Best sniper rifles in PUBG

While PUBG’s armory has a lot of options, we can’t really classify every gun in it as top-tier. If you’re having trouble picking a weapon to show off your sniping skills, our tier list highlighting the best sniper rifles in PUBG: Battlegrounds is exactly what you need.

The battle royale experience in PUBG is primarily about survival. That said, you also need to defend yourself against enemies, which requires you to have a versatile loadout featuring the best guns you can find as you explore. 

Whether you primarily play a support role for your team or are a solo player who tends to take a sneaky and defensive approach, you’d likely benefit a lot by keeping a strong sniper rifle in your loadout. To help our fellow bolt-action experts pick the best weapon, we’ve ranked every sniper rifle in PUBG to improve your long-distance game.

All sniper rifles in PUBG: Battlegrounds, ranked

AWM

When it comes to guns in PUBG, the AWM has always been the cream of the crop. Its lethal damage potential and high effective range make it the most reliable bolt-action sniper rifle in the game. With the AWM, you can take an enemy down with just one headshot at any range even if they’re wearing a level three (Spetsnaz) helmet. 

Unfortunately, the AWM isn’t available as ground loot. You’d have to loot an airdrop for a chance to get it and stock up on the unique ammo it uses. If you’re willing to take the chance in a messy air drop battle and can work around its high recoil and reload or equip times, however, the AWM is totally worth the effort.

Kar98k

If you’re looking for the top sniper rifle in PUBG which you can find easily, it’s the Kar98k. Unlike the AWM, you can find this sniper rifle on the ground as you explore the map, so you don’t have to worry about securing an airdrop. It has a pretty high damage potential too: It can take down weakened enemies and those wearing a level two helmet with just one headshot.

Despite a high reload time and longer time between shots, the Kar98k, as a bolt-action, is highly reliable when it comes to taking down enemies from a distance. Its recoil pattern can feel a tad quirky, but if you can master that and its bullet drop, it’s a beast you’d definitely want in your loadout.

Lynx AMR

The Lynx AMR deals the highest damage of all sniper rifles in PUBG. It’s especially effective against vehicles, being the only weapon that can penetrate the armored BRDM and hit an enemy. For unarmored vehicles like the motorcycle and UAV, you only need a few shots to blow them up. Interestingly, despite flaunting better stats than the AWM, it can’t exactly be classified as S-tier—and for good reason. 

While it’s lethal against enemies armed with the game’s heaviest gear, the biggest disadvantage of the Lynx AMR is its limited magazine. This air drop-only beast comes loaded with 10 bullets but no reserve. If you run out of bullets—and aren’t lucky enough to find another supply crate with a new Lynx AMR—you’ve no option but to replace it. As powerful as it can be in the hands of an expert, beginners would be better off picking something else.

Mosin Nagant

The Mosin Nagant is basically a reskin of the Kar98k, so both rifles flaunt the exact same stats. Even then, a majority of the players seem to side over the Karabiner when it comes to sniper rifles in PUBG, which is likely due to its veteran status in the armory and availability on all maps. The Nagant exclusively spawns in the Erangel and Vikendi maps.

Since both guns flaunt the same stats with different cosmetic designs, you definitely wouldn’t lose out on any major benefits if you picked the Mosin Nagant over the Kar98k. In fact, there are many among us who prefer the Nagant due to its unique grip and sound design, which may offer a feeling of higher stability and faster bullet velocity than the Karabiner.

M24

I personally love the M24 because of its sharp sound design and satisfying model. It’s a versatile sniper rifle to have in your PUBG loadout, especially if you love no-scoping your enemies. You can fill up its magazine pretty fast—if you opt for a tactical reload—which may help if the enemy decides to close the gap for a close-range encounter. Plus, you can use special attachments to increase its magazine capacity and reduce its reload time.

As perfect as those advantages may sound, the M24 has a lower damage output than other bolt-action rifles in the game. Unless you’re a headshot machine, it can be pretty inconsistent against armored enemies at a distance. Players prefer mastering the Kar98k’s reliable bullet drop pattern over that of the M24.

Win94

The Win94 is perfect for your starting ventures, thanks to its one-shot capability against unarmored and weakly armored targets. It’s exclusively available on three maps—Miramar, Sanhok, and Vikendi—as ground loot. While contesting a hot drop full of players wielding automatic weapons, if you manage to find a safe spot, you can sneakily pick off enemies as they fight against each other.

That said, the Win94 is only a viable choice in the first few minutes of a match when you may not have the advantage of a better weapon. While it’s pretty lethal in the early game when most players are weak, its base damage is low compared to other sniper rifles you can find. Furthermore, it comes with a built-in 2.7x scope, so you can’t attach a better scope to make it useful at long range.