Today’s Picture of the Day shows a British soldier with his L115A3 Long Range Sniper Rifle, taking part in the annual International Sniper Competition. The location is the Salisbury Plains training area.

The British Armed Forces adopted the Accuracy International AWM rifle as the L115A1 Long Range Rifle, outfitted with Schmidt & Bender 3-12×50 mm PM II scope.

Updated to the L115A3 version it uses the Schmidt & Bender 5-25×56 mm PM II scope, and as you can see, can also be fitted with an Image Intensifier.

The rifle is chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum. That’s the “M” in AWM, Magnum.

According to the British guidelines, when equipped with the 5-25×56 Schmidt & Bender scope, it gives a competent sniper the ability to achieve a precision shot at up to 400 meters, achieve a first round hit of a man size target at 900 meters and provide harassing fire out to 1500 meters.

Pictured is a British soldier wearing a ghillie suit and armed with a Sharpshooter Rifle, taking part in the annual International Sniper Competition run by 3rd (UK) Division on Salisbury Plains training area.