http://www.atlanticfirearms.com/programming/expand.asp?Prodid=112

I thought it would be a good Pig gun (300lb+-) or nice for any hunting in the North East. 203gr factory ammo or 150gr inter-lock Handloads. Any ideas? I have 2 coming, one is for my oldest son. 400 yards would be ok w/ me. Jim

Edit: I tried to fix the link.

Something wrong with your link, JP - won't come up.

Jim,
I couldn't get it up either. Here I copied the text.

FPK Dragunov Sniper Rifle, Romanian .762 x 54 , These sniper rifles are built using New original imported Romania receivers and new parts , built in scope rail & PSOP military scope, real wood Dragunov stock set , very accurate & light recoil, 23 inch barrel with built in muzzle brake make this a extremely accurate rifle at long ranges .Weight 9 lbs ,Ammunition is very plentiful & cheap this unit is a must have for any military rifle collection .Rifle comes with scope & 10 round mag m cleaning kit and rifle hard case.

FPK Drag Rifle $799.00

Nice weapon!
Greg

Greg, maybe a good Texas pig gun! Jim

How satisfied you are with this rifle will depend on what you're expecting. The Dragunov does not really match up to what most US shooters would consider a "sniper" rifle. In Eastern Bloc military applications, the sniper was not a precision, extreme-range shooter, but rather a combat shooter who concentrated on 100-200 yard targets while the rest of his squad concentrated on the up-close stuff. Typical accuracy for a Dragunov would be around 2" at 100 yards -- not too shabby, but not super precise either by our standards. Of course, you may find exceptions -- I've heard of one or two Dragunovs that did considerably better. Anothing thing -- they are long and heavy. If your hunting involves a lot of walking and/or slashing through the bush, you may grow tired of it quickly.

Those are PSL's not Draganovs like what everyone seems to call the Romanian guns. The PSL is almost exactly like an oversized AK47 shooting 7.62X54R instead of 7.62X39. Accuracy will be in the 3"-4" range @ 100 yards, maybe a little better maybe a little worse. They are alot of fun, surplus ammo is fairly cheap and the price is fair. ALL of your surplus imported 7.62X54R ammo is corrosive no matter what the box says or what the saleman tells you so a good cleaning after shooting it is a must.

This is not a PSL but an FPK. It is an AK varient. A number of guys that I know have the FPK and one w/ a PSL. The FPK outshoots it easily. FPK's have Romanian receivers, PSL's are U.S. receivers for the most part. Optics are different also. I still have 1000 or so rounds of Soviet (Barnuel) ammo I picked up in the "80's and my reloading dies and brass are ready to go.

No its a PSL see below

http://www.dragunov.net/faq.htm


9: "I have a Romanian "SVD". If it isn't a Dragunov, what is it?"

What you have is a "PSL" which is a Kalashnikov design, not an SVD. It's a Designated Marksman's rifle that is based on the RPK machine gun receiver. The more recent imports of these rifles are called SSG-97's and were brought in by Inter Ordnance. It is the same rifle as the ROMAK-3, just under a different name. Years ago these rifles were mistakenly called FPK's by the US government and the name can still be found in use from time to time (though it's not correct). The receiver is a stamped sheet metal design which has reinforcements below the barrel trunion and at the rear cut-out to prevent cracks due to the strong recoil. The gas system is like an AK series with the gas piston being attached to the bolt carrier. The ROMAK (ROManian Avtomat Kalashnikov) 3's imported were made at the Regia Autonoma de Tehnicå Militarå (RATMIL)and had their bayonet lugs removed to meet import restrictions. After a consolidation of military arsenals when Romania joined NATO, production of the PSL is at the ARMS arsenal in Cugir, Romania and is completely retooled with all brand new state-of-the-art modern equipment purchased from Belgium and Croatia. Click here for more comparison pictures.

No its a PSL see below

http://www.dragunov.net/faq.htm


9: "I have a Romanian "SVD". If it isn't a Dragunov, what is it?"

