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Canadian Forces Sniper’s Rifle
— the 7.62mm Parker-Hale
C3A1 |
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Parker-Hale’s C3A1 — the Standard CF
7.62mm Sniper’s Rifle
The British M82
sniper’s rifle entered CF service in the 1970s as the C3.
Parker-Hale rifles have Mauser actions, the C3s being
distinquished by their extended bolt handles and detachable
box magazines.* A change to Unertl scopes
resulted in the C3A1. In the late ’90s, the CF replaced
all C3A1 wood ‘furniture’ with composite A2 stocks by McMillan
Bros. Use of a bolt-action rifle may seem anachronistic, but
proponents argue that automatic rifles are less accurate (and
the recent experiences of CF sniper teams in Afghanistan seem
to bear out this conclusion).
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C3A1 Data and
Specifications
Role: Specialist’s Sniping Rifle
CF-ese: Rifle, Sniper, 7.62mm,
C3A1
Translation: Second model of the C3
rifle
In Service: total number
unknown |
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 Canadian
Sniper’s Rifles in Afghanistan
The CF’s sniping tactics
have undergone a major revision since 2000 when the new 12.7mm
McMillan Tac-50 was introduced. But
the 7.62mm C3A1 rifle still has a major role to play.
Although primary shooters now use the larger-calibre
weapons, team commanders continue to wield C3A1s for
back-up**. This new arrangement proved highly
successful in Afghanistan where 3PPCLI sniper teams
accompanied US 101st Airborne troops clearing the
Shah-i-kot of Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.
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 CF
Sniper’s Rifle Replacement
To maintain proficiency, a
sniper must fire thousands of rounds in practice. So, even in
peacetime, a sniper’s rifles wear out relatively quickly. The
CF began its search for a C3A1 replacement prior to the Afghan
deployment. Recent combat experience by 3PPCLI sniper
teams will obviously have a major effect on the chosen
replacement. The C3A1 has done its job admirably but
parts are becoming difficult to locate and the rifles are
wearing out. Time for a new
CF sniper’s rifle.
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* C3A1s, like the C3s before them, have
6-round detachable box magazines ( most M82s have Mauser-style
4-round internal magazines). The C3A1 is considered accurate out to
400m (with a 99% probability of a hit on the first shot)
but CF snipers are trained to go out 800m.
**
Security for the snipers is provided by ‘spotters’ armed with
C7A1
rifles (often fitted with a telescopic sight)
or with C8 ‘carbines’.
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