Sniper Rifles
It's worth noting that H3 does not actually have a dedicated sniper rifle category; as such, the weapons on this sub-page are generally categorized either as bolt-action rifles, anti-materiel rifles, or battle rifles, with the one noteworthy exception being the VSS Vintorez.
Despite lacking an in-game categorization, the game's sniper rifles do provide superior accuracy compared to other bolt-action and battle rifles as of Alpha 2 of Update #94, with the implementation of mechanical accuracy to every "realistic" firearm.
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Magnum
Added along with the Smith & Wesson Model 500 in Update #59's 7th alpha, the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Magnum is the first weapon in H3 chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum; it is also the largest-caliber sniper rifle in the game that isn't an classified as an anti-materiel rifle.
Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Magnum - .338 Lapua Magnum
Admiring the AWM. A timeless classic, since '99.
Loading in a magazine. While many of
H3VR's weapon models are purchased or donated from third-party sources, they are sometimes still modified on the game's end; the AWM is a perfect example of this, as its magazine and well were slightly too short to fit normal .338 Lapua rounds (which is correct; being retrofitted for .338LM rather than designed for it, the AWM's magazine can only fit slightly shorter-bulleted .338 rounds, which are sold specifically for this rifle; the decision to make it work with standard .338 Lapua was made in the interests of gameplay and development simplicity), so game dev Anton Hand had to perform "model surgery", as he put it, to lengthen the magazine and well.
Realizing that having a bare upper rail is hardly befitting of a rifle that
once set a record for confirmed kill distance, but that a long-range scope is equally unfitting for use indoors, our invisible protagonist compromises and attaches a tube red-dot sight.
Aiming the rifle at a Sosig...
...and killing the one behind it.
While there's sadly no bright blue text across the center of everybody's screen announcing this double kill, it's still cause for celebration. And what better way to celebrate than to eject a spent case in the most unnecessarily dramatic way possible?
Firing a tracer into another Sosig;
as is tradition, the "Magnum Sniper Rifle" can kill a full-health, fully-armored enemy with a single well-placed shot to the torso.
Firing an API (armor-piercing incendiary) round into yet another armored Sosig, producing a suitably impressive shower of sparks in the process.
With the release of Update #90's second alpha build, the AWM was given a bottom-mounted rail; the purpose of this was to allow the player to fit it with both a scope and a bipod, for more precise shooting.
No, wait, that's not what I-
ArmaLite AR-50A1
The ArmaLite AR-50A1 was added in Update #104's first experimental build.
ArmaLite AR-50A1 - .50 BMG
Admiring the ArmaLite. Or Arma-not-very-Lite, in this case.
Getting a view of the other side; this is aided by putting a bipod on the bottom rail, and putting that on a short wall.
Attentive viewers may have noticed a key difference between this rifle and the one in the reference image - namely, the former lacks a muzzle brake. Luckily, it isn't gone forever - it was simply added as a separate attachment, known as the "StratBomber".
Being an interchangeable muzzle device, it automatically scales to the weapon it's mounted on; interestingly, its default size isn't the size it is when it's mounted onto the rifle it was actually designed for, possibly so it looks a little less ridiculous on its own.
Opening up the weapon's rather substantial bolt...
...and dropping in a .50 BMG tracer round. Being part of an experimental build, the AR-50A1 was the first bolt-action rifle to feature a re-worked version of the previously-standard chamberloading behavior - rather than going straight into the chamber and then snapping to the bolt as it's pushed into battery, the round simply sits on the bolt face the whole time.
Chambering the round in question, safe in the knowledge that it's no longer capable of any form of teleportation-related antics.
Getting up behind the rifle, and disengaging the striker-mounted flag safety.
Taking aim at an unsuspecting Sosig dignitary...
...and ensuring that he won't get a second term.
Working the bolt again, and ejecting the now-spent round. A job well done.
Still, it can't hurt to be diligent. The white square on the bottom of the stock is a QR code, which links directly to
the modeler's portfolio.
Barrett M107A1
The Barrett M107A1 anti-materiel rifle is one of the available firearms in-game, added in Update #22. Up until the 2018 4th of July Update and its "M2 Tombstone", the Barrett was the only weapon in the game chambered in .50 BMG.
Barrett M107A1 with 29" barrel - .50 BMG
An M107A1 on a table, complete with all the bells and whistles.
Examining the left side of the rifle...
Comparing one of the M107A1's .50 BMG rounds to a 7.62x54mmR really gives a sense of just how massive a round it is.
Loading the round back into the magazine...
...then loading the magazine into the Barrett.
Taking a close look at the forend, which gives a good view of the barrel recoil springs. It also gives a good view of...
Interestingly, once unfolded, the bipod always points towards the ground, which can be used to create some rather amusing perspective illusions; here, our invisible protagonist decides to teach a marble-sized watermelon the definition of "asymmetric warfare."
Once mounted, the bipod shows off another one of its interesting traits: the complete and total negation of the effect of gravity on its parent rifle. Also note the extended rear monopod.
Of course, no long-range AMR would be complete without a sight; this 8-32x variable scope seems a good fit.
Chambering a round, with a satisfying "ker-
CHUNK."
With that settled, there's only one thing left to take care of:
Sighting up a watermelon. While a
famous man told us what Barretts can do, nobody said what would happen if you were
inside said building.
Only one way to find out...
The building thankfully still alive and well, a celebration is in order. And what better way to celebrate than to demonstrate an interesting part of the gun's functionality.