What you have is a "PSL" which is a Kalashnikov design, not an SVD. It's a Designated Marksman's rifle that is based on the RPK machine gun receiver. The more recent imports of these rifles are called SSG-97's and were brought in by Inter Ordnance. It is the same rifle as the ROMAK-3, just under a different name. Years ago these rifles were mistakenly called FPK's by the US government and the name can still be found in use from time to time (though it's not correct). The receiver is a stamped sheet metal design which has reinforcements below the barrel trunion and at the rear cut-out to prevent cracks due to the strong recoil. The gas system is like an AK series with the gas piston being attached to the bolt carrier. The ROMAK (ROManian Avtomat Kalashnikov) 3's imported were made at the Regia Autonoma de Tehnicå Militarå (RATMIL)and had their bayonet lugs removed to meet import restrictions. After a consolidation of military arsenals when Romania joined NATO, production of the PSL is at the ARMS arsenal in Cugir, Romania and is completely retooled with all brand new state-of-the-art modern equipment purchased from Belgium and Croatia. Click here for more comparison pictures.


Well, this has the Bayonet lug, is an AK varient as I stated, but is not a Romak3. I'll post a few picks in a week or so. Jim

Having one that I shoot a lot feel I can give some info. Will not get into the PSL/FPK/Dragunov arguement as it always seems to go nowhere. You can reasonably expect about 2-3 MOA with surplus military ball ammo--even the vaulted 7N1 sniper ammo isn't much better--while carefully loaded handloads can get you MOA or better depending on your rifle. Just pulling the bullets from military surplus ammo, dumping the powder and remeasuring for more uniformaty will drastically improve performance with good USA made bullets. I have found powder variations as great as 3 grains and bullet variations as great as 5 grains in milsur ammo. When put together that explains some of the dismal accuracy from the milsur.

They are heavy and I plan on taking mine hunting this fall but will be either sitting in a stand or blind. Besides being heavy there also long so not good in brush. I've got the milsur scope but switched to a low power high quality variable from 1.5x4.5 that helped accuracy a lot. The chevron they use is not very fine for precision aiming in my opinion.

After playing with the ammo and scope system I'm confident I can harvest deer without troubles. A word of caution is in order--only use bullets in the 150 grain range. Heaver bullets will eventually damage the receiver and/or other internal parts.

Having one that I shoot a lot feel I can give some info. Will not get into the PSL/FPK/Dragunov arguement as it always seems to go nowhere.
A word of caution is in order--only use bullets in the 150 grain range. Heaver bullets will eventually damage the receiver and/or other internal parts.


I do agree w/ you. I have 1950's Soviet 147gr Light ball, and 150gr Partitions to reload in Prvi brass. I am being optimistic. I have had great luck in the last few years. 400 yard, 4" groups would make me happy. I think I can make it happen without much work. In my case it is usually the simple things that make the difference. That is mostly on my part. I know the BC on .311 or .312 is not that great, but I have high hopes. Jim

Not wanting to chase brass all over the place was why I started pulling bullets, dumping powder etc on the milsur ammo. Load with good USA made bullets and reuse everything else then leave them lay after shooting. Best of both worlds I believe. Buy milsur for around 12 cents per round and replace bullet with one costing 15 cents each for a total of 27 cents then I hope to sell the FMJ bullets at a gun show and recoupe some costs like maybe 12 cents each. That would make for some economical shooting.

I picked it up today. It came w/ cleaning kit, rods, oiler, scope cover and cap, and the nicest leather sling I have ever seen, except for the 1942 byf I sold. The scope is really impressive. Very clear, although the Rubber eye piece is useless to me since I wear glasses. The weight is not bad, it does balence well. JP

PS, I ordered a case of Soviet light ball to go w/ it.

Pics.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/jpattersonnh/IM000282_1.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/jpattersonnh/IM000281_1.jpg

That's very's nice. I was watching a You Tube video of a guy shooting a Ruger 30.06 bolt action rifle and then a "Drag" 7.62x54. It seemed that the Drag's recoil was substantially less than the .06. The Drag mab be next on my list. Again,very nice,distinctive rifle.

