Brügger & Thomet APR The APR ( Advanced Precision Rifle ) is family of Swiss sniper rifle s designed in 2003 as a further evolution of the French PGM Précision rifles by the Thun - based Brügger & Thomet ( B & T or B + T ) company . History . B + T was at that time a long - time distributor of PGM rifles , and in 2003 competed in a tender to sell the French - made but Swiss modified rifle to the Singapore Army , which at the time was planning to acquire a new 7 . 62mm precision rifle . After some confusing communication with PGM Précision over who had the rights to sell the PGM 7 . 62mm sniper rifle to the Singaporean Army , Brügger & Thomet decided in 2003 to improve the PGM rifle and produce the new design at their own manufacturing facility in Switzerland . The Brügger & Thomet APR308 sniper rifle was first presented to the public at the 2005 Milipol exhibition and since then has been adopted as a standard sniper rifle by the Singapore Army . The APR ' s main commercial competitors / equivalents on the high - end factory sniper rifle market are beside the PGM Précision product line , the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare and Sako TRG product lines . All these rifles are comparable performance - wise . Design details . Features . The APR system is a purpose - designed modular sniper rifle system , rather than an accurized version of an existing , general - purpose rifle . According to the manufacturer , although being a precision - instrument , the APR system will resist harsh military use and remain functional in typical operational environments . The heart of the APR is a metal lower receiver that functions as a main frame or chassis to which all other rifle components are assembled or attached . The manual ambidextrous safety is integrated into the lower receiver . This chassis houses the upper receiver which consists of a bolt group and barrel , as well as the fire control group , folding butt stock and other furniture . The contact surface between upper and lower receiver functions as an unconventional bedding surface . The upper receiver consists of a housing , in which a locking ring is permanently fixed , and a Picatinny rail as an interface to the rifle scope . Integrated in this scope mount rail is the rear part of the emergency iron sight , designed as factory zeroed flip - up sight . Into the above mentioned locking ring , the bolt locks by rotation ; thus , the receiver with locking ring , bolt and barrel form the breech of the rifle . The APR rifle has a traditional manually operated rotary bolt with three radial locking lugs at the front . The bolt requires only a 60° bolt rotation ; both features should be appreciated by the shooter during multiple firings that require rapid projectile placement on the target . The trigger group , manual safety and pistol grip consist of one detachable module attached under the receiver . This group consists of a fully adjustable two - stage trigger featuring an adjustable trigger pull weight of 1 . 5 to 2 . 5 kg ( 3 to 5 lb ) and a trigger path that can be externally adjusted without disassembly of the unit . An ambidextrous manual safety is conveniently located above the pistol grip . The APR308 has a side - folding stock which is attached to the lower receiver with a rugged steel hinge . It offers an adjustable butt plate and length of pull spacer system . The cheek - rest is also fully adjustable . These adjustment options allow shooters of various sizes and shapes to tailor the APR folding stock to their personal preferences , which is an uncommon feature for folding stocks . An additional folding height - adjustable monopod is attached to the rear of the buttstock and allows the shooter to rest the rifle during extended periods of observation . A weapon ' s stock is made of a polymer material and is attached to the lower receiver . It has provisions for mounting a folding height - adjustable bipod . The APR feed system consists of a detachable 10 - round stainless steel box magazine . When the magazine is empty , it stops the forward motion of the bolt . The magazine feeds through the lower receiver into the upper receiver and is held by a magazine catch , which is integrated into the trigger group . Barrel . The free - floating forged fluted barrels have appropriate attachments for a factory - provided steel muzzle brake that carries the front part of the emergency sight , which therefore never has to be removed . The muzzle brake ' s effectiveness is rated at a recoil reduction of 40 % . It also serves as a mounting point for a quick - detachable sound suppressor and includes a thread protector to protect the thread if no suppressor is attached . The APR308 barrel accuracy life is estimated at approximately 7 , 000 rounds . At its chamber end , the barrel becomes screwed into the receiver and presses into the upper receiver ' s locking ring . For the . 308 Winchester chambering , the 280 mm ( 1 : 11 in ) right - hand rifling twist rate with four grooves was selected over the 305 mm ( 1 : 12 in ) twist traditionally used with . 