That being the weapon's short-recoil action, which means that the barrel reciprocates a short distance upon firing. This is to facilitate the unlocking of the bolt; the barrel and bolt are locked together and move backwards simultaneously for a short while, then the bolt and barrel separate, the bolt travels back further, and they both return to their locked positions; the period the bolt and barrel spend locked together is long enough for the chamber pressure to lower enough that the spent casing can safely be extracted and ejected without rupturing.
Raising the scope's magnification to its highest setting, for maximum sightseeing capabilities.
Aiming for a distant melon.
...and watching it hit its mark.
H3VR has a rather in-depth ballistics simulation system, including distance-based drop and projectile travel time; even the mighty .50 BMG round has a few frames' worth of travel time out at 400 meters.
Barrett MRAD
The Barrett MRAD was added in Update #94, making it the game's second firearm in .338 Lapua.
Barrett MRAD - .338 Lapua Magnum
The MRAD, sitting pretty on a table in the Sniper Range; laid out around it are a variety of attachments added along with it.
Picking up the rifle, and taking a look at the opposite side.
Fiddling with the stock - it's supposed to help you adjust the length of pull to better suit your arm length, but it can also be used to procrastinate.
Loading in a standard 10-round magazine. Little-known fact: the lined-up patterns on the magazine and magwell are actually a visual aid, meant to let the user know if they're putting the magazine in sideways.
Chambering a round, confident that the magazine is lined up correctly on at least one of the 3 axes.
Flicking "off" the safety; upon its release, the rifle's safety went the wrong way round, so the "fire" position was treated as the "safe" one, and vice versa.
(This issue was fixed in the subsequent update).
Working the action, after firing a non-shown shot; this, in turn, came after rather inappropriately affixing the sub-MOA rifle with a "Lion" 1-5 power scope, one of three LPVOs (Low-Power Variable Optics) added in Update #94.
Taking the inappropriate customization a step further with two more attachments added in the same update: the "Wrapped" suppressor, and a Fortis SHIFT foregrip.
Fiddling with the Lion scope's magnification setting...
...before deciding to actually do something sensible - namely, replacing the LPVO with a proper long-range optic, removing the foregrip, and putting the rifle into the game's sci-fi equivalent to a benchrest. The "TOGGLE OBJECT LOCK" button locks the held weapon into the rest, preventing it from moving relative to the platform, the "Control Side" setting changes which side of the rest displays the movement controls, the "Zero Rot" button makes the weapon point perfectly straight forward relative to the platform, and the "Axis Sensitivity" buttons adjust the magnitude of the impact of the movement controls. Said movement controls aren't visible here...
...but they are here - in keeping with the sci-fi theme, they're a set of floating color-coded holograms that you can grab and interact with. The top set are linear adjustment buttons, while the bottom set can adjust the rifle's rotation. All this fine adjustment comes in handy when it comes time to zero a scope properly, attempt to snipe a bottle off a crate at 400 yards, or simply test the mechanical accuracy of one gun against another.
Barrett XM500
The Barrett XM500 was added on day 22 of the Meatmas 2020 Advent Calendar Event.
The XM500 just barely fits into the case, one benefit of using a bullpup design.
Up close, it's still a huge gun. so big that it's hard to fit in the whole frame for people without five-foot-long arms.
The right side is pretty much the same story, though you get a slightly better look at interior of the receiver from this angle. The barrel of the XM500 originally reciprocated when firing, unlike the real XM500; this was likely a result of reusing the code for the M107A1. Update #111's second experimental build removed this erroneous function, both because it was inaccurate, and because it (somewhat oddly) led to any attached muzzle device simply floating off the end of the gun whenever the barrel reciprocated (a bit odd, given that the M107A1 itself lacks this issue).
Loading in a ten round magazine of .50BMG; due to this being a bullpup firearm, this can be a bit challenging since the size of the mag means you have to bring it pretty close to your chest (or in this case, face).
Grabbing the charging handle; placing it farther forward than on the M107A1 makes this easier than loading.
Scope affixed, bipod deployed, and we're ready to go. But since the area outside is swarming with drones (and it's freezing cold out), we're going to stay within the warmth and safety of our bunker.
Luckily, there's a Junkbot just on the ridge ahead, and it hasn't noticed us yet. Lining up the shot...
...and taking it. You can see the huge muzzle flash from the muzzle brake venting out the sides. Ignore the fact that the crosshair's on the Junkbot's backpack instead of its torso.
And would you look at that, a successful hit. I totally hit that on the last screenshot. It's not like I shot a second time but couldn't use the screencap because the bipod kicked off, knocking the entire gun off and ruining the whole capture... it was totally the wind blowing that round into the Junkbot, I completely planned for that to happen.
Cheyenne Tactical M-200 Intervention
The 22nd day of the 2018 Meatmas event added a Cheyenne Tactical M-200 Intervention sniper rifle, chambered in .408 CheyTac (a round exclusive to this rifle in-game). It is classified in-game as an anti-materiel rifle; while not necessarily intended as such, it can certainly be used as one against certain types of armor.
Cheyenne Tactical M-200 Intervention - .408 CheyTac
An Intervention in its gift box. It's a bigger gun than most people seem to realize.
Giving the rifle a full load of .408 rounds. It's pretty easy to see why this thing's treated as an anti-materiel rifle...
Sending one of the aforementioned rounds into the chamber.
