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."
That's a funny pic!
Bullet drop .... (.308 / 7.62 )
M118LR Special Ball - 17gr (2580fps)
100y +17.4" 200y +30" 300y +34.2" 500y +22.6" 600y 0" 700y -35.7" 800y -86.8" 900y -156.1" 1000y
-246.7"
Actually I was Infantry. In the Army, the infantry has antitank missiles, and mortars. I ran both 81mm and 4.2 inch mortar platoons.
But my dad was Artillery. I was born at Ft. Sill. Use to win bets with that fact.
Short answer: yes.
The straight line of sight intersects the curved (not quite a parabola) line of the bullet at two places. You normally don't worry much about the 50 meter crossing point, but the 900 yard crossing point is a good trick. Laser range finders are really useful for estimating range to within 3 meters or so. Gravity is pretty constant, and wind is the major source of error. If you shoot 10 km or more (and not due east or west with artillery) you have to make coriolis corrections for the non-inertial reference frame associated with a spinning earth.
All this can be put into a pocket calculator now a days.
What is the fps of a .50 a 1000 yds?
U.S. bullets help Canadian snipers set world record [NAMES US SNIPER AND GIVES HIS HOME TOWN!!!]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/714044/posts#comment?q=1
Lets hope the the jarheads are issued uniforms that either don't have a name on them or that it is an assumed name to confuse the reporters who seem to have no problems that revenge could be taken out on the mans family.
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