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FN 30-11



Overview


FN 30-11

Right side view of a FN 30-11 sniper rifle on the US civilian market. Note the 10 round FAL magazine and wooden spacers used to adjust the height of the comb.
Source: www.icollector.com - © Copyright lies with original owner

Origin
Belgium
Type
Sniper rifle
Entered service
Mid 1970's
Status
Obsolete
Development
1975
Developer
Belgium - Fabrique Nationale
Production
1976 - 1986
Producer
Belgium - Fabrique Nationale
Number produced
Several hundred (estimate)
Designations
Model 30-11
Notable users
Belgium
Netherlands

Description


Introduction

The FN 30-11 is a late Cold War era sniper rifle of Belgian origin. It was developed by Fabrique Nationale for law enforcement use. The 1972 Munich Olympics was the primary reason for its developed, which is also the case for various German rifles such as the Heckler & Koch PSG-1, Walther WA-2000 and Mauser SP66.

Design

The FN 30-11 builds upon FN's experience in producing Mauser Model 30 bolt-action rifles. The FN 30-11 uses a Mauser 2-lug bolt design, but is not a regular Mauser rifle fitted with a scope. It uses a free-floating heavy barrel design. The heavy bipod is attached to the wooden forearm. At first a FN MAG bipod was used, with the Bren bipod used at a later stage. An optics mount by Anschutz was added and various types of optics were uses. These were mainly fixed magnification 6x42mm scopes of various vendors.

Firepower

The FN 30-11 fires the 7.62x51mm NATO round from a 5 round internal magazine. Some rifles feature a 10 round detachable box magazine. As a bolt-action rifle the rate of fire is rather slow. Accuracy was reported as good. Maximum effective range was listed as 800 meters.

Users

The FN 30-11 was mainly marketed for law enforcement use. In Europe it was acquired by Belgium, Luxembourg and very briefly by the Netherlands in this role. It was also sold abroad, mainly in South America, including for military use. The FN 30-11 found it difficult to compete with some of the competitors built in Germany. The PSG-1 and WA-2000 were capable of good accuracy and had the added benefit of being semi-automatic, thus capable of quick follow-up shots.

Details


Facts FN 30-11
General
Origin
Belgium
Type
Sniper rifle
Caliber
Caliber
7.62x51mm NATO
Feed system
5 round internal magazine
Optional 10 round detachable FN FAL magazine
Barrel length
502 mm
Rifling
4 grooves, right hand twist
Muzzle velocity
850 m/s
Operation
Action
Bolt action
Locking
2-lug bolt
Fire selector
0 - 1
Rate of fire
Bolt action
Dimensions
Stock type
Fixed, adjustable for height and length using wooden spacers
Length
1.117 mm
Weight
4.85 kg empty, without scope or bipod
Sights
Optics
Anschütz 4x28mm
Kahles 6x42mm scope
Swarovski 6x42mm scope
Carl Kaps / Hensoldt Z24
Mechanical
Optional back-up iron sights, varied per order
Accessories
Bipod
FN MAG or Bren bipod

Media


Related articles


Mauser SP66

The FN 30-11 uses the Mauser 2-lug bolt design. The actual Mauser company of Germany also developed a bolt-action sniper rifle for law enforcement and counter terrorism use: the SP66.

Heckler & Koch PSG-1

The FN 30-11 was a direct competitor to the German PSG-1. The Dutch contact FN 30-11 were quickly replaced by the PSG-1.