Thursday, May 11, 2006



What with all of the news, reviews, bitches and witches we yak about here, I almost forget to post my opinion of the venerable Romanian, ROMAK-3, FPK, in 7.62X54R.

It's a reasonably heavy sucker with a 23" barrel so it has some inherant accuracy, and the cartridge is reasonably close to .308 performance to provide a nice margin of stopping power. Very little kick, and one of the few powerful rifle rounds popular in Europe, or the old commie countries. It isn't state-of-the-art by any means, but is somewhat cheap, and it works. 2 1/4" groups at 100 yards using just the iron sights isn't bad for a combat rifle, but it's rep as a sniper long gun is either overrated or we shot us one that didn't quite make the grade. Wouldn't be bad for hunting medium sized game, but the 180 grain bullet is a wee undersized for my liking when stalking or being stalked BY something big and fangy. Then again, some fellows swear by the 30.06 for everything up to and including Grizz, but they must be better shots than I, and the 7.62X54R is NO 30.06.

Not a bad piece for under $700 out the door, but you buy a rifle like this for the history, and sure there are a lot of other long guns that'll crank out more firepower for less money but that's not what the ROMAK is all about.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been lusting after one of these for years, but since I get to shoot so infrequently I just can't justify the expense... Question though, if this ain't the entry level sniper rifle what else would you recommend?

PS> Thanks for the linkage again.

Fits said...

Now that, my friend, is a loaded question. (ouch) By 'sniper rifle', I'd have to know what that means to the individual seeking one. Range? Availability of ammo? Affordability of ammo? What sort of targets, namely paper, animal, or boogyman? Are you a velocity freak or a heavy-is-bevy? Semi-auto, or bolt action? High-capacity magazines important? Weight of the loaded weapon a factor? Scope or iron sights? Is recoil a big deal?

The 7.62X57 takes a back seat to .308, 30.06, and some would even say 5.56 if the distances were scaled back to 200-300 yards. The 7.62X57 comes in 180 grainer full metal jacket and no other flavor unless you load your own or find some exotic boutique-ammo maker, so that's a bummer.

All things considered, I'd take a decent Remington 700 from a pawn shop and it'd probably shoot rings around the ROMAK, and what can be done with 30.06 loads is so varied it's almost up to the imagination, and you'd be able to find ammo pretty much anywhere.

Then again, know what? If the ROMAK is what you WANT, then to blazes with what you NEED, because it's a fun rifle and if it floats the boat then go for it.

PS: Welcome back to blogging, Woody.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info. Is there a difference between the ROMAK and the "Dragonov"?

Fits said...

A ROMAK can have Dragunov parts, and there are even paratrooper versions, but generally speaking (and only a scazillion 'experts' will argue about this), the Drag is the Russkie, the ROMAK is the Romanian. I've seen ROMAK's with Dragunov stocks, and/or scopes, but never a Dragunov with ROMAK parts.

This is my 3rd attempt to respond, Woody, as Blogger is messing with me, so I'm cranking this off quickly because of that and not because I wanted to give ya a short answer.