L-96A1 Sniper Rifle Variant Series

The PM (Primary Military) is the standard sniper rifle of the British Army, and is also used by several unnamed African, Middle Eastern, and Asian militaries. Unlike most previous British sniper rifles, the PM was designed from the start as a military sniper rifle. The PM (type-standardized by the British military as the L-96A1) uses a high-quality stainless steel 25.8-inch barrel, fitted into the stock so that it free-floats. Most of the other working parts are likewise of steel, but the receiver and most other metal parts are made of aluminum alloy. The entire action is enclosed in plastic composites. The bolt lift is only 60 degrees, and the throw is only 107mm, which means the sniper does need to move a lot between shots, and doesn’t even need to take his eye away from his scope.

The stock of the PM is usually plastic composite, though a wooden stock is available on demand; the stock has a telescoping monopod at the rear, a buttplate adjustable for length of pull and with a recoil pad, and an adjustable padded cheekpiece. The trigger is adjustable for pull weight. The folding light alloy bipod is adjustable for height and cant. The PM has fully adjustable iron sights, but of course a telescopic sight is the primary sight. Early models mounted the sight with a conventional mount/ring arrangement, but later ones use a MIL-STD-1913 rail. The standard telescopic sight for the British military varies with the role (standard military snipers use a Schmidt & Bender 6x42 scope, while counterterrorist snipers and special operations troops often use a Hensoldt 2.5-10x scope).

AW L-96A1 Sniper Rifle

AWP  L-96A1 Sniper Rifle

PM L-96A1 Sniper Rifle

The military version adopted by the British and several other countries fires 7.62mm NATO, and is known as the L-96A1. There are also versions designed for several other calibers, but they tend to be rather rare and meant primarily for special applications. The .308 Norma Magnum chambering, in particular, was designed primarily as an experiment for the British Army, which was considering the cartridge as a new sniping round, and very limited amounts of PMs chambered for .308 Norma Magnum are available.

The AW is an improved model of the L-96A1 version of the PM, originally designed to a Swedish specification for a new sniper rifle, but also used by Australia (in a modified form), and Italy. The Dutch have bought the AW, but only in small numbers starting in 1997; at first they were used primarily in Bosnia, but they then bought more when some Dutch troops were deployed to Afghanistan.

The AW has replaced the PM in production for the British Army (but is still called the L-96A1 in British service). The standard improvements done to the AW include coatings for the working parts to keep them from freezing in extreme cold, the addition of a muzzle brake, an improved bipod also protected against extreme cold and more finely adjustable than the PM’s bipod, and multipoint sling swivel attachments. A very few still have a conventional mount/ring arrangement for the telescopic sights, but most have a MIL-STD-1913 rail. The AW is also able to accept a special silencer designed for it; this silencer can use full-power ammunition (but it only acts as a noise suppressor in this case) or subsonic ammunition.

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