Did we mention that this is a really,
really big rifle? 'Cause I'm not sure if the point's quite gotten across. I mean, it doesn't even fit in the shot, for Hathcock's sakes.
Luckily, the rifle's full >30-pound weight (~14 kg) can be supported by...
...the forend-mounted bipod.
This ground-seeking bipod conspires with the occasional graphical bug to make the rifle look suspiciously like it's been poorly Photoshopped into the shot.
Other convenient features include a collapsible stock, which only furthers the visual absurdity of this situation.
Of course,
as we all know, the only appropriate way to use an Intervention is to no-scope. As such, [FaZe]XxX_mLgTr1cKsH0tKu$hBl@z0r4201337_XxX sights up a particularly scrublord-looking snowflake...
...and hits one for the montage. "
MOM, GET THE CAMERA!"
Satisfied, he cycles his rifle, and heads back to the basement for another Mountain Dew/Doritos smoothie.
Heckler & Koch G3SG/1
The Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 was added on day 19 of the Meatmas 2020 Advent Calendar Event. It is more accurate than the base G3 rifle and comes with a detachable scope.
Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 - 7.62x51mm NATO
The G3SG/1 in its box. Note that, since the G3SG/1 came out in 1972, it is correctly stated to come from West Germany, rather than just "Germany".
Examining the rifle. Similar to the existing G3, but not quite the same.
The stock is probably the clearest indication of that fact.
Taking a look at the fire selector; likely due to a bug, the G3SG/1 spawns with the safety on from a gameplay perspective, but with the actual lever set slightly below the semi-auto position.
For reference, here's what semi-auto looks like. Re-engaging the safety puts the lever back where it belongs, so this bug can only be seen once per gun.
Locking back the charging handle, as is tradition.
Loading in a magazine; since these are standard G3 mags, they could be spawnlocked right away (as opposed to the specialty mags added as part of a new weapon, which couldn't).
Sending the bolt home with that famous slap. Never gets old.
Fiddling with the settings on the included scope; its magnification is adjustable from 1.5x to 6x in half-power increments, and starts at 3x.
Stepping outside, and unfolding the integrated bipod.
See, this shot was SUPPOSED to be of me lying down, taking some nice, carefully-aimed shots at a distant Swarm drone. However, not only does Windows' default screen-recording program exclusively record the left eye's view, it only records the lower portion of said view, putting the scope more or less completely off the top of the screen for the entirety of that section of footage, and rendering it completely useless. So, instead, here's a shot of me aiming at an oblivious Junkbot from 20 feet away.
At these sorts of ranges, iron sights are generally preferable to a magnified optic; fortunately, the G3SG/1's scope has holes in its mount that allow for the irons to be used (albeit with a rather cramped sight picture).
Flipping the selector over to full-auto...
...and venting 20 rounds of pent-up 7.62mm frustration into a hapless Weinerbot's face. Frustration which, seeing as this was all one recording, technically doesn't exist yet.
Heckler & Koch PSG-1
The Heckler & Koch PSG-1 was added on the fifth alpha of Update #100.
Heckler & Koch PSG-1 - 7.62x51mm NATO
Preparing for a mission, and checking over the PSG-1. A nice piece of kit, if a rather pricey one.
The rifle's right side, complete with its
forward assist "silent bolt closure device".
Loading in a 5-round magazine; not terribly large, but it's not as though the type of precision this rifle is built for usually requires more.
Racking the charging handle, and chambering one of the handful's... fingers? That metaphor doesn't really stretch all that far.
Fiddling with the scope; it comes with (and permanently attached to) the rifle, and is adjustable from 3X to 6X magnification (starting out set to the latter).
Also adjustable (and thus ripe for fiddling) is the stock, whose buttpad can be moved back and forth to adjust length of pull.
The cheekrest is also adjustable, though this serves little in-game function. Still fun, though.
Disengaging the safety, and setting off.
Taking aim at a distant objective; having a good sniper rifle makes dealing with these substantially less difficult and conflict-intensive.
Well, it usually does, at any rate. The white object in the bottom of the scope's field of view is actually the rifle's muzzle flash, just visible when firing.
Dealing with a bit of unplanned resistance, the sniper relents, and loads his emergency 10-round magazine to help get things back under control.
Abruptly approached by a couple extra enemies, he switches to his extra-emergency 20-rounder and does some quick point-shooting; just a temporary measure for this isolated incident.
A fair bit later, as he whacks an enemy over the head with his locked-open rifle, having been failed to notice said enemy surviving amidst its dead colleagues and getting caught off guard trying to load up his extra-extra-emergency 50-round drum, the sniper finally faces the facts:
"It seems that things have gotten... a bit out of hand." Izhmash SV-98
Added in the ninth alpha build of Update #59, the Izhmash SV-98 sniper rifle makes its mark in H3 as the game's second Russian sniper rifle, and its first bolt-action one at that.
Izhmash SV-98 - 7.62x54mmR
Examining an SV-98, this particular specimen being fitted with a red-dot sight and a side-tilting toggleable magnifier.
A good view of the rifle's distinctive green wooden thumbhole stock.
Taking a look at an empty magazine; while a relatively-normal looking staggered-column box magazine, it does notably possess an unusual circular hole up at the front...
...which interfaces with a corresponding metal peg in the magazine well, as seen with this considerably less empty example.
Chambering a 7.62x54mmR round.
