Sniper kills two Taliban from 1.54 miles away

[ussfletcher]

So what kind of rounds are they firing that it has enough punch left after 1.5 miles of travel? Guessing .338 since I think they're not allowed to use the 50 cal on human targets, though terrorist might not apply.

AFAIK all uber long range modern shots are made by .50s the m82a1 - m95 etc.

As for drop, http://www.barrett.net/ammunition/50bmg there is a lot.

 

[boomhower]

Where did you read that? I thought gunships had 50 cal?

I think he means directly, as in they can't use a 50 cal sniper rifle but can use a 50 cal against vehicles. Why I don't know, what difference does it make if you get hit with a 556 or a 50 cal, dead is dead. A 50 cal isn't exactly cruel and unusual.

 

[Liet]

Harrison learned of his record nine days ago, when he returned to England. In the weeks after his record shot, he suffered a minor gunshot wound and broke his arms when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb.
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That's just really, really sad. Good example of how disgusting insurgent warfare it. We can kill them in conventional warfare from 1.5 miles - and all they do is plant bombs.

 

[Genx87]

We use 50 cal on human targets. What else would you use it for?

Anyways that is one long ass shot. And lol at his buddy getting right into the same spot to get nailed. Not the brightest people over there lol

What is the longest tank kill? I dont even know if tanks have killed that far out.

 

[MotF Bane]

So what kind of rounds are they firing that it has enough punch left after 1.5 miles of travel? Guessing .338 since I think they're not allowed to use the 50 cal on human targets, though terrorist might not apply.

lolwut

 

[dougp]

A friend of mine who's a 1st Lt was telling me this, too.

Completely untrue ... .50s are used on a lot of vehicles as anti-infantry weapons.

 

[eits]

So what kind of rounds are they firing that it has enough punch left after 1.5 miles of travel? Guessing .338 since I think they're not allowed to use the 50 cal on human targets, though terrorist might not apply.

the article said the were insurgents.

very different than a terrorist.

 

[Narmer]

I think he means directly, as in they can't use a 50 cal sniper rifle but can use a 50 cal against vehicles. Why I don't know, what difference does it make if you get hit with a 556 or a 50 cal, dead is dead. A 50 cal isn't exactly cruel and unusual.

I remember seeing that 'controversal' video where the Apache mowed down some terrorists and a reporter following them and everything looked like it was by the book. That was as direct as they get.

 

[yokomo]

That is what we need is and entire army of these guys to just sit in and do thier work!! Sure beats driving around and getting hit by an EFP that was dropped there a week ago and you don't even get a chance to fight the coward that put it there!

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Too bad he didn't get credit for the third and forth insurgents whose minds were blown from that performance.

 

[nick1985]

So what kind of rounds are they firing that it has enough punch left after 1.5 miles of travel? Guessing .338 since I think they're not allowed to use the 50 cal on human targets, though terrorist might not apply.

haha @ you

 

[SunnyD]

Can't find specs on the L11583, but AI makes .308, .338 and .50 versions of most of their rifles.

Odds are it was a .338 though.

 

[LTC8K6]

L115A3 not 83

.338 LM

 

[eits]

I remember seeing that 'controversal' video where the Apache mowed down some terrorists and a reporter following them and everything looked like it was by the book. That was as direct as they get.

uh, i think you completely misunderstood the video...

it was the two reporters as well as innocent bystanders who were mowed down by our apache. the apache thought they were holding weapons (obviously, there weren't any weapons).

 

[nick1985]

uh, i think you completely misunderstood the video...

it was the two reporters as well as innocent bystanders who were mowed down by our apache. the apache thought they were holding weapons (obviously, there weren't any weapons).

There are clearly people holding AK's and RPG's in the video.

 

[her209]

I remember seeing that 'controversal' video where the Apache mowed down some terrorists and a reporter following them and everything looked like it was by the book. That was as direct as they get.

Apaches don't use 50 cal.

 

[Liet]

no no, they're just RPG-like cameras!

 

[Aquaman]

Longer Article

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afghanistan/article7113916.ece

A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than a mile away.

Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots — even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle.

