 Valmet started also designing a proper sniper rifle completely from scratch on their own, which was also recommended by a FDF HQ major Kari Aro.The initial setting was to produce a 7.62×53R sniper rifle; also .300 Winchester Magnum and other magnum options were planned to increase the effective range of the rifle, but since the initial aim was to produce a rifle which FDF could use, the initial development was centered on the 7.62×53R.Creating a magazine for the 7.62×53R was problematic, and Valmet opted for using a modified Lahti-Saloranta M/26 magazine for the 7.62×53R version.