Taking aim at an oblivious Sosig.
That target (and several more) down, and it's on to the next.
Well, looks like it's time to call it a day.
The post-Update-#90-Alpha-2 version of the SV-98, complete with its integrated bipod. There wasn't any real reason it couldn't've been fitted with it before; at the time of its release, the bipod was simply omitted (owing to developer Anton Hand being tired of working with the bipod system) and then forgotten about for thirty updates.
Cycling the rifle with the aforementioned bipod set up on a wall. This update changed bipods significantly; among other things, it allowed bipod-mounted weapons to be picked up and redeployed far more easily, and allowed bolt-actions to be cycled without needing to shift one's hands around so much (though this was later fixed due to being buggy, and restricted to bolt-actions with their bipods set on a surface).
Aiming at a hostile Sosig through the SV-98's integrated irons. Or, at least, attempting to.
Kimber Model 8400 Advanced Tactical SRC
The Kimber Model 8400 is one of the rifles added in the 2016 Meatmas Update. In keeping with Update #46's theme of shortened variants of existing guns, the Kimber received a rather strange short-barreled variant in this update.
Kimber Model 8400 Advanced Tactical SRC - .308 Winchester
While out on a walk in the woods, the Candy Hunter stops to admire his rifle.
The other side, which shows off the distinctively-shaped bolt handle.
Sighting up his quarry, the Hunter belatedly realizes that he's forgotten something.
Not that he's going to let that stop him.
He then cycles his rifle, and goes along his merry way.
Taking out another oblivious gumdrop, execution-style.
Well, this is certainly an...
interesting contraption.
Deciding that the rifle just isn't short enough, someone who actually understands that gumdrops aren't huntable game folds the stock.
Working the action right-handed...
MAS FR F2
The 15th gift added in the 2018 Meatmas event was a seldom-seen MAS FR F2 sniper rifle.
MAS FR F2 - 7.62x51mm NATO
A box with a French sniper rifle in it. A substantial step up from last year's pair of socks, no?
Pausing for a moment to appreciate the rifle. And what appears to be a Photoshop selection line around its edges; this appears to be some sort of graphical bug.
Well, as long as you keep it in the light, it should be fine.
Taking a close look at the rifle's distinctive forend; the large, thick barrel profile is the result of a thermal sleeve, one of the F2's improvements over the earlier
FR F1. This view also shows off the integrated bipod...
...which, as ever, can be used to make the rifle look gigantic.
Aiming; as with the earlier-added
M40A1, the FR F2 has a permanently-affixed, non-detachable scope.
Watching a round hit its mark. Fortunately, the amount of time it takes for the rifle's recoil to settle down is just a tad shorter than the time it takes for a 7.62 NATO round to travel this distance, allowing a clear view of the impact.
Update #113's second experimental build rebuilt a wide swath of the game's optics, the FR F2's fixed SCROME J8 among them; in addition to more realistic behavior, it got the proper reticle.
Mechem NTW-20
The Mechem NTW-20 chambered in 20x82mm was added on day 24 of the Meatmas 2020 Advent Calendar event.
Mechem NTW-20 - 20x82mm MG151
The NTW-20; a gun so big, it clips right through the case it spawns in.
As with many weapons that we in the professional world refer to as "heckin' chonkers," getting the full rifle in a screenshot can be a challenge.
Seriously, these still images do not do justice as to how enormous this feels to be holding. Or the strange feeling of needing to purge some aliens. Can't decide if we should start with the
squid lips or the
prawns though...
Loading a three round mag of 20x82mm, currently (and quite likely for a long time) the largest "rifle" round in the game. These easily dwarf .50 BMG cartridges, which for the longest time had been the go-to-round for excessive damage.
Even with just three rounds, the explosive payload can do quite a bit of collateral destruction.
Note the safety switch, which physically covers the trigger to prevent it from being used.
Turning the safety off, and we're ready to roll.
Chambering in a 20mm round; even on other bolt-action anti-materiel rifles, the length of travel on the bolt isn't nearly as long as it is on the NTW-20, so you're going to need plenty of space (in real life, that is) to work with. And with the bright yellow warhead on each shell, it's easy to see whether you've got a round chambered.
Since we have such a huge firearm, it's only fitting that we challenge ourselves with the largest enemy in the scene, the Regenerative Drone. Note the carry handle around the scope; this is the only grabbable surface besides the pistol grip that the player can use; so either you have to aim with one arm way above your head, try to shoot this thing one-handed (good luck), or fire it using the bipod, as intended. The carry handle also leaves a small gap between itself and the scope, where the NTW-20's only placement for a Pic rail is located.
As with other enormous caliber rifles, the muzzle blast is tremendous.
Sadly, even 20mm won't bring down the Regenerative Drone in one hit. Chambering a new round, we see the spent shell fly out like its going out of style.
Mk 12 Mod 0 Special Purpose Rifle
Update #113 Experimental Build 4 added the Mk 12 Mod 0 SPR.
Mk 12 Mod 0 SPR - 5.56x45mm
Mk 12 Mod 1 Special Purpose Rifle
Update #113 Experimental Build 4 added the Mk 12 Mod 1 SPR.
Mk 12 Mod 1 SPR - 5.56x45mm
PGM Hecate II
The only non-fictional weapon added in the 2019 April Fools' Day update was a PGM Hecate II, the game's first bolt-action AMR. The next update, Update #71, gave it a functional, fixed bipod.