308 Winchester ammunition , as a compromise when switching between supersonic and subsonic cartridges and facilitating the use of 7 . 62mm projectiles up to 19 . 96 g ( 200 gr ) . Sights . Every APR rifle is equipped with a MIL - STD - 1913 rail on top of the upper receiver for mounting components to accommodate different types of optical or electro - optical sights , with the option to mount three extra rails on the stock for attaching tactical accessories . The rifle can be equipped with an optional folding front sight and an aperture - type rear sight . Iron sights cannot be mounted on integrally silenced APR models . Brügger & Thomet offers a proprietary TRS ( Tactical Rifle Scope ) telescopic sight for the APR . The TRS is a Schmidt & Bender PMII 3 - 12x50 LP scope with a proprietary stadiametric rangefinding reticle layout made exclusively for Brügger & Thomet . The TRS scope is meant to be mounted with a Brügger & Thomet mounting set consisting of two scope rings , where the front ring provides an adaptor for Simrad KN night sights . Those rings are attached to a Picatinny interface on the rifle ' s upper receiver . The scope and mount are clamped on the rifle ' s Picatinny rail by the tension of two levers , allowing the operator to quickly remove the scope in case of failure or while cleaning or during transit . Detaching and attaching the scope repeatedly will not affect the zero . APR rifles can be equipped with an anti - mirage band to suppress mirage caused by air heated by a warm barrel during extended training sessions . Ammunition . The APR308 is chambered to fire the . 308 Winchester cartridge as well as its military equivalent — the 7 . 62x51mm NATO cartridge ( that has slightly different chamber specifications and a lower maximum chamber pressure compared to the . 308 Winchester ) . The APR308 system is designed to handle cartridges up to in overall length . With recommended ammunition the APR308 ' s accuracy should be ≤ 1 MOA at any practical range . Brügger & Thomet specifies the rifle provides a 99 % or better first hit probability against a head - sized target at 400 m and torso - sized target at 800 m . The specified maximum effective range with appropriate ammunition ( RUAG Swiss P 10 . 87 g ( 168 gr ) recommended for mid - range applications up to 600 m , Norma Diamond Line 12 . 31 g ( 190 gr ) — recommended for long range applications up to 1 , 000 m ) , Lapua D46 12 g ( 185 gr ) ( suitable for military applications ) ) is 1 , 000 meters . Accessories . As a manufacturer of firearm sound suppressors , Brügger & Thomet also offers quick - detachable suppressors for the APR series . The APR308 GRS suppressor reduces the acoustical report of the weapon by 36 dB ( A ) and also reduces the optical muzzle signature . Other accessories supplied with the rifle include a lightweight soft case for transporting the APR to the shooting range , a triple rail interface which fits to the weapon ' s chassis without any modification and provides three additional Picatinny rails that can be used to mount night vision equipment other than Simrad , laser aiming / designation devices or illumination tools . Variants . The APR308 is available in several specialized variants . The APR308P was designed for tactical police applications and has a shorter , barrel with a different muzzle device . The rifle is to be used exclusively with optical sights , as the iron sights were removed . The rifle also lacks a drop safety , present in the standard , military version and because of the reduced barrel – the effective range has dropped to 600 m . A sound - suppressed version of the APR308 is the APR308S with a barrel and integral sound suppressor . This model too is not fitted with back - up iron sights or a drop safety device and can only be used with subsonic ammunition ( 200 – 240 gr projectiles ) . The APR308 rifle was also used to develop a larger variant intended for use at extended ranges . The APR338 chambered for the . 338 Lapua Magnum round was first introduced at the 2007 Milipol exhibition in Paris and became available in 2008 . The APR338 system is designed to handle cartridges up to overall length . The APR338 is intended as a military long range anti - personnel rifle . Brügger & Thomet specifies the rifle provides a 99 % or higher first hit probability against a head - sized target up to 600 m or a torso - sized target at 1 , 300 m with appropriate ammunition ( Lapua Scenar 250 grain recommended ) . The rifle ' s barrel has an unconventional 279 mm ( 1 : 11 in ) right - hand twist rate , optimized for firing . 338 - calibre very - low - drag bullet s up to 16 . 85 g ( 260 gr ) . Longer , heavier very - low - drag bullets like the Sierra HPBT MatchKing . 338 - calibre 19 . 44 g ( 300 gr ) can be used , but require a 254 mm ( 1 : 10 in ) twist rate to stabilize them under high air density conditions as found on arctic coasts . The APR338 barrel accuracy life is estimated at 2 , 500 rounds . The rifle can be employed with a APR338 GRS suppressor , which reduces the acoustical signature by up to 25 dB ( A ) .