Gepard Hungarian rifle family

GEPARD Hungarian heavy sniper / anti-material rifle family :

Extracts from the original Hungarian broschure written by Ferenc Földi engineer colonel, member of the Hungarian Society of Ballistics, translated by me

(Just a note: If you see this very page on Sniper's Paradise web site, don't be surprised, I mailed it to them...to help the Gepard be better known)

The GEPARD high performance rifle family is Hungarian war industry's first vast, independent enterprise on rifles since the World War II. The project started in the Institute of Military Technology of the Hungarian Army in the late 1987, and the first fit for service pieces were done by 1990. The original purpose of development was to create one man-operated rifles with high caliber, high muzzle velocity and high accuracy, for special tasks.Development continues with producing more and more versions.

GEPARD M1(B)
Bolt Actiont sniper rifle (caliber : 12,7 mm Russian and NATO ); see a detailed description below

GEPARD M2(B)
Self-loading destroyer rifle (caliber : 12,7 mm Russian and NATO );

GEPARD M2A1(B1)
Self-loading destroyer rifle (caliber : 12,7 mm Russian and NATO );

GEPARD M2A2
Personal defensive short rifle for CQC purposes (caliber : 12,7 mm Russian and NATO );

GEPARD M6
Heavy self loading rifle with extreme high accuracy (caliber : 14.5 mm Russian ); !!!

Task of the sniper rifles is to shot dead living forces with one shot in great distances ( 800-1200 m ), even if those forces staying behind 8-10 mm thick steel armor ( or any other entrenchment with the same defensive value )- if their exact location is known
I must to mention here, that the Russian 12.7mm hit through this armor with 15-20% higher rate than the same caliber NATO.Besides, their task is destroying unarmored HQs, radio/radar stations,vehicles,helicopters, rocket-ranges,and parking aircrafts from the distance of 1500-2000 m. Civilian/police usage is pure CT - counterterrorism.

Task of the destroyer rifles is destroying entrenchments, vehicles, APCs equipped with 15 mm( with M3 it is 20 mm) within range 1500m. In urban operations they can be used to close streets with barrage fire within 800m.

Self loader versions equipped with 5 or 10 round magazines, a bipod, and an adjustable rear brace. Russian caliber rifles can be attached to the Russian PKM machine gun tripod too. All the rifles can attached to jeeps,helicopter doors, APCs ,boats witth an adapter.

Development was based on the high powered .50 BMG and 12,7mm Soviet/Russian cartridge.Their performance is fivefold,compared to a simple 7.62 cartridge.So, the goal was a very accurate,high muzzle velocity rifle for special ops.During the planning and using,most of the problems were occured exactly because of high performance.

The two biggest problem were : First,recoil was too big due to 12.7 mm cartridge; second, it wasn too accurate,cause of recoil.

The big recoil was eliminated by an active-reactive,very effective muzzle break,and a softed stock with coil spring system.To achieve a good accuracy,inventors adopted the technique used at artillery arms : the barrel recoils back the same way as an artillery gun,and then a recuperator spring pulls it back into original position.
Another big problem was the telescope,and to mount it.None of the available telescopes survived the pushing back and shaking of the 12.7mm,so a new,special telescope and holder had to be invented.They cost almost the same as the weapon itself This is the Hungarian invented 12x60 special telescope,but you can fit 6x42 or a single point optic too. Except the M1 version all of them have iron sights too.Optics can suffer 300g pressure! with illuminated crosshairs. Onto these opticts you can fit the Norwegian SIMRAD KN202F night vision, which increases the effective range at night to 800m.

Self loaders differs from each other in barrel lenght and used materials. (M2: plate, M4: light metal, M6: alloy reinforced with carbon fibres) Besides, firing mechanism and grip of M2, M2A1, M3 versions have been rotated right 45 degrees (in comparison with barrel) and it made them 200-250 mm shorter.

It uses 12,7 x 107 B32 or MDZ-3 Soviet cartridge,but after changing the barrel (this process can be done very fast) its able to fire .50 BMG too.The 1500mm long and 15 kg weapon can be disassembled in 30 seconds, than it'll be 1240 mm long.It is really accurate,from 100 m u can shot through its own cartridge-case (20mm),with the first shot from 600 m u can make a clear headshot ,and from 1200 m u can fight down any standing human targe. And the scatter is fewer than 25 cm only from 1300 m, which fact practically means 0.7 MOA !!! It easily hits through 25mm armor within 100 m.From 600 m it penetrates 15 mm armor and 250 mm reinforced concrete or any double brick wall
Actually the weapon made up by barrels,which sliding into each other,during a shot the barrel and the firing mechanism moves back into the main body 100 mm.This recoil made the Gepard a very accurate rifle.
It has only optical sight,if u want to shot farther than 600m u had better to install a laser aiming system too
It has an own bipod,and an adjustable rear brace for better accuracy.

GEPARD rifles are used by Hungarian Army and ORFK (Hungarian Police Office), Turkey and some Scandinavian country are thinking about it.Norway also bought some, and used them to make a comparison between it and Barrett. Since 1987 GEPARD rifles gained a lot acknowledgements and prizes.(for example : Gold Medal iin 1998, International Olympic of Inventors). We also sold some to Croatia during the first Yugoslavian war, and if I'm right they just stole the design and now producing it. Independent sources (American) claim it is better than the Barrett M82A1