Steyr Mannlicher SSG 69

[CliveWard]

Hi All,

 

Just thought I'd post a bit of extra info about this now I've had a chance to have a fanny about on the range with it.

 

I was after a gun to use both on the range and for in the field and I was on the look out for a Steyr Scout but the cost was high as a package and I was advised that to be any use on the range it would need a brake or moderator to make it comfortable to shoot for an extended period of time. I then had a look at a Tikka T3 Tactical 20" as that didn't seem to be overly heavy and had a brake. I didn't particlularly care for the Tikka's felxible stock and the other thing that put me off slightly was that a few other guys in the club have got them and I like something a bit 'different', even though the shop were offering a serious deal on the rifle.

 

Anyway to cut a long story short an RFD friend of mine had an SSG for sale so I went for a gander and could see it was a 'quality' rifle and not too heavy. I got the rifle, scope, mounts, case, etc. and some ammunition for more or less the same price as the Tikka would have been.

 

 

 

I had a quick zero at 100m a few days ago to get the Swarovski ZFM 6X42 Z scope set up and the groups were .5 - 1 MOA which was fine considering I wasn't being particularly careful about it.

 

Today I had a morning on the range to really test the rifle out. The club had booked the 600m range with the AMS system. the AMS system displays your bullet impact on a monitor at the firing point with useful data such as x/y coordinates from centre for each round, group size and mean POI all in mm.

 

Firstly at 200m I set the BDC of the scope to 2 and fired the first round which hit POA give or take a gnats which was good enough for me. The second round hit just 12mm from the first which showed promise but it went a bit to pot on the 3rd round because my position wasn't that great. Shooting at 200m is now a requirement of the MOD to ensure that unzeroed rifles are not used at the longer ranges where there is more of a danger for bullets to escape the safety area.

 

We went back to 600m prone off the bipod and I set the BDC to 6. The first round hit high and slightly to the left and I finished a group of three to get my adjustments. I adjusted 1 MIL down and .4 MIL right for the very slight breeze. For the next group I stuffed a spare shirt under the rear of the stock to get a very stable position. I fired a three shot group at 89mm and it was as closely centred on the target as the scope adjustments would allow. That's just a whisker over .5 MOA at 600m! using a 6x scope with a picket post reticle. I was happy to say the least.

 

I got through 150 rounds and all the groups at 600m were good. In fact in the next series the second shot was only 38mm from the first but the pressure got to me lol and I pulled the next and after that I struggled to get the fine accuracy I had achieved.

 

I noticed the problem when I got home to clean the rifle. The bipod adapter in the accessory rail had slid forward causing the bipod to push on the front swivel which then was in contact with the barrel.

 

It was a great day and I got a load of data for the rifle.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

[Guest Tiff]

Sounds good, I still regret not buying my mates .308 version when he sold it. I didn't know they did a .300 Win Mag version?

[CliveWard]

Hi Tiff,

 

This is the .308

 

Fenland have got one in stock that looks to be the same kit as this if anyone is interested, I don't know if it's brand new like mine though.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

[Guest Tiff]

Shooting at 200m is now a requirement of the MOD to ensure that unzeroed rifles are not used at the longer ranges where there is more of a danger for bullets to escape the safety area.

 

 

Hi Clive unfortunately the time has passed where I could afford one Above is the reason why I thought yours was a win mag.......you only have to zero at 200 if your rifles ME is over 4,500 joules.

[CliveWard]

Hi Tiff,

 

Well spotted. We scheduled the 200m as a few guys use 338s (who incidentally didn't attend). Also for all calibres it's a good idea anyway as the RCO is responsible for anything going astray. I was the RCO for the afternoon session so I was quite happy to know everything was going where it should.

 

Keep an eye out as they do come up 2nd hand and some have been auctioned.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

[ChrisF]

The SSG is not available in any cal other than short action rounds , 308 class .

 

BUT back in the late 80's when the US put out a tender for a 308 sniper rifle , one of the unique requirements that was hard to meet by most makers at that time , was a requirement to be able to re-barrel at a later date into the 300WM calibre .

 

Thats why the US M24 sniper rifle that is in 308 cal , is built on the Rem Long action , so if needed by the US , it could be changed to 300WM , no more than a hand ful have ever been changed to 300WM thou .

 

The 2 rifles that trialled , where a entry from Remington Arms , and Steyr ( it was a hastie job , done to make the SSG longer to take the 300WM if needed ( this 300WM requirement was mainly driven by SFs , and was given late , and ruled out a lot of makers .

 

Because of the little warning of the last minute inclusion of the double requirement of both 308 & 300Wm , Steyr did a rush job to get a weapon sorted , they where just going to submit the std 308 SSG rifle , and had to do a rush job and make a longer action version of the SSG , and it was not sorted , and it had trouble in the trialling .

 

In the end the US , selected the Rem entry as the new M24 sniper rifle .

 

So there maybe a couple of SSG basic prototypes dating from the US Army trials back in the 80's made in 300WM , but would be very scarce outside of the Steyr factory , I would think ,

 

Later Chris

[theshootist]

Hi All,

 

Just thought I'd post a bit of extra info about this now I've had a chance to have a fanny about on the range with it.

