HISTORY
For many years the standard Chinese sniper rifle has been a locally produced variant of the Russian SVD. During the last decades the Chinese military is modernizing its military. One of the aspects of modernization is the adoption of a 5.8mm family of weapon systems. One of these weapons was to be a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle to replace the SVD, this became the QBU-88. The QBU-88 was the first of the 5.8mm weapon systems to enter service. This is probably while the design is based on the known and proven Dragunov design, while the other weapons required more development and testing. The QBU-88 is known as the Type 88 rifle in Chinese military service. Thus far the QBU-88 is only used by the Chinese military and law enforcement units.
DESIGN
The QBU-88 has a bullpup design, just like the new 5.8mm QBZ-95 and QBB-95. However, internally the QBU-88 differs a lot from the other designs. The QBU-88 is based on the same design as the SVD. It shares the same bolt design and short-recoil adjustable gas system. The bipod can be easily attached and removed. As the QBU-88 is also meant for military use iron sights are fitted as standard. Normally a 3-9x44 scope is fitted, but 6-24x44 have been to weapons used by counter terrorist units. The steel magazines are inserted behind the pistol grip. The magazines are not interchangeable with the 30 round QBZ-95 magazines. The QBU-88 can fire the standard 5.8x42mm round, but is normally issued with a heavier dedicated sniper rounds. To accommodate these rounds the QBU-88 has a faster twist than the QBZ-95. The QBU-88 fires semi-automatic only.
PERFORMANCE
The QBU-88 holds true to the Dragunov's SVD concept. It is a decent weapon that will extend the range of a rifle squad, while being reasonably cheap and reliable. The 5.8mm ammunition is not very powerful and is a step back from the SVD, although it is interchangeable with rifle ammunition and the soft recoil allows for quick follow up shots. The long barrel allows it to be quite accurate. The QBU-88 is claimed to achieve only 4.5 MOA at a range of 100 meters, this figure is likely to be better in reality. Paired with the heavy sniper ammunition the QBU-88 may be used up to 800 meters.
Comparison to the SVD
Chinese military trails concluded that the QBU-88 outperformed the SVD in most areas. Ranging from 100 to 1000 meters the QBU-88 proved more accurate. The 3-9x44 optics are much better than the old 4x24 PSO-1 scope of the SVD. The QBU-88 is lighter and its ammunition is lighter as well. Both its bullpup design and availability of a bipod make the QBU-88 more pleasant to shoot. The 7.62x54mm round of the SVD performs better against unarmored targets. The 5.8x42mm round is better at piercing armor and the much lighter recoil allows for faster follow up shots.
For many years the standard Chinese sniper rifle has been a locally produced variant of the Russian SVD. During the last decades the Chinese military is modernizing its military. One of the aspects of modernization is the adoption of a 5.8mm family of weapon systems. One of these weapons was to be a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle to replace the SVD, this became the QBU-88. The QBU-88 was the first of the 5.8mm weapon systems to enter service. This is probably while the design is based on the known and proven Dragunov design, while the other weapons required more development and testing. The QBU-88 is known as the Type 88 rifle in Chinese military service. Thus far the QBU-88 is only used by the Chinese military and law enforcement units.
DESIGN
The QBU-88 has a bullpup design, just like the new 5.8mm QBZ-95 and QBB-95. However, internally the QBU-88 differs a lot from the other designs. The QBU-88 is based on the same design as the SVD. It shares the same bolt design and short-recoil adjustable gas system. The bipod can be easily attached and removed. As the QBU-88 is also meant for military use iron sights are fitted as standard. Normally a 3-9x44 scope is fitted, but 6-24x44 have been to weapons used by counter terrorist units. The steel magazines are inserted behind the pistol grip. The magazines are not interchangeable with the 30 round QBZ-95 magazines. The QBU-88 can fire the standard 5.8x42mm round, but is normally issued with a heavier dedicated sniper rounds. To accommodate these rounds the QBU-88 has a faster twist than the QBZ-95. The QBU-88 fires semi-automatic only.
PERFORMANCE
The QBU-88 holds true to the Dragunov's SVD concept. It is a decent weapon that will extend the range of a rifle squad, while being reasonably cheap and reliable. The 5.8mm ammunition is not very powerful and is a step back from the SVD, although it is interchangeable with rifle ammunition and the soft recoil allows for quick follow up shots. The long barrel allows it to be quite accurate. The QBU-88 is claimed to achieve only 4.5 MOA at a range of 100 meters, this figure is likely to be better in reality. Paired with the heavy sniper ammunition the QBU-88 may be used up to 800 meters.
Comparison to the SVD
Chinese military trails concluded that the QBU-88 outperformed the SVD in most areas. Ranging from 100 to 1000 meters the QBU-88 proved more accurate. The 3-9x44 optics are much better than the old 4x24 PSO-1 scope of the SVD. The QBU-88 is lighter and its ammunition is lighter as well. Both its bullpup design and availability of a bipod make the QBU-88 more pleasant to shoot. The 7.62x54mm round of the SVD performs better against unarmored targets. The 5.8x42mm round is better at piercing armor and the much lighter recoil allows for faster follow up shots.