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is the .223 a typical 'sniper' round?

Posted on 10/11/2002 4:58:34 PM PDT by RichardEdward

i would have thought the .223 is a little 'light' for a tpical snipe round.. thought most military/etc snipers used a .308 or more powerful round.. or .. if they were going for quiet.. would =use a subsonic .22 lr

as for the al crapa 'link'..I think there is no link.... afterall, wouldnt they be using eastern block type caliber? since that is what they train with???

anyone have any more info on this?


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1 posted on 10/11/2002 4:58:34 PM PDT by RichardEdward
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To: RichardEdward
no, .223 is not a typical sniper round
2 posted on 10/11/2002 5:00:04 PM PDT by Texas_Jarhead
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To: RichardEdward
I shot of box of the .22 subsonic this past summer. It makes almost as much noise as a regular .22 long and did'nt have that great a pentration.
3 posted on 10/11/2002 5:04:03 PM PDT by Rebelbase
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To: RichardEdward
No, it's not.

.308/7.62mm and up are usually the call of the day, along with other foreign rounds like .338 Lapua (derived, if memory serves, from a .416 case) all the way up to .50 cal.
4 posted on 10/11/2002 5:04:58 PM PDT by Pahuanui
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To: RichardEdward
But the .223 could be used in compact, more easily concealed rifles similar to the Mini-14, or short barrel versions of the AR-15.
5 posted on 10/11/2002 5:05:20 PM PDT by Chad
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To: RichardEdward
From what I've heard, a .308 is a lot more typical for a sniper round.
6 posted on 10/11/2002 5:06:35 PM PDT by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
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To: RichardEdward
From what I've heard so far, the ranges are under 400 meters and therefore one doesn't need the superior ballistic coefficient of the 7.62mm. 5.56mm is very flat shooting, low report, and as another poster pointed out, the weapon can be very compact. Also, easier to teach a quickly trained individual how to handle the recoil. The round doesn't have penetrating ability as the jerk found out the first shot when he tried to place a shot through a window and missed.
7 posted on 10/11/2002 5:12:11 PM PDT by x1stcav
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To: RichardEdward
OTOH, .223 is very low recoil which means it is easier for most people to be accurate with since they don't develop a flinch. They are quite popular as varmint hunting rifles. Also the sniper is using expanding hunting ammo, which is illegal for the military. That makes it more deadly than the same armor peircing military round.
8 posted on 10/11/2002 5:12:25 PM PDT by Hugin
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To: RichardEdward
The sniper is apparently shooting 100-200 yards. The round is totally adequate at that distance for a medium weight target, although for heavier targets such as moose or elk it would not be adequate. One question is whether the 223s are factory load or hand-loaded. Hand loads can produce much greater repeatable accuracy; factory loads have a wide muzzle velocity spread that would adversely affect longrange shots. But 100-200 yards isn't long range. 100 yards is a pistol shot, although 223 in a pistol would be kind of harsh on the shooter and still wouldn't have the power of a long barrel weapon.
9 posted on 10/11/2002 5:14:52 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: RichardEdward
It depends upon what is defined as a sniper. At 300 yards a 20-06 is jusy getting started. There was a high school kid two years ago shooting at small targets at 1,000 yards with an M14. I think his name was Schuster. 100 yards is not sniping in my book. It's close range. The idiot in Maryland is not a sniper in all probability. He can use any caliber or weapon he wants. Thirty years ago I used to regularly shoot at 100 yards with a Ruger single .22 pistol. (Today, I can't even see 100 yards. I'm down to three inch targets at 75 feet with pistol.
10 posted on 10/11/2002 5:15:50 PM PDT by RLK
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To: RichardEdward
No, and this sniper is no typical sniper. In spite of what the ignorant anti-gun politicians are ranting, I am at least that good a shot--and I don't consider myself an accomplished rifleman.
11 posted on 10/11/2002 5:17:19 PM PDT by Pushi
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To: RichardEdward
Military sniping has almost always employed .30 cal rifles and very recently has gone to .50 cal in some applications. These rounds give longer reach (much longer for the .50) than the modern .22 Nato and Russian service rifle rounds.

The .223 is a very deadly cartridge within about 200yds or so, as is the Russian .22 used in the AK-74 which the Afgans call the "poison bullet." Given that the .30s are louder and slightly more work to shoot, and that the objective of the shooter(s) is to inspire terror and not to make a humane kill, I would say that they made an excellent choice with the .223.

I hope our guys make them eat some .30s.
12 posted on 10/11/2002 5:17:23 PM PDT by SBprone
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To: RichardEdward
Well actually, the .223 would be a pretty darn good choice for urban/suburban sniping. Now that I think about it a .22 magnum would be pretty efficient at close ranges.

I had not even thought about it until now but it is entirely possible that it is a .22 magnum. It shoots a lightly jacketed .224 diameter bullet.

I suspect that the cops actually know exactly the type cartridge and rifle which is being used but are for some reason not giving details.

A .308 would be better for longer ranges but one of the high capacity .338's or 300 magnums would be even better.

13 posted on 10/11/2002 5:18:05 PM PDT by yarddog
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To: Chad
Isn't the .223 a round used in many military rifles?
14 posted on 10/11/2002 5:19:46 PM PDT by Age of Reason
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To: RichardEdward
"is the .223 a typical 'sniper' round? "

No but there's enough of them in the country to fight the UN forces who want to take them away.

15 posted on 10/11/2002 5:20:08 PM PDT by icantbleaveit
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To: SBprone
LOTS of police departments use the Remington 700 in .223 for SWAT sniping...it works just fine on human-size targets at ranges of up to 200 yards or so.
16 posted on 10/11/2002 5:20:38 PM PDT by Renfield
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To: RichardEdward
afterall, wouldnt they be using eastern block type caliber?

I know someone will correct me, but there are more accurate .223 rifles than 7.62x39. Availability is probably a factor as well, although both are reasonably available.
17 posted on 10/11/2002 5:20:49 PM PDT by cryptical
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To: RLK
At 300 yards a 20-06 is jusy getting started.
I presume you mean the 30-06 used by the US army in WW1 and 2?

A .223 seems to be quite effective in the hands of this SOB.
18 posted on 10/11/2002 5:21:02 PM PDT by rmlew
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