 

I was after a gun to use both on the range and for in the field and I was on the look out for a Steyr Scout but the cost was high as a package and I was advised that to be any use on the range it would need a brake or moderator to make it comfortable to shoot for an extended period of time. I then had a look at a Tikka T3 Tactical 20" as that didn't seem to be overly heavy and had a brake. I didn't particlularly care for the Tikka's felxible stock and the other thing that put me off slightly was that a few other guys in the club have got them and I like something a bit 'different', even though the shop were offering a serious deal on the rifle.

 

Anyway to cut a long story short an RFD friend of mine had an SSG for sale so I went for a gander and could see it was a 'quality' rifle and not too heavy. I got the rifle, scope, mounts, case, etc. and some ammunition for more or less the same price as the Tikka would have been.

 

 

 

I had a quick zero at 100m a few days ago to get the Swarovski ZFM 6X42 Z scope set up and the groups were .5 - 1 MOA which was fine considering I wasn't being particularly careful about it.

 

Today I had a morning on the range to really test the rifle out. The club had booked the 600m range with the AMS system. the AMS system displays your bullet impact on a monitor at the firing point with useful data such as x/y coordinates from centre for each round, group size and mean POI all in mm.

 

Firstly at 200m I set the BDC of the scope to 2 and fired the first round which hit POA give or take a gnats which was good enough for me. The second round hit just 12mm from the first which showed promise but it went a bit to pot on the 3rd round because my position wasn't that great. Shooting at 200m is now a requirement of the MOD to ensure that unzeroed rifles are not used at the longer ranges where there is more of a danger for bullets to escape the safety area.

 

We went back to 600m prone off the bipod and I set the BDC to 6. The first round hit high and slightly to the left and I finished a group of three to get my adjustments. I adjusted 1 MIL down and .4 MIL right for the very slight breeze. For the next group I stuffed a spare shirt under the rear of the stock to get a very stable position. I fired a three shot group at 89mm and it was as closely centred on the target as the scope adjustments would allow. That's just a whisker over .5 MOA at 600m! using a 6x scope with a picket post reticle. I was happy to say the least.

 

I got through 150 rounds and all the groups at 600m were good. In fact in the next series the second shot was only 38mm from the first but the pressure got to me lol and I pulled the next and after that I struggled to get the fine accuracy I had achieved.

 

I noticed the problem when I got home to clean the rifle. The bipod adapter in the accessory rail had slid forward causing the bipod to push on the front swivel which then was in contact with the barrel.

 

It was a great day and I got a load of data for the rifle.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

 

Thanks for a great review. My first post here - this is just the sort of info I have been after. Please excuse me if this is a dumb question...

 

I'm currently looking at an SSG with a shorter 16.5" barrel for use stalking. Having handled on in a shop its certainly a very handy rifle and would be pretty good in a high seat.

 

The one I'm looking at is second hand and the seller says it has not been shot heavily and groups tightly. I've read that these cold forged barrels can last thousands of rounds, but would a gunsmith be able to look at the rifling and tell me how much life is left in it? I'm just concious that I don't end up with a dog..

 

Is there anything else I should be wary of buying privately?

 

Many thanks,

 

H

[CliveWard]

Hi H,

 

Welcome to the forum. Pretty new here myself.

 

Is it the 16.5" barrel with the removeable flash hider/brake?

 

The reason I ask is that the Steyr barrels are hammer forged and tapered internally you can certainly feel this when cleaning as it gets ever so slightly tighter at the muzzle end. I think due to this internal taper and the extreme rigidity of the barrel/action fit it's very un fussy about bullets and ammunition. It seems to shoot most things well, even old surplus stuff.

 

Also chatting to a dealer I know I mentioned how gentle the recoil felt, especially as it's a fairly light rifle. He mentioned guns with shorter headspace tend to recoil less and are very accurate.

 

If it's been cut down as an after thought to reduce weight when fitted with a moderator then it may have lost some of this unfussyness (if that's a real word)

 

The model with the flash hider is a factory item so could potentially be better than a cut down one. Depends what the factory do I suppose. They may have a different mandrel or process for the different length barrels or they may just make them all 25.5" long and chop off what they don't want.

 

Some of the guys on here are custom rifle builders and have optical or video bore scopes and could have a look for you. But barrels that shoot wonderfully can look horrible under a scope...lol.

 

One indication of use is to have a look at the state of the magazine (it's plastic and shows wear very easily) its also an indication of how careful the previous owner was. Look at the condition of the rear clear window. If it's well used you will see an opaque track where the heads of the cartridges run against it. But magazines can be replaced.

 

Look at the general condition of the finish of the parkerising on the barrel, receiver and scope mounts.

 

Another pointer is the wear to the parkerising on the bolt. There will be some and isn't truly indicative of rounds down as a lot of people dry practice.

 

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If it's a private seller then perhaps they could take you onto a bit of their land and let you try it?

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

[theshootist]

Hi H,

 

Welcome to the forum. Pretty new here myself.