Examining the Hecate II. Gotta wonder what the first one was...
Or if you just happen to have some tees that need hecking.
The flip-side of the rifle; at full size, "HECATE II" can just barely be made out on the receiver.
Leveling the behemoth at a wall. Without a scope, there's not much point to doing more in the way of aiming.
Punching a half-inch hole in the wooden barricade.
Satisfied with her handiwork, the protector-goddess Hecate readies another torch, prepared to deal with any other threats to the home accordingly.
A look at the back end of the rifle post-Update #71 shows off the Trijicon SRS02 red-dot sight that found its way on there at some point in the interim; this sight was one of the things changed in the update, with its previously too-small model being appropriately resized.
This view also shows off the bolt-mounted safety.
Moving forward displays the bipod that's also now tagging along for the ride. Quite a convenient feature...
...at least, that is, when you've got somewhere to put it.
The Hecate was another weapon that got a functional carrying handle in Update #76's first alpha build; a helpful tool when you're trying to handle such a comically massive weapon.
Remington M40A1
Added along with the SV-98 in Update #59's ninth alpha build, the Remington M40A1 helps pad out the game's collection of sniper rifles. The weapon in-game has a woodland camo stock, and is fitted with a standard-issue, non-detachable 10x scope.
Remington M40A1 - 7.62x51mm NATO
Examining the M40A1. A small, boxed-in concrete room hardly seems like a good place for a sniper rifle.
Or, for that matter, for woodland camouflage.
Ah, well. Sometimes, you've just gotta make do.
Loading in some 7.62x51mm tracers.
Taking a look at a Sosig through the M40A1's permanently-affixed scope...
...before forgoing aiming entirely and just blasting one point-blank. Note the position of the cocking piece compared to the above screenshot; as with many of the bolt-action rifles in
H3, the M40A1's striker correctly moves to indicate whether or not the rifle is cocked.
Cycling the M40's distinctive "cough drop" bolt handle. What's that? Nobody calls it that? Literally nobody has ever called it that until now? It has never been called that at any time, in any capacity whatsoever? Well, IT IS NOW!
*ahem*
Anyway, the 4th alpha build of Update #90 gave the M40A1 a rail on the bottom of the forend, primarily to mount the attachable bipod introduced in the previous alpha.
And, in an update 23 updates later (well, in the experimental builds thereof, anyway), it got a new scope overlay. Which, this being an M40A1 and not an A3, isn't
that scope overlay.
Remington Model 700P
The Remington Model 700P Was added on Day 9 of the Meatmas 2022 Advent Calendar event, simply named the "R700".
Remington Model 700P - .308 Winchester
Popping open Day 9's box, and unveiling the event's first full-powered rifle.
Nothing too terribly unusual, but it's welcome nevertheless.
Besides, some things are common for a reason.
Loading in a 10-round magazine of 7.62 NATO...
...pausing to disengage the safety...
...and chambering a round.
Attempting to aim at nothing with nothing; this is trickier than one would imagine.
There we go, much better.
Firing off a round, having swapped both targets and handedness in the space between these images.
And, finally, leaving this section off with a question: does this shot depict the bolt being cycled with the left hand, or the right?
"Sniper Rifle"
Another weapon that came out of the "Meat Fortress" TF2 crossover was the Sniper's "Sniper Rifle", a cartoonish-looking weapon seemingly loosely based on the Remington Model 700. Update #89 added three new ammo types, as well as two new variants: the "Snag Sanger" (Australian slang for a sausage sandwich) is a carbine variant, with a shorter barrel and stock, a 2-round internal magazine, an underbarrel laser sight instead of an overbarrel one, and a set of notch-and-post iron sights in place of a scope, and "The Last Bit" is an Obrez-esque version with a cut-down stock, barrel, and trigger guard.
Remington Model 700 BDL - 7.62x51mm NATO
The "Sniper Rifle" on a table, along with several other
TF2 weapons. We're showing it off here...
...since it's a bit hard to fit into the frame when you're holding it. The ludicrously massive scope is loosely based on an AN/PVS-2 Starlight, an early Vietnam War-era night vision scope (though the one in-game is just a standard scope, since
H3's engine can't support NV overlays).
Taking a close look at the receiver. This shows off the cut in the receiver bridge that wasn't on the original model; it was added to the VR version to allow the bolt to move backwards, which wasn't a problem in
TF2 since the bolt didn't actually move horizontally there.
It also shows off the moving striker, another alteration from the original model.
Opening up the action; since the bolt wasn't initially set up to move back and forth, both it and the area it concealed (the loading tray and the chamber) had to be fully modeled and textured.
Loading a round into the single-shot rifle; the Sniper Rifle's pre-release placeholder round of choice was the mighty .50 BMG, a cartridge which fits more in behavior than in physical space.
Looking through the colossal scope; note the red dot that serves as the scope's reticle...
...though this doesn't necessarily mean that it's actually part of the scope. This is instead the weapon's permanently-affixed and permanently-active laser sight (the comparatively-small tube in front of the scope with a wire leading to it); in
TF2, this was only active when the scope was in use, but there's no real way for a VR game to distinguish such things.
Taking advantage of the laser sight, and no-scoping a Spy Sosig's head off. More by proxy than anything else, but still.
Working the bolt prompts the rifle to spit out a spent casing far too large to fit in or out of the ejection port. Damn you, Merasmus!
