SSG 82

• Name — Scharfschützengewehr 82 • Origin — East Germany • Type — Sniper rifle • Is Ranged — YES • Used By — See users • Wars — Lebanese Civil War • Design Date — 1982 • Manufacturer — VEB Fahrzeug- und Jagdwaffenwerk "Ernst Thälmann" Suhl (FAJAS) • Number — 2000 • Weight — 4.5 kg • Length — 1080 mm • Part Length — 600 mm • Cartridge — 5.45×39mm • Caliber — 5.45 mm • Action — Bolt-action • Velocity — 980 m/s • Feed — 5-round detachable box magazine • Sights — 4×32 telescopic sight with German-style reticle

The development of the SSG 82 was done under the watch of Erich Mielke. When Stasi HQ was occupied by activists, 10 SSG 82s were found and subsequently passed off to West Germany before they were passed on to gun collectors. Very little was known about this weapon and very few examples have been imported into the west, with importer Century International Arms having imported around 600 at the turn of the century. It's known that at least 2000 SSG 82s were made.

• Illustration — Kleinkaliber-Standardgewehr 150 (Small bore Standard rifle 150) The Scharfschützengewehr 82 was technically based on the Suhler Kleinkalibergewehr Modell 150 Standard.22 Long Rifle (5.6 mm) caliber small bore competition rifle. This makes the SSG 82 design reminiscent of a European-style small bore competition rifle. There were plans to have the SSG 82 include a suppressor and a night vision scope, but they were called off.

The heart of the SSG 82 is a cold-hammer forged receiver and free-floating barrel with a semi-bull profile and features a target crown. The bolt has four locking lugs and requires a 60-degree bolt rotation to cycle the gun. The safety consist of a sliding safety actuated by rotating a small disk positioned at the right side just above the trigger. The two-stage trigger mechanism displays an adjustable trigger pull of 3 to. The detachable 6-round box magazine is double-column, double-feed. The push-forward magazine release is centered behind the magazine well.

The SSG 82 wooden stock resembles that of the Small bore Standard rifle 150 with a raised comb and a stippled pistol grip and forearm. The butt plate is adjustable for length of pull by adding or removing spacers and height.

The rifle has no iron sights, but it is equipped with a 4×32 telescopic sight ("Ziel4/S" 4×32 scope, reticle 1) with mounting rails made by VEB Zeiss Jena (in the original Zeiss plant that was captured by the Soviets at the end of WWII) which is numbered to the rifle and mounted using a quick detachable Suhler claw mountbase. This was a basic model of the VEB Zeiss Jena telescopic sight line as 6×36, 6×42M, 8×56M and variable 1.5–6×39, 1.5–6×42M and 3–12×56M magnification variants were also available. The Zeiss Jena non-M telescopic sight models have elevation correction and focusing turrets and were, due to the lack of a windage correction turret, corrected for windage by a gunsmith during mounting, hence these sights were dedicated to a particular rifle.

Internet sources report differing information regarding the attainable accuracy of fire, though the quality of the ammunition used is often mentioned as a very important factor in obtaining good accuracy. Reports on the accuracy of the rifle range from one hole 5-shot groups to 100 mm 3-shot groups and anywhere in between.

• East Germany: The SSG 82 was used by the following units: • Stasi • Department VI • Department XXII • Department PS • Ministry of Interior (MdI) • Diensteinheit IX