usage make this deadly sniper even deadlier, as with improvised sight systems, and added range capabilities, and accessory exploitation can deliver lethal lead greetings to the enemies.
Optics – SVDs use a PMO-1M2 military-grade 4×24 telescopic optic sight with a Warsaw Pact rail system, a type of dovetail mounting system which can be used for mounting smaller side scopes. This quick-deployable scope features professionally ground elements, is made of magnesium alloy with baked enamel for scratch protection and is undoubtedly a good combat-proven optic sight. But this Soviet era is just not up to the mark to meet the modern high standards for a precise and accurate sniper rifle scope. The TRG comes with Zeiss/Schmidt & Bender telescopic sights, two of the best and most renowned sniper rifle scope manufacturers. TRG-42 comes with a Zeiss Victory VM/V 3-12×56 or a Schmidt & Bender 5-25×56 PM II or a military-grade scope. They have big magnification, an extremely comprehensive total adjustment range and provide a substantial boost during twilight shooting, one of the most sought-after characteristics for good rifle scopes. They feature environmentally-friendly lead and arsenic-free glass yields, exceptional resolution, contrast and intense colour reproduction. It has a visible rotational indicator, red-coloured reticle tip marker and a precise parallax compensator with engraved meter index; and of course, these telescopic marvels have seen as much combat as the SVD, but lead the relay with better overall performance in all aspects of today’s demands.
Dragunov Is One Thing, But What’s With The 50-Cal Issue?
Well, it is understandable that the Soviet-era Dragunov is bound to be completely replaced within the next few years and the Sako TRG-42 has started its job in some sectors. But the Indian army had also replaced the American Barrett M95 and the Italian Beretta Scorpio TGT sniper roles along the LoC with the TRGs. It’s not like they are weak, in fact, their 50 BMG will absolutely decapitate enemy bodies on being touched with that hellish cartridge. So what might be the reason? To start off first and foremost comes the exact understanding of the rifle roles. TRG-42 is a dedicated sniper rifle, only meant to pop heads with its deadly accuracy but the M95 and TGTs are not primarily meant for that role. In fact, they are anti-material rifles. Their primary job is anti-armor missions as that M2 Browning’s 50 BMG cartridge can absolutely ravage through anything, even tank armor through the close range. They are more suitable for these roles and anti-personnel enemy-kill missions come secondary. Armor-piercing/penetration missions/incendiary tasks suit them more. Moreover, the maintenance of the rifle and even the rounds cost much more than a normal sniper rifle. They also weigh significantly more. An empty Barrett M95 without optics will weigh 10.7 kg (23.5 pounds) while an unloaded and optic-less TRG weighs around 5.1-5.8 kg. Even the .338 Lapua Magnum 26″ barreled Scorpio TGT weighs 7.1 kg. The Sako takes a headstart over the other rifles in terms of performance, bullet ballistics, and lethality depending on the missions, operational and maintenance cost, mobility, and quality meetings.
Future Of This Weapon!
Certainly, the .338 Lapua Magnum has been emphasized till now, but Sako’s TRG is actually a family of sniper rifles. TRG-21 and TRG-22 are meant to fire the .308 Winchester and .260 Remington rounds respectively while the TRG-41 is designed to fire the .300 Winchester Magnum rounds and of course, the TRG-42 needs no introduction if your eyes have come so far in this article. The iterations are one of the developmental marvels of this family and it has come even far with their current experimental stage in the form of the TRG M10 Sniper Weapon System. As modern as it can get, currently, it can switch rounds between WinMag and LapuaMag just by changing the barrels, bolts, and magazine, which might be of need during quick combat engagement scenarios. Lower weight reduction and accessory mounting will see greater use as 2 M-LOK rails are being introduced for further iterations. They are also in the stages of offering 6.5 Creedmoor and .300 Norma rounds in their ammunition usability for the TRG.
Indian Government’s TRG-42 deal is certainly a game-changing deal, as our Indian soldiers may not only gain a high ground against our closest enemies but will also get the much-needed quality of the long-range precision systems of the West. Some of the country’s elite special forces including those of Canada, Finland, France, Denmark, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, etc. use this sniper platform and India has also joined this foray of modernization. It is a long-drawn debatable topic on whether India should continue to use the existing-aging sniper rifles or should rush for modernization, and if the second is chosen with the utmost rush and importance, the perfect choice for our varied military units is indeed a Herculean task. So, nobody knows what India might play as a fix or revamp for our snipers, but she has sure started walking the path of modernization-cum-lethality through this Sako TRG-42 deal, and indeed this long gun is a great fit for Indian Armed Forces.
