Notes: This is a very simple heavy rifle designed around the 14.5mm KPV round. Recoil was partially absorbed by allowing the barrel to recoil into the stock on a cam, but it was still very stiff. The camming also automatically unlocked the breech and opened it. Today, these weapons are collectors’ or museum pieces.

Notes: This was one of two 14.5mm antitank rifles employed by the Soviets in World War 2 (the other being the PTRD, above). It used a complex semiautomatic action that made the weapon easier to fire and absorbed some of the massive recoil, but also made the design much more complex than the PTRD and, since it was longer, it was more fragile. They were removed from service after World War 2, except in certain specialist sniping riles, but non are in service today.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon reappeared in the hands of snipers in Category III and Mobilization-Only units during the Twilight War. In addition, some were also used in Africa and by Vietnam.

Notes: This Russian design looks similar to the PTRS-41 antitank rifle of World War 2 fame, but in fact owes nothing to that weapon’s design. The V-94 is billed as an anti-materiel rifle; the Russians feel that such a cartridge is better used against hard targets rather than personnel. There are in fact two versions of the rifle now known as the V-94; the earlier OSV-96 uses a fixed stock of a different shape than the V-94 and cannot be folded, while the V-94 can be folded at the junction of the barrel and receiver. The V-94 is also equipped with a carrying handle mounted at what is the center of gravity of the rifle when it is folded; the OSV-96 has no carrying handle. The OSV-96’s mounts are designed for different telescopic sights and night vision devices than what the V-94’s mounts are designed to take. In both cases, the rifles may take several different scopes and night vision equipment, though the Russians have not yet been too specific about those possible devices and scopes, and they have never exported either rifle. It is known, however, that the V-94 seems to normally use either a 13x variant of the old PSO-1 telescopic sight or the newer POS 12x50 scope; both have illuminated reticles. The V-94 also has been seen fitted with a PKN-05 night vision telescopic sight.

In both cases, the V-94 and OSV-96 use a very long heavy steel 40.1-inch barrel, tipped with a huge multi-baffle muzzle brake. While the muzzle brake is quite effective at reducing felt recoil, it also produces an incredible amount of muzzle blast and flash (despite the manufacturer’s claim that the muzzle brake also functions as an effective flash suppressor); this one of the common complaints of snipers using these rifles in Chechnya, because when they are fired, the sniper team’s position is almost always immediately spotted. Another big complaint of Russian snipers is the sheer size of the rifles; the OSV-96 is an incredible 67 inches long; the V-94, even when folded, is still 43.3 inches long. (As one Russian sniper is reputed to have said, "Try stuffing that monster in a small helicopter!") The snipers also say the V-94 and OSV-96 are simply fragile due to their spindly construction, especially in the long barrel and lightweight bipod. The V-94 is also issued to airborne troops, who likewise find it large and unwieldy during drops. The action is semiautomatic and gas-operated. The stock has a thick rubber recoil pad, but is not adjustable in any way. The long barrel is quite conducive to accuracy, but the real limiting factor is the poor quality of the typical 12.7mm Russian round itself. Russian snipers normally use the B-32 API round, which is better than the average 12.7mm Russian API round, but still no match in quality to even the typical .50 Browning Machinegun round.

Twilight 2000 Notes: There were perhaps 20 of these rifles already built before the Twilight War, though about 10 times that many were built during the conflict. All of these were OSV-94s; the V-94 does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline. (Russian Airborne, Air Assault, and special operations troops don’t use the OSV-96 if they can avoid it; they prefer the Czech ZVI OP-96 Falcon).

Merc 2000 Notes: The OSV-96 never matched up to sales of Western rifles of the same general caliber. The V-94 has never been exported in the Merc 2000 timeline.

*Though the V-94 will fold to a bulk of 8 for transportation, it CANNOT be fired when folded!