 

Is it the 16.5" barrel with the removeable flash hider/brake?

 

The reason I ask is that the Steyr barrels are hammer forged and tapered internally you can certainly feel this when cleaning as it gets ever so slightly tighter at the muzzle end. I think due to this internal taper and the extreme rigidity of the barrel/action fit it's very un fussy about bullets and ammunition. It seems to shoot most things well, even old surplus stuff.

 

Also chatting to a dealer I know I mentioned how gentle the recoil felt, especially as it's a fairly light rifle. He mentioned guns with shorter headspace tend to recoil less and are very accurate.

 

If it's been cut down as an after thought to reduce weight when fitted with a moderator then it may have lost some of this unfussyness (if that's a real word)

 

The model with the flash hider is a factory item so could potentially be better than a cut down one. Depends what the factory do I suppose. They may have a different mandrel or process for the different length barrels or they may just make them all 25.5" long and chop off what they don't want.

 

Some of the guys on here are custom rifle builders and have optical or video bore scopes and could have a look for you. But barrels that shoot wonderfully can look horrible under a scope...lol.

 

One indication of use is to have a look at the state of the magazine (it's plastic and shows wear very easily) its also an indication of how careful the previous owner was. Look at the condition of the rear clear window. If it's well used you will see an opaque track where the heads of the cartridges run against it. But magazines can be replaced.

 

Look at the general condition of the finish of the parkerising on the barrel, receiver and scope mounts.

 

Another pointer is the wear to the parkerising on the bolt. There will be some and isn't truly indicative of rounds down as a lot of people dry practice.

 

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If it's a private seller then perhaps they could take you onto a bit of their land and let you try it?

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

 

Clive,

 

Thanks for the welcome. Much appreciated.

 

Yes, its a 16.5" barrel with the removable flash hider, so its not been cut down. I have seen a one with and 18" barrel, which I think must have been cut down, so its interesting to hear about the tapered bore.

 

I'll certainly follow your pointers. So far the rifle has been described as immaculate and he has recently had it recrowned. I'm going to try and have it looked at by a professional before I buy it.

 

If I go for it I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Cheers,

H

[theshootist]

Clive,

 

Have you any experience of the Steyr moderator for the SSG? I think its made by B&T in switzerland.

 

Cheers,

H

[CliveWard]

Hi H,

 

The B&T supressors are meant to be very good. I saw a full length one on a Unique Alpine and it really was the business.

 

If the mod comes as part of the package then I would say go for it. It will be designed for that particular rifle and factory tested.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

[theshootist]

Hi H,

 

The B&T supressors are meant to be very good. I saw a full length one on a Unique Alpine and it really was the business.

 

If the mod comes as part of the package then I would say go for it. It will be designed for that particular rifle and factory tested.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

 

Thanks Clive,

 

Looks like I will get the chance to test fire it next week, if it prints the groups he says it will I'll go for it.

 

Cheers,

H

[ChrisF]

The SSG PIV , was really designed and set up for dedicated subsonic 308 shooting , and IF subsonic is all you are after , thats fine .

 

You will find the twist rate is different that the other SSG.s

 

Later Chris

[theshootist]

The SSG PIV , was really designed and set up for dedicated subsonic 308 shooting , and IF subsonic is all you are after , thats fine .

 

You will find the twist rate is different that the other SSG.s

 

Later Chris

 

Thanks Chris, that's interesting - so presumably it would have a tighter twist to handle the heavier bullets? Anything I shoot has to be deer legal so am not interested in sub-sonics. The chap who was selling it was running 130 grain bullets through it and said it would "cloverleaf" at 100m.

 

I have missed out on the rifle anyway, as before I could go and try it last week a chap called up and bought it unseen! Gutted. Back to the drawing board.

 

H

[brown dog]

H,

 

From my dim and distant memory, I recall that the factory 16.5" SSG is the ONLY SSG to have a barrel that is threaded (rather than swaged) into the action. Worth a check!

 

 

[edit: just noticed your last post! my info's clearly too late anyway!]

[CliveWard]

Just as an update I was down the range today and using the 168grn SMKs over N140 a 3 round group at 100m was 9mm (not too shabby at a gnats over .3 MOA). 300m was around 40mm and 600m was around 80mm.

 

This was with my new shooting geps so I could see a bit more of what I was doing...lol.

 

The absolute best it's done was with the Lapua 155 silver scenars over N140 at the last shoot. At 300m I had 3 rounds in the central bull of a shoot n c target which is 1 - 1 1/2 inches IIRC but that could well have been luck more than judgement.

 

After 40 odd rounds the accuracy dropped off due to copper fouling as I hadn't got all of it out last time...lol.

 

I've got some KG12 on the way which should hopefully get it all out.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

[menial 1]

Hi Tiff,

 

This is the .308

 

Fenland have got one in stock that looks to be the same kit as this if anyone is interested, I don't know if it's brand new like mine though.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Clive

[/quote

They had 4 or 5 SSG's on the second hand rack when I nipped in for some powder the other day.

Pete.