Polish designer-gunsmith Alexander Lezhukha, together with his team of like-minded people, became famous for a variety of sniper rifles, which he creates while working at a large arms company ZM Tarnow. To date, he has already gained sufficient fame, since the TOR sniper rifle he created for the NATO cartridge 12, 7x99 mm became the first Polish large-caliber sniper rifle put into service. He also prepared and produced a whole series of Alex high-precision sniper rifles with a bullpup layout, among which the Alex-338 model chambered for 8.6x70 mm stands out.
It should be noted that ZM Tarnow is a large industrial enterprise with a rich history. Today Tarnów Mechanical Plant is a research and production association located in the Polish city of Tarnów, which gave the company its name. The plant began its activity in 1917. For the first 35 years, the company was engaged in servicing various railway transport. They began to produce defense products there since 1951. In 2002, the plant became part of the Polish defense holding BUMAR Capital Group, which united 21 production and commercial enterprises of the Polish military-industrial complex. Today ZM Tarnow is engaged in the production of various small arms, mortars, remotely controlled weapon systems and air defense systems.
Among the products manufactured at the enterprise there is a line of sniper weapons for military and civilians. For the civilian market, the 7.62mm Alex Tactical Sport sniper rifle is chambered for.308 Winchester. It is a tactical sporting rifle that is also suitable for hunting enthusiasts. It is the civilian version of the 7.62mm Bor rifle. Larger caliber sniper rifles are of greater interest. For example, the Alex-338 8.6 mm sniper rifle chambered for.338 Lapua Magnum caliber, the effective range of which against live targets is up to 2000 meters, against lightly armored targets - up to 1000 meters. The pinnacle of the ZM Tarnow line of sniper rifles today is the 12.7mm anti-material rifle with the sonorous name "Thor". Like the Alex-338, it is made in a bullpup layout and can effectively engage the entire range of targets at a distance of up to 2000 meters: from lightly armored military equipment to soldiers behind light shelters and in personal protective equipment.
7.62mm Bor rifle
8.6mm Alex-338 rifle
12.7mm Tor rifle
This line of rifles is interesting in itself, but the designer Alexander Lezhukha does not intend to stop there. Together with ZM Tarnow specialists, he prepared three new promising projects of high-precision sniper weapons, which will interest not only professionals, but also ordinary firearms amateurs. The specialized online edition All4shooters.com tells about them in detail, informing about the novelties of the international small arms market.
Technology Demonstrator: Rifle 8, 6 mm SKW
The 8, 6 mm SKW rifle stands out for its rather futuristic design, it would definitely not get lost in any sci-fi movie. SKW stands for Samopowtarzalny Karabin Wyborowy - a self-loading sniper rifle. But here it is important to understand that this rifle is not even an experimental or pre-production model, but only a technology demonstrator. The main purpose of its creation was to demonstrate and test possible new solutions. First of all, we are talking about checking modern materials and technologies: new aluminum and titanium alloys, high-strength plastics. At the same time, for the production of a stock of an 8.6 mm SKW rifle, an industrial 3D printing method was used using the SLS (Selective Laser Sintering) laser sintering technology from PA 2200 material, a white polyamide that is characterized by dimensional stability and high impact strength.
This technology demonstrator, like the Alex-338 sniper rifle, is of the same caliber (8.6 mm). The demonstrator is built according to the currently popular bullpup scheme. The Alex-338 sniper rifle was originally created for the powerful.338 Lapua Magnum cartridge of 8, 6x70 mm, which experts call optimal for effectively engaging enemy manpower, including in body armor, at long distances from a comparative light weapon. The mass of this rifle, equipped with a box magazine for 5 rounds, did not exceed 6.1 kg. Obviously, the promising model 8, 6 mm SKW, if brought in some form to serial production, taking into account the use of new production methods and the most modern materials, will weigh even less.
ZM Tarnow 8, 6 mm SKW
Model 8, 6 mm SKW is built according to the bullpup scheme using the principle of linear recoil: the axis of the rifle barrel bore passes through the middle of the butt plate, which minimizes the overturning moment from the shot. For the same reason, the standard Picatinny rail, which is used to mount various optical sights, was raised above the weapon's receiver.
The principle of operation of the technology demonstrator automation is the removal of powder gases through a hole in the wall of the barrel bore, the barrel is locked due to two lugs. When examining the model, an unusual muzzle device catches the eye, which, most likely, is nothing more than a thermal muzzle brake. It extinguishes the energy of the outflowing powder gases by cooling them in a special expansion chamber of the muzzle device. Another interesting solution is the unusual design of the pistol grip of the rifle, which is enclosed in a kind of frame, thanks to which the weapon received a third fulcrum instead of the often found additional support leg under the butt.
Conceptual design of the 338 SKW rifle
The conceptual design of the 338 SKW rifle is closer to being realized. When creating this rifle, the team of Alexander Lezhukhi also used the bullpup layout, the rifle is self-loading and has store power. At the same time, self-loading rifles in a similar caliber are still quite rare today. Specialists include, in addition to the layout diagram, the design features of this model, the presence of a long mounting plate for installing day and night optical sights, a perforated forearm, a stock with a moving cheek adjustable in length, the ability to install a device for flameless and silent shooting and bipod mounting on the lower mounting plate.
Sketch of the ZM Tarnow 338 SKW rifle, right side view
According to the Polish designers-gunsmiths, the advantages of the weapon of this concept will be the combination in one sample of sniper and assault weapons, which have a relatively small mass with significant values of the kinetic energy of the bullet, firing range and combat rate of fire. Rifle 338 SKW is built according to the scheme of gas-operated automation with locking the barrel by turning the bolt.
12.7mm rifle WKW TOR II
The large-caliber 12, 7 mm TOR sniper rifle was adopted by the Polish army back in 2006. In the Polish army it is designated as Wielkokalibrowy Karabin Wyborowy (WKW). After adopting it, the research and development center of the ZM Tarnow enterprise began work on the design of a new version of its 12, 7-mm anti-material rifle, which received the project name WKW TOR II. When creating a new large-caliber rifle, developers are trying to solve the problem of reducing its weight and reducing the total length of the weapon without significantly changing its technical and tactical parameters.
Rifle sketch ZM Tarnow WKW TOR II
The possibility of installing a device for flameless and silent shooting on a large-caliber model is also being worked out. At the same time, the layout remains the same - bullpup, but a number of changes will be made to the design of the rifle itself, which will significantly change its appearance. First of all, another design of the long casing-forend stands out, which acquires "openwork" due to the large number of milled holes. This forend is at the same time the base for the installation of standard Picatinny-type mounting plates, which are used for mounting bipods and optics. In this case, the upper mounting plate is solid, and not in two parts, as was the case with the serial model of the WKW TOR rifle. No technical specifications and other information on new models have yet been given.
