eastern black rat snaketip

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In this episode we're covering the PSG1.

It's a semi-automatic weapon, unlocked once you've purchased the other three sniper rifles.

The Präzisionsschützengewehr, or 'Precision-shooter rifle', is a German sniper rifle manufactured by Heckler und Koch.

The rifle was first produced in 1972.

It was the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics that sparked German rifle development - the inadequacy of the equipment available to German police at the time would be subject to much criticism.

Both the HK PSG1 and Walther WA2000 were introduced in the wake of the event - and the elite counter-terrorist unit, GSG 9, was formed in 1973.

The PSG's design is based on that of the G3 battle rifle - the German service rifle since 1959.

Although accurate enough for infantry needs, the PSG-1 pushed the limits of the platform - making for what was then 'the most accurate semi-automatic rifle in the world.'

With added telescopic scope, heavier free-floating barrel, and adjustable stock - the PSG-1 design is indeed designed for accuracy, although it came with a correspondingly high price tag.

The PSG1 fires the 7.62-by-51 millimetre NATO cartridge, as does the parent G3 design.

Magazines are 5 rounds in capacity, or 10 with extended mags.

The real-steel rifle will also accept 20 round mags - or even a 50-round drum.

Damage-wise, the PSG falls between the two low damage rifles - the Dragunov and WA2000 - and the high damage bolt-action rifle, the L96A1.

It will kill in one shot to the head, neck, chest, or stomach - but when silenced, only a hit to the head or neck will be a one-shot kill.

Rate of fire is semi-automatic, and is capped at a fairly generous 235 rounds per minute.

This can be useful as a last-ditch defense at a close range - although hipfire performance is poor, sometimes one lucky bullet can save you from a close-range assailant.

Under normal use, you'll want to keep your rate of fire moderate, as otherwise the fairly heavy recoil will disrupt your aim.

Follow-up shots are relatively quick, however - so you can make good use of the semi-automatic nature of the PSG should you miss a shot and need to readjust quickly.

Aim time is slow, as expected for a sniper rifle - with the PSG taking 400 millseconds to scope in.

Reloads are relatively frequent but are manageable enough, at 3.2 seconds.

The PSG1 is the most versatile weapon within the sniper rifle category: it blends power with a good potential for follow-up shots in those cases where you need them.

Its one-shot performance is almost identical to the L96A1, save for the upper portion of the arm: in practical terms this doesn't make much difference in per-shot lethality.

Unlike the bolt-action, you can fire more quickly with the semi-auto PSG - although recoil will greatly limit accurate shooting, the increased output will prove very useful in closer quarters.

Of course, like all of the other sniper rifles the PSG1 is utterly dependent on planning and positioning - with painfully slow handling you'll be at a severe disadvantage in a close-range gunfight, or should you find yourself in the open.

Such is the price of wielding a one-shot kill weapon - and while you might not have much in the way of reactive ability, when you're lying in wait ahead of your enemy, they won't stand much of a chance against your devastating power.

Indeed, such lethality is rewarding when employed correctly - few other weapons can reach out as far as a sniper rifle, and deny passage over such a wide area.

When positioned correctly and aimed true: this precision-engineered rifle...

will always hit the right spot.