MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. Russia’s TsNIITochMash defense contractor will develop self-loading hunting rifles for .308 and .338 Lapua Magnum rounds on the basis of the Ugolyok sniper rifle being developed for the Russian Army, TsNIITochMash CEO Albert Bakov told Izvestia daily on Thursday.

"This relates to the work on developing high-level self-loading hunting rifles on the basis of two sniper systems we are now developing. Both calibers - .308 and .338 are now in demand," Bakov said, replying to a question about the defense contractor’s plans for the development of hunting guns.

Today, there is tight competition on the Russian hunting market among medium and sub-medium class products, he noted. "Basically, inexpensive Turkish guns that are cheaper than their Russian analogues are on sale," Bakov explained.

However, TsNIITochMash won’t be developing cheap guns as it plans to take up the market niche of hi-end products," he said.