FN Special Police Rifle
Encyclopedia
The FN Special Police Rifle (FN SPR) is an bolt-action
sniper rifle
marketed by FNH USA, a subsidiary of the Belgian
company FN Herstal.
(owned by FN de Herstal) to FN specifications using Winchester Model 70
actions. All current models of the SPR come in one of a variety of McMillan synthetic stocks. The earliest rifles were shipped in the H-S Precision aluminum chassis fiberglass version of the Winchester Marksman stock. While these "First Generation" rifles were simply dropped into the aluminum bedding blocks of the H-S Precision stock, the later guns are all glass bedded by hand.
FN Special Police Rifles of all iterations are noted for being both very accurate (.5 MOA
or somewhat less is not uncommon) and very low maintenance, featuring Parkerized metal finish, synthetic stocks, and a chrome lined bore in the barrel. A chrome lined bore offers a more durable, more corrosion resistant, and easier to clean barrel for the end user to maintain and is rarely found on precision bolt action sniper rifles. The barrels of the "First Generation" rifles were said to be made from the hammer-forged blanks used for M240 General Purpose Machine Gun
production at the FN
Manufacturing Inc. plant in Columbia, South Carolina
. Later barrels are said to be from hammer-forged blanks intended exclusively for FN Special Police Rifle production.
Video
Bolt-action
Bolt action is a type of firearm action in which the weapon's bolt is operated manually by the opening and closing of the breech with a small handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon...
sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
marketed by FNH USA, a subsidiary of the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
company FN Herstal.
Design details
The rifle is manufactured at the U.S. Repeating Arms CompanyU.S. Repeating Arms Company
The U.S. Repeating Arms Company. Inc. is the current business name of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, famous for making Winchester rifles....
(owned by FN de Herstal) to FN specifications using Winchester Model 70
Winchester Model 70
The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt action sporting rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". The action has some design similarities to Mauser designs and it is...
actions. All current models of the SPR come in one of a variety of McMillan synthetic stocks. The earliest rifles were shipped in the H-S Precision aluminum chassis fiberglass version of the Winchester Marksman stock. While these "First Generation" rifles were simply dropped into the aluminum bedding blocks of the H-S Precision stock, the later guns are all glass bedded by hand.
FN Special Police Rifles of all iterations are noted for being both very accurate (.5 MOA
Minute of arc
A minute of arc, arcminute, or minute of angle , is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth of one degree. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth of one minute of arc....
or somewhat less is not uncommon) and very low maintenance, featuring Parkerized metal finish, synthetic stocks, and a chrome lined bore in the barrel. A chrome lined bore offers a more durable, more corrosion resistant, and easier to clean barrel for the end user to maintain and is rarely found on precision bolt action sniper rifles. The barrels of the "First Generation" rifles were said to be made from the hammer-forged blanks used for M240 General Purpose Machine Gun
General purpose machine gun
A general-purpose machine gun is a multi-purpose weapon: it is a machine gun firing a full-power rifle cartridge and which can be used in a variety of roles, from a bipod- or tripod-mounted infantry support weapon to a helicopter door gun or a vehicle-mounted support weapon...
production at the FN
Fabrique Nationale de Herstal
Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal — self identified as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN — is a firearms manufacturer located in Herstal, Belgium....
Manufacturing Inc. plant in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. Later barrels are said to be from hammer-forged blanks intended exclusively for FN Special Police Rifle production.
Variants
- FN SPR 1st Generation: HS Precision Marksman-pattern stock, heavy 24” barrel.
- FN A1: McMillan A3 stock, heavy 24” barrel.
- FN A1a: McMillan A3 stock, heavy 20” barrel.
- FN A2: McMillan A4 stock with buttpad spacers and adjustable cheekpiece, 24” barrel.
- FN A4 Shooting System: FN A2 with scope and bipod.
- FN A3 G: McMillan A3 stock with buttpad spacers and adjustable cheekpiece, 24” heavy flutedFluting (firearms)In firearms terminology, fluting refers to the removal of material from a cylindrical surface, usually creating grooves. This is most often the barrel of a rifle, though it may also refer to the cylinder of a revolver or the bolt of a bolt action rifle....
barrel. - FN A3 G Shooting System: FN A3 G with scope and bipod.
- FN A5 M: McMillan A5 stock with buttpad spacers and adjustable cheekpiece, 20” heavy barrel or 24” heavy fluted barrel.
- FN A5 M Shooting System: FN A5 M with scope and bipod.
Users
- The SPR was one of two rifles (along with the H-S Precision HTR) approved in 2004 by the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
for use of by their Hostage Rescue Team. The FBI variant has the model name FNH SPR-USG (USG – US Government), and is also called the A3 G by FN.
External links
— FNH USA- Owner's manual
- FNH USA SPR A5 M .308 (Tactical Life article)
- Precision Pair (Guns & Ammo article)
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