The round that the finished version of the Sniper Rifle uses is the "18x50mm Packawhollop" which is this short, stumpy affair, somewhat reminiscent of rounds like the .458 SOCOM.
The Sniper Rifle is also the last one of the
TF2 weapons capable of accepting suppressors (apart from the fictional pneumatic "Syringe Gun"); this particular suppressor is a fictional 2-stage model with an integrated muzzle brake, known as the "HexBolter" suppressor.
Perfect for
somehow making a round spark off of wood getting your suppressed shotgun to stop spinning around on the floor.
"Snag Sanger"
Preparing for a mission to capture some strategically-critical condiment bottles, a RED Sniper looks over his Snag Sanger.
"She's a beaut, ain't she? Picked 'er up at the poll last Saturday." 
Opening up the Sanger's action...
...and loading in three - count 'em - 3 fully-jacketed rounds of 18x50mm Packawhollop, thanks to the rifle's 2-round internal magazine (whose presence is indicated by a metal plate on the bottom of the stock).
Looking at some teammates through the carbine's iron sights. Yep, that's it. Just looking. Definitely didn't forget which team I was on within 30 seconds of starting the game.
Cycling the Sanger's action after firing a few rounds at some "enemies"; the round about to be chambered here is a "Barbie" round.
Firing the Snag Sanger one-handed at an enemy Spy that got a little too close for comfort.
This serves as an excellent demonstration of the Barbie round's properties; it is the only offense-oriented round out of the three added in Update #89, being a high-explosive incendiary round.
"The Last Bit"
Checking out The Last Bit in the Breaching Prototype scene.
It's times like these, when you're holding an 18mm bolt-action pistol in one hand, and a claw hammer in the other, that you start to wonder where you should draw the line between "breaching exercise" and "home invasion".
Opening up the Bit's bolt; all of the Sniper Rifle's variants are shown as being cock-on-open.
Loading in one of the concurrently-added ammo types; this purple-and-copper hollowpoint is a "Drongo" round.
Aiming at an unsuspecting Sosig; while it lacks the Sanger's magazine, it still possess its rear sight.
Needless to say, the recoil and muzzle blast of an 18mm handgun are quite something to see. And hopefully not feel.
Watching the slow-moving Drongo round hit its mark; aside from making a bunch of purple smoke, this increases the damage vulnerability (and decreases the damage output) of anything caught in the blast radius (including the player), serving as a ballistic analogue to the
TF2 Sniper's Jarate. A far less...
concerning ballistic analogue.
Loading in another specialty round, this one a "Gobsmacka", while a
concerned homeowner enemy Sosig photobombs the shot with a suppressed
Glock.
The Gobsmacka is a less-lethal concussion round, perfect for knocking enemies off of their... whatever Sosigs have instead of feet...
...and then bashing them to bits with a hammer. And then wondering just where it all went wrong.
Steyr Scout
A long-requested addition (not leastly because the Weinerbots and Sosigs got to play with it first), the Steyr Scout was added in Update #84 (the 2019 Meatmas update). The ability to hold spare magazines in the stock, however, wasn't added until Update #105, almost three years (and a whole lot of re-coding) later.
Steyr Scout - 7.62x51mm NATO
Holding the
Schmidt Steyr Scout. It's about damn time.
Sadly, the extra magazine well didn't work at this point; exactly how to have one firearm hold two magazines at once without making the code-base implode was still being worked on.
Loading a magazine into the functional magwell.
Chambering a round of 7.62.
Flipping up the foldable rear sight. If you think that this one's hard to make out, just wait until you see the front sight. Or rather, until you don't see it, because it's practically impossible to get a good still shot of it being unfolded.
In spite of their size, the sights are exceptionally clear, with a nice wide, thin-walled rear aperture and a short, thick front post.
Remembering that red means go...
As above, given that "it" is a bullet up there, and a spent casing down here.
Of course, no Cooper-approved scout rifle would be complete without a forward-mounted scope.
Or a magically-appearing bipod, for that matter.
The two elements in conjunction allow for one to easily draw a bead on a probably-less-than-one-ton Weinerbot...
...and hit one for the montage.
Two years, nine months, and 21 updates later, it finally happened:
You can finally plug all of the Scout's holes.
That... sounded better in my head.
SVD Dragunov
The SVD Dragunov is one of the available sniper rifles in-game (though due to its semi-automatic nature and full-power chambering, it is categorized as a battle rifle). It was added in Update #18; at the time, it was permanently fitted with a side-mounted rail adaptor bracket, but this was made removable in Update #40, allowing the use of Soviet-type dovetail optics (or, for that matter, open iron sights).
SVD Dragunov - 7.62x54mmR
An SVD on a table, next to a
Sako 85.
Flipping the rifle over...
...disengaging the safety...
...and chambering a round.
Of course, logic dictates that a sniper rifle should have a scope.
It also dictates that a sniper rifle should have a cheek pad; fortunately, this rifle has both.
Laying prone and observing the area ahead, which gives a good view of the scope's markings. They read "NIRKON OPTICS" (an obvious play on real-world optics manufacturer Nikon) on the first line, ".233 SCOPE" (presumably a misspelling of .223) on the second, and "1x-24x ZOOM" on the third. Fortunately, the fact that the scope is meant for .223 (or perhaps .233) rifles is a non-issue in-game, since scopes in
H3 are self-zeroing for convenience's sake.
Aiming the rifle at a watermelon...
