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Sniper kills Qaeda-from 1½ mi. away


kshymkiw83

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Sniper kills Qaeda-from 1½ mi. away

 

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/sniper_kills_qaeda_from_mi_away_sTm0xFUmJNal3HgWlmEgRL

 

It was silent but deadly.

 

A British sniper set a world sharpshooting record by taking out two Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan from more than a mile and a half away -- a distance so great, experts say the terrorists wouldn't have even heard the shots.

 

Craig Harrison killed the two insurgents from an astounding distance of 8,120 feet -- or 1.54 miles -- in Helmand Province last November firing an Accuracy International L11583 long-range rifle.

 

"The first round hit a machine-gunner in the stomach and killed him outright," said Harrison, a corporal of horse in the British Army's Household Cavalry, the equivalent of a sergeant in the American military.

 

"The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too," Harrison told the Sunday Times of London.

 

The shots -- measured via GPS -- surpassed the previous record held by Canadian Army Cpl. Rob Furlong, who killed an al Qaeda gunman from 7,972 feet in 2002.

 

Harrison's shots were roughly equal to the distance between the Statue of Liberty and Battery Park.

 

Experts called Harrison's sharp shooting as perfect as it gets.

 

"When you are shooting that far, if you miss by a hair, you miss by a mile," said John Plaster, a retired US Army sharp-shooting instructor and author of "The Ultimate Sniper." "That is about as precise as any marksmen on the planet could shoot."

 

He said Harrison's targets likely never knew what was coming.

 

"At a distance like that they cannot even see anyone and they would not even hear the muzzle report," Plaster said.

 

Harrison, who fired the bullets while his colleagues were under fire, said perfect weather helped him nail the perfect shot.

 

"[There was] no wind, mild weather, clear visibility," he said.

 

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.

 

Pretty fucking badass

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Some info about the weapon:

 

The L115A3 rifle, part of the Sniper System Improvement Programme (SSIP), is a large-calibre weapon which provides state-of-the-art telescopic day and night all-weather sights, increasing a sniper's effective range considerably.

 

The first batch of SSIPs were deployed to Afghanistan in May 2008.

 

Designed to achieve a first-round hit at 600 metres and harassing fire out to 1,100 metres, Accuracy International's L96 sniper rifle has also been upgraded with a new x3-x12 x 50 sight and spotting scope.

 

The L115A3 long range rifle fires an 8.59mm bullet which is heavier than the 7.62mm round of the L96 and less likely to be deflected over extremely long ranges.

 

Other elements of the Sniper System Improvement Programme include night sights, spotting scopes, laser range finders and tripods.

 

http://www.army.mod.uk/images/general-content/equip_sniper_410px.jpg

 

1. S&B 5-25x56 Day Scope

Magnifies target up to 25 times allowing the sniper to identify targets more easily.

 

2. Folding Stock

Reduces the length of the weapon when being carried in a backpack

 

3. Adjustable Cheek Piece

Allows the sniper to comfortably align his eye with the day scope

 

4. Suppressor

Reduces the flash and noise signature, reducing the chances of detection and thus increasing the survivability of the sniper

 

5. Adjustable Bi-pod

Allows the sniper to support the rifle in a set position while locating the target

 

6. 5-round Magazine

Allows the sniper to fire 5 rounds rapidly while being small enough not to interfere with the alignment

 

Calibre 8.59 mm

Weight 6.8 kg

Length 1,300 mm

Muzzle velocity 936 m/s

Feed 5-round box

Effective range 1,100 m plus

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Meh done that with my dads old 22 marlin at least a dozen times to groundhogs.

 

 

But seriously that's pretty crazy. thatd be cool to see that through a spotting scope. Probably a good 2 to 3 seconds between the shot being fired and and the impact of the bullet

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Guest tbutera2112
Link that says it is bs? Based off what is in the story here, it seems perfectly logical

 

not any links, i mean the couple forums im on people are saying no way

 

it was 3000ft beyond the most effective range of the rifle, the previous record holder took several shots to hit their target at slightly less feet, yet this guy hit two in a row perfectly, and then on top of that, a THIRD shot that hit the machine gun and took it out also....

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not any links, i mean the couple forums im on people are saying no way....i personally dont think its BS, just seeing if anyone here has a different take on it

 

Well, it is quite a long shot, that is for sure. And what is really lacking, is the angle he was shooting at, I am assuming high to low.

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That's amazing. I'm sure it can be done, but I'll believe it when I see it. What the hell kind of optic do you need to see 1.5 miles? Through a 24x scope I'm not sure I could see a car that far away, let along a machine gunner. Also, that caliber at 1.5 miles? Hmm...
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Well, it is quite a long shot, that is for sure. And what is really lacking, is the angle he was shooting at, I am assuming high to low.

 

A shot at a mile is hard enough, but a 1.5+ miles Its just impossible to be that accurate. You might have 5,6,7+ different crosswinds. Let alone a million other variables.

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Well being he is British, wouldn't you expect the BBC to report it? The BBC doesn't shy away from articles like this. They show horrible things everyday.

 

Doubt it. No one really wants to brag about killing people. The BBC usually shows the otucome of something, not really this type of article, which is more of a bragging article.

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not any links, i mean the couple forums im on people are saying no way

 

it was 3000ft beyond the most effective range of the rifle, the previous record holder took several shots to hit their target at slightly less feet, yet this guy hit two in a row perfectly, and then on top of that, a THIRD shot that hit the machine gun and took it out also....

Effective range of a 7.62X51mm 173 grain M118LR ammo is roughly 900 meters. There was a US Army Shooter (SSG Gililand) that took out another "sniper" in Iraq at 1,250 meters. Granted Gunny Hathcock himself had a 7.62mm kill at over 1,900 meters in Vietnam. This is outside the normal operating ranges for the 7.62X51mm NATO round, but in the hands of very well trained, not to mention veteran shooters, it is obtainable.

 

Being in Afghanistan currently, and seeing the terrain at which business is conducted, those ranges are deffinately accurate. I won't go into any specifics or shit like that, but stand off distance is something a shooter utilizes in stalking his target.

 

Both Canada and the U.K have an outstanding sniper program. Granted there have been many long distance shots taken by our own forces, but to be honest, you probably will never hear about them. (There was talk of a young US Army soldier making the longest kill utilizing nothing other than a Barrett M107 Rifle. But again this is talk ;) )

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Doubt it. No one really wants to brag about killing people. The BBC usually shows the otucome of something, not really this type of article, which is more of a bragging article.

 

Combat in Afghanistan and Iraq isn't popular in the world. If US/NATO forces aren't dying, the news don't give a shit.

 

 

BTW- Don't expect to see something from the US side of this "long distance" kill record for a little while. We like to keep things classified for safety reasons and operational security. I do applaud the Brits for the record though. Helmend is a hell of a place to do it in to boot.

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Meh done that with my dads old 22 marlin at least a dozen times to groundhogs.

 

Seriously...I sniped a tick from that distance with an AK and iron sights last night, in the dark. Twice.

 

At first I was impressed, but now I'm skeptical.

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