VSS Vintorez: Silenced Sniper Rifle designed for Spetsnaz

The VSS Vintorez is a designated marksman rifle produced in the former SSSR. It is a silenced sniper weapon intended to support urban or close-quarter scenarios. The VSS Vintorez is chambered in 9 mm caliber and is still very popular among Spetsnaz (Russian Special Forces) operators. VSS stands for “Vintovka (rifle), Snaiperskaya (sniper) Spetzialnaya (special-purpose). And “Vintorez” means “thread-cutting plate.”

Design

The VSS Vintorez is chambered in the 9×39 mm caliber because the 9 mm eliminates the sonic crack and is more controllable should you need to use full auto, which is more likely in closer quarters where the enemy may stumble onto you. VSS Vintorez is light, compact, extremely silent (all you hear is the bolt, really), and has no visible flash.

Two Soviet engineers, Petr Serdjukov and Vladimir Krasnikov, designed it during the 1980s. The first rifle went out of the Tula Arms Plant in 1987.

The weapon is easy to disassemble and easily smuggled in a suitcase, making it perfect for concealed carry and secret operations. And yes, the VSS Vintorez is reliable as an AK. Subsonic rounds that do not “whizz” as they fly by. The gun comes with the mounted PSO-1–1 optics adjusted to include the peculiar ballistics of the round used. Night vision optics can be mounted as well using an appropriate mount. The night vision optics used is 3.46x NSPUM-3 (1PN75), a special version of NSPU-3 (1PN51).

Caliber

The commonly used cartridge for this weapon is an armor-piercing SP-6 cartridge (9×39 mm) capable of penetrating body armor that stops Kalashnikov rounds. It is a very powerful round, especially if you acknowledge that VSS Vintorez has the ability to fire full-auto.

The only drawback is the limited range (up to 400 meters because the bullet is slow and heavy), but you probably do not fire from a mile away as a special operator.

Variants

The newest variant of the VSS Vitorez rifle is dubbed as VSSM (ВССМ) GRAU 6P29. It is the most modern iteration of the rifle featuring an aluminum buttstock with an adjustable cheek and butt pad. Additionally, it is fitted with a Picatinny rail on the top of the dust cover and the sides and bottom of the suppressor. Deliveries started in 2018, according to the Arms Trade.

Conclusion

VSS Vintorez is not a perfect weapon. It has a lot of disadvantages. Its main disadvantages are the muzzle velocity and range. The round has barely enough power to penetrate body armor at 300 meters with a very poor muzzle velocity. The range is limited with poor velocity, and shooting moving targets becomes increasingly difficult.

Its advantage occurs in the remarkable ability to be disassemblable into three modules that fit into a suitcase and use a subsonic round for special operations.

What is the US counterpart to the Russian VSS Vintorez silenced rifle?

So many rifles can do a similar role to the VSS Vintorez. They can be tailor-made to requirements or available on the shelf. That can include integrated sound suppressors or detachable ones. And many different types and sizes are available.

It significantly improves older 9mm SMGs like the MP5SD commonly used in anti-terrorism work. About doubles power and accuracy. It has a similar performance to 7.62mm x 39mm Russian ammunition found in AK-47s and a similar-sized bullet. It gives it a range of over 300 m.

In 2002, Tula designers developed a VKS Vykhlop, a silenced sniper rifle chambered for a 12,7mm subsonic round. It was developed because the VSS Vintorez has a very short effective range for a sniper rifle.

Technical specification

Manufacturer:	Tula Arms Plant, Russia
Type:	gas-operated
Caliber :	9×39 mm
Barrel:	7in (200 mm)
Weight:	5.73 lbs (2.6 kg)
Magazine capacity:	Ten or 20-round detachable box magazine
Cyclic rate of fire:	700 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity:	Ten or 20-round detachable box magazine
Cyclic rate of fire:	700 rounds per minute
Effective firing range:	300 meters
Maximum firing range:	400 meters