Posted on 11/30/2004 3:35:05 PM PST by InfantryMarine
USMC Sniper stops insurgents from 950 yards
http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/m...58?opendocument
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Nov. 27, 2004) -- A U.S. Marine sniper waited patiently inside a one-story house deep within the city. Lying in the prone position for several hours, he scanned the area through his scope before he finally found the three insurgents responsible for two previous mortar attacks.
Sgt. Memo M. Sandoval, a platoon sergeant with Scout Sniper Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, needed to positively identify the insurgents before he could take his shot.
Sandoval, 26, saw that one of the men was about to place a mortar in a mortar tube. He knew he had to make a well-aimed shot before the insurgent gunner launched the deadly round. Sandoval cleared his thoughts and slowed his breathing as he gently squeezed the trigger of his M-40A3 sniper rifle. The 7.62 mm round covered the 950 yards in a flash, slamming into the chest of the first insurgent.
"The battalion (executive officer) ordered me to 'make the mortars stop,'" said Sandoval, a native of El Paso, Texas. "I took it personally and went out specifically to stop the insurgents." With two more insurgents still alive and ready to continue the mortar attack, Sandoval composed himself for the next shot at the assistant gunner. The last two shots took out the driver of the vehicle that carried the weapon.
"When I finally spotted them along a tree line, I realized how far they were but it was surprising how easy it was," said Sandoval.
Those four shots were the longest in Sandoval has taken since he became a scout sniper.
"It was very impressive of Sandoval to shoot from so far away and be on target with all four shots," said 1st Lt. Samuel Rosales, a platoon commander with Scout Sniper Platoon, H&S Co., 3/5.
"When you are being mortared you never know where they will land, to be able to stop them from shooting anymore felt good," said Sandoval.
He joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school in 1997 and has been with 3/5 since April. His leadership ability has reflected on the Marines around him and allowed Sandoval to accomplish his mission.
"(Sandoval) is filling a staff noncommissioned officer's billet, He is a great Marine to work with," said Rosales, 32, a native of San Clemente, Calif.
After recently reenlisting for four more years, Sandoval, who has been in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since September, hopes to represent the United States in the Olympics in competition shooting.
Sandoval says a fellow Marine, Staff Sgt. Jared M. Casanova, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, helped him improve his skills with the rifle, which has become a valuable commodity in Iraq.
"We have always been in competitions against each other, one day he would win and the next day I would win," said Sandoval. "Out here in Iraq it is a two way rifle range, with insurgents shooting at you. You have to make well aimed shots."
Check it out! Yay!
That's more than a half a mile! (.54)
Thanks.
The bullet drops 14 feet? Our sniper was at ground level, then how does that work? Is the bullet fired in some sort of arching trajectory?
don't ya just love it when that happens!!???
Caliber. . . . . . . . 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Win) Length . . . . . . . . 44.25" (1124mm) Weight . . . . . . . . 16.5 lbs (7.5 kg) Barrel . . . . . . . . Schneider Match Grade SS #7 Barrel Length. . . . . 24 inches (610mm) Trigger Weight . . . . 3 to 5 pounds Magazine Capacity. . . 5 rounds Sight. . . . . . . . . Unertl 10x with Mil-Dots and BDC. Stock. . . . . . . . . McMillan Tactical A4 Max Effective Range. . 1000 yards (915 meters)In 1996 the USMC started on the design for the replacement of the M40A1, the result was the M40A3. It uses a remington 700 short action, with a steel floorplate assembly and trigger guard built by D.D. Ross. The Unertl rings and bases have been replaced with D.D. Ross base and G&G Machine rings. The rifles also come with a harris bipod and an accessory rail, also built by G&G Machine. The stock is a new McMillan A4, with adjustable cheek and length of pull.
As the M40A1's rotate in for service and repair, they are replaced by M40A3's. All M40A3s are built by USMC armorers at Quantico Virginia. The M40A3 is an outstanding replacement for the aging M40A1's. The rifles are extremely accurate, very rugged, and are designed from the ground up to be a superb sniper rifle. Combined with the new M118LR ammo, it makes a system that is ranked with the best in the world.
| Search the Internet |  |
Awesome job Marine!!! God bless and stay safe.
SEMPER FI!
Yes. The usual Marine 10X scope has mildot calibrations to provide for both elevation and windage or deflection angle.
I mean, he doesn't just aim at the empty air above the target does he? (Stupid questions from the sniping challenged.)
Also known as *Kentucky Windage and Elevation,* and sometimes used when the shooter might be in a rush and the necessity of really precise aim is mot the priority, as when a softskinned vehicle's fuel tank is the intended target.
OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHRRRRRRAAAAAAA!
The range finding job is usually better handled by the shooter's spotter. Having the rangefinder built into the observer's spotting scope can be a nice touch, but in these days of using lasers for designating targets for air-dewlivered munitions, that function might be added as well.
Of course more and more laser warning devices are beginning to show up on the battlefield these days, particularly on vehicles, so there's a lot to be said for doing that job *the old way,* by eyeball. And the loss or overuse of batteries for an electrooptical rangefinder becomes less of a worry when it's known that the electronic way is nice to have when it works, but not critical to mission success.
Oh, and the Brits have gone another route, with a laser communications unit that rides a light beam instead of a radio signal that can be overheard by the bad guys. Very neat!
I don't like to let this out too often, but BJungNan is just my FR name. My real name is Happy. 'Cept, I'm not really a golfer, I'm a hockey player.
That would be one half mile. Now that is some good shooting. Marines have found snipers to be incredibly effective in Iraq.
Whose gonna see them.
He is wearing Gunny stripes.
He was a staff sergeant and made a honorary Gunny.
B R A S S
If one could know all the conditions that day to figure for the speed of sound, I'd bet the bullet hit the terrorist in the chest before he heard the sound.
Kinda hard to run from then.
...heh...
950 yards? That is some mighty fine shootin! Good work Marine.
...newbie replying to my own post...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.