Walther WA 2000
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| Walther WA 2000 | |
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 Walther WA 2000 |
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| Type | sniper rifle |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1970s |
| Manufacturer | Walther |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 6.95 kg (unloaded, without Telescopic sight) |
| Length | 905 mm (35.6 in) |
| Barrel length | 650 mm (25.6 in) |
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| Cartridge |
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| Action | semi-automatic, gas blowback |
| Effective range | 1000 m |
| Feed system | 6-round detachable box magazine |
| Sights | Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10 x 56mm Telescopic sight |
The Walther WA 2000 bullpup sniper rifle was designed by the Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen company from the ground up as a specialised police sniper rifle as opposed to being an adaptation from an existing rifle.
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[edit] Design
The bullpup design was chosen, because it would allow a standard length (for a sniper rifle) barrel to be used whilst the overall length would be shorter than a conventional rifle.
The .300 Winchester Magnum round was chosen as the primary caliber because of its long range accuracy and its consistency at all ranges. The entire rifle is designed around the barrel. The WA 2000 fires from a closed bolt and uses a bolt with 7 locking lugs. The rifle features a 6 round magazine capacity.
[edit] Variants
Only 176 total rifles were ever produced in three different variants, one chambered for the standard .300 Winchester Magnum round, another chambered for the popular 7.62 x 51 mm NATO round, and the final version for the 7.5mm Swiss round.
The two variants can be differentiated by the type of flash suppressor used: the first, the older model, uses a "can" type flash suppressor; whereas the second and newer model uses the more conventional "flash-hider/compensator" design.
[edit] Production
The rifle was produced from the late 70s though November 1988 when production was ceased due to high production costs. The final retail cost for a base rifle in 1988 was in the range of $9,000 to $12,500.
176 units were produced with only 15 units of the WA 2000 exported to the U.S., 11 of which are owned by Earl J. Sheehan Jr., President of Walther U.S. and due to its rarity it can be worth over $75,000 to $80,000 in the open market.