“The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright,” said Harrison, a Corporal of Horse. “He went straight down and didn’t move.

“The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead.”

The shooting — which took place while Harrison’s colleagues came under attack — was at such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target after leaving the barrel of the rifle at almost three times the speed of sound.

The distance to Harrison’s two targets was measured by a GPS system at 8,120ft, or 1.54 miles. The previous record for a sniper kill is 7,972ft, set by a Canadian soldier who shot dead an Al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002.

In a remarkable tour of duty, Harrison cheated death a few weeks later when a Taliban bullet pierced his helmet but was deflected away from his skull. He later broke both arms when his army vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.

Harrison was sent back to the UK for treatment, but insisted on returning to the front line after making a full recovery.

“I was lucky that my physical fitness levels were very high before my arms were fractured and after six weeks in plaster I was still in pretty good shape,” he said. “It hasn’t affected my ability as a sniper.”

Harrison, from Gloucestershire, was reunited in Britain with his wife Tanya and daughter Dani, 16, last month. Recalling his shooting prowess in Helmand province, he said: “It was just unlucky for the Taliban that conditions were so good and we could see them so clearly.”

Harrison and his colleagues were in open-topped Jackal 4x4 vehicles providing cover for an Afghan national army patrol south of Musa Qala in November last year. When the Afghan soldiers and Harrison’s troop commander came under enemy fire, the sniper, whose vehicle was further back on a ridge, trained his sights on a Taliban compound in the distance. His L115A3 long-range rifle, the army’s most powerful sniper weapon, is designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft and supposedly capable of only “harassing fire” beyond that range.

“We saw two insurgents running through its courtyard, one in a black dishdasha, one in green,” he said. “They came forward carrying a PKM machinegun, set it up and opened fire on the commander’s wagon.

“Conditions were perfect, no wind, mild weather, clear visibility. I rested the bipod of my weapon on a compound wall and aimed for the gunner firing the machinegun.

“The driver of my Jackal, Trooper Cliff O’Farrell, spotted for me, providing all the information needed for the shot, which was at the extreme range of the weapon.”

Harrison killed one machinegunner with his first attempt and felled the other with his next shot. He then let off a final round to knock the enemy weapon out of action.

Harrison discovered that he had set a new record only on his return to UK barracks nine days ago. The previous record was held by Corporal Rob Furlong, of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, who was using a 12.7mm McMillan TAC-50 rifle.

Tom Irwin, a director of Accuracy International, the British manufacturer of the L115A3 rifle, said: “It is still fairly accurate beyond 4,921ft, but at that distance luck plays as much of a part as anything.”

News of Harrison’s success comes amid concern over a rival insurgent sharpshooter who in a five-month spree has killed up to seven British soldiers, including a sniper, in and around the Taliban stronghold of Sangin.

In a later incident during the tour, Harrison’s patrol vehicle was hit 36 times during a Taliban ambush. “One round hit my helmet behind the right ear and came out of the top,” he said. “Two more rounds went through the strap across my chest. We were all very, very lucky not to get hurt.”

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[eits]

There are clearly people holding AK's and RPG's in the video.

uh, no...

http://www.the-gates-of-hell.com/wi...at-killed-reporters-injured-children-in-iraq/

not surprising that you'd completely skew reality and the video into it being that people were holding aks and rpgs.

 

[SunnyD]

L115A3 not 83

.338 LM

Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. I was wondering if it was an "unannounced" model or something.

 

[darkxshade]

That's nothing... I could do it from twice that range blindfolded :ninja:

 

[LTC8K6]

According to some articles, the Brits are using a load that is right at max chamber pressure to get higher velocity and more range.

 

[Ramma2]

uh, no...

http://www.the-gates-of-hell.com/wi...at-killed-reporters-injured-children-in-iraq/

not surprising that you'd completely skew reality and the video into it being that people were holding aks and rpgs.

Did you even watch the video? It says right in the opening credits:

"Although some of the men appear to have been armed..."

 

[Aquaman]

The Weapon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L115A3

The Bullet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.338_Lapua_Magnum

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[ichy]

What really? You can't use 50 cal on human targets?

That's a myth that just won't die.