page_title: Anti-materiel rifle
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Anti-materiel rifle / Description
caption_attribution_description: Русский: ОСВ-96 12,7-мм снайперская винтовка - МАКС-2009English: 12.7-mm OSV-96 sniper rifle - MAKS-2009
context_page_description: An anti-materiel rifle is a rifle that is designed for use against military equipment, rather than against other combatants.
context_section_description: Anti-materiel rifles are for use against military equipment rather than personnel. The type and size of ammunition defines a rifle as anti-materiel. When used with conventional ball or target ammunition the rifle does not have any anti-materiel capability above and beyond that of any other high velocity, large calibre rifle. The Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868 deemed explosive rounds to be inhumane in use against personnel, but they can be employed against materiel. The size of the bullet also plays a factor in the definition. A standard rifle typically fires a 5.56mm or 7.62mm round, while anti-materiel rifles tend to fire a 12.7-mm round with the capacity for greater destruction and penetration.
  
  In general, anti-materiel rifles are chambered for 12.7×99 mm NATO (.50 BMG), 12.7×108 mm Russian, 14.5×114 mm Russian, and 20 mm cartridges. The large cartridges are required to be able to fire projectiles containing usable payloads, such as explosives, armor-piercing cores, incendiaries, or combinations of these, as found in the Raufoss Mk 211 projectile.
  The recoil produced by the cartridges employed dictates that these rifles are designed to be fired from the prone position.  Bipods and monopods and muzzle brakes are used as accessories to employ these rifles as comfortably and accurately as possible. Firing several 12.7×99 mm NATO, 12.7×108 mm Russian, or larger caliber shots from the (unsupported) standing position or in a kneeling position would be very uncomfortable for the operator and can result in them being knocked over or sustaining a shoulder injury.
  Two- to three-man sniper teams are required when using an anti-materiel rifle, due to its size and weight, as well as its possible range. According to the U.S. army, the range of a standard sniper rifle firing a 7.62x51 mm NATO round is a distance of about 2,600 feet (800 m) while the Barrett's effective range is 3,300 feet (1,000 m) against personnel targets, and 6,600 feet (2,000 m) against materiel targets.  The longest confirmed kill shot was made with a .50 BMG by a Canadian sniper in Iraq at 11,610 feet (3,540 m).
caption: Russian heavy semi-automatic sniper rifle chambered for the 12.7×108 mm round.
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