I'll post some targets after I get her sighted in. I did a primitive bore sight at 100 yards, she is about 5-7" high as far as I can tell. The Elevation adjustment is set at about that. It should be at 350 to 400 meters as is. With the FPK's semi auto design and front muzzle brake it should be a 40% recoil reduction. I think w/ 150gr core locked bullets it will make a fine hunting rifle. Although I have never needed a follow up shot, I guess this will be as fast as any. I really want to try it on some big hogs. I hate those tusks! If I load hot I can get a buffer to handle the extra recoil. 180's would pound it way to much. Maybe 123gr reloads for coyotes? I have not been this excited about a rifle in a long time. Jim

Don't know if the action will cycle with the 123 grain bullets--never seen anyone post shooting something that light in one of these rifles.

It's worth a try! Don't you think? Jim

From the sparse reading I've done, the use of ammo over 150 grains will possibly cause receiver damage. Will the buffer you mention possibly prevent that and thus allow the use of other ammo,or am I missing some part of that equation?
It seems a shame to limit this rifle to 150 or less?!

So, how does it shoot?

My take on this rifle is it was designed with the 150 grain bullet and nothing else. I used to follow the sniper thread on gunboards.com and quite a lot of information on the vaious variants of this rifle (PSL, SSG97 etc.) was posted over several years. Unfortunately they had problems with hackers and had to upgrade there software and lost there archives of posted information. That is a possible source if you can somehow access there archives.

If memory serves me there was a gunsmith who posted on that board and does extensive repair work on this particular firearm indicated that the only thing the buffers did was cause other parts of the receiver to fail. He caution against using any weight bullets other than the 150 grainers or within several grains plus or minus. Breakage of parts in these firearms will put them out of action for long periods of time while you try locating the replacement part which are scarce and hard to find.

Bottom line is shoot the 150 grainers, have fun and don't complain about it or don't buy in the first place. After shooting one for several years with no problems other than figuring how to improve accuracy I'm very happy with mine.

When I think about it, its not any different than the M1 Garands, M16/M4/AR15 or the limitations of other semi-autos out there today. You accept the limitations and work with them.

....' scarce replacement parts.' That's a concern. I noted that some parts kits are available,however.

K-var and Fla. gun works have parts. I have run SK's and Ak's for years, and never had a failure. I am not antisipating any w/ this rifle either. 150 grain bullets suit me fine. You need to remember, .312 is not as common as .308. Jim

Jim, it's good to get some contacts for spare parts for that rifle. I've also had some experience with Norinco and Yugo SKSs and AKs,al la Saiga, and have never had a single failure of any kind. Both types of rifles seem to be simply and strongly designed to last. I'm still seriously considering adding this rifle to my small,but growing collection, and share your excitement about it. Please keep us informed about your experience with it.I live in Texas and have located 1 in Houston(200 miles from San Antonio),so I could easily drive there,inspect the gun and buy it in person from the dealer,avoiding their FFL fee,shipping and wait time!!

Florida gun works is a scam outfit I honestly don't know how they stay in business, they say they have the item in stock , say they will ship it, charge your credit card and then you wait and wait and wait...Stay away
http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search!&q5=Florida+Gunworks+

The PSL reciever is not very strong avoid hot loads, as far as repair parts they are very hard to find without buying a rifle parts kit. If you take resonable care and shoot standard loads the gun should out live you. You may be able to find some parts at Centerfiresystems.com.http://www.centerfiresystems.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1266

Florida gun works is a scam outfit I honestly don't know how they stay in business, they say they have the item in stock , say they will ship it, charge your credit card and then you wait and wait and wait...Stay away
http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q1=ALL&q4=&q6=&q3=&q2=&q7=&searchtype=0&submit2=Search!&q5=Florida+Gunworks+

The PSL reciever is not very strong avoid hot loads, as far as repair parts they are very hard to find without buying a rifle parts kit. If you take resonable care and shoot standard loads the gun should out live you. You may be able to find some parts at Centerfiresystems.com.http://www.centerfiresystems.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1266

$399.99 per kit? @ Centerfire Systems. High dollar kits for sure.And, they're out of stock and discontinued. But, it's a big world out there. I'm a "conservative" range shooter/hunter, no rapid fire, and clean my rifles consistantly, so this gun WILL probably outlast me.