Having dealt the enemy of the revolution a copper-jacketed 7.62mm lesson, the Red Sniper reloads, looking for more targets in need of "re-education".
He then flips the rifle over, revealing the locked-open bolt...
His nonexistent spotter having informed him of a particularly bourgeois-looking melon out at 250 meters, the Red Sniper adjusts his magnification accordingly, adjusting the knob to its highest setting.
...and lands a hit. Once again, the effects of a properly-modeled ballistics system make themselves clear.
In the end, the Red Sniper's revolution would ultimately fail, in large part due to him being a raving lunatic who stood on a balcony and fired down into crowds of innocent watermelons because of a delusional fantasy about being a soldier for a communist revolution that didn't even exist, punctuated by his only help being his imaginary spotter friend. His rifle, however, would go on to have its own far more successful revolution, freeing itself from the oppressive shackles of aftermarket rail mounts, scopes graduated for the wrong cartridge, and government-controlled media.
The SVD is now free to choose its own path in life. It can finally be the 20th-century infantry rifle that it always dreamed of being. Maybe it'll even get to make use of its bayonet lug.
While the SVD's path from here on out might not be certain, one thing's for sure:
Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova is firmly in control of its own destiny.
And its first stop on its path is to a small range in the middle of the woods, for some sight-adjustment exercises. Like its Soviet contemporaries, the SVD has sights adjustable from 100 meters to a kilometer in 100-meter increments, along with a basic battlesight position...
...with the main distinguishing feature being that said battlesight position is simply named "P" instead of an incomprehensible jumble of Cyrillic. (Well, incomprehensible to me, anyway...)
"USPSAECIAL"
The "USPSAECIAL" is one of the April Fools guns added in Alpha 2 of Update #102. Like the "IPSICK 2011" pistol that came before it, it is a garishly-colored "competition" AR-15 variant. Also like the IPSICK, it is actually a break-action single-shot rifle, chambered in a ridiculous cartridge - 20x82mm, in this case.
Heading out to the range with the USPSAECIAL, and admiring its... interesting appearance.
Despite being anodized in no less than three different colors, with some black components thrown on for good measure, it somehow still manages to be less garish than its pistol counterpart. It compensates by being even more ridiculously proportioned.
Attempting to shove a 30-round polymer magazine into the rifle's skeletonized magwell is met with limited success...
...not leastly because we did this joke already.
Instead, loading the rifle begins by pulling back on the "stock" (actually a SIGTac SB15 arm brace meant for US civilian-legal AR-15 "pistols", since prior to 2023, US law only placed additional regulations on rifles with sub-16" barrels if they had a stock, and these sorts of braces didn't qualify as such; being
H3's first firearm fitted with such a device, it only makes sense that it's on a rifle that wouldn't qualify as an SBR anyway); this splits the rifle open at the rear, hinging on the front receiver pin. As another note of gun-law trivia, some AR-15 variants are actually loaded (approximately) this way - to get around state regulations on semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines, some rifles feature a fixed magazine that can only be accessed by pulling the rear receiver pin and pivoting the upper and lower apart.
This rifle, however, lacks a magazine of any sort - instead, the barrel comes all the way back to where a normal AR-15's bolt would end, and a single 20x82mm round is inserted straight into the back of the upper. This particular round is an inert practice loading ("inert" in the sense that it uses a solid projectile with no additional payload, not that it isn't a live round at all), defined as an FMJ in-game.
Optionally, before closing the rifle, one can first fiddle with the trigger, and note its functional internal components.
Closing the rifle is, however, a mandatory step.
Aiming at the target; while it doesn't have any sights by default, the USPSAECIAL was introduced alongside its own set of backup "Dualsight" irons, so named for their dualness. Such a special set of sights is superlatively significant at such a distance as this - a record-shattering two meters.
Firing - as one would expect, shouldering a 20mm cannon in this position isn't the most pleasant experience. The fact that its stock isn't technically a stock doesn't help matters - though, to be fair, most braces wind up being used as stocks anyway.
Loading up another round - this one's an M1A2 HE round, developed by Denel. Currently, only these two ammo types are available, though more are planned. Now would also be a good time to point out that, while not regulated as an SBR, the caliber would undoubtedly make this a "Destructive Device" under US law.
Pausing the loading process once again to take a look at the lower - it features a fancy-looking adjustable trigger, an extended safety lever, a pistol grip with a palm rest, and an aftermarket magazine catch and trigger-finger-accessible extended bolt release (both of which are of somewhat limited utility on a gun like this). According to the markings, the rifle/cannon was made by "ALTF4 Firearms" of Bacon, Texas; it also lacks a serial number, unless "20MM" is pulling double-duty as that and the caliber marking.
Noticing that the target has shuffled out to an even more indomitable 3 meters, and realizing that something more advanced than just a pair of pairs of iron sights will be needed. The weapon's special "UltraScope" seems a good fit.
The "Ultra" prefix presumably refers to how this scope has advanced so far in optical technology that it suffered a buffer overflow and looped back around to being a set of irons again.
Firing the weapon results in... about what you'd expect, really.
Observing the effect on target, and ejecting a spent case. This is done by pulling the charging handle, naturally.
VSS Vintorez
Along with its assault-rifle sibling, the VSS Vintorez was added on the 14th day of 2018's Meatmas event. As mentioned, it is in a different category than the rest of this subpage's weapons; like the Val, it is classified as a carbine, as (unlike the other self-loading sniper rifles in H3) it fires an intermediate cartridge. Update #94 gave the VSS superior accuracy to the AS Val, giving it a more functional distinction over the latter.
