Beretta 501 Sniper
- Category
- Sniper Rifle
- Barrel
- 586 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.56 kg
- Introduced
- 1985
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Beretta 501 Sniper is an Italian bolt-action sniper rifle chambered in .308 Winchester (7.62x51mm NATO), introduced in 1985 by Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta for military and law enforcement use. The rifle utilizes a modified Mauser bolt action with a heavy, free-floating barrel fitted with a flash suppressor. A distinctive feature is the integral harmonic balancer contained within a tube hidden in the forend of the stock, designed to reduce barrel vibrations and improve accuracy. The wooden stock features an adjustable cheekpiece and recoil pad for customized shooter fit. The rifle was typically issued with a Zeiss 1.5-6x42mm telescopic sight. Despite being produced by one of the world's oldest and most prestigious firearms manufacturers, the Beretta 501 failed to gain significant market traction due to competition from more modern designs and was discontinued in the early 1990s.
Despite Beretta's nearly 500-year heritage as one of the world's oldest gun makers, their entry into the dedicated military sniper rifle market with the Model 501 was a rare commercial failure. The rifle's innovative harmonic balancer was ahead of its time, but the weapon could not compete against the surge of purpose-built precision platforms that emerged in the late 1980s.
The Beretta 501 Sniper's most innovative feature was its harmonic balancer, a weighted device hidden in the forend tube that dampened barrel vibrations during and after firing. This was an advanced concept for the mid-1980s that anticipated similar systems later adopted by other precision rifle manufacturers. Despite its technical merits, the rifle was overshadowed by dedicated sniper rifle designs from Accuracy International, SIG Sauer, and other competitors.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Beretta
- Category
- Sniper Rifle
- Country
- Italy
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1985 to 1993
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 586 mm
- Overall length
- 1165 mm
- Weight, empty
- 5.56 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Striker fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 5
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 833 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 3370 J
- Effective range
- 800 m
- Maximum range
- 1500 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Free floating barrel
Heavy barrel
Flash suppressor- Harmonic balancer
Adjustable cheekpiece
Recoil pad
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 95 .308 Winchester sniper rifles | 5.56 kg | 5.20 kg | Heavier than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 95 .308 Winchester sniper rifles | 1165 mm | 1130 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 95 .308 Winchester sniper rifles | 586 mm | 610 mm | Shorter than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 95 .308 Winchester sniper rifles | 5 | 7 | Holds fewer rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Beretta 501 Sniper
How much does the Beretta 501 Sniper weigh?
The Beretta 501 Sniper weighs 5.56 kg (12.26 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Beretta 501 Sniper?
The Beretta 501 Sniper is chambered in .308 Winchester.
How many rounds does the Beretta 501 Sniper hold?
The Beretta 501 Sniper holds 5 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Beretta 501 Sniper?
The Beretta 501 Sniper is 1165 mm (45.9 in) long overall, with a 586 mm (23.1 in) barrel.
Who makes the Beretta 501 Sniper?
The Beretta 501 Sniper is made by Beretta (Italy).
When was the Beretta 501 Sniper introduced?
The Beretta 501 Sniper was introduced in 1985 and discontinued in 1993.
How does the Beretta 501 Sniper operate?
The Beretta 501 Sniper uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is striker fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Italian Armed Forces
- Italy
Provenance
Confidence in this record
68%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/beretta-501-sniper' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "beretta-501-sniper", "name": "Beretta 501 Sniper", "manufacturer": { "id": "beretta", "name": "Beretta", "countryCode": "IT", "foundedYear": 1526, "website": "https://www.beretta.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:40", "version": "8b9fe1893419c995aa99c862828f03dd5729ecd351a2fed53e95d04b9a47918f" }, "category": { "id": "sniper-rifle", "name": "Sniper Rifle", "description": "Precision rifles optimized for long-range accuracy" }, "country_of_origin": "IT", "year_introduced": 1985, "barrel_length_mm": 586, "weight_empty_g": 5560, "action_type": "bolt_action"}