You're not bulletproof...

Ghillie Nicaraguan snipers with their SVD rifles during a parade to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the founding of the Nicaraguan Army. Looks like the first guy fell asleep… (Reuters/Oswaldo Rivas)

NDM-86

The Chinese clone of the Russian SVD Dragunov. They were sold in the U.S for a short while and in two calibers; 7.62x54R and 7.62x51mm. The optic installed on the rifle is the massive Russian 1P21 Minuta, whereas the factory supplied optic is in the green transit case. The NDM never came with a recoil pad or bakelie bayonets; most likely add-ons by the owner.

A very rare version, the EM-352 was chambered in 7.62x51mm but it used a modified SVD magazine. Normal NDM-86 rifles chambered in 7.62x51mm have a straight box magazine.

SVD Dragunov

Snipers in the control tower check the surrounding areas for al-Shabab militants. The Ugandan contingent of AMISOM prepares to advance towards Baidoa along with the Somali National Army at the recently captured Ballidoogole Airbase in sector one. AU-UN IST PHOTO / TOBIN JONES.

SVD What are supposedly Kurdish rebels training in Turkey or Syria. Note that the SVD she’s using does not have the rubber eyepiece on the scope. Generally you’re supposed to place your eye up to the rubber eyepiece which absorbs the recoil and prevents the scope from bashing into the face.

Sniper A Syrian rebel armed with an SVD Dragunov looks through a window as the bloody civil war continues. Not 100% sure but it looks like two of the bars on the window have damage from bullets hitting them, but from the inside going out.

Lazy sniper, stop being lazy Either he’s really comfortable sitting down in the open when firing or he’s injured and unable to move out of the way. This photo is from Iraq several years ago. Note the Romanian PSL but the guy in the background has what might be an SVD Dragunov or an Iraqi Al-Kadesiah.

SVD Dragunov Russian soldiers train with various rifles; a couple of SVD Dragunovs, what looks like an SV-98 in the background. I’m not sure what that other rifle is with the wooden stock. Note Stechkin APS holstered inside of it’s removable wooden stock. The APS is a select-frie pistol, using that wooden stock to help control it during automatic fire.

Chechen Chechen special forces from the Vostok (East) army unit sit aboard their APC (armoured personnel carrier) in the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, August 11, 2008. Source

Syrian Cache A small stash of weapons used by the Syrian rebels. A mix of SVD Dragunov’s, an RPK (without bipod), and some Chinese AK’s; note the Type-56 with the under-folding spiked bayonet but also an under-folding stock. If you look closely at the SVD with no scope, you’ll notice the magazine is actually a PSL mag. A normal SVD mag has a “waffle” pattern on it. The PSL mag has a large “X” across the body. You can modify PSL magazines to work and fit in the SVD. As for how reliable it will feed, depends how good your modification was.

Sniper… A well-worn SVD Dragunov in the hands of an Afghan. A whole lot of tape on the stock, it could be decorative or it could be holding the thing together. It’s possible the SVD is a captured example when the Soviet Union invaded decades ago, but you can’t rule out that it might be a Khyber Pass clone.

Sniper & Support Two more Turkish Gendarmerie members but this time with Com-Bloc weapons. The SVD Dragunov and the PKM. It’s a little difficult to see but that PKM has a rather odd optic mount that sits high up. You can still use the iron sight though. Both weapons must be old arsenal stuff. The finish has almost completely worn off on the SVD and PKM.

Turkish Army Commandos A group of them armed with a couple of different weapons. Two of them are carrying the HK 33 licensed clones built by MKE. The Turks use a special grenade launcher for the HK style rifles, similar to the M203. Note the transparent magazines that interlock together, those are also Turkish build. The third commando has an SVD; the stock, dust cover and optic are a telltale sign.

Improvise… Not sure where this was taken, might possibly be from Syria. Note how the shooter attached the rear of the recoil spring to the stock since he doesn’t have the top cover. Technically I’m not sure how this is supposed to work without causing some sort of injury…

Real deal… These 3 rifles are owned by a well known Dragunov collector. Rifle at the top with the polymer handguard is a KBI import; the only company that sold genuine Russian SVD’s on the civilian market. Very rare; last one I saw sold for $18,000. Center rifle is a real non-import Russian SVD. Some examples manage to make it into the U.S as war trophies. Bottom rife is the Chinese copy, the NDM-86, which was also sold in the U.S but appeared in two calibers; 7.62x54R and 7.62x51. One other note; the NDM-86 has a different finish compared to it’s Russian counterparts. The Chinese used a black, somewhat shiny enamel finish on these rifles. Also, the factory supplied optics on the NDM are black, whereas the KBI imports and most Russian SVD’s have the gray scopes.

Russian Tigr

Another neutered SVD Dragunov, the Tigr is the sportsman/hunter friendly version when they were available in the U.S. Note the 5 round magazine, basically a cut in half 10 rounder. They did not come with bipods, the one in the picture is a cheap Chinese add-on. Shorter barrel, different handguard and stock, no flash hider or adjustable gas regulator; not necessarily a cheap or easy conversion back to true SVD specs.

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