VSS Vintorez with PSO-1 scope - 9x39mm
Loading a 10-round magazine into the VSS. The Val's 20-rounders work just fine as well, but aren't exactly ideal for using the rifle while laying prone.
Admiring the rifle. Something about wooden thumbhole stocks just looks... right.
Which is fortunate, because a lot of the other things about the rifle - namely, it being a sniper rifle shorter than your average 3-year-old with a muzzle velocity under the speed of sound that can
fire in full-auto - seem about as far from "right" as you can get without a passport.
Unlike the reference image, unfortunately, the VSS in the box doesn't come with a PSO-1 scope - or any scope for that matter. Iron sights'll have to do.
Firing off a few shots at the crystal snowflake. A spent casing can just barely be seen on its way out of the ejection port.
Discovering that the fact that something
has to work doesn't necessarily meant it
will, the scorned sniper gives his VSS one last look before putting it back away, and trying to figure out how to tell HQ that he failed his mission without shooting himself twice in the back of the head.
Having definitely survived perfectly fine with no issues at all, definitely the same guy in definitely the same place adjusts the sights on his post-update VSS; these are pretty much the same as the Val's, with the same 25-50-100-150-200-250-300-350-400-450-500-meter settings, so we've added an optic to make things more interesting. This also means that the sight's setting isn't visible past certain distances (since it clips into/is blocked by the optic body), though the fact that said optic also obscures the front sight at any range setting renders this point a bit moot.
Walther WA 2000
The sixteenth day's gift during the Meatmas 2018 event was a second-pattern Walther WA 2000; like the Dragunov SVD, it is classified in-game as a battle rifle.
Walther WA 2000 (second variant) - .300 Winchester Magnum
The WA 2000's gift box. Note the claim that the rifle is chambered in 7.62x51mm...
...which is strange, since the in-game rifle actually fires .300 Win Mag (the only weapon in the game to use the cartridge).
Well, at least we're certain about the bore diameter.
When you're handed a rifle of which only 176 were made in total, you ought to at least stop for a moment and admire it.
The Snowflake Sniper stalks silently through the snow, looking for a well-hidden position with a perfect view of the target. A View to a Kill, if you will... 
He then unfolds his rifle's integrated bipod... 
...and affixes a variable-magnification scope. 
Next, moving his hand to the rifle's grip, he places his thumb on the safety switch, and slowly, carefully pushes it forward, from the white "S", to... 
CAN WE JUST GET ON WITH THIS ALREADY?!
Skipping any further dramatic frivolities, the Snowflake Sniper (whose name you really probably shouldn't abbreviate) puts his target in the crosshairs...
...fires, sending a spent-but-unstruck case out of the ejection port as the sharp bark of the .300 echoes through the trees...
...and,
FINALLY, watches the round hit home. "
Target eliminated," he says, "
and to all a good night."
Zastava M76
The Zastava M76 was added on Day 20 of the Meatmas 2022 Advent Calendar event, under the short name "M76"; it comes with a proprietary attachable scope, the M76's standard-issue ZRAK ON-M76 4-power optic, simply called the "M76 Scope" in-game.
Zastava M76 - 7.92x57mm Mauser
The M76 in its day-appropriate gift box. Not a whole lot to say; it pretty much speaks for itself.
The rifle itself is also pretty self-explanatory - it's basically just a stretched-out AK.
Well, a stretched-out AK with a dovetail rail, but we'll get to that later.
The ammunition is of some note, however; while most Warsaw Pact nations used 7.62x54mmR as their full-powered rifle round of choice, Yugoslavia still had a considerable amount of 7.92x57mm Mauser left over from their use of sniper-configured
M48 Mauser rifles (among other things), and were in no hurry to switch over to the Soviet standard - although, ironically enough, the M76's successor, the M91, actually did chamber 7.62x54mmR, a fact made all the more ironic by its year of introduction - 1991, the same year the USSR fell.
As with any typical AK design, the safety blocks the charging handle slot, helping to keep dirt out.
It also keeps the charging handle out, hence why it has to be disengaged before a round can be chambered.
Looking down the irons - these are pretty standard AK fare, though the longer barrel gives a correspondingly longer sight radius.
Firing the rifle, however, is not the usual AK experience - the 7.92x57mm chambering gives it a fair bit more punch at either end, with a report to match.
Should you wish to do some sniping with your sniper rifle, then the proprietary scope is a logical choice - the aforementioned dovetail rail is unique, making other Com-bloc optics incompatible. As for the scope itself, it's pretty reminiscent of the PSO-1 in terms of reticle and magnification, though the illumination is non-toggleable...
...as, rather than batteries, the ON-M76 uses something a bit more...
interesting as a power source.
Having exhausted a full mag's worth of probably-corrosive surplus ammo merits a quick tactical reload. Note the locked-back bolt; this is partially correct, as while the M76 does indeed lock open on an empty magazine, it accomplishes this by simply hitting the back of said magazine's follower, so removing the magazine drops the bolt automatically. As no such system existed in the game on December 20th, 2022, this feature was omitted.
Hey, you remember that note about the scope's illumination being non-toggleable? (I know, it's been a long time.) Well, it's a lie - at least, it is as of Update #113's third experimental build.
The color of the illumination was also changed to green.
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