page_title: Tabuk Sniper Rifle
section_title: Design details
hierarchical_section_title: Tabuk Sniper Rifle / Design details
caption_attribution_description: English: An Iraqi police officer armed with a Tabuk sniper rifle, participates in a combined patrol with U.S. Soldiers in the Ha'Teen district, Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 4, 2008. U.S. Soldiers are with 2nd Platoon, Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill/Released)
context_page_description: The Tabuk Sniper Rifle is an Iraqi Semi-automatic designated marksman's rifle, made from a modified version of the Zastava M70 assault rifle, itself a variant of the AKM. The Tabuk Rifle, like all the AKM and Dragunov SVD derivatives made in Iraq, was manufactured at the Al-Qadissiya Establishments using machinery sold to Iraq by Zastava Arms of Yugoslavia, when Saddam Hussein was president.
context_section_description: The differences between the Tabuk and the Yugoslavian M72 are few; the semi-auto-only mechanism of the Tabuk is not a visually obvious difference, but is perhaps the most important. This feature dictates the rifle's role as one of precision fire and not suppressive fire. It is also important as it prevents poorly trained individuals from subjecting the barrel of a rifle intended for precision to full-auto fire, which would shorten that rifle's useful life.
  A more visible difference is the much lighter barrel fitted to the Tabuk. The M72's barrel is finned at the rear near the hand guards and is far heavier than that of the Tabuk (or that of a standard AKM). The thickness of the M72's barrel exists to facilitate heat distribution via mass and cooling via surface area. Since the option to fire full-auto has been omitted (and it is not typical of eastern bloc long range precision rifles to use heavy barrels for accuracy) the Tabuk, like the SVD and the PSL, has a relatively light barrel.
  The Tabuk differs from the M72 in some other ways. It has provision for mounting optics, though this is not an unusual accessory on Eastern Bloc weapons, and it has a skeletonized buttstock with a cheek piece. A third difference, and perhaps the most important (though not definitive) visual cue when identifying the Tabuk, is the conspicuous lack of a bipod. The M72's bipod, which is not detachable from the M72 (though sometimes removed by undisciplined troops), is quite obvious from afar when attached. It was likely removed from the Tabuk design to enhance mechanical accuracy and reduce weight, though had it been retained it might have added useful stability (practical accuracy) for long range work.
  Since it is essentially an accurized and scoped M72, the Tabuk is chambered for 7.62×39mm. This is advantageous as it allows the Tabuk to use the same magazines as the AKM, and AKM Magazines are well made, plentiful, and easy to replace if lost.
  Because the Tabuk is chambered for the Soviet M43 or 7.62×39mm cartridge, it cannot technically function as a sniper rifle (by western standards). With a maximum effective range of only 600 meters (based on ammunition trajectory), the Tabuk should instead be considered a designated marksman's rifle.
  The Tabuk is, within its given range, every bit as effective as the Dragunov or PSL if used precisely. At the far end of its effective range it is decidedly less lethal than its higher velocity counterparts due to the round's combination of stability and low velocity, giving it less reach than the 7.62×54mmR caliber SVD. It visually resembles an RPK, which may make identifying enemy snipers more difficult. Likewise, its acoustic signature is similar to an AKM.
caption: Iraqi police officer armed with a Tabuk sniper rifle in the Ha'Teen district, Baghdad.
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "An Iraqi police officer armed with a Tabuk sniper rifle, participates in a combined patrol with U.S. Soldiers in the Ha'Teen district, Baghdad, Iraq, Aug. 4, 2008. U.S. Soldiers are with 2nd Platoon, Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill/Released)", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D2Xs", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2008:08:04 00:00:00", "Image WhitePoint": "[313/1000, 329/1000]", "Image PrimaryChromaticities": "[16/25, 33/100, 21/100, 71/100, 3/20, 3/50]", "Image YCbCrCoefficients": "[299/1000, 587/1000, 57/500]", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "790", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1442", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1502", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9520", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/50", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:08:04 15:18:46", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:08:04 00:00:00", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "1", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Cloudy weather", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "135", "EXIF SubSecTime": "171", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4288", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2848", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1412", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "202", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Soft", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}