Steyr SSG .308, should I buy this?

[JonC]

Had a look in my local gunshop today, they have a used remington 700 VS fitted with a timney trigger and 40mm rings for £850. Appears to be in very good condition and the shop know the guns history, and its had light use. Any thoughts on the price?

[Mike357]

Price is perhaps a fraction high IMHO as I paid £500 for mine as std. Then again the trigger and rings may bring it on on price.

I think the 700 will give you a better platform without the worries about rebarreling.

[Alpha1]

If you are thinking of re barreling in the future forget about the steyr it would cost you more than the rifle is worth to re barrel it.
The steyr SSG is a very accurate rifle the longer the distance the better. There are at least four members of my club own Steyr SSG,s and they are very competent shooters they bought them because of there out of the box accuracy over long distances. Mine punches the middle out of the target with boring consistancy.
(155 grain Amax. 43.2 grains of N140)
I love it.
But if you want some thing to build on buy the remy.
But I will stick with my Steyr thank you and I would not sell it for any price.

[Scotsgun]

Too many people express opinions about SSG's but actually know very little. I've owne'd 5 of which 2 are currently in the gun cabinet.

1. Too much bollox about not being able to re-barrel. Armalon will re-barrel one for you. They've done so for some time. I know a couple of amateur dealers who regularly search for well worn examples, play on the bollox about not being able to rebarrel and buy them for a song.

2. Barrell wear. Go ahead and wrap yourself in knots about how many rounds if you wish, but know that the original barrel is chrome lined and will easily shoot 5,000-6,000 before noticeably opening up.

3. Faulty magazine - aye, the 10 round mag will cause hassle if you let it get grotty. Just like every other magazine. An occassional flush with petrol and it'll be fine.

4. You're an fool if you consider a rem700 the equal of a SSG69.

[JonC]

Not that worried about me wearing the barrel out, more getting one that somebody else has knackered up. Luckilly I have had a fair few shots through and SSG at Bisly (club member has one), and I really rate them. Have seen a lot of money spent on rem700 that never quiet made it to the same level as an SSG. Still waiting for the FAC to come back, will start looking properly when it arrives. Going to ask the bloke with the rebarelled one for some more details. I have a fealing it was mainly done to extend the range out to 1000 yards.

Scotsgun.. Thans for the info on Armalon, and I agree about how good these rifles are.

[ChrisF]

Just get one at a good price , how ever you should be aware that they do have faults like most rifles .

The mags & housing are prone to cracking , so if you strip the action out of the stock , donot tighten the screws too much .

Also the stock can break thru the pistol grip area , like the one used in NZ Army trials back in 1991 .

Also they reported a large zero shift , between having the rifle , dry or wet , any one knowing anything about Waiouru , NZ , will now its impossible to keep anything DRY for long , so the testers , kept the rifle WET all the time .

Also the rifle presents a few issues mounting scopes , due to their rail , would have been good to have a Pitcanny std rail option .

Opps , I believe they are NOT chromelined , a common error , when looking at a polished cold hammerforged barrel .

This rifle has basically not been changed since introduction in 1969 , state of the art at the time , now a bit dated is my take on it .

Later Chris

[Alpha1]

Also they reported a large zero shift , between having the rifle , dry or wet , any one knowing anything about Waiouru , NZ , will now its impossible to keep anything DRY for long , so the testers , kept the rifle WET all the time

I have shot mine in the pi----g down rain at 600yds at Battle Hill all though it is a while ago and the zero never moved.
I rate these rifles highly they normally come fitted with a Khales scope and factory rings mine is a tack driver.

[Scotsgun]

Also the stock can break thru the pistol grip area , like the one used in NZ Army trials back in 1991 .

Never heard that one.

Also they reported a large zero shift , between having the rifle , dry or wet , .

Bollox. I've been using SSGs ever since coming across them being used by some Saudis and was impressed - that's almost 2 decades ago. Since then i've used them for stalking and culling (in some circumstances long-range culling) in the hills of Scotland. I have never heard nor experienced a noticable shift in zero, whether it be p*** it down, freezing my knackers off or bright sunshine (and eaten alive by the dreaded midge).

Also the rifle presents a few issues mounting scopes , due to their rail , would have been good to have a Pitcanny std rail option .

Both the P1 and P2 have been supplied with dedicated, quick release rings. Why would you p*** around with adding rails, etc when the rifle is packaged with factory fitted and accurised (complete with testers group sheet) rings and a choice of Kahles scope (choice of 2 fixed powers and 3 variables)?

Opps , I believe they are NOT chromelined , a common error , when looking at a polished cold hammerforged barrel .

Check again. They've been chrome lined since the late 80's.

This rifle has basically not been changed since introduction in 1969 , state of the art at the time , now a bit dated is my take on it .

What's there to update? My first experience of the rifle was Gulf1 when i came across a group of saudi soldiers on a range. It was and still is their preferred 'light' sniper rifle. The stock is both light and robust, the trigger is better than that of the AI AW (which i trained and served with), the barrel is rarely surpassed and remains a naturally accurate rifle.
The SSG69 was originally designed as a light sniper type rifle intended for urban and limited field usage. Primarily used by counter terrorist and police 'marksmen'. It's perfectly capable of holding it's own against any tarted up Rem 700 or similar, but the difference is that you won't have to practically change/modify every part of the gun. The rifle will perform faultlessly, without any modification or alteration (perhaps with the exception of altering the trigger pull to your preference).

One quirk of the rifle is that it's often more beneficial to zero it at 200-300yds. Often, loads tend to have a 'sweet spot' at 200 yds and beyond. In effect, the rifle tightens groups and is more accurate. sounds nuts but its commonly well knownn by those who own and shoot the rifle.

If you want to lug around a more 'dedicated' sniper type rifle then buy a back brace and opt for a Tikka TRG, AI AW, UA A1&2 or other such beast. You'll pay alot more money for not much more gain. You could even opt for the SSG08 - now that is an ugly rifle!

I also own an AI AW and tricked out Rem700, so am not championing the SSG in ignorance to the more obvious choices.

[Alpha1]

I can only agree with the previous poster 100%.
I bought mine with factory fitted rings and a Khales scope it came with a test target shot at the factory that is one ragged hole. I have done nothing to it except shoot it. It just makes me smile every time I shoot it. It is so accurate at long distances its scary.

[R.G.C]

Buy it I have a standard SSG P1 and it is a tack driver.
The ten round mags are about £100 each the bolt handle is the standard bolt handle.
Fitting that new barrel must of cost a lot of money the barrels are pressed in to the reciever. If it has been done properly it will be a tack driver. I have never heard of a steyr having a new barrel fitted before because of the amount of work involved.
Have a good look at it if the job has been done properly its a bargain.

I have done it twice and it is a real work and would reveal very costly should you have it made.

Need to be rebored and new inside threads made. Materua us hard on cutting tools and need skill tot hread correctly. As the barrel is also hammered in te receiver, the front face is veryy uneven and need to be faced as well.

Original barrels are hammered. I have no idea about the life of the .308, but the two in question were .243Win and went both off accuracy very suddenly affer a few 000s rounds.

Althouh being a rear locker allowing a much shorter bolt pull; I do not like the interrupted threads bolting principle, makng the bolting surface at an angle and it is to be carefull to always have the bolt very well closed to maintain the same headspace from shot to shot.

R.G.C