New life for my Steyr SSG 69!

[BarryinIN]

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Great.

Always wanted a SSG, Jeff Cooper used to have one for his crow’s nest. Here is a picture of his in the Sconce armory from my trip there a few years ago.

Also, John Thomas Rourke used to use a SSG

Rourke was also backed up by a buddy with an MP40 he insisted on calling a Schmeisser.

[BarryinIN]

It’s a nice rifle, but by today’s standards, it’s outdated. The “high tech” for the time synthetic stock can be weakened by cleaning products. The early versions, including mine, came with a plastic trigger guard/bottom metal, which could crack if you over torqued the action screws. I did it to mine. They later updated the trigger guards that had metal sleeves where the screws go through, but the rest was still plastic. Over torquing the action screws could also damage the synthetic stock.

Another issue was that a lot of accessories were proprietary like the scope rings. The receiver has dovetails cut into it that only accepted Steyr scope rings. They later came out with a Picatinny rail that fit over the dovetails which allowed you to use other rings.

The factory mags were also made of a hard plastic that could break if mishandled. Two of mine failed simply by keeping them loaded! The notches that held the rotary springs cracked.

But on a brighter note, they shoot great! I haven’t shot mine in several years but was really surprised by my results today. I only had PMC Match 168 gr and it still held 1 MOA. And this is a rifle that’s over 20 years old with several thousand rounds through it.

So if you have extra cash laying around, like the nostalgia, would enjoy owning a classic, and can track one down, then by all means, go for it!!!

Here’s a pic of todays best 5 round group…
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I have had two SSG-69s; one right now. After trading the first one off, I missed it and got another one a few years ago. There are certainly better rifles now, and I have a couple myself, but the SSG-69 is just... my era. It was the one to have. I'm glad I have one for the idea of it, I guess.

It is a handy size and weight. The stock material is terrible, but the shape has always worked very well for me at the bench, prone, or field which is a trick for a (mostly)